Still worth buying a 338 WinMag if I own a 375?

[Northern Shooter]

Here in Aus a 338 win loaded with a good 300 gr solid will break both shoulders on the biggest buff. Don’t see why it wouldn’t do the same in Africa

Who still still produces a 300 grain 338 WM load today? Or is that exclusive to reloaders?

 

[K95]

Who still still produces a 300 grain 338 WM load today? Or is that exclusive to reloaders?

Yes that a reload with 300 gr Nosler solids. Don’t know if there is a factor 300 gr load. A 250 Barnes or a 275 gr A Swift would probably do the same.

 

[Capebuffalo]

Who still still produces a 300 grain 338 WM load today? Or is that exclusive to reloaders?

Woodleigh's from Australia makes .338 bullets, 200, 225, 250 and 300 grain. (Round nose, protected points and solids). There are rep's all over the globe that you can order it from.

 

[double rifle newbie]

What kind of ranges would you be comfortable taking on Moose/Elk with the 338?

I dropped the Caribou in the brooks range with my 338 WinMag at 470 yards on the rangefinder. help yourself out by getting a good quality scope. my 338 has a zeiss 3 1/2 x 15 x 42 on it. The 338 is effective way past 470 but thats the longest shot ive taken. its a fantastic caliber.

 

[HankBuck]

I've lately been drawn to the 338WM as a more long range option for taking elk-sized game. I already own a 375H&H, is the 338WM unique enough to own as well?

it looks like the 375 produces about 10% more muzzle energy and while a flat shooter, is outperformed by the 338s higher BCs the further you reach out.

would you pick up a rifle in 338WM if you currently owned a 375?

Northern, wow — did You just open a can of Magnum worms ! Fans of the .300wm and 338wm are certainly going to say “Yes” get the .338 and accurately quote you the ballistics to support their opinion. No doubt the ..338wm is a fine caliber and much better then the .300wm - at least it does “something” significantly better then a .30-06 to justify its room in your gunsafe. I don’t own one but did consider one years ago - for a Griz hunt Alaska. Although I knew my .30-06 was enough I thought it was a good excuse to go “bigger”, eventually went with a .375 H&H and felt i really got my monies worth. I don’t have anything “inbetween” my ‘06 and .375 because I don’t feel the need or see any real “hunting” benefit — there is a ballistic advantage — but for me it won’t make any difference in a hunting situation. Others will disagree and even my Alaska Guide carried a .338wm as his back up rifle and he killed many Griz with it — I only killed one with my .375 H&H — but it was very dead. I would certainly own a .338wm before a .300wm - I don’t need a pumped up .30 cal that kicks like a mule but kills no better then a .308 or .06....at least the .338wm is a real step up from a .308/.30-06. That’s just my very “traditional and slightly biased take”.
The .338 is definately a fine caliber and capable of anything the .375 H&H is, shoots a bit flatter, and I’m sure it’s taken a few Elephant & buffalo too (maybe not legally). Since Bullet-Placement & bullet-construction is 99% of the game....I don’t sweat the other details too much.

 

[HankBuck]

I dropped the Caribou in the brooks range with my 338 WinMag at 470 yards on the rangefinder. help yourself out by getting a good quality scope. my 338 has a zeiss 3 1/2 x 15 x 42 on it. The 338 is effective way past 470 but thats the longest shot ive taken. its a fantastic caliber.

DoubleRifleNewbie,470 yrds is a nice shot (on anything)! Using a .338wm on Caribou is like a Bazooka on deer - anything knocks down a Caribou..according to my Guide in Quebec “they are the absolute sissy’s of the hoofed animals - the sound kills them”. At least that was true for the Leaf River & George River herds in 1999-2000. I used a .270 and felt over gunned, 2nd trip used .243 and great results (once at 400 yrds.) they all “drop” as soon as hit, Guide said their central nervous system seems very sensitive, I’ve only seen 7 killed but all dropped at the shot, not as tough as a deer - based on my limited observation. Too bad the season is closed on the Quebec herds - that was a fun hunt, high success rate and unique part to the World....the meat was also excellent and as good as any game I’ve eaten.

 

[double rifle newbie]

DoubleRifleNewbie,470 yrds is a nice shot (on anything)! Using a .338wm on Caribou is like a Bazooka on deer - anything knocks down a Caribou..according to my Guide in Quebec “they are the absolute sissy’s of the hoofed animals - the sound kills them”. At least that was true for the Leaf River & George River herds in 1999-2000. I used a .270 and felt over gunned, 2nd trip used .243 and great results (once at 400 yrds.) they all “drop” as soon as hit, Guide said their central nervous system seems very sensitive, I’ve only seen 7 killed but all dropped at the shot, not as tough as a deer - based on my limited observation. Too bad the season is closed on the Quebec herds - that was a fun hunt, high success rate and unique part to the World....the meat was also excellent and as good as any game I’ve eaten.

True about caribou. They flop over pretty easy.

 

[WAB]

Is this string really about whether the OP should buy another rifle?? On AH, the greatest group of enablers on the planet?

