Is .338 Win Mag waining in popularity?

[Kestrel]

Is .338 Win Mag waning in popularity?

Still looking for a stainless .338 Win Mag. I called Remington today to ask why neither their 700 SS BDL , nor the 700 LSS is listed in .338 WinMag on their web site. They said they discontinued rifles in .338 win mag a while back, because their .338 RUM has eclipsed it. He said .338 is not popular anymore.

Is this true? Ruger and Winchester still offer rifles in win mag. (I'll probably go with the Win. M70 Classic SS, since it's available with a 26" barrel and the Ruger is not.)

By the way, thinking about this caliber for elk, mule deer, etc.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[WonderNine]

B.S., they just want to market their .338 RUM.

 

[mete]

Get a Tikka or Sako, remingtons don't have the quality. I hear more complaints about bullet performance . But it's from people who are using magnums at close range . Like the fellow who shot a deer and blew a huge hole in it . He was using a 7mmSTW , 150 at 3350 and he shot the deer at 80 yds !! So how much velocity do you need ? I think the 338 will be around for a long time .

 

[BusMaster007]

Get the Remington 700 in .338 RUM and don't look back.

 

[Badger Arms]

338 WinMag.... hmmmmm... let's examine that. You called REMINGTON and asked them why they were discontinuing the 338 WINCHESTER Magnum. Now I ain't a rocket scientist, but I don't think it'll take one to figure this one out!

 

[Kestrel]

Badger,

Okay, I'll think about (and I'm not a rocket scientist). REMINGTON also offers their 700s in:

.243 WINCHESTER
.270 WINCHESTER
.300 WINCHESTER Magnum
.300 SAVAGE
.308 WINCHESTER

Now, I'm not a rocket scientist (although I do play one on TV at times), but if they're carrying these non-REMINGTON calibers, is it going to tear down their business?

I will agree with your basic point, though. It does seem that they are gradually replacing the non-Remington calibers with their own calibers.

Steve

 

[keederdag]

I think you can forget about the goof ball stuff Rem. is putting out and stick with the .338 Win. It will be around long after the current fad has passed. When People start that BS with me I usually direct them to Walmart or the local fish and tackle store in Blowhole AK to buy a new box of Rem. 338-40000 Rem-ultra-short-mag-topped with a heatseekingenviormentallyfriendlyklintonapprovedthreemilliongrainsolidcontrolled expansionpollytippedmollycoatedsoildgold bullet.

 

[dakotasin]

remington did away w/ the 338 win mag to help boost sales for their 338 rum...

i wanted a 338 win... did not want to deal w/ the recoil and 100+ grains/shot case of the rum. i also wanted a 700 lss... unfortunately, while they are available used, they are hard to come by... so, remington forced me to buy another brand of rifle - which i am not thrilled with, but i got the cartridge i wanted.

338 is not waning in popularity. if anything, its popularity is building, among those who want a rifle in that size (remember, comparatively speaking, far more people will be in the market for a 30 cal rifle and smaller than one 32 cal or larger).

 

[Kestrel]

dakotasin,

Looks like I'll look for a Win M70 Classic SS in .338, myself. What did you get in .338?

Steve

 

[dakotasin]

ahh... ummm.... -kicking dirt, hiding eyes- it's a, uh... well i got a... you see it happened like... umm... -whisper- winchester 70 classic, wood/blue.

oh well... for this rifle, caliber was more important than manufacture, but i really would have loved to have gotten this rifle on an lss platform.

here's more bad news... i am very much in the market for a 375 h&h... i do not want the 375 rum... this makes my situation very similiar to my 338 situation. i'd rather have a remington, but since this situation is going to shake out like last time, i think i'm gonna go cz this time... remington loses agin, and it sucks, because i really would rather have a remington... and no, i do not want to build off of a remington action a gun that would be shot so little... a frequent shooter, yes, definitely build... but not one that won't be shot a lot.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Nope---not waning around here.


Did a little trading today---and came home with a Sako 75 stainless/wood in .338 Win.

The RUM's are too much of a good thing----they would have done better to remove the belts from the Win cartridges and renamed it with a Rem.

Why would you want a model 700 anyway?????---they aren't the same rifles as 25 years ago----but rather a sorry excuse that is just living off the name.

 

[BusMaster007]

O-BG, why on EARTH would you say such things...?!

The REASON one gets a Remington 700, especially in .375 RUM, is because they are well made, strong and accurate rifles with a helluva lot of POWER.

