- Location
- Vancouver Island BC
For big mulies or whitetails....
.338 mag , is it too much
- Thread starter 303carbine
- Start date
john-brennan
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Vancouver Island B.C.
338
John you use 225 partitions if i'm correct, heart and lung shots why not.
John you use 225 partitions if i'm correct, heart and lung shots why not.
If its all you got, use it....if you can go lighter, I would. I would not go out and buy a 338 for deer specificallyHowever if you do shoot a deer thru the shoulders with it, it tends to cut down your butchering time to about 15 minutes in total.......
You will usually loose less meat with a 338 than you will with a 30 calibre magnum and certainly less than what is normal with a 270.
Just be carefull for other deer standing behind the one you are shooting.
Just be carefull for other deer standing behind the one you are shooting.
gunasauras
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Western Manitoba
I say go for it. Your meat loss will depend on shot placement and bullet design.....it'll definitely stop them dead, without a doubt...
Long as you don't mind getting thumped too, the 338 is excellent. It is admittedly a little overkill for deer though. Better suited to elk and the big bears. Make sure that you get a good scope with lots of eye relief, or you will be sporting some new scars. Wanna see mine?
I prefer a smaller calibre. If you can shoot well you don't need a "magnum" , deer are small animals with thin skin and light bones. IMO I think a 338 is over kill for a moose let alone a deer. I know many people here will argue that you need a "big" gun but you don't. The 338 will drop them but so will a 243 or 25-06. You can never be over-gunned but is there a need to blow them to bits? I think a lot of hunters are ####ty shots so they think bigger is better. To an extent it is, but what a waste of money and ammo, I think it is like the guys that jack their trucks up and brag about thier stuff, "small #### syndrome". Bottom line: shoot what you are accurate with, a bullet to the vitals is a kill shot weather it is 225gr or 100 gr.
- Location
- Vancouver Island BC
338
Yes , I do use the 225 Partition's in the .338 mag on deer and it does make a softball size hole upon exit with less meat damage than the 270. But this year I will try to tip a couple of deer over with something a little smaller like the 7x57 Mountain rifle I got from Pat Brennan
I'm going to try a load that EagleEye recommended. I also talked to the loading tech over at Hodgdon and he said there is no problem raising the data from the anemic book loads to 49 grains of H4350. I will give that a try out then raise it if conditions allow in my rifle.:beerchug:
Yes , I do use the 225 Partition's in the .338 mag on deer and it does make a softball size hole upon exit with less meat damage than the 270. But this year I will try to tip a couple of deer over with something a little smaller like the 7x57 Mountain rifle I got from Pat Brennan
I'm going to try a load that EagleEye recommended. I also talked to the loading tech over at Hodgdon and he said there is no problem raising the data from the anemic book loads to 49 grains of H4350. I will give that a try out then raise it if conditions allow in my rifle.:beerchug:
[QUOTE='Boo]You will usually loose less meat with a 338 than you will with a 30 calibre magnum and certainly less than what is normal with a 270.
Just be carefull for other deer standing behind the one you are shooting.[/QUOTE]
X2, I've killed alot of deer with the 338WinMag over the years and I've found the same thing, you lose less meat than using a 30-06, or 270 etc. Another difference is the deer drop like a sack of hammers, so there's no tracking involved. Good for painting the hillside red, lol. The 225gr. Sp Hornady Interlocks works well, if you use the lighter bullets then you'll get more meat damage due to higher velocity and thinner bullet jackets, like the 210gr. Partition and the 200gr. Hornady, 215gr. Sierra etc.
Just be carefull for other deer standing behind the one you are shooting.
[/QUOTE]X2, I've killed alot of deer with the 338WinMag over the years and I've found the same thing, you lose less meat than using a 30-06, or 270 etc. Another difference is the deer drop like a sack of hammers, so there's no tracking involved. Good for painting the hillside red, lol. The 225gr. Sp Hornady Interlocks works well, if you use the lighter bullets then you'll get more meat damage due to higher velocity and thinner bullet jackets, like the 210gr. Partition and the 200gr. Hornady, 215gr. Sierra etc.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
Use a well constructed bullet, like a partition, or X bullet, and you shouldn't get a lot of damage, unless you hit bone. Better yet, down load it to 30-06 levels.
I've used it, at full power, but made the mistake of using an early version of the Nosler Ballistic tip. I think it was 210 grain. At about 3000fps maybe it was 2900.
