I bought a .338 Win the month they hit the shelves and have used one ever since..It is my favorite elk rifle..I shoot the 300 gr. Woodleighs at 2400 FPS plus or the 210 Noslers at 3005 FPS.
I like it in the thick dark timber of Idaho where all shots are at running elk going south and shots are up the keyster..It sticks their nose in the dirt and my 06 will not do that nearly as well...Best of all, they don't go to the bottom of the divide and die anymore and that saves me a lot of work...I shot a few Cape bufalo with it, most of Africas plainsgame from Duiker to Eland on several ocassions, Red Deer, Moose, bear, and plenty of elk and even a few deer...It is just one fine caliber. I also like the light recoiling rifles and do most of my deer hunting with a 25-35 Win or a 250 Savage, but he .338 is my "go to rifle" for serious stuff...My .338 is a Jack Hogue custom on a Mauser action. It shoots the 300 woodleigh on at 100 yards, the 250 Noser is 1" high and the 210 Nosler is 2.5" high, and all at the same setting and I have not touched the adjustments in 10 years!! and it shoots under an inch with about any load.. How you gonna beat that. It just doesn't get any better.
You just can't go wrong with a .338 Win. it is a perfectly balanced round, recoil is mild, noise is mild, and it does the job without all the blast bump of the larger .338 cal. magnums and it got on top of the sales charts the hard way, it earned it over the years and is still climbing according to Win reps.
Last edited by atkinson; 08/17/08.
