300 vs 308 vs 338?

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Tikka_SV

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I'm looking to buy myself a new long range toy and I'm having a little trouble choosing the caliber. I want the gun for hunting but also for reaching out there at those long ranges. I have some experience shooting my 308 at long ranges with good success but I'm not too familiar with the other calibers I mentioned. I am also open to other calibers as well but nothing under the 30 cal size please. I've already got a 223, a 243 and a 270 for the smaller stuff.
Also with your suggested caliber, what model gun would you pick to have it in? My budget is about $1300-1400 without optics (I've already budgetted for optics seperately). Should I go for something relatively cheap like a Rem 700P and use the extra cash for another toy? Should I check out the website of he who shall not be named in Alberta and buy some toy from him? Maybe get the cheapest Rem 700 I can find (used maybe?) and slap it in an AICS chassis? Help me!!
 
^ thwe above mentioned poster is one of the more wise wizards in this field. but i will put my personal opinion in as well.

i have used and owned .308 and .300WM but not a 338, i prefer the .300wm its a tad more pricy to feed then the .308 but i like the feel of the *whuump* the .338 i have been told is really pricy to feed.

as for rifles themselves i am a savage junkie, simply put you can buy a savage heavy barrel for 50-75% less then a remington heavy barrel and get the exact same preformance, with the added ability to have a switch barrel rifle needing only hand tools and headspace gauges to swap. this leaves you with some extra $$$ for adding to your glass budget
 
A camera is only as good as its lens. A rifle is only as good as its barrel. All the window dressing in the world will not take an average factory gun and turn it into a .1 MOA tack driver.

Maybe condsider taking your 308 and having it re-barrelled with a top-notch custom barrel, and having your existing action trued, the trigger tuned/replaced and the stock bedded?
It will place you well below the cost of investing in another factory gun and it will certainly outperform one.

Mick McPhee is a Candian gunsmith and and barrel-maker that makes some of the best 30 cal barrels in the world. If you sent that gun to him, he would build a rifle that would be a force to be reckoned with at 1000 yards - assuming you re-load and can shoot well.
 
The joy of a Savage action is that you can change bolt heads. I have a handful or 308, 223 and mag bolt heads for my Savages (no - not for sale).

For target shooting I would go with 30 cal becasue of cheaper bullets.

For hunting, the 338 is sweet (for real big game).
 
I have begun with .308 for hunting, not powerful enough, sold the very next day hunting season close. built a .300WM on remmy action, still have it after 11 year, now i have a .338 lapua, will sold my .300wm, nothing will change my ming, shoot well VERY far and should be OK for moose hunting too
The ONLY down side ou the lapua, EXPENSIVE to feed but un reload, not very much more than my 300WM

Sendero
 
Watched a fellow shooting at 900 meters with a 7mmwsm last summer at Conaught Ranges perfect score nearly every time he shot some cartridge. I had one made up by Hart Rifles in a light hunter, 140gr at 3275 fps pretty awsome on game. take a look at this articale on the 7mmwsm,
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek064.html
 
Hi

Pushing great big bullets at very high speeds can be punishing. Velocity is not everything at long range, but it's a good thing to have. The downside is that you get into cartridges that burn the barrel pretty fast. Are you interested in a rifle that runs through barrels in < 1,000 rounds? If so there are a lot of options.

Bob
 
I love my 308 Win. Wouldn't change a thing out to 600yards. Some guys love them out to 1000. I think those big guns tend to knock the heck out of a guy.
 
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