Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles I want a .338 win mag...

Killed an elk in 1985 with the Sako carbine, no complaint with the 210 Nosler, best accuracy (1.5 moa) was with 4064 and velocity around 2550 fps. At 225 yards the elk went over the hill and was found quickly, bled out and on it's back in the "field dress me" position. That was probably the only 338WM in Utah back then. Maybe the only Zeiss 4X too.

Any big game cartridge that would group around a foot at 225 yards would have worked more or less as well on that elk. 'Just could not get great accuracy in any of the four (338s) I have owned, Chrono numbers were less than I had hoped for.

I tried hard to like the.338WM. I was making progress with H414 the cost was flintlock-like delayed ignition, my testing was in Winter...never the less. Yup, tried the slowish stick powders too.

Three 338 WMs and a move to Alaska...Nothing (as far as I am can tell) will the 338WM do that cannot be done as well by an '06, 338/06 Whelen or 9.3 MM, with a bullet up to the task.

No problem with the belted case... (but five plus one beats three plus one) I took the filler block out of the M-70s 338s, fitted expensive express floorplates and tried quite a bit of off the lands load developement.

My Road to Damascus happened when I half heartedly started working with a 340 WBY. Why waste a long action on a short mag like a 338WM? Never looked back.

The big 338 bullet in the old days was the 275 Speer, that was an accurate bullet in my friend's 338WM at 2200fps or so, it made big holes through things like Caribou.

Today's bullets are better in every way. Lots of powder choices, perhaps I am, after all, just not open minded about the 338WM.

I am guilty of an agenda, I confess to verymuch dislike a compromise with the equipment I actually have any control over in the field.

1917, would you recommend Echo re-do his 338/06 into a 338WM?

Sincerly, with Best wishes to you all, Bill

I have a .300 and a .338 that are set up almost identically. The .300 still carries the factory barrel and the .338 has an Obermeyer and the scopes are slightly different, but otherwise, they have the same McMillan stock, same barrel contour and length, and subsequentally, the same weight about 8 1/2 lbs. I shoot 180's from the .300 and 225's from the .338. The .338 has noticeably more recoil and is no fun to shoot off the bench. The .300 is no picnic either, but not as bad as the .338.

That being said, I don't ever remember feeling the recoil from any firearm I have ever shot at any game ever in my life. Too worried about other stuff to notice it, I guess.

I worry less about 1/2 lb in rifle weight than a lot of people because my body weight fluctuates more than that in a day. There is a tradeoff between rifle weight and recoil, but 1/2 lb either wasy isn't going to make that much difference.
Fast Ed

Seems like a lot of guys use the lighter bullets in their .338 WM. It would seem that if that is the case, then the .338-06 would be just fine, where the .338 WM would shine is with the 250 grain slugs?? I have shot a few .338 WM, but never owned one due to the fact that I have a .35 Whelen, a .30-06 and a .375 H&H and just could not come up with a real "need" but I think it is a good round, but I would think the .338-06 would be about as good for 98% of the hunting that a guy would do?

Nothing wrong with wants but, the 338wm is unnecessary for much game and way too little for the rest. The USA hunters think more of the 338 than is thought in the rest of the hunting world. I have hunted for many years and have never felt the need for a 338. When I need something more than a 308 I use my 9.3 or my 375. The next step up would be my 450.

I have a GREAT 338. Ruger Hawkeye, sent off to Vais for a brake and they also glass bedded and reworked the trigger and put a new thicker recoil pad on it. Trouble is, I have a bad neck injury and can't shoot the dang thing anyway..but it does not stop me for pulling it out and sitting there working the bolt a little, ha !

Well, I decided that since I already have a .338-06, that I would move up a couple sizes and I would build a 375 Chatfield Taylor.