Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 338 Win Mag conundrum!

Being a 338 Win Mag owner, debating its utility has always been a thorn in my side. Isn't it Americas original medium bore magnum belted magnum? Made for heavy medium game. So how controversial can it be? Yet it seems to be static in popularity. I want to hear from 338 Win Mag owners (not other 338 cartridges). And can you answer the following questions:

1) Why did you wind up with a 338 Win Mag and what do you like about it?

2) What cartridge would you choose to replace it with if you did?

3) And if you did, what attributes favor that cartridge?

S.

I bought a Winchester M70 in 1989 because all the gun rags said you needed a .338 WM to kill elk.

It was the worst rifle I had ever had. 3” groups were the norm and recoil was severe with factory 250 gr loads.

I traded it for a 1988 Remington M700 in .35 Whelen that still shoots great and recoil is not as severe. With a 225 gr bullet, the .35 Whelen will do anything the .338 WM can do.

Do think if it had another stock/recoil pad and it grouped better you would have kept it?

1. I got one cuz i like trying new caliber. Was a Weatherby Vanguard Sub MOA. Very accurate rifle. Shot a bunch of deer with it. Federal factory 210gr partition ammo.

2. Didn't really "replace" it with anything, sold it when .338 ammo got scarce and pricey.

3. Cheaper ammo for my other rifles, 6.5prc .308win, etc

I had one, Shilen DGA, in a McMillan stock...All up 8#s...

WHY??? because it works for anything on this continent...

Wonderfully accurate, it loved the old Barnes Originals, 300grainers...

It was the first cartridge I reloaded for, learned on the 338WM.... under the tuteledge of DD


250gr is where it shined, IMHO.

Wife shot it at the bench with full up loads, she's 5'4" and 125....

BIL had a Remington, IIRC, that tagged him pretty good, and since that is not needed for FL white tail, and I had a bunch of old Nosler RN Partitions, loaded some for him, 250gr at around 2350fps. he loved it, deer didn't.

I parted with it in a trade, but wouldn't 'replace it' , I have a 7RM and a 7x64 Brenneke, so 'this continent' is well covered...

If it fits, is the proper weight and shoots. Why? If you want something else just get it.

It will launch bullets from 180-300gr at proper velocities and some a bunch faster than need be.

IMHO

YMMV

Got my first one back in the ‘70s, a pre ‘64 M70. It was lighter than the 375 I had at the time. Used it on a few hunts for elk and deer but never really got impressed so it got sold. Had another in the early ‘90s that I used on elk and as a light rifle on an African safari. Came away wishing for a flatter trajectory so had it rebarreled to 300 Win mag.
Been using that for most of the last 30+ years. It kicks less and shoots flatter. Also found it kills elk, moose and large African plains game just as well.
The only thing I’d hunt with a 338 these days would be brown bear. The extra bullet weight and diameter could be useful on them but for anything else I have gotten by just fine with lesser cartridges.

Back in the mid-eighties almost all of the gun scribes and gun rags at the time were advocates of the 338 Win. Mag. being the great all-rounder, paired with a smaller bore for lighter big game you had the ideal North American 2 rifle battery.

My first 338 Win. Mag was a new Rem. M700 "Classic" I bought in 1987, then I had a custom rifle built on a Sako AV action in 1989 and finally a Ruger #1 that I purchased in 1999. I hunted with the 338 Win. Mag for 35 years (1987-2022) for game big and small, Alaska to Africa, 30 yards to 420 yards not an issue, only one second shot required, and it was due to my poor shooting.

The 338 Win. Mag was easy to load for, great bullets, factory ammunition was easily available for it, recoil wasn't bad, the rifles were accurate (even the Ruger #1), really a great hunting chambering.

Over time I saw that a properly loaded 30-06, 35 Whelen and a 9.3x62mm did everything that my 338's did, a little lighter, 5 rounds on tap vs. 3, and it kicked a little less. When I started to pare down my hunting rifles the last 338 went down the road in 2022. I sold it to a young man who had all of his hunting dreams ahead of him and he wanted it for a New Mexico Elk hunt, he took the rifle dies, brass and all of my components.

I enjoyed my time with the 338 Win. Mag, to me it will always be a classic cartridge.

StarchedCover

I love the .338 win mag. I consider it a cornerstone cartridge. I could bore you all to death on the nostalgia I have for this cartridge. But at the end of the day, it’s a cartridge that just works. I have found it to be very accurate and it performs very well. It is a go to for me in a lot of situations. Got a big dollar hunt in a hard to draw trophy area for elk? .338 win mag gets the nod. Float plane hunt for moose in some far away land? Same. Why? Along with the accuracy I have found with the rifles I have shot, it’s also got enough power to perform. Imagine a scenario where you have a hunt that you have paid tens of thousands of dollars for and a tag you have been trying to draw for 5+ years. Sometimes, on hunts, you might get one ethical shot, and that is your hunt. I want to be able to take that shot and trust that the bullet will perform and get to the vitals. I don’t want to second guess the shot in the context of the cartridge I have in my hand.
I have also found the .338 win mag is pretty easy to get your hands on, even in far away places. And it’s versatile enough for deer. My best friend has shot a dozen plus deer with his .338 WM when his son took over his .25-06.
I can’t imagine not having a .338 win mag in the safe. Go back and check my response in the 4 rifle battery, the .338 win mag is there and that is one of the more solid choices. I could be persuaded to change just about every other cartridge on my list there because there are a lot of good cartridges in that same niche, but where I see the .338 win mag, it really stands alone.

