.308 or .338?

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patriot1

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I will be buying a rifle soon mainly for hunting although I do want to do more longer-range shooting too.. I prefer the tactical style over a wooden stock/blued barrel and I already have a .223 so I want one more "big" rifle that I can do anything with. (Not hunting bison or grizzly anytime soon) I have never hunted before.

My .223 is a Savage Axis and I love it so I've narrowed my choices down to a 10 FCP-SR in .308 or a 111 Long range hunter in .338. I've shot a .338 once, can't remember the brand but my buddy said he was $8600 into it. Say I spend a grand or so on a scope and leave the rest of the 111 as is, how much more horrible is the recoil going to be given the much smaller price tag of $1599? Now theoretically, if I were to shoot a small to medium sized deer would it blast a hole the size of a watermelon thus wasting meat? I'm kinda bent on the .338 just 'cuz, but does it really make sense? Or should I stick with a .308?
 
one extreme to another it seems....

a 308 bullet will fly just as far as a 338 bullet, you'll still need to learn where it lands to hit any target at 'long range' distance.. does it matter if you hold 4ft over or 8 ft over? (including Dialed scopes)

Does it matter if you hit the target with 2000ft/lbs of energy or 1200ft/lbs ?



the 338 will use up powder quicker an cost a little more to run for sure. 40gr V 70gr powder


whatever floats ya boat
edit*

I see you are hunting with it... hunting deer.
no bullet really goes in sub inch and comes out a water melon.. the harder the projectile the less its going to 'open up an expand' thus creating huge wounds.. keep it hard an keep it clean
 
Your recoil depends on several factors, bullet weight, bullet speed, gun weight and if you have a muzzle break on it. The recoil doesn't augment with a lower price tag. I'd go with the 308 first so you can get used to moderate recoil and then you can play in the big league with a lapua. Cheers
 
You can always make reduced loads for your 338 WM and work up as you get accustomed to the recoil. Bear in mind that a muzzle brake on a 338 makes the rifle extremely loud and you will feel the concussive force. Not pleasant.
 
Slamfire said:
You can always make reduced loads for your 338 WM and work up as you get accustomed to the recoil. Bear in mind that a muzzle brake on a 338 makes the rifle extremely loud and you will feel the concussive force. Not pleasant.
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Yes there was a muzzle brake on the one I shot. Definitely not pleasant lol
 
I just removed the muzzle brake from my pre-owned 338 WM that was equipped with one. A 338 WM don't kick hard anyhow.

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Wow..... not even sure where to start here.......

-when you talk "quality" and savage axis in the same sentence, you have already soiled the bed.....

-if your buddy has that kind of coin invested in a 338, then he needs his head read... the 338 is a reloaders only cartridge and will give you "decent" long range performance (I bought mine because I love the platform I bought it in)...... but it is far from the long range best choice..

-if you put your shots into the boiler room on deer, I would submit that it doesn't matter whether you use a 243 or a 338 win mag or a 375 H&H.... there is no meat in that bullet path.....

-if you want a long range boomer for the range, get yourself a 300 win mag.......... available ammo, available rifles and likely the best cartridge for guys that don't want to mess with oddballs (as a savage axis owner, I would plant your firmly in this category).....

-if you are just trolling, then that would explain your thread.....
 
If you want the 338 then get it. And if it's for long range...get it.

.338 lapua bullets do in fact FLY farther than .308 win bullets. Whelanlad I can't believe you just said that lol!
.338 bullets are also less affected by atmospheric disturbance due to the very high BC's associated.

There are many other cartridge choices out there that can come close to the .338L and not kill you on component costs.

A 7 REM tikka tactical shooting 180 Berger Hybrids for example
 
Superbrad said:
Wow..... not even sure where to start here.......

-when you talk "quality" and savage axis in the same sentence, you have already soiled the bed.....

-if your buddy has that kind of coin invested in a 338, then he needs his head read... the 338 is a reloaders only cartridge and will give you "decent" long range performance (I bought mine because I love the platform I bought it in)...... but it is far from the long range best choice..