Let's just say don't. I didn't rescue much of the front half of the deer.
Same bullet absolutely vaporized a grouse, when I hit it too low, and left nothing but the hide on a coyote..
I've used it, at full power, but made the mistake of using an early version of the Nosler Ballistic tip. I think it was 210 grain. At about 3000fps maybe it was 2900.
Let's just say don't. I didn't rescue much of the front half of the deer.
Same bullet absolutely vaporized a grouse, when I hit it too low, and left nothing but the hide on a coyote..
John Y Cannuck said:
The very early 338 ballistic Tip were fairly frangible. The latest ones however were produced with a very heavy jacket suitable for use on elk and moose. The last deer I shot with one had a Loonie sized entry and a Loonie sized exit on a full broadside lung shot. That deer hit the ground so fast that by the time I brought the rifle down after the recoil the only thing I saw was a cloud of dust rising in the air where the deer had been standing.
My daughter who had been spotting the shot for me said the deer literally fell over on impact.
My hunting partner shot a nice whitetail buck last year with the 210 Nosler Partition.
It worked really well. Shot it broadside, behind the shoulder at about 100 yards, bullet went right through.
Very little meat damage, deer went about 10 yards.
Excellent performance.
He'll be using the same this year.
It worked really well. Shot it broadside, behind the shoulder at about 100 yards, bullet went right through.
Very little meat damage, deer went about 10 yards.
Excellent performance.
He'll be using the same this year.
A man know knows his stuff to be sure - let us know how it performs for you.
303 - if you're worried maybe consider using something like a barnes x - should just plow a hole thru with pretty minor meat damage (compared to any other mag that is).
More gun than is needed, obviously, but i bet it kills 'em
I shot a whitetail last season with my 338 out of my tree stand nice presentable shot behind the shoulder, the 250 gr Hdy IBs made a looney sized wound in and out = 0 meat loss and a quick kill. As I mentioned before on these types of posts I have had more meat damage when speed + lighter bullets are entered into the picture.
303Carbine,
Load up some hard bullets like TSXs and go hunting. You will have less meat damage than most light calibers and frangible bullets.
It's funny how some people automatically think that everyone with a bigger rifle than them is compensating for something. Kinda like the way the heavy rifle crowd thinks the little gun crowd are a bunch of recoil-shy, flinching pussies.
This program only works when you can honestly handle the recoil. Normally that comes with time and experience, and those shooters would do just fine with any weapon.
Dogleg
Load up some hard bullets like TSXs and go hunting. You will have less meat damage than most light calibers and frangible bullets.
It's funny how some people automatically think that everyone with a bigger rifle than them is compensating for something. Kinda like the way the heavy rifle crowd thinks the little gun crowd are a bunch of recoil-shy, flinching pussies.
This program only works when you can honestly handle the recoil. Normally that comes with time and experience, and those shooters would do just fine with any weapon.
Dogleg
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
[QUOTE='Boo]The very early 338 ballistic Tip were fairly frangible. The latest ones however were produced with a very heavy jacket suitable for use on elk and moose. The last deer I shot with one had a Loonie sized entry and a Loonie sized exit on a full broadside lung shot. That deer hit the ground so fast that by the time I brought the rifle down after the recoil the only thing I saw was a cloud of dust rising in the air where the deer had been standing.
My daughter who had been spotting the shot for me said the deer literally fell over on impact.[/QUOTE]
that's why I noted the early version of the BT.
Your results on the whitetail are quite similar to the results I had on a calf moose.
He was on the ground before I recovered from the recoil. So fast in fact, that I was wondering where the hell he went. He just vanished. That was with a 250 grain Sierra Game King.
Exit through the ribs was about two inches. Distance for the shot was twenty one feet. (measured)
Some day I must get another 338WM. The performance is awsome.
Just the rifle I had it in sucked.
My daughter who had been spotting the shot for me said the deer literally fell over on impact.[/QUOTE]
that's why I noted the early version of the BT.
Your results on the whitetail are quite similar to the results I had on a calf moose.
He was on the ground before I recovered from the recoil. So fast in fact, that I was wondering where the hell he went. He just vanished. That was with a 250 grain Sierra Game King.
Exit through the ribs was about two inches. Distance for the shot was twenty one feet. (measured)
Some day I must get another 338WM. The performance is awsome.
Just the rifle I had it in sucked.
