Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters SA .338's

In a 6.5 lb, open-sighted carbine, the 338 RCM is my general purpose winter and mountain rifle here in interior Alaska. It's mostly loaded with 225 grain fusions or interbonds. There are scores of high-bc; premium 225 grain hunting bullets in .338 caliber. The scoped .338 RCM is 3/4 lb lighter than any of the three 9.3x62 Mausers Ive owned.

When my 416 ruger cracked a stock, the .338 RCM was used to back up another moose hunter. Those 275 grain a-frames are close in velocity to my 300 grain 9.3x62 Mauser handloads.

Anyhow, the .338 RCM carbine with compact 2-7 scope is my ideal, general purpose Alaskan rifle. The open sights are zeroed at 200 yds using 275 grain a-frames, and the scope is sighted to the 225 grain bullets.

The magazine follower was flipped, so I can fit 4 rounds under an unloaded chamber. 3-down rifles are not sufficient on winter subsistence hunts where the caribou bag limits range from two, to as high as five caribou.

** Hornady just did another run of 338 RCM brass. There are at least 4 online vendors that have brass in stock. I don't need any. The past couple of years, it's been too easy to build up a life-time supply of brass and factory ammo. Checking vendors and visiting local reloading supplies places.


Left to right:
308 winchester 220 grain partitions
338 RCM 225 grain Interbond or Fusions
338 RCM 275 grain A-Frames
9.3x62 Mauser 300 grain A-Frames



The best-buy .338 RCM bullet I've found to date, is the 225 bonded fusion bullets. At the time, they were $18 a box of 50.

To put that in perspective, the 220 grain .308 partitions were $100 a box of 50. Quite the expensive fashion statement.