Opinions 300 win mag vs 338 Fed vs 338 win mag

Brown bear is not my regular diet. But if I starting hunting brown bear and have to pick a new gun, I would pick 338 shooting heavy bullets.

If I am going to a one time brown bear hunt I have no hesitation to take my 300wm. The 200 gr TSX bullets are pretty potent. :D:D:D
 
The 300mag ends where the .338 Mag begins in relation to bullet weigth.It's a simple matter to download a .338 than to hotrod a 300 with heavy bullets.............I own both......................Harold PS a .338 doesn't wreck as much meat as a .270 on deer............
 
mbogo3,

I agree with your comment on meat damage. These days I shoot about everything with 250grn NP's out of my 338. You can eat up to the hole on the deer and the moose in my freezer. My hunting partners 7mm messes up the whole area.
 
This thread got me thinking about the 338 Federal so I loaded some 200 grain Interlock bullets in my 338 WM whipped up a load to push them at around 2400 fps (i know now that the federal is faster than that). Ended up shooting a .7 " 5 shot group. I was pretty impressed with the accuracy and lack of recoil. I may even end up using that load on deer..not that I dont think it couldnt' kill anything else .
 
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.338 Federal....FUGGETABOUTIT. .338-06 all the way. Recoil of an '06 and shoots 200's faster than an '06, 250's faster than a .35 Whelen and is right on the .338 Win Mag's heels in the 210-225 range. Shoots all of them considerably faster than a .338 Federal.
 
a 210 gr TSX will penetrate as deep as a 250 gr Partition, so unless the bear has a calculator handy I doubt he will notice the difference in impact energy. ;)

poster in question has concerns about recoil, the 300 & 338 Mags kick, no doubt about it.
 
.338 Federal....FUGGETABOUTIT. .338-06 all the way. Recoil of an '06 and shoots 200's faster than an '06, 250's faster than a .35 Whelen and is right on the .338 Win Mag's heels in the 210-225 range. Shoots all of them considerably faster than a .338 Federal.
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You sure about that
 
sbtennex said:
.338 Federal....FUGGETABOUTIT. .338-06 all the way. Recoil of an '06 and shoots 200's faster than an '06, 250's faster than a .35 Whelen and is right on the .338 Win Mag's heels in the 210-225 range. Shoots all of them considerably faster than a .338 Federal.
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Well...Not exactly

-The 338-06 kicks more like a 338 than a 30-06.

-Given the same pressure the 35 Whelen will shoot bullet weight for bullet weight faster than the 338-06...Same parent case and a bigger (more efficient) bore.

-The 338-06 is generally around 200fps slower than the 338Win.
 
I like the medium bores, so the .338 Winchester would get my vote. The performance of this cartridge is a nice compromise between the "not quite enough" .338 Federal and the "bit much" big capacity rounds like the .338 Lapua, .338 Ultra, and the .338-.378. Heavy bullet loads from a short barrel give up less velocity than light due to the smaller powder charge and lower initial velocity. But even from a 20" barrel, I'm sure you could get a 210 gr bullet to shoot flat enough, having a trajectory that rivals a 180 gr bullet of similar profile from a .300 Winchester.

If recoil is an issue I agree with the posters who suggest you should choose a cartridge with less powder capacity. I for one dislike muzzle brakes as I am more easily upset by a sharp muzzle blast than by recoil, and mercury recoil dampers in the butt seem to add unnecessary weight.
 
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I do not use my 338 near enough in this province, as there is no need. I do perfer the 338 and based on your use I f my choice would be the 338. my old school thinking is to always in max out the bullet wieghts for the cartridge, so my choice would be a 250 grain Bonded, or Partition bullet. You do not give up as much bullet drop as you would think with heavy bullets. I have tried 225s in the past and makes for a nice bullet between a 210-250 but the 250s are my choice.

The 300 wm is not doubt capable of performing a you wish, but in your areas, I would and I have taken the 338 wih a heavy game bonded 250 grain bullet. I like the Speer Grand slam.
 
I should add even though the 338 fed seems good, I like the 338 wm myself.

some do not like it, as with each and every cartridge out there, BUT! I do not think anyone could say a negative word about this cartridge performance results and what it has done in the world of Big Game Hunting. Its is not Alaskas favorite cartridge for nothing.
 
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todbartell said:
If you're shooting only out to 300 yards, why bother with the magnums? The only exception I would see is a 338 Win Mag for shooting 225 or 250 gr bullets for grizz. Otherwise a 338 Federal with a good bullet like a 185 gr TSX or 210 gr Partition will do in any moose or elk out to 300 yards, with no more recoil than a 270 or 30-06. I love mine (sako 85 338F) 2 thumbs up...now I just need to find a critter to whack with it :rolleyes:

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my favorite load is the 210 gr Triple Shock @ 2625 fps, with a 215 gr Sierra at similar speeds for cheaper practice. If you dont reload, it's not a big deal as Federal makes six different factory loads for it :)
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+1 here, got one in T3 lite, really likes the 200 grain fusion ammo. Smacked a couple deer with it last fall, really happy with it.
 
Given the OPs choices I would go with the 338WM, but I also agree with some posts above. Consider 338-06 or 35 Whelen. My Whelen AI gives very close to 338 Wm performance with 250 gr bullets, is relatively cheap to feed, and with a pachymer decelerator has less felt recoil than my 30-06 shooting 180 gr. bullets.
 
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