i need a new BIG bang stick.
- Thread starter whitetailwoodsarcher
- Start date
The 338 win mag is a good cartridge and if you are a little worried about recoil then I suggest you go no larger . It will take deer to moose and bear with a reasonable bullet choice available .it has good velocity without getting into screaming ballistics ie:338 ultra mag or .375 ultra mag witch also mean heavier recoil and noise muzzle blast etc.
Everything. The 250gr Partition at 2650-2700 fps just plows through game. I am going to shoot a Sitka Blacktail (100-150lbs) with mine this fall and post the pictures.
It is the high velocity cartiridges with fragile bullets that tend to make a huge mess.
Recoil in a lightweight rifle will get your attention, especially if you haven't shot anything larger than a .308 Winchester. It is, imo, quite manageable, especially with a good recoil pad like a limbsaver, kick-ez or decelerator. I started off (medium bores) with a .338 Win Mag, then went to a .416 RM, then a couple of .375 H&H's and now back full circle to the .338 Win Mag.
Sask_Hunter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan
Are you looking for a grizzly/moose/mountain hunting rifle or a grizzly stopping rife?
What's the deal with iron sites? A good scope in solid mounts shouldnt have a problem
What's the deal with iron sites? A good scope in solid mounts shouldnt have a problem
whitetailwoodsarcher
CGN Regular
well im going to be moose/caribou hunting. i use my 308 for that. But i am going up into grizzly country in the future and would rather not run into a pissed, hungry grizzly carrying my 308. i want something thats gona get the job done if the bear decideds to charge. i want irons because i like to have backup sights. my grandpa traveled way down south and when he got to his hunting destination he found out that his scope was broken. so he traved several hours to hunt with no sight. lol
I own a 35Whelen, and a 300WSM, among others but for the comparision...
The whelen will put big animals down pretty good but it definatley is no Magnum, my cousin was shooting a 325WSM, them loaded heavy an hot (win sup fact) an that is a Big Game, Big Bang Big Boomer of a stick... not my cup of tea.
Anything over the 8mms thats fast, will most likely be very deadly on big game out to 400Yards
The whelen will put big animals down pretty good but it definatley is no Magnum, my cousin was shooting a 325WSM, them loaded heavy an hot (win sup fact) an that is a Big Game, Big Bang Big Boomer of a stick... not my cup of tea.
Anything over the 8mms thats fast, will most likely be very deadly on big game out to 400Yards
I vote for the .338. Bought my M70 sporter last october, the supergrade was sold the day before. No regrets, love the gun. Will get my first chance to shoot something with it this fall, so I cannot speak to how much of a mess it will make of a Doe. Found a load that works (group at 100meters). I was concerned about engergy at only 2473fps, until i checked out the Hornady HITS calculator and saw that they recommend it for dangerous game to around 400 yrds. That will do me just fine.
pisces-guy
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- West Kelowna, B.C.
.338 WM is where it's at, easy to find ammo and it's not a fortune...and it's solid medicine for grizz and will put down any game quickly and efficiently. Limbsaver
recoil pad would be a good idea. A bud has one in northern BC and he's recoil
sensitive, so he got it in a Browning BAR with the Limbsaver, and it recoils like a
30.06...without one of those nasty muzzle brakes!
recoil pad would be a good idea. A bud has one in northern BC and he's recoil
sensitive, so he got it in a Browning BAR with the Limbsaver, and it recoils like a
30.06...without one of those nasty muzzle brakes!
No problem with deer sized game, with the sturdier bullets. The recoil is comparable to a .300 Win with the lighter end of the bullet range, and with the heavier bullets I've found it to kick a bit more than a .375.
You may want to shoot someones else's a few times, recoil is roughly double your .308 on paper but feels like more.
.338 Win is a beast, I have huge confidence in it's abilities to drop big, mean animals. Love it.
.375 H&H is a great choice as well, kicks a bit harder and the ammo costs more. Requires a longer action.
They both shoot big heavy bullets at reasonable velocities - neither will make a huge mess out of a little deer, they'll just mushroom and push on through.
.375 H&H is a great choice as well, kicks a bit harder and the ammo costs more. Requires a longer action.
They both shoot big heavy bullets at reasonable velocities - neither will make a huge mess out of a little deer, they'll just mushroom and push on through.
Sask_Hunter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Saskatchewan
Your best bet is your 308. I have spent 3-5 months a year for the last 6 years and in grizzly country and have never had a bad encounter with a G-bear. You have a better chance at shooting a B&C moose and caribou than having a run in with a G-bear.
If I was guiding you on this hunt I would rather you show up with your little 308 that you can punch the lung/heart out of a caribou/moose at 300yards that a big boomer that you can't shoot. Moose are very easy to kill if you hit them right. A Barnes/nosler/swift/hornady in the chest and you moose will be stone dead.
Top it with a leupold of proper size and in some solid mounts and life will be great.
What outfitter are you hunting with or is it an accompany hunt?
BC Bigbore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- BC's Peace Country
The Ruger .338Mag I had was more than a match for anything on this continent. With the decelerator pad I installed, it was a pussycat from the bench, great in a saddle scabbard or on a quad, but too heavy to lug around all day. I finally sold it and had a Model 70 Featherweight .338-06 built. Still more than enough poop for anything that walks this side of the water, but with very low recoil and only 7 1/2lbs scoped & loaded. Get into handloading and you won't give a sh!t about ammo cost or availability 
I have a Tikka T3 "Hunter" in 338 Win Mag. I can drive a 210 Partition or Scirocco to just about 3000 fps, and a 250 to 2700.
Definitely real Grizzly medicine, should you need it.
I put a Limbsaver on it, and recoil, while stout, is quite manageable.
This unit, with a Leupold 6x42 on top, is less than 8 lbs.
It also shoots quite well.
Highly recommend this chambering.
You have many good choices in rifles so chambered.
Regards, Eagleye.
Definitely real Grizzly medicine, should you need it.
I put a Limbsaver on it, and recoil, while stout, is quite manageable.
This unit, with a Leupold 6x42 on top, is less than 8 lbs.
It also shoots quite well.
Highly recommend this chambering.
You have many good choices in rifles so chambered.
Regards, Eagleye.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
A .308 will kill a grizzly, so will a .30/06 and a .300 magnum. A .338 will kill a grizzly, a .375 will kill a grizzly, and so will any of the over .40 club. Choose a good bullet, make a good shot, and call the taxidermist.
Well put, a smaller gun/cartridge combo that you can shoot well is far more effective than a boomer that you are scared of. A bit more power is always nice, but useless if you can't control it.
Last note, depending where you hunt, having a "standard" caliber gun in the inventory is not a bad thing. Met a hunter a few years back who flew in from the US with a very nice custom rifle in a wildcat chambering. Problem was, his ammo took the wrong flight and left him at his transfer/pick up point with a nice empty gun. He wound up using the camp '06. (Or, if your hunting partner decides to answer the call of nature, and inadvertantly drops all of her 7-08 ammo into a snowbank in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere, SK, and only realizes this an hour later.........try finding that one! "You lookin' for what?!?")
While I have a sweetheart of a custom 350 rem mag that shoots absolutely wonderful, a 308 always joins my hunting party, just in case.
You can find that stuff anywhere!