-if you put your shots into the boiler room on deer, I would submit that it doesn't matter whether you use a 243 or a 338 win mag or a 375 H&H.... there is no meat in that bullet path.....

-if you want a long range boomer for the range, get yourself a 300 win mag.......... available ammo, available rifles and likely the best cartridge for guys that don't want to mess with oddballs (as a savage axis owner, I would plant your firmly in this category).....

-if you are just trolling, then that would explain your thread.....
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Why the frigg would I be trolling? One of the reasons I considered a .308 was just that, common calibre and tons of cheaper 7.62x51 available without having to reload. I don't have the space or time to get into re-loading so it's looking more and more like a .308.

Never once even mentioned the word "quality" in my post, I said I loved my Axis .223. Which I do. I'm not experienced or picky enough to tell the difference between that and whatever the all-knowing supreme council (you) deems to be a "quality" firearm.
 
308 is a good hunting round and your not a good enough shot to out perform a 308win. (no offence neither am I) You are going to shoot the 308 10x more for the cost of factory and have a hell of a lot more fun shooting it.. But thats just this A$$ holes opinion and its worth what you paid for it. :)
 
c.t.smith said:
308 is a good hunting round and your not a good enough shot to out perform a 308win. (no offence neither am I) You are going to shoot the 308 10x more for the cost of factory and have a hell of a lot more fun shooting it.. But thats just this A$$ holes opinion and its worth what you paid for it. :)
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No no, that is a good and valid opinion. .223 to .308 is a big jump (with a dirty Mosin in between)
 
Tons of info on 308 from ballistics to reloading. That can be an advantage to a self taught individual if you have or want to learn on your own.

Cheaper $/round, likely easier to sell, great caliber to learn on, suitable to 1000 on target range if you become interested.
 
patriot1 said:
Why the frigg would I be trolling? One of the reasons I considered a .308 was just that, common calibre and tons of cheaper 7.62x51 available without having to reload. I don't have the space or time to get into re-loading so it's looking more and more like a .308.

Never once even mentioned the word "quality" in my post, I said I loved my Axis .223. Which I do. I'm not experienced or picky enough to tell the difference between that and whatever the all-knowing supreme council (you) deems to be a "quality" firearm.
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I am not sure why anyone would be trolling, yet they do....... and you are talking about putting a four figure scope on a low 3 figure rifle...... then you tell us how much you like your axis, so yes, somewhat confusing.......

As I said, get a good quality 300 win mag rifle and put good optics on it and you can't go wrong shooting deer where you are supposed to shoot them.......

Or take up reloading, get yourself a rifle in an oddball caliber that perfectly suits your needs and don't look back........
 
Superbrad said:
I am not sure why anyone would be trolling, yet they do....... and you are talking about putting a four figure scope on a low 3 figure rifle...... then you tell us how much you like your axis, so yes, somewhat confusing.......

As I said, get a good quality 300 win mag rifle and put good optics on it and you can't go wrong shooting deer where you are supposed to shoot them.......

Or take up reloading, get yourself a rifle in an oddball caliber that perfectly suits your needs and don't look back........
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The 338 I was looking at is $1599 at Cabela's. How much should I spend on a scope then? I don't need the best out there but I don't want complete garbage either.

I do not want to reload nor do I want a 300 wm. I prefer a tactical style and I like the 10 round clip on the FCP 10 plus it's a Savage which I am happy with so far.
 
conor_90 said:
Brad the rifle comes in 338 LM not 338 WM...
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Thanks Conor, but the advice still stands........ the op likely doesn't reload (based on the op), loves his axis and is willing to drop a wad on an optic to top a savage rifle because of said axis love..... to get into the long range game.....

then he is wondering if it will be a good deer hunter....

Put aside my disdain for savage rifles, the op is trying to jump from 223 to 338 lapua (thank you)..... while willing to spend a k on a scope for long range makes no sense to me.....
 
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