Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Should I give up the .338 win mag?

I’ve bought and sold several rifles that I regretted selling. The Winchester M70 .338 WM was not one of them. What a POS. Kicked like a rented Georgia mule and 3” groups about all it’d do. Good riddance.

Keep the .338 Win Mag and start handloading for it.

Just me, but for what I do, a jump from .30 cal to the .375 H&H works. YMMV.

The old ‘06 is amazingly versatile. Not much it can’t do with the right ammo. Again, reloading changes the equation, changes the questions and the answers.

DF

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1024312697
Way cheaper than a new gun and it's not like you use a 338 for target practice.

I wouldn't. All ammo has gotten expensive and much is hard to find. Sounds like you're buying/shooting factory stuff and if so, take up reloading. If .375 Ruger does seem more available in your area, and if I were relying on factory ammo, I'd buy 500-1000 rounds before picking up the gun 'cause I don't think it is going to stay more available, you've hit an unusual situation you're interpreting as normal. That doesn't mean .338 Win Mag is going to get "common." If you're changing rifles, I'd look at something like .300 Win Mag or .300 PRC. The heavy .30 cal bullets are not much behind .338 for shorter range use. High sectional density helps a good bit.

6mm Creedmoor with 7-twist would be ideal for me. I'm really curious how good these new barrelled actions from Remarms are now though. New machines and processes in place. Might be good enough for nutless prefits is my hope.

Wow, sorry that I missed an opportunity on that one…..would have loved to have another one around the house! The .338 WM ( especially in a Model 70) is as near perfect as an “all around- do it all cartridge” available in a factory loading that can be had!

My wife loves hers…. another would be a good “loaner rifle” for friends/relatives when they come over to do a little hunting! memtb

Just for gigglesnshits I went to cabelas USA and Canada websites to see what was available off the shelf for all the listed here, number of options available for each cartridge:

USA
308 - 63 choices
30-06 - 43
300wm - 16
338wm - 0
375r - 0
375hh - 2

Canada
308 - 27
30-06 - 22
300wm - 17
Zero for the rest

I like flintlocke's suggestion with that new 30-06 whatever that is suggestion lol and also Calvin said 300wm if it has to say magnum then that's a solid horse too. My last two rigs bought are 308 but I only hunt Alberta, which I just hunted exclusively with a 6.5 Grendel for 6 years with so not sure what that means but maybe less is more? Good luck with your choice, do what turns you on.

Side note, both countries carried 10 each for 7 rem mag, USA carried 10 options for 7-08 and Canada 5 options.

I do this periodically to see how they all look compared to each other, have seen the 308 as high as 75 options on USA cabelas and 30-06 46.

The OP isn't wrong, it's easier to get .375 Ruger right now. There isn't a great selection of either.

I've never bought a box of 338wm ammo. Those prices are horrifying and shocking!!!!

Maybe WAM doesn't know how to shoot a big magnum?? I know your wife does well with hers. I've never found them all too hard to shoot.


I can't remember ever having a poor shooting 338wm either. Even the Ruger model 77 mkII's have shot lights out. And, honestly, if ammo is that damn expensive, the OP better learn how to load his own.

Yep BSA, a blend of proper shooting technique and desire. Of course a high quality recoil pad is pretty darn beneficial in reducing felt recoil! Plus, you don’t pretend it’s a .223 Rem., and go shoot a few hundred rounds over a Prairie Dog town! 😉

I am constantly amazed at how many people do not reload/handload! I can’t even get my grandkids interested!

I started at 14 or 15 with absolutely no one to help me……if I wanted to shoot anything other than a 22 RF, I knew that I had to handload!

By the way…….that’s a darn respectable group! 👍 memtb

Cost and availability of that ammo would just about drive a non-reloader into the reloader camp. Pretty strong incentive.

DF

for a box of shells a year? I guess it's a sliding scale of how much cf do you wanna shoot, if he's just a regular freezer filler with an AK approved cartridge then reloading will never make sense but ditching a rifle he can't get ammo off the shelf for reliably would...that's what I'm sensing from the op

300wm or 30-06 would be logical choice for that imo but even 308 for 0-500 yard freezer filling and defend yourself is good 3rd option, 7 rem mag would do it all well also and should be able to feed that for a long time too, that would round out his top 4 choices imo

I have a 338 Win Mag that got a lot of use when I was younger. I find it to still be the best of the medium bores for anything. Handloading exposes the true capabilities of the 338 Win Mag. The 338 Win Mag throws 160 gr loads at 3,300 fps up to 275 gr loads at 2,600 fps with 180s, 200s, 210s, 225s, 230s and 250s in between and a few 300 grain bullets as well. It is another chamber that balances well for power, versatility, rifle weight and manageable recoil. The 338 Win Mag is one of those chambers that can do just about anything you wish to do in the field anywhere on the globe. Plenty of deer sized game have been taken as well as several cape buffalo with the 338 Win Mag.

I agree. The .338 Win. Mag. can be loaded down to .30-30 levels, or maxed out to hunt anything you choose. I'll never get rid of mine.

I found that my model 70 loves H4350 too. And with some bullets, Accurate 3100 will surprise you.

There will come a time, likely in your lifetime, that ammunition will become totally unavailable or illegal to possess! A few days of watching news other than that from the alphabet networks should make that perfectly clear! Having a good supply of ammunition isn’t just about hunting! memtb

If you do reload, consider a 30 cal or a 7mm or even a 270. The bullets are available, even in most small gun shops.

I’ve had 338’s and I like the caliber. I have or had a few 375’s, just not a Ruger. I’ll likely never need the bigger cartridge rifles I own, but I guess that’s not the point.

If you’re going to keep with factory ammo and if you're recoil shy I think you’ll find the 375 to give you quite a bit more kick. I’m at the age where shooting something with less kick seems like the thing to do. Consider a 300 Win Mag for factory ammo if you need the power. But like others have stated, a 30-06 is a most versatile cartridge. Ammo can be found most anywhere and it’s inexpensive.

(I have not shot factory ammo at animals other than my 17 Hornet and 22 rimfires.)

Good point. Hoard powder, primers and bullets until you have a lifetime of options. Roll’em as you need. Options are about infinite.

DF