I shoot Mechanics and Math. For those reasons,the Montucky has no equal. Hint.

Balance is subjective,but I knocked 3" off mine. Pull the mag shim and .650 BC 250 Skinners Smooch easily,while crowding 2800fps. Four in the belly,don't suck. Hint.

Few platforms,shoot as soft as they do and it hovers in the high .4's/low .5's,for a Hasty Trio. Watched The Horn',gun a Hasty Trio at the 1070yd line the other day,shooting his and nobody would even begin to believe,less seeing same. Hint.

I drive a 1-6x HD MQ Capped/Lit Bitch and have a herd of 'em. They are fhuqking exceptional,in rugged reliability and Iron Guts. Hint.












Just sayin'...............

At one time I tried buying a Kimber Montana 338. I think they came with a 26 inch barrel. Bit off topic but do you get more space in a 700 action?

I do not know anything about the Kimber rifles, but magazine length is definitely a consideration. My friend that I referenced above, has a Browning A-bolt 2, and it has the interesting attached to the hinged floorplate magazine, and that presented a challenge when we were reloading for it. If we seated bullets out to the lands, we were getting groups that would bring a tear of joy to your eye, but the OAL would turn the rifle into a single shot. We ended up finding a great load using the Swift A-Frame, which has a bullet profile that would bring the ogive closer to the lands and we are getting sub-MOA with that bullet and if my memory serves, a hefty charge of Hybrid V. My Nosler 48 has no such magazine length restrictions.

I had a couple but sold them and got a 340 and 338-378 Bee

I bought one in the 90s because it was a Supergrade and I wanted all five that were available, thinking they were 270, 30-06, 7mm RM, 300 WM and 338 WM. All wore the same Leupold 3.5-10x42. Really like it but had not use for it as game larger than deer was not on the agenda. It was sold along with all of the Supergrades but a very nice rifle indeed. If I lived where big bears did I'd think it would be about a perfect walk about cartridge.

Still have 3 a xtr from 80, a classic ss, and a 1960 vintage m70 Alaskan. Any of them ready to go today or tommorrow. The cartridge impresses me. Mb

No problem kissing a 250 scenar in a Montana with the mag box shim removed and feeds fine

Montucky 8400 L/A COAL,less 'shim,is a CH shy of OEM issued 700's. That's what a Talkeetna is. It's a GREAT way to fly in 7mm RemMag,300Winny and/or 338Win. Hint.









Just sayin'..............

I had a couple in the past. I think it's a great cartridge and well rounded for big game if one can handle the recoil and shoot it accurately.

In saying that I never noticed much of a difference with killing power versus other standard cartridges. I hunt at ranges up to 350 yards, big black bears, moose, deer, is what's on the menu. My 7's, 8mm's and 9.3's kill just as well with less recoil and having 5 rounds in the mag. I've been also toying with the idea of a 338-06 but then remember my 8mm-06 will do pretty much the same. 200gr NAB at 2800 fps is no lightweight.

I owned a Ruger 77 and killed a bunch of elk, bear and deer with it, shooting 210 partitions at 3000fps. It was very reliable. I stupidly sold it when I upgrade to a 340wby. It too has killed a bunch of elk deer and antelope with the 210 partitions. I’m now have 2 340s, one shooting 210s and the other 225 Accubonds. I’ve always preferred this caliber because animals are visually rocked when hit. They also tend creat exit wounds. I’ve never experimented with heavier or higher BC bullets because I don’t like to shoot further than 5-600yds. Did I need to upgrade from a 338 to the 340? Need is four letter word when it comes to hobbies. I have appreciated the additional velocity, and much prefer the weatherby stock design for absorbing recoil. The M77 was not fun to shoot from the bench.

Bullets matter wayyyyy more than headstamps and everything you cited,is a pile of fhuqking schit. Hint.

I just "happen" to shoot 250 Skinners in 338 Twat-Six and 338 Twat-Six Aye Eye. Hint.


There's NOTHING in 8mm or 9.3,that can even fhuqking BEGIN to hang and the 8mm 200gr AB in particular,a turd. Hint.


BC advantages,start at the muzzle and never wane. It's plum fhuqking AMAZING,how few folks actually fhuqking shoot. Hint.






Just sayin'................

To each their own, I don't shoot long range. The cartridges mentioned above have been filling the freezer's every year. Having a higher BC in the style of hunting I do wouldn't have killed any better. Know you your limits and hunt within it.