[sasnofear]

anyone any experience with this cal? is it much better than .308Mag? or is it to un-economical?

[Wildalaska]

Its one of the most popular ones in Alaska and deadly on moose and big bears, probably too much for anyhting larger than an Rocky Mountain elk.

I use mine as a caribou gun too because I hunt them in bear country.

Kicks like a mule!!

Wildmy338islightwieghtandhurtswhenIshootitAlaska

[Al Thompson]

If you reload, all of the belted magnum cartridges cost about the same. No economics involved.

I assume you mean the .300 Mags of what ever flavor? For factory ammo, probably right there with .300 Win Mag, probably cheaper than .300 Weatherby. Not sure on the new .300s - not much of that ammo in our gun stores.

Not sure what utility you'd have with it in N. Ireland. Roe deer and stags fall just fine to standard .30 caliber cartridges.

.338 is probably one of the best balanced cartridges available. Fine for whitetails, adequate for anything else. Sub-par only for the big stuff (buff, elephant, brown bears), though Ross Seyfried really likes the 230 grain Failsafes.

Oops - noted that "WildwhyisthisbeareatingmybuttAlaska"gives it the OK for big bears. :D

[Wildalaska]

Sub-par only for the big stuff ( brown bears),

Hi Al, you would be surprised as to how many big browns fall to the 338 up here (and in addition the 300 mags)...

Fine for whitetails? If you like hamburger :)

Wildmyfavoritecaliberisactually6.5x55Alaska

[Al Thompson]

I dunno. I killed a fair amount of smaller stuff with a .375 H&H and cruddy softpoints in Africa. No hamburger there.

As for the .338, several retired Col.s in Atlanta that I knew used .338s for their Colorado hunts and several of them used the Nosler 210 grain Partitions for Georgia deer. No reports of torn up deer there. Seems to me that if one used a controlled expansion bullet, you may not get as much smack as with a lighter bullet as whitetails are thin. (compared to bear or 'bou)

[Dan Morris]

Kid uses one...225gr for Elk,deadly........his ole man still uses a 06.
Dan

[sasnofear]

i wasn't so worried about it's knock down ability, more to its ability to be less effected by the wind out to 1000yrds rather than a .308 or .308 mag

[Art Eatman]

Heavier bullets retain velocity better than the lighter ones; thus less wind drift.

Art

[iamkris]

I'm wracking my brain but can't identify what a 308Mag is. Did I miss a cartridge development somewhere along the way or are you talking about the .30-06?

[Mike Irwin]

Realistically the .338 is overpowered for deer-sized game.

It tends to thump worse than the .375, too, in my experience, probably largely because the .375s are usually quite a bit heavier.

That said, the .338 is a wonderful round for medium to large game, excellent power and good trajectory out to realistic ranges at which you might hunt some of the larger game.

My biggest gripe against all of these magnum calibers is the belt. The belt used to be there for headspacing purposes. It's not needed. It probably wasn't needed back then, either. Some of the new calibers are dispensing with the belt and losing nothing in the bargain.

If the largest game that I would hunt would be deer, I'd not choose the .338. If I were hunting mule deer, elk, or moose regularly, I'd very likely get a .338 and be very happy with it.

[Art Eatman]

iamkris, isn't there a .308 Norma Maggie? (I'm away from any of my reference material.)

Art

[Mike Irwin]

.308 Norma Mag.

Yes, pretty much obsolete here in the US.

Stick with the .300 Winchester or .300 Wby. if you're looking for a .308 caliber sooper...

[Wildalaska]

It tends to thump worse than the .375, too, in my experience, probably largely because the .375s are usually quite a bit heavier.

Mine wieghs just about 7 pound short barreled so I use 250 grain bullets...

Ouch!

WildifIdontlikeyouyoucanshootmy338Alaska

[cheygriz]

My .338 WinMag is a gas operated semi-auto Brownimg BAR MKll. Recoil is about like a bolt action .308 Winchester.

It's as accurate as any hunting grade bolt action that I've ever owned.

The only downside is weight. It IS heavy.

[Gordon]

I used a .338 from 74 to 84 in NW and Alaska with great success. It was better killer on big stuff than .300 Weatherby I used before(and after) probably because the newer bullets werent around. I don't know why I use .375 H&H now other than it is universal. Make no mistake in an equal weight rifle 375H&H kicks worse. I like and heartily endorse .338 for deer on up. This is the next step up over the .308 thread!:)

[Mike Irwin]

"Mine wieghs just about 7 pound short barreled so I use 250 grain bullets..."

Woof! No thanks.

Gordon,

The .375's recoil is certainly heavier in equal weight rifles, that can't be denied, but I've always found the .338's recoil to be a LOT sharper, and a lot more unpleasant because of the 1 to 2 pound weight difference that seems to be common in these calibers.