The 338 Winchester Magnum Overlooked or Overhyped?
- Thread starter Coolhand_Luke
- Start date
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
In North America you could keep any one, and sell any two of the three and have a long, successful and happy hunting life. We wouldn't have much to talk about though.
Funny, I've never found that.
longbranch*
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Victoria,BC.
Owned a few .338's over the years. Great cartridge, but a thumper at both ends so not for everyone. If you can shoot it well then you couldn't find a better medium bore though personally I like my old .35 Whelen and .375. My most recent .338 was a new production Winchester Alaskan which fit me very well and even reasonable off the bench.
Or just keep the 300 as it does everything just as well as the 338, and some things better.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
Impressive with high ballistic coefficient bullets like the 265gr AB LR. Substantially higher energies than the 300 WM. Check out the downrange ballistics based on Nosler reloading data maximum loads: 3000 ft-lbs at 475 yard. 
I picked up a pre-owned 338 WM Ruger Hawkeye that has a factory muzzle brake and it recoils like a 308. On my to-do list to see how good it breaks heavy game shoulder bone.
I picked up a pre-owned 338 WM Ruger Hawkeye that has a factory muzzle brake and it recoils like a 308. On my to-do list to see how good it breaks heavy game shoulder bone.
I have not found this to be the case at all..........the 340 YES.........the 338 a resounding NO !!!!!!
I have found the big 300s to be far superior killers than the 338 WM on all sized game where appropriate. The 30 cal bullets have greater sectional density and better BC per equal weight and they give higher velocity, thus greater energy on target and greater energy downrange. I have hunted 3 different times in my life with three different 338s and I can tell you I have never tracked more game at any other times than when hit with 338s. I have also heard many more stories from guys I know having the same experiences that I did.
Don't get me wrong, I love the caliber, I just hate the cartridge. Take the same 250 gn Partition and add 250 fps and it becomes one of the deadliest calibers ever used on thin skinned game..........you want to see DRT kills, use a 340 Wby and 210 or 250 gn Parts depending on the game.
Of course .30 cals have a better sectional density per bullet weight than a .338, but .338's can carry the heavier weights where the .300 cannot go - ie: 250+ grain bullets. I have used 275 grain Swift A Frames in both the .338WM and the .338RUM and there is no .30 cal that can match that sectional density or bullet weight. Out of the .338RUM, those bullets hit like Thor's hammer. They even worked outstandingly well out of the .338WM on elk.
I don’t have near the experience that some on this thread have, but I agree with you based on the game I have shot, and seen shot with a 338.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
+250 fps? According to Nosler for a 250gr bullet, 340 Wby 2829 fps 26" barrel vs. 338 WM 2780 fps 24" barrel = +49 fps using 20% more powder. Worth it?
300 WM vs. 338 WM: the 265gr AB LR should be a better heavy bone buster compared to the 190gr AB LR because it's 40% heavier and has 20% more cross-sectional area. The skinnier bullet tends to pierce rather than smash through heavy bone.
https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/340-weatherby-magnum/
300 WM vs. 338 WM: the 265gr AB LR should be a better heavy bone buster compared to the 190gr AB LR because it's 40% heavier and has 20% more cross-sectional area. The skinnier bullet tends to pierce rather than smash through heavy bone.
https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/340-weatherby-magnum/
+250 fps? According to Nosler for a 250gr bullet, 340 Wby 2829 fps 26" barrel vs. 338 WM 2780 fps 24" barrel = +49 fps using 20% more powder. Worth it?
300 WM vs. 338 WM: the 265gr AB LR should be a better heavy bone buster compared to the 190gr AB LR because it's 40% heavier and has 20% more cross-sectional area. The skinnier bullet tends to pierce rather than smash through heavy bone.
https://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/340-weatherby-magnum/
Really? I have seen several different bones shot with a .300 WM, and none of them looked "pierced". That kind of comment is up there with the idea that high velocity tends to make bullets penetrate so fast they have no time to expand in the animal and just "pierce" like a solid. Pure hokum.
SF...........Nosler may say 49 fps, but I can tell you, with chronograph data to prove it that there is a 250 fps difference.........338 from 24" and 340 from 26" admitted but still these are the standard barrel lengths per cartridge.
I have attained well over 3100 fps in the 340 with 250 Parts and have yet to be able to exceed 2850 in the 338 with the same bullet..........comparing 3 different 338s with 2 different 340s.........all loads using W-W brass and CCI 250s
I have attained well over 3100 fps in the 340 with 250 Parts and have yet to be able to exceed 2850 in the 338 with the same bullet..........comparing 3 different 338s with 2 different 340s.........all loads using W-W brass and CCI 250s
Most things aswell and some things better...
I don't disagree with the point that you and Dogleg are making... it was just looking at the .338 WM under different light.
With any one of the three a kill is a kill, a wound is a wound and a miss is a miss... but overthinking, postulating and expounding "ad nauseam" is kinda what we do...
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Completely disagree.
If you do some research the 338 very much outshines the 300 in a few areas.
I have first hand experience with the two , my dad started using a 300 after retireing his 30-06.
His 30-06 has killed 40+ moose so this whole conversation is kind of silly anyways.
But the 338 does have a higher tko and it is a harder hitter. I'm pretty sure you won't find any grizzly or brown bear hunters that would trade you their 338 for a 300
Wanna bet?
I've killed grizzlies with both .300 and .338 Win, moose with both, and buffalo the size of 4 grizzlies with the .300s. That's not to say that there's much wrong with the .338 Win , it's just that I haven't found anything so special about it either.OP. You asked "Is it still the top choice as a hard hitting big game hunting cartridge for elk/moose and bears ". Well I can't say that it is "THE" choice but it is certainly a top choice.
Below are some wound results on a mature 48" Bull Moose taken at 194 Meters. 338WinMag, 225 gr SWIFT A-Frame bullets . I like double lung shots so he was punched just behind the front shoulder. He was dead but just had not realized that yet so he walked another 10 Meters and I punched him a second time. DRT.
You can see the 2 entry wounds on consecutive ribs are about 3.5-4" in diameter. The exit wounds, 5 ribs apart are 2-2.5" in diameter. Absolutely devastating wound channels.
There are many calibre choices upto the individual, but no reason to ever shy away from the .338 WinMag.
Below are some wound results on a mature 48" Bull Moose taken at 194 Meters. 338WinMag, 225 gr SWIFT A-Frame bullets . I like double lung shots so he was punched just behind the front shoulder. He was dead but just had not realized that yet so he walked another 10 Meters and I punched him a second time. DRT.
You can see the 2 entry wounds on consecutive ribs are about 3.5-4" in diameter. The exit wounds, 5 ribs apart are 2-2.5" in diameter. Absolutely devastating wound channels.
There are many calibre choices upto the individual, but no reason to ever shy away from the .338 WinMag.
