Just back from my Vancouver Island bear hunt and can report the 338 RCM performed flawlessly. Had some scope issues prior to the hunt... went from Trijicon to Burris and finally to Leupold. It was a tough hunt because winter was unusually severe and the bears were taking their time emerging from their dens. Passed on a good bear on day one, probably a 6-5, but not a very big head. Regretted it for the next four days. Hunt came down to the last hour of the last day, when bears finally started to move. Tagged a huge bear at 180 yards using the 225 grain Hornady factory load with the SST bullet. One shot, double lung hit, through and through. Bear whirled and leaped over a bank, but was dead on his feet. Simply rolled 30 yards down a steep hill and that was that. He squared out at just a tad under 7 feet. Based on that hunt,I have no qualms about the effectiveness of the SST or the rifle. Early groups with the gun were a bit loose, but it seems to be "shooting in" nicely now.
