Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa .338 Win Mag in Africa?

Is this a useful caliber over there? Doesn't it fall under the caliber-size restrictions for some areas? Would a fellow be better off with something like a good 30-06, and then something bigger than a .338, or is a .338 WM a bona-fide Africa rifle?

What bullet would be a good choice in a .338 WM in Africa?

-jeff

.338 is a great choice for anything for which it's legal and some for which it's not.

Start with the 250 NP and work from there - or just stay there.

The 338 Win. Mag. is useful and truly ideal for ALL African big game except for elephant, rhino, hippo, and Cape buffalo, and based on my experience, it kills stuff just as well as does the 375 H&H, and it's a lot more user-friendly, plus it's easier to carry around day-in and day-out.

Last year, my hunting partner and I both took 338 Win. Mags. to Zimbabwe, and we shot close to 40 animals between us, and these animals were between the size of impala and bushbuck to Livingston's eland (2,000 lbs.). Just about everything went down on the spot, and the only trouble we had was when I used 225 gr. Nosler AccuBonds, as on some animals these came apart and didn't penetrate well.

Most of the animals we took were with 225 gr. Swift A-Frames loaded to 2850 fps., and they worked so incredibly well that there would be absolutely no reason whatsoever to use another 338 Win. Mag. load for African plainsgame, ever.

As but one stellar example of how well this load worked, my hunting partner took a fairly long shot (over 200 yds., and for Zimbabwe, that's long) at this enormous old "blue bull" eland late one afternoon, and this bull was running away at a bad angle. When the bullet hit him, momentum kept him going for a few yards, then he crashed to the ground. That 225 gr. Swift penetrated some 40" eland, and was found just under the hide, right behind the off-shoulder!

The 338 Win. Mag. would also easily blow the lights out on leopard, and I would not hesitate to shoot a lion with it, either.

Next year we're headed for Zambia, and we're taking those same 338 Win. Mag. rifles we took to Zimbabwe, only for the fun and education of it I'm loading North Forks for my rifle, and we're taking custom rifles in 416 Rem. Mag. for buffalo and hippo.

This winter, there was a man running around a local gunstore one afternoon, screaming that he took a 338 Win. Mag. on a plainsgame safari last year, and he found that it just wasn't enough rifle for anything over there. He said that everything, even impala, was so very tough that he was going to take a real cannon next time, just to make sure there was no repeat of the horror show he experienced with his 338.

His story wasn't unlike the bullet-proof elk yarns I've heard over the last 30 years of my life. They all have one thing in common: It wasn't the rifle that wasn't powerful enough, it was the simple, ugly fact that the pilgrim yanking the trigger didn't keep his cool, and he couldn't shoot...........

Put a good, well-built 225 gr., 240 gr. (North Fork), or 250 gr. bullet in the right place, and you'll find that the 338 Win. Mag. is as steady and reliable a killer of African plainsgame as you could ever ask for.

AD

The 338 WinMag is close to the ideal African plains game cartridge. I strongly recommend it to those who already own one and are familiar with it. Stick with min bullet of 225 A-frames and 250s or the Woodleigh 300 are even better.

BUT, if you already own a ('06, 280, 7x57, 300 Win, etc) and can use it well, stick with it. Use 200 Partitions in the 30s or 175s in the 7s and have at it.

If, however, Dangerous game is on the menu and you want to take only one rifle, make it a 375 or one of the 416s.

SOS

The 338 to me is a one gun collection.Good for darn near everything.I've lots of respect for the round.Mine is loaded with 250 gr regular X bullets.Though I don't use her much anymore I wouldn't part with it either.

I have used the .338 in Africa more than any other rifle on plainsgame.

I have also shot a couple of bufflao with it, and using solids its a very decent buffalo gun IMO..In both cases the bulls were in some thick stuff at about 100 yards, where I needed to thread the needle to get a shot into the vitals, it worked in both cases, the bulls ran off 50 or a 100 yards and expired like buffalo do when they are shot in the right spot...I usually carry a scoped .338,.375 or 9.3x62 in conjunction with my double rifle.

Years ago Jim Carmichel wrote about taking a Cape Buffalo with the 338 Win Mag loaded with 250 grain partions and if I recall correctly it was a one shot affair......

As Ray says, the 338 is a great all around caliber for plains game as it can also reliably be pressed into service on the big stuff when required. I took two boxes of 338 ammo, loaded with the older 250gr steel jacket Hornady solids, with me to Mozambique and the only two rounds that I fired at buffalo gave complete penetration. My PH was most happy to receive the remaining ammo when I left.

