.338 win mag for deer

SuperCub said:
Care to expand on that little tidbit?

I have a pretty good idea what happened, but w/o more information I'm only guessing (like the rest of us).


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Premium 220grain bullet in a 30-06 broadside shot at short range basicly blew the shoulders of the deer apart, was a waste of a animal, and tag for the group. The area hunted was full of deer, and there was no need to shoot a fawn. I was not involved in the hunt, I was young, and I didn't see the animal get cleaned, but my uncle still brings it up from time to time. The deer was also shot across a fence off the rented property, which caused the group to loose that field for future hunts, it was actually the last year my uncle hunted large game because of the problems they had that season. But that's another story
 
scott_r said:
You're right!! never have shot a 338 but what you're saying makes sense with the slower velocity. I was always under the impression the 338 mag was quite a fast round.

Cheers!!
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Can be a fast round. My old man was famous for loading up light 180gr bullets for his 338wm. Those suckers came out of the barrel hot.
 
338 works great for deer. I use a starting load of 57g/4064 with a 200 speer out of the Speer book. Wonderful accuracy (sub MOA), low recoil, flat enough for 300 yards, Deer die rather abrubtly with little meat damage.
 
Jimbobob08 said:
Premium 220grain bullet in a 30-06 broadside shot at short range basicly blew the shoulders of the deer apart, was a waste of a animal, and tag for the group.
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A heavy bullet going at moderate velocity wouldn't cause more damage than a similar/lighter bullet going faster. I've seen and cut up many deer and moose over the yrs as I was a meat cutter for over 20. High velocity is the biggest contributer to meat damage along with bullet type constuction.

Also, it sounds like this small deer should have been shot in the ribs, not in the shoulder esp at short range as mentioned. This will always turn alot of meat to mush.

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X-fan said:
You don't buy it because you have never done it.

Myself and others have hands on experience shooting deer with the 270, 7 mag, and 338 win. The 338win definitely damages less meat and yes deer do seem to go farther than when shot the small fast bores. It seems counter intuitive however it is reality.

The heavy duty bullet construction and reduced velocity produce very modest and slow expansion on a broadside shot. The result is a dead deer that usually bounces a few feet before tipping over.
Shoot the same deer end to end and the results are clearly devastating as the bullet opens up. Same thing when you shoot something like a moose.

For the record the messiest kill I have ever experienced was with a .338 225gr TSX traveling at 3200fps....A hot load in a 338Ultra.
It vaporized the far shoulder.....As in gone. :(
I was upset beyond words and will never again use this combination on deer.
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I tried a similar stunt with a .340 Weatherby using a 185 grain TSX cooking along at 3200+ fps. I was in an embarrasingly high tree stand and shot almost straight down on a good size whitetail doe, hitting her in the spine between the shoulder blades from the princely distance of maybe 40 feet. Ughhh!!!! about 14" of spine was just plain missing, and those lovely tastey tenderloins and back straps were a bloody mess, and to top it off, she was awful floppy trying to field dress and transport back to the meat pole. Never again without some good patience to look for the better shot staying off the bone, or possibly with a reduced charge of powder.....maybe it'd just be easier to stick with a 7mm-08 and standard type bullets like the horny day interlocks.
 
I"ve shot a lot of deer with the 243, and my 308 has sat gathering dust most of the time. I have shot deer past 300 yards, and have great faith in the 243, esp with Speer grand slam 100 gr bullets. I would be a little wary of lighter bullets, maybe 80"s would be ok, but calibre has little to do with killing deer.
 
oaktree said:
I tried a similar stunt with a .340 Weatherby using a 185 grain TSX cooking along at 3200+ fps. I was in an embarrasingly high tree stand and shot almost straight down on a good size whitetail doe, hitting her in the spine between the shoulder blades from the princely distance of maybe 40 feet. Ughhh!!!! about 14" of spine was just plain missing, and those lovely tastey tenderloins and back straps were a bloody mess, and to top it off, she was awful floppy trying to field dress and transport back to the meat pole. Never again without some good patience to look for the better shot staying off the bone, or possibly with a reduced charge of powder.....maybe it'd just be easier to stick with a 7mm-08 and standard type bullets like the horny day interlocks.
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TSX do expand explosively at high velocity and can make a train wreck out of the meat. The answer is either slow it down (go heavier) or switch to Partitions.
When I had a 340wby I shot lots of deer with the 210 and 250gr partitions....Eat right up to the bullet hole....even at 3200fps.
 
Use whatever you are able to make a good shot with. My smallest rifle is 6mmX45 and biggest is .338 Win Mag. My wife shoots a .243. We only get 1 tag for Whitetail each a year and we have plenty of sausage. I've taken many critters with each gun. And passed up lots when I could not make a safe clean shot. Hit a deer in the front shoulders with anything and you have a mess and a wasted animal. Pick a gun you can shoot well and stay within the limitations (yours and the guns) and make a good shot. It is pointless to shoot something you are going to lose or make a mess of. Just bought a .270 WSM for the boy. Hope to test it out and make sure it shoots good for when he is ready for it. But I know it will be good on deer.... with a well placed shot.
 
stubblejumper said:
A perfect example of poor bullet selection,and poor shot placement.You can do the same thing with a 270win or a 30-06 with the same bullet placement,and a rapidly expanding bullet.I have killed dozens of deer with the 7mm stw with no such problems,but I don't shoot beer through the shoulders.
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So you hunt with a beer canon now? You lucky bastard! :p
 
i shot three muley bucks with a 338wm with various bullets, i sold it ,, if you want to ruin a lot of deer meat, use your 338,, i tryed different bullets, different velocity,, never was happy, i use my 3006,now with 180 hornadys, wade
 
Rick from ATR had pictures of the mulie buck he took with a .50cal. It all depends on how you shoot them. Not many of us have 700 yard shots at a broadside buck, so something in the 6mm, .270, 7mm is likely a better choice.
 
coyne_5 said:
I'll echo what previous posters have stated; it comes down to bullet selection if you are worried about destroying meat. I've shot deer with my 338WM, as well as barrenland caribou, they all collapse onto their shadow and by the time their nervous system recovers from the shock they've bled out - my theory anyway. I haven't had one deer size animal take one step after a 338 has gone through it. All shots have had minimal meat damage, unless you are a fan of ribs.

If you're really concerned about meat damage, don't shoot them in the meat.
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Can't argue that one...........nicely said:)
 
Ive killed a lot of deer with my 338 useing 225g with no meat loss.but like any calibur poor shot placement will cost you even with a bow you will lose meat .like the other fella said i've never lost one either and that means alot to me.
 
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