.338 win mag for deer
- Thread starter freezer filler
- Start date
Agree 100%
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 deer through the shoulders.[/QUOTEThere is your answer.
ITS the projectile,NOT the calibre that does the damage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My son shot a yearling a few years back with a 300 RUM. Don't remember the bullet he used,but the weirdest thing happened. He got it through the chest and didn't damage any meat, but he completely drained it of blood. There was blood sprayed for about 50 feet around. When we hung the deer up for the night, the next morning,there was about 1/2 cup of blood that had drained from the carcass.
Target the velocity to be somewhere between 2500-3000 fps so depending on cartridge pick the bullet wt to get you there. Then pick a tougher bullet like a partition, tsx, a-frame, etc and you'll get little meat damage, especially near the lower end of the velocity spectrum.
I've shot two deer with my .338WM using 225gr. Interbonds with minimal meat damage. That was because my go-to deer gun wasn't sighted in to my satisfaction. Then once, I shot a WT doe with my .375 H&H using Speer Bonded Core bullets with a significantly reduced load, again minimun meat damage. Last year, shot a WT doe with my .270WSM using Nosler BT's I think they were 130gr. That .270 launching those POS BT's which were way too fast required 3 shots, yes 3....to put down a little doe. I darned near quit hunting as a result. Trust me friend, it ain't about bullet diameter, it's all about construction of your bullet choice, velocity and placement. Although all three shots of the BT's were in the boiler room.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
Just wondering here about these VERY close shots that everyone is taking. Not knocking using a .338 but why is that needed at such close distances?? I guess if you weren't expecting them to be that close.
I like to hunt clear cuts and have my rifle and load set up to take shots out to 500m but sometimes I trip into dear between cuts in the trees. This year it just worked out that all my shots where close range, if I had seen a deer at 300+m I would have needed the 338 and it doesn't hurt in close.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
It's more about gearing up for the biggest, baddest, biteyest, farthest, worst anglest, then takeing the small, close, and broadside shots when they come up.
Then there's the matter of getting some field experience on a bigger gun. Many of the small gun crowd are quick to jump on the guy who shows up with a new magnum on a big game hunt, and just as quick to critisise him for putting some miles on it on deer first. Should he drag it behind the truck for awhile to satisfy the beat-to-crap = experience crowd too? Maybe I'm too sensitive, but that might come from being the guy that is constantly showing up with a new looking magnum that already has more shots through it in a couple months than the average critic will shoot in his life.
I should put is the disclaimer that my .338 on deer experience isn't with a Win mag, though I'll probably use mine one of these days because I like my Kimber so much. I have used the .338 Edge quite a bit, and that particular rifle/cartridge/bullet combo is all about long shots.That and clobbering said long range deer. Spotting your own hits is easier when they cave right in.
Bullet placement is pretty important too.... try to aviod shoulder shot if possible.
Moose Masher
CGN Regular
- Location
- Oak Hammok Manitoba
Bingo!
I prefer to experience things for myself when I can, rather than rely on...
"I read somewhere that...", or " a friend of a friend said..."
I've shot many deer with a 375 H&H, they dropped on the spot. SOme that I've shot with .303, .308, .30-06, 30-30 ran up to 50 yards. Last year I shot a buck thru the heart with my 7mm-08, the deer made it about 20 yards and piled up. The heart came out in 3 pieces. This year I shot 3 deer with the same gun and only found 1. I truly believe bigger is better and I will hunt with a .338 from now on. Savage of course.
And here I tought that my 7mm mauser was just the ticket. Ive been using a ruger no 1 in that caliber and deers just dropped dead. guss they didn't know they were supposed to run like hell afterwards. And meat damage is a minimum
By the way if you're shooting deer in the next county, why don't you just move the blind in that county...
By the way if you're shooting deer in the next county, why don't you just move the blind in that county...
Blind? We don't need no stinkin' blinds.
We do use salted bullets so the meat doesn't spoil while we're walking to it.
