You've probably seen this on other threads, but I recently hunted big black bears on Vancouver Island with the stainless/synthetic version of the Ruger 338 RCM. I shot a huge bear (squared out at just a tad under 7 feet) with Hornady's 225 grain SST load. One shot, double-lung, through-and-through at 180 yards. Bear staggered, whirled and leaped over a bank, but was dead on his feet and tumbled 30 yards downhill. One kill is not much of a database, but I'm very pleased with the rifle and the ammo thus far. You'll see some speculation in the threads about the bullet being "too fangible," but that's hogwash from people who haven't shot anything with it. The through-and-through on my big bear speaks volumes, and I've seen Mike Fifer of Ruger shoot a pile of big African plains game on TV with the 338 RCM using the same ammo. The round has the locking band of the Interlock plus a thicker-than-normal jacket for bullets of that type. The polymer tip, which freaks out some of the traditionalists, merely improves the ballistic coefficient. That 20-in. barrel and relatively light weight was a big help in maneuvering through the alder thickets and making my ankle-busting way through the timber slashes on the island.