Look at the HOLE in the steel made by the .375 RUM:
http://www.hunt101.com/showphoto.php?photo=64030&size=big&password=&sort=1&thecat=500

Refer to this thread on another Forum:
http://www.accuratereloading.com/ub...75330&page=4&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=21&fpart=1

Take a look through that thread and you'll know WHY you could live with the Remington 700 choice.
It may NOT be shot a lot, but when it IS - - - WOW!!!

There is the LSS version to consider, too.
I've seen one for sale on the internet, and there was an article someone did on his LSS.
Do a Google search and you'll find them.

Good Luck, guys!

 

[Kestrel]

dakotasin,

Why do you sound sheepish for choosing the Winchester? Do you feel it's an inferior rifle? Just curious.

Also, I went through the same thing regarding the .375 H&H. I ended up getting a CZ, for the cost and reputation. This is not a rifle I would be shooting a lot, so I didn't want to put a whole bunch of money into it.

Steve

 

[dakotasin]

steve-
your question and my answer could open up a large can o' worms...

yeah, i feel the winchester 70 is inferior to the remington 700. i have been well pleased w/ my 700's, and my 70 experiences have fallen far short of the mark. your mileage may vary, of course... i have had my fill of winchesters and i won't be having any more.

on the cz... i am not 100% sold on one of these, yet. i have been hearing of a few experiences w/ them that leaves me unsure of the route i'll take for my 375 h&h... i might very well end up w/ a cz, but i need to dig a little deeper before i do it. i am also entertaining a ruger #1... but, i have heard of extraction hang-ups w/ the belted cartridges in the #1's... not the warm fuzzy i wanted when getting a dangerous game rifle. at any rate, a 375 h&h is still a month or 2 away, as i want to get a rem ti in 7-08, first. unless, of course, i find a screaming deal on the bigger gun first - which is unlikely as the dangerous game calibers are near impossible to find around here.

i am not a fan of the stainless/synthetic rifles... i really like wood rifles, and stainless is a turn-on only when it comes w/ a wood stock - which is to say not often... i did like very much that ruger offered a stainless laminate 338 win mag... and i almost went that route instead of the winchester, but ruger, for whatever reason, feels that a 24" barrel is fine... compromises had to be made, and i did not want to give up the 26" barrel.

 

[Kestrel]

dakotasin,

What do you not like about the M70? (You can PM me, if you would prefer.) I'm just curious.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[BusMaster007]

( HEY. It'd be NICE if the text didn't disappear when notified of having used a picture in another thread...!
Fortunately, I SAVED the text because I just knew I might have used that pic before. HA! )

Try a search on accuratereloading.com on the CZ's.
I've seen some really weird pictures on how they had to beef up the stock, for one.
Then, there's the 'problems'...
No, thanks.

I won't buy a Winchester CRF Model 70 out of sheer, unreasonable spite.

I'll take my POS, 'quality-UNcontrol', 'hair-trigger', bad-safety, PUSH-FEED, spRoing-plunger-ejector, doesn't lock the bolt down, REMINGTON 700.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=503053

 

[thepbministry]

I dont know if .338 Win Mag is loosing its populatity. I do know that I love mine! I have Ruger M77 in .338 Win Mag and it is the best rifle and caliber I have ever owned. My back was severly injured in the army and I was tired or missing long range shots with my old 03a3, or having to track them because I dident get a knock down shot . So I went with a .338 win mag and have never been happier. I hunt black tail "which everyone thinks i'm nutz with my .338, Mulies, elk, and black bear" everyone here in southern oregon asks me why I shoot .338 and my awnser is simple. I want to hit it the first time and have it drop in place. Other people just ask me what the heck do you hunt with that monster... I smile and reply "squirls"

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I see the search function is working.

 

[redneck2]

FWIW...I assume the Ruger M77 is made in .338. I've got a stainless laminated stock in .300 WM and it's a nice rifle. Mauser claw extractor and all that.

Just a thought...You may want to consider the .300 WM. IMO, the Ruger is pretty much the perfect elk rifle in stainless. Shoots flat, way plenty of power. YMMV.

 

[Bottom Gun]

I am one who prefers the .338 Win over the .338 RUM. I have taken two elk with my Sako in .338 Win. Both animals dropped in their tracks and the bullet punched all the way through and exited both times. I have NEVER wished it was more powerful.
After all, how much more power do you really need?

Also, since I load all my own ammo, I would much rather fill the 70+ gr case of the .338 Win than the 100+ gr case of the .338 RUM. Also, RUM brass is harder to find and more costly.