Thanks for the replies guys!

I have a 338 WIn Mag that I really like and shoot all the time; it's nice to know it will work for the plains stuff at least.

My other rifles that are on the "heavier" side, at least for North America, are a 45/70 Guide Gun and a Model 7 rebarreled to .358 Winchester. Anyone use either of those calibers over there?

This is all long-shot research for me. I'm not heading over any time soon. On the other hand you can't start preparing too soon, right?

-jeff

Either the 45-70 or the 358 will kill any plains game you put the bullet in the vitals of. A 500NE will not kill them deader if CNS or vitals aren't hit.
I've used the 45-70 with 405 gr bullets an killed wildebeest and eland. In neither case did the bullet pass thru though. That's why I prefer the 338WM (225 gr) or 300WSM (200gr) as my PG calibers...two holes to spray blood if tracking is needed.
I am currently having one of my 338WMs worked into a 375-338 and will use it on next season's buffalo.

I have a hunting lady friend who hunts Africa with her .338 Win Mag, and she has taken Cape buff and ele with that rifle using solid bullets. I asked her what load she was using and she said "Whatever he loads in them". She is not real big on worrying about all the details, but she is a cool game shot with whatever she is using.

jim

Just returned from 17 days in South Africa, where 20 shooters took 174 head of big game. Three chose .338's, but only two used them hard, one with 225 AccuBonds and one with 225 TSX's.

The guy who used the 225 AB's had a atring of 12 1-shot kills in a row (game from springbok and warthog to blue wildebeest, gemsbok and kudu) broken by a complete miss on another wildebeest. Then he used a finisher on an impala and a wildebeest, but finished up with a one-shot kill on a gemsbok. Another friend just returned after using the same Federal factory load to take several head of plain game, including a very big eland on the last day, shot through both shoulders. So something good must have happened to the 225 AB since Allen's experience.

The other guy, who used 225 TSX's, also had great luck on game up to gemsbok and wildebeest, except on a warthog shot in various places that required 3 shots.

JB

John, I have no doubt that Nosler has subsequently done whatever was necessary to make the AB as reliable and situation-proof as they possibly could. They certainly do have the accuracy part of the AB formula down cold, that's for certain!

I'm sure I'll hunt with the AB again, it's just a matter of when and where............

AD

I've only killed one animal with an AB, a blacktail deer at about 75 yards, but it worked absolutely perfectly. The buck was angling sharply towards me and the bullet broke the onside shoulder and exited way back on the opposite flank, about 23" of penetration. Didn't blow up on that onside shoulder and cost me a bunch of meat; a BT would have ruined the quarter.

Love 'em! That and my Leupold scopes. There, now we can REALLY get an argument going!

-jeff

BTW, don't forget that the .33 caliber has a long history in Africa. The .318 Westley Richards (circa 1909) and .333 Jeffery (circa 1911) were considered standards "back in the day" as general purpose medium bore rifles for Africa.


.318 Westley Richards
250 gr .330" bullet at 2400 fps


.333 Jeffery (rimless)
250 gr .333" bullet at 2500 fps
300 gr .333" bullet at 2200 fps

http://www.kynochammunition.co.uk/



-Bob F.

I used a Sako Finnbear in .338 win to take 13 if the 18 animals I took in Africa. The 225 grain TSX was perfect.
I did take a Zebra and a Blue Wildebeest with my 30-06 (180m gr, TSX) and it did a good job. The .338 hammers the bigger plains game.

I use a .338 WM in N. America on moose and elk. It is one of my most used guns and I load a Grand Slam 250 gr. at 2650 fps. I haven't heard much of anyone using the Afican Grand Slam bullets, in the same caliber, in Africa and I wonder why?

I like to carry a plainsgame rifle that will work in a pinch should an elephant, Lion, Hippo, or Buffalo decide he is made at me because someone stuck a spear in him or put his foot in a snare. The .338 Win really fills that bill for me with a 300 gr. Woodleigh at 2400 dead on at 100 yds. a 210 Nosler 3" high, and a 250 Nosler 2 inches high, my gun will do that so it holds a special place in my heart, I never have to resight it in when changing loads...few individual guns will do this.

Other calibers that fill that same bill might be the 375 H&H and the 9.3x62 and a few others I am sure.

Bob F,
You just had to go and post that pic of a W-R 98!!!
I'll be useless for a week.....

SOS

Yeah, it's enough to make a grown man cry!!

-Bob F.