Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles A tale of two 338's

My Tanger 338 kicked like a mule till I put a real honest to God 1" recoil pad on it.
Who knows why Ruger put such lousy pads on their guns. Well, not the Americans, those pads are pretty good

Is there a 338 that doesn't shoot the Hornady 225gr. Interlock Spire Point into nice tight groups? Granted I haven't tried all of the
338 bullets out there, but nothing is more consistently accurate in all four of my 338's

Thanks Neighbor!

Now that I think about it, all of mine liked that bullet. Must be a good match for the 338. Mine also love the 250gr. sierra game kings.

Did you ever smack an elk with those 225 Hornadys or the 250 Sierra? if so, how'd they hold up?

I’ve always found ditching the factory stock for one of much better fit and design has always made an enormous difference with felt recoil. I’m not a big guy compared to gunner500 at 5’9” 200lbs, but I have no discomfort running 30-40 rounds through my 338 prone in one session. Just my .02.

Yes, sierra's. My elk hunting partner only runs the sierra's in his 338 and it hammers elk. We get full penetration with the core, but sometimes find the jacket on the far side hide. They hold up well enough that it will smash through a shoulder and keep going.. Good enough for me. Keep in mind, I don't run my sierra's blazing hot though. My old Ruger m77 that I always used liked them around 2600 fps and the recoil wasn't bad at all, but it still hammered elk:



It had a pachmayr decelerator on it too, that helped tremendously to lessen the recoil..

Hell of a deal, that'll work BSA, nice addition on the pad, guess I shouldn't have any penetration concerns with elk angle presented should I drag my 338 out to the elk mountains loaded with the 250 Swifts at 2750.

Oh, you'll be plenty good with the A frame buddy. I was stuck on the sierra for a long time because of the success my hunting partner has had with them. They are also a sleek and accurate hunting pill, with plenty of weight. The bc's are actually pretty good. Not that I've ever needed to make a long shot on an elk where I hunt. The last bull I shot was 30 yards and closing, so I thought I'd put him out of his misery with the ol 06 and 200gr. partition. It definitely did the trick.. . Maybe I'll get a chance to use my 338wm with the 225gr. hornady this year. I've shot other critters with that pill and it usually holds together very well. However, I sent some to our friend scotty (who also loves the 338wm) to do some penetration and weight retention tests and the hornady didn't hold together as well as we had hoped. I think it lost half it's weight and didn't penetrate near as well as a good ol partition... The reason I started shooting the 225gr hornady in my new 338wm is because I had about 4-500 left from before and the rifle shoots them so well, it's hard to make a switch to something else. I also have a few hundred 250gr. sierra's laying around. The problem is I don't shoot my 338 enough to warrant going out and buying new bullets to try. Oh, yeah, I also have some 210 partitions I have been wanting to try in it as well, but just don't have the time lately...I guess the 210 is the chit in one of these 338's.

Nice, Thanks, I'm racking the memory banks and can only remember smacking deer with 200 gr SAF's from my old 300 H&H, nothing bigger, that goes without saying or concern, I never caught a bullet, sounds to me like you have too many bullets too test and too little time to hunt/get it done.

I've heard good things about the 210 NPT's too, shoot them from a 338-06 at 2800, and yes, they're rough plows on deer.

I shoot the 225 Hornadies, 225 Partitions, and the 225 Aframes in my .338's and they all shoot to the same POI . I trust the Aframes and Partitions a lot more than the Hornadies after a failure on a broadside elk and shoot the Partitions and Aframes pretty much exclusively on game and save the hornadies for practice sessions. The partitions and Aframes Hammer anything you hit with them, but the Aframes are bonded and hold together to punch through. In Africa, they worked perfectly and I was able to get the skinners to recover a couple bullets for me- perfect mushrooms every time. Partitions are designed to come apart, with the bottom part pushing through and the Partition forward opening up and doing huge damage. Both seem to take down game about equally but the Aframes are just so darned expensive I tend to save them for game shots only. And I have a pretty good stock of Partitions set aside.

Either way, I've been more than happy with my 338's. I did find replacing the stock on my Classic Stainless with a McMillan made a huge difference in comfort shooting at the bench. My Pre 64 custom has a custom wood stock and has always been very comfortable to shoot.

Bob

REALLY ! !

Well, DUH !


Jerry

Several guys here say the same thing.

Jerry

Good to hear all that, Thanks Bob, using the 250 SAF's in my rifles should give even a bit more penetration, I keep thinking, Eland, Zebra and another big old tough Blue Wildebeest bull.

You had one too? I had nightmares about 300 anything after owning one of those. it took 25 years to get over it .

Yeah we are NOT alone.

I shot my 9lb+ 22" tanger .338 yesterday (with 1" Limbsaver). It's a peach with 185's at 2,700fps, but certainly more noticeable with 210's at 2,850. Still, it isn't a sharp hit. My dad was shooting his 700LSS .338 with 200's at 2,850 (wearing a 1/2" Decelerator) and he was not really enjoying it.....lol. He'd shoot a couple rounds and then rub his shoulder, grumbling "dammmmmmmnnnnnnn.....". I don't think it fits him very well, but he loves the rifle and how it shoots/kills.

Yep. I gave a boat paddle stock 300wm to my dad. He thinks I hate him ..he never uses it. Still looks like new. I just don't care for the recoil impulse of that cartridge. I agree though. The savage 110 was the worst!!!

Spit my coffee out on that one. Good chit man