Last year I came across a smoking deal which I could not pass up so I picked up a second rifle in .338 Win. This new rifle is a Browning BAR. I was very pleased to discover that it is not only as accurate as my Sako, but it appears to have less recoil than the Sako does. I guess the action soaks up some of it. I'm pleased with it.

I’m not real crazy about the belt on the .338 Win but that’s the only feature I dislike about the cartridge.
Given a choice between the .338 Win and the .338 RUM, I’ll choose the .338 Win every time.

 

[Buckskinner]

Killed a few with my Ruger 77 in .338

and I'm not sure the same shot from my usual '06 would've dropped them as fast.
Three smallish mule bucks in CO, with a lot of meat damage. In fact it completely blew off the right front leg of one. That was bad.

One blacktail, running. Two shots off, both hits in the back legs. That was also bad. But it died relatively fast, and not as far down the mountain. That big 215 gr. bullet does damage. Not sure the '06 165 gr. would've caused as much damage if I shot as poorly. I thank the .338 that I was able to recover that buck.

One big mule buck, shot in the neck. Dropped like a sack of stones. It barely nicked the neck, so we call the rifle "DeathWhisperer" now.

The Ruger 77 tang is underrated. It has a Mauser type claw extractor, which supposedly is the great selling point of the pre '64 or "classic" CRF Mod.70's, right?

They are usually lighter rifles, with adjustable triggers (I hear, I've never tried to adjust mine).

They have one of the strongest scope mounting arrangements of any rifle. Nothing is drilled and tapped in the reciever.

Anyway, I like mine...

 

[ArmedBear]

I don't think the .338 Win Mag ever WAS popular, if by that you mean anywhere near the top 10 centerfire rounds (these big rounds have ridiculous recoil, unless you hunt elk and need the power). It might be the best in its class, but maybe Remington sold very few guns chambered for it. Of course, with the Model 70 gone, they might want to hold on for a little while to see if demand for 700's in .338 goes up. Just a thought, Big Green.

Also, certain of the WSM's have become mainstream. You have to expect that companies will use their tooling to meet that demand, and that some older favorites might be displaced.

Remington has three reasons they'd ignore the cartridge: they never sold many .338 WM guns anyway, they make a competing round, and there are some other new cartridges they want to be sure to include in their lineup because of growing popularity in the marketplace (The WSM's and .204 Ruger come to mind).

 

[BigG]

Come to think of it you hardly ever see Remingtons in 30/30 Winchester.

Answer - for many years each American manufacturer had its own array of cartridges and you bought one of their guns in their caliber. It's not that far back when they started chambering in other company's calibers. 270 Win because it was very popular was one of the first I remember.

338 Win has never been standard in a Remington 700, AFAIK. It was once in one of those classic rifles they release once a year in an oddball chambering (for Remington) like 8mm Mauser, 35 Remington, or 338 Winchester - HTH

The best analogy I can come up with to demonstrate the attitude of the typical American manufacturer would be to go into your local Ford dealer and ask for a Ford with a Chevrolet engine.

 

[achildofthesky]

.338 wm...

thepbministry: I tell em woodchucks instead of squerlz...

I have an M700 in 338wm that is ss/black thermoplastic stock of recent manufacture and like it quite well. I have had another M700 in 338 wm, one of the "classic" jobs from back in the 80's but back then it was just a collector gun for me and I never shot it. Also had one in an Ruger m77 with the tang safety back in the 70's. It was my "one and only" rifle back then. Pretty over gunned for Pa deer but a lot of fun to shoot and yes, I did practice on woodchucks with it. I vividly remember one miss with it that was low and the slug plowed a furrow through the dirt and killed the 'chuck from a combo of rocks, dirt and prolly some residual copper jacket and lead. Kind of looked like a miniature cannon hit with all the stuff flying. Ammo is pretty easy to find most anywhere with lots of choices on weights andbullet construction. Me like um...

Patty

 

[dfaugh]

I don't think its popularity has changed all that much.

It was never a real "mainstream" cartridge...limited use for most "average" guys, especially anyone that's recoil sensitive. God cartridge if used properly, but unnecessary for deer-sized game.

Now there are 2 things that COULD change that---the .338 Federal (338-06) or the .325 WSM. Both have fairly similar peformance to the .338 Win Mag, and many people buying new guns may opt for them. But, I think it'll be a L-O-N-G time before the .338 Win Mag loses much, if anything to these newer cartridges. (I'f I was looking for a new gun in this power range I'd be tempted by the .325 WSM---but I'm already an 8x57 and 8mm-06 fan.)