Eventually discovered the .338 doesn't kick nearly as bad as most people suggested, so started "whittling" it down. Replaced the medium-heavy barrel with a slimmer one, and the stock with a lighter model. Eventually it weighed 7-1/2 pounds with scope, and while I initially used heavier bullets, I also started using lighter bullets because, well, that's my job. Discovered (unlike Gunner) that lighter bullets made right will do the same things as heavier bullets, and maybe better for most hunting.
This was partly because my .338 kicked less than the .300 Winchester Magnums I've hunted with, when using 200-grain bullets. This wasn't due to stock shape, because one of the .300's used the same Bansner High Tech stock as on my .338--and weighed a half pound more. But with 200's at the same 3000 fps, the .338 seemed noticeably milder. I assume this is because of using somewhat less powder, plus the reduced "rocket effect" of the muzzle gas in the bigger .338 bore, but there it is.
Now, I don't hunt all that much with either .300 magnums or the .338 Winchester anymore, having found that with good bullets, smaller rounds are totally adequate for elk and similar-sized African game. I regard my New Ultra Light Arms .30-06 as my big rifle anymore, like my wife did almost 20 years ago when she took it to Africa and killed gemsbok, blue wildebeest and kudu easily with 165-grain Fail Safes. Since then Eileen has dropped even lower: Her last two elk, both mature cows, were taken with the .257 Roberts and the 100-grain Barnes TTSX and the .308 Winchester with the 130 TTSX. One dropped on the spot, and the other went 25 yards before falling, both with angling shots, one quartering away and one quartering toward. The cow taken with the .308 was a big one, and the "little" bullet broke the near shoulder and was recovered barely hanging from the ribs on the opposite side.
That said, I am thinking about using my .338 again, mostly because in the past few years we've had grizzlies move into the mountain ranges on both sides of our Montana valley. At my stage of "middle age" I appreciate my .338's light weight even more, and if the odds go against me while hunting the local mountains, and somehow a grizzly gets actively involved, I'd like the .338 in my hands a little more than my .30-06. But I also know, from having shot it alongside the .300 Winchester Magnum that it doesn't give up anything at any of the modestly longer ranges I might shoot at an elk. I know it wouldn't be any more effective on a grizzly than any of my .300's, but it weighs and kicks a little less.
Now, all of this is indeed rifle-loony nitpicking, but it's why I would personally use my .338 over any of my .300's.
Good post. The highlighted portion is something some people just don't get. One of the reasons I choose the 338wm over the 300wm as well...
My first rifle was a Remington 600 in 6mm. I weighed about 100lbs at the time, the rifle had no recoil pad, and the stock didn't fit me. Because I was new to hunting and needed to practice, my dad would reload 4 or 5 boxes at a time and I'd shoot 80-100 consecutive shots from the bench, sitting, prone, etc.. Despite the small caliber, I developed an intolerance to that particular rifle's recoil. I still have the rifle for sentimental reasons, but I don't hunt with it because, to this day, I have to make a conscious effort not to flinch. Ten years later when I got my first real job (and was 6'2" and 200lbs) I bought a properly fitted .338 with a recoil pad. The subjective "feel" of the recoil was so different that my mind did not associate it with the flinch that I had developed with the 6mm. I've never had an issue shooting a .338 with any projectile. My point is, there is no objective measurement to justify my different reactions to the two calibers. Sometimes in all of our efforts to quantify everything as "scientifically" as possible, we lose sight of the fact that hunting is a very subjective experience. I personally enjoy shooting medium bore rifles. I also like the "SMACK" that a medium bore rifle makes when it hits something. Is there any objective justification for any of it? No. Does it enhance my experience? Yes. For those of us who aren't in the industry and aren't responsible for educating others, our own experience is the paramount consideration. So, to answer the question, "Why a .338 when a smaller gun will get the job done?", because that's what I enjoy.
