Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 338 Win Mag, Savage or Mossberg?

Not as a primary rifle, but I found deals on a couple 338 win mags, Savage and mossberg. Savage is about $150 more than the mossberg patriot and I would need to add base and rings to it.

Mossberg comes more or less adequately configured for a beater rifle.

Can’t imagine I’d buy a 338 Win Mag just because it was cheap. Maybe if it was a Model 70 or something. Or maybe not.

I remember walking into a small gun show that right on the first table had some crazy light Weatherby in a big magnum chambering and a box of ammo minus one for an insanely low price.
I probably should have bought it, although I don’t think I’d have ever shot it.

Why, the last owner shot it once. You could sell the package with 2 missing out of the box. ha ha.. I've seen the same thing. I think there was 3 fired casings in the partial box of ammo. I believe it was a lightweight 300wby.

Now, to answer the OP's question. I'd buy the Savage, as they usually seem to shoot well. However, I wouldn't buy either one if the op is just buying it because it's cheap. I'd keep an eye out for a good Ruger m77 mk2 or Winchester model 70, if I were looking for a good 338wm.. You don't see me suggesting Tikka this time, as they are too got dang light in a 338wm. I didn't even like my 7mm rem mag Tikka. Sent that sum bich down the road...

If I bought most of the rifles I came across just because they were cheap, I would be swimming right now, along with all the other people who kick themselves for missed deals. If I had the money I would buy both and think about it later, but that is not the option now.

I’d buy the Patriot in a minute - the couple I’ve had guys sight in at my range shoot well, aren’t ugly don’t seem to recoil beyond normal & have performed in the field in rough conditions. A sample of 2 7mm RM & 308 isn’t exhaustive but I was toying with buying one in 375 Ruger in case I was forced to hunt Africa on short notice- wouldn’t need to say Don’t have the right gun since I sold my 375 H&H.

I’ve bought plenty of guns I don’t need. Is there an intended use? If you reload you could easily tame the round, as needed.


If I come across an $800 gun for $600, I may buy it, needed or not. I’m talking actual value, not what somebody paid or ‘thinks’ it’s worth.

Have you ever shot a .338 mag? I know felt recoil is subjective but the Savage .338 I owned was horrible. That one appeared at the lgs while I was looking for powder.

Turned out the wood stock was cracked and the gun shop repaired it. I also learned from a couple buddies who worked for Winchester that they repaired quite a few model 70s in that chambering with cracked stocks. Something about the quickness of the recoil iirc.

At the time my only option being left handed was a Lee Six fiberglass stock. Only way I could shoot it accurately was to download the case. Ended up selling it and getting a 30-06.

That’s quite a choice. Sorry about that.

I've never owned a Mossberg rifle but I have owned 3 of their shotguns - all good deals. And I've owned a bunch of Savage CF rifles with never an issue. The last was a very slightly used package with a Simmons scope. It was turned in after a couple of shots due to recoil, I was told. I had previously owned several rifles chambered in .300 Win Mag, so bought it for a song, aside from the scope that I knew would likely go into the trash bin. Handloaded with 180s at ~3000 fps, the Simmons lasted for 5 - 6 shots. It was replaced with a decent scope and I kept that rifle for several years. It would shoot my handloads into sub-moa.

As to the .338 WM cartridge, I've owned a couple of rifles in the chambering: a Sako FS (20" barrel) and a Browning A-Bolt (26") which soon became a .340 Wby. It was owned for 10 years and 1000 rounds of "hot" handloads. Never noticed the recoil with the 250gr NP load at 3000 fps, used to kill a moose. The stock was excellent for managing recoil, plus lots of experience shooting big bores up to .458 Win Mag.

Managing recoil has several factors involved: Don't start with something like a .338 WM if the recoil of a .270 bothers you after years of experience with it. But if a .30-06, with a good stock fit, doesn't negatively affect your shooting with "heavy loads", then to move on to the purchase of a .338 Win is indeed a "step up" in recoil physics, but managing its recoil is based on: accepting that as fact; good handling practices, a good stock fit, and starting at the lower end of handloads or factory ammo. For instance: A 210gr Partition at 2750 fps will kill anything in N.A. within range. That's not a lot more than a .30-06 firing a 200gr at 2700 fps - which is a limit for a 24" .30-06. But, moving on from 2750 fps for a 210 from a .338 is normal and easy. That bullet can easily make 3000 fps from handloads in a 24" barrel. But don't start there!

And people who make negative statements about the recoil of a .338 Win, after having read negative stuff without EVER giving an honest attempt to manage one (at least 2 boxes of managed-recoil loads), cannot give sound advice!

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

I shot a Patriot in 375 RUG with a laminated stock and didn't find the recoil to be objectionable, so I'd probably opt for the Patriot over the 110.

X2. Wouldn't own either at any price

I had a 338 WM. It was a Ruger 77. It kicked terribly. I don't expect to ever own another

Savage

I have a guy I converse with regularly on another forum who has a Mossberg in .375 Ruger. It has given him fits, making it a useable rifle. He spent a lot of time and effort on it, the polymer magazine well gave him fits, the factory trigger failed on him. Just one headache after another, but other people on the forum were happy with their rifle except one guy with a .30-06 having issues with the plastic mag well breaking.

If the Savage is an Axis, I'd just take a pass on the .338 WM. In fact I wouldn't by any Axis rifle period. I think a Savage 110 would serve you well more than likely. I've never used a Savage in anything larger than a .308 sized cartridge.

I would look for a Sako 75 or 85 used. Better yet a Sako Finnbear. I do have a 75 and recoil is not too bad. I had a Ruger 77 before that and it was horrible. Down the road it went. Sakos also shoot very well.
Have a great day.
Jim

Sako fan. Currently have 3 AV’s in the household. I gave my laminated stocked rifle to my son, I have an unfired rifle in the safe, and a kokotukki that has less than a box thru it. The laminate loves 210 partitions, haven’t got the carbine sorted out yet. I had a REM Sendero that shot well.

Sako Finnbears are all steel, that 9#’s (scope included) helps tame the .338.

Gary

Is neither an option?

Which Savage? The basic Savage 110 seemed to me like a perfectly functional rifle. The ones I've had did always work. They were not lovely and I didn't keep them but that's more of a personal thing. A guy could do much worse. I think I saw a Savage 111 Hog Hunter in 338 Win. I thought it looked like a good tool for certain uses.

I have 3 savage bolts, two Crudmoors and a 308. All three are extremely accurate. I’d buy a savage I think. The 308 is a hog hunter.

Unfortunately unless shooting full power loads you’ll never know how the stock fits and reacts to 36-38 ft-lbs of recoil. The stock bedding and fit are far more important when shooting a 338 Win Mag accurately. That’s why a great number of 338 Win Mags collect dust. They are uncomfortable to shoot, especially when having inexpensive and improperly bedded gun stocks.