Weatherby Vanguard .338

[Partyguy816]

I am looking for something a little bigger than what I currently have, and I'm leaning towards the 338. How much more recoil will this .338 have than the 30-06 in the vanguard? The '06 that I have now seems to kick like a mule....

Also I do have a Sendero .300WM, so will what advantages will the 338 have over this?

 

[Schleprok62]

What are you going to be using this for?? For deer, I would think a .338 would be overkill... but that's my opinion, and I'm sure it's not your intended use...

 

[Partyguy816]

Oh, hunting hummingbirds sounds good......

Nothing specific will be hunted with it. The question is about recoil.

Becides, there is no such thing as overkill. You can't be over dead can you? Shot placement is what counts.

 

[270Win]

According to

http://www.accuratereloading.com/recoil.html

the .30-06 with a 178 grain bullet has a recoil factor of 246.0, which is "moderately heavy."

the .338 Win Mag with a 225 grain bullet has a recoil factor of 468.9, which is "very heavy."

And just for kicks, a 600 Nitro shooting a 900 grain bullet (!) has a recoil factor of 2791.9, which is "very painful."

So... there you go!

 

[Partyguy816]

Thanks, I haven't been to that site, I'll check it out.

Edit:

The recoil for the 338 is in a 9.5lb rifle. The vanguards are 7.5lb if I remember correctly from their website. That would probably put it up in the 500's or so. OUCH. Has anyone here ever shot a 338 in a 7 to 8 lbs rifle? Do you shoot it often?

 

[Al Thompson]

My first .375 H&H was a Sako Hunter. With scope it was maybe 9 pounds. Recoil off the bench was rough, but doable, esp. with a folded towel on my shoulder. Field positions were OK. Never did prone though..

So much of recoil depends on the stock and your body that it's a hard call for someone to make for another. FWIW, upgrading your stock can really change things. I use an old Bell and Carlson on my current .375 and it helps bunches. The plastic stock that came on my M70 was a piece of trash and I never actually fired a round with it on the rifle. YMMV

 

[Bullet Bob]

I shot a friend's lightweight mountain rifle in .338 off a bench once. Shot it 3 times. The second two were pure young-guy testosterone, as I learned all I needed to know with the first shot. Thank goodness I'm older than that now.

 

[m0ntels]

Shot an A-bolt in 338WM a few times. It'll definetly put a hole in anything and then some, and you feel it on your end too. About 3-5 shots is good for me. If I wanted something that was just bigger than an 06 and of comparable power, I'd go with a 35 Whelen, 358, or 45-70. For me, painful guns get old fast, and short of dangerous game, your 30-06 has everything from varmints to moose covered.

Randy

 

[Schleprok62]

I shot a friend's lightweight mountain rifle in .338 off a bench once. Shot it 3 times. The second two were pure young-guy testosterone, as I learned all I needed to know with the first shot. Thank goodness I'm older than that now.

I have a similar story... but I opted to hand the rifle back after only the first shot... That was a friends Winchester 70 (if memory serves) and in a word: OUCH!!!

 

[browningguy]

My .338 Mannlicher stocked rifle was about 8 1/2 pounds with scope and ammo. It wasn't fun to shoot from a bench rest but no problem at all when shooting from position (standing of sitting).

 

[Dave Rishar]

I don't own one but I've shot a buddy's M77 on occasion. Ruger's site advertises the weight as 7.75 lbs. Recoil from the bench was (not surprisingly) worse than from field positions but neither is what I'd term "bad." On the bench, it reminded me very much of my 1895 with 500-grain bullets at moderate-to-low velocities: a firm, but not hard, push...definitely not a hit. It let me know that I was shooting something big but it didn't cause any actual discomfort, just lots of upper body movement.

I do not know the specifics of his handloads but he's not known for going light on the powder, if you know what I mean.

Of course, there's quite a bit more to felt recoil than simply bullet weight, bullet velocity, and gun weight. Consider those figures in that link to be a rough estimate ("All other things being equal...") rather than an absolute measurement of how badly you're going to be kicked.

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

Perhaps the more relevant comparison would be between the .300 Winchester magnum that he has, & should therefore be familiar with, and the .338 Winchester magnum.

I have a .30-06 that I'm very familiar with & a .338 that I've only put about 100 rounds through. I find, of course, that the .338 has more recoil, but I do not find it to be in OMG! territory. Standard load with the .30-06 is 150 grain bullet at 3000 fps muzzle. The .338 is currently at 2875 fps with a 225 grain bullet. But load development continues with the .338.

My son recently obtained a .300 Winchester magnum. Without shooting them back-to-back, or going to a site, I find the 180 grain factory rounds to be at least in the same ballpark as the .338 in recoil.

But then, I'm not all that recoil sensitive.

900F