 

[Northern Shooter]

I dropped the Caribou in the brooks range with my 338 WinMag at 470 yards on the rangefinder. help yourself out by getting a good quality scope. my 338 has a zeiss 3 1/2 x 15 x 42 on it. The 338 is effective way past 470 but thats the longest shot ive taken. its a fantastic caliber.

That will be my second task, finding an appropriate scope for the mountain terrain and distances I'll be hunting in..in terms of magnification I was thinking of something in the 3-15x or 3-18x range.

My only current long range offering is a 6-24x and I would hate to hunt with it given the limitations on the low end.

I've been looking into Leupold scopes but I'll give Zeiss a look as well.

 

[Northern Shooter]

Northern, wow — did You just open a can of Magnum worms ! Fans of the .300wm and 338wm are certainly going to say “Yes” get the .338 and accurately quote you the ballistics to support their opinion. No doubt the ..338wm is a fine caliber and much better then the .300wm - at least it does “something” significantly better then a .30-06 to justify its room in your gunsafe. I don’t own one but did consider one years ago - for a Griz hunt Alaska. Although I knew my .30-06 was enough I thought it was a good excuse to go “bigger”, eventually went with a .375 H&H and felt i really got my monies worth. I don’t have anything “inbetween” my ‘06 and .375 because I don’t feel the need or see any real “hunting” benefit — there is a ballistic advantage — but for me it won’t make any difference in a hunting situation. Others will disagree and even my Alaska Guide carried a .338wm as his back up rifle and he killed many Griz with it — I only killed one with my .375 H&H — but it was very dead. I would certainly own a .338wm before a .300wm - I don’t need a pumped up .30 cal that kicks like a mule but kills no better then a .308 or .06....at least the .338wm is a real step up from a .308/.30-06. That’s just my very “traditional and slightly biased take”.
The .338 is definately a fine caliber and capable of anything the .375 H&H is, shoots a bit flatter, and I’m sure it’s taken a few Elephant & buffalo too (maybe not legally). Since Bullet-Placement & bullet-construction is 99% of the game....I don’t sweat the other details too much.

Update to this thread: I bought a 338 WinMag about a week ago. Went with a Ruger as I wanted the Stainless barrel and laminate stock for hunting out west.


Now the fun begins.

 

[Houston Bill]

Good luck with your 338 WM purchase. I am sure you will love the rifle and the caliber.

 

[JimP]

That will be my second task, finding an appropriate scope for the mountain terrain and distances I'll be hunting in..in terms of magnification I was thinking of something in the 3-15x or 3-18x range.

My only current long range offering is a 6-24x and I would hate to hunt with it given the limitations on the low end.

I've been looking into Leupold scopes but I'll give Zeiss a look as well.

On my .340 Weatherby I have a 3.5-10x40 Leopold and find that scope quite adequate for mountain hunting. You can crank it down far enough for close in shooting and the higher magnification is good for those cross canyon shots.

Other than that I have a 4.5-14x40 for my long range antelope rifle.

 

[Northern Shooter]

On my .340 Weatherby I have a 3.5-10x40 Leopold and find that scope quite adequate for mountain hunting. You can crank it down far enough for close in shooting and the higher magnification is good for those cross canyon shots.

Other than that I have a 4.5-14x40 for my long range antelope rifle.

How far would you feel comfortable reaching out with those magnifications while hunting? I'm hoping for something I can hunt with out to 600m.

 

[double rifle newbie]

That will be my second task, finding an appropriate scope for the mountain terrain and distances I'll be hunting in..in terms of magnification I was thinking of something in the 3-15x or 3-18x range.

My only current long range offering is a 6-24x and I would hate to hunt with it given the limitations on the low end.

I've been looking into Leupold scopes but I'll give Zeiss a look as well.

you cant go wrong with either Leupold or Zeiss. These are the 2 brands I have on all my scoped rifles. I agree with you that the 6 power minimum is just too high for hunting. happy hunting!

 

[JimP]

How far would you feel comfortable reaching out with those magnifications while hunting? I'm hoping for something I can hunt with out to 600m.

I have no problem out to 500 yards and a ways beyond. But the longer shots need to be considered as far as what the environment is doing at the time.

My first kudu was at 479 yards.

I had a person using my .340 on a elk hunt one year and we had a wounded bull at 600 yards in some real thick brush where they was no possible way to get closer. It was either shoot now or risk loosing him. When he looked through his binoculars and then my scope he pulled the trigger and remarked that he could see the bull better in the scope than he could through his binoculars.

We got the elk.

 

[Capebuffalo]

How far would you feel comfortable reaching out with those magnifications while hunting? I'm hoping for something I can hunt with out to 600m.

Hope this helps:

Scope Magnification by Distance Chart​

Range in Yards	Range in Meters	Scope Magnification (Large Targets)	Scope Magnification (Small Targets)
50	45.7	1x–4x	4x–6x
100	91.4	4x–6x	6x–9x
300	274.3	6x–9x	9x–12x
500	457.2	9x–12x	12x–15x
600	548.6	12x–14x	15x–18x
1000	914.4	14x–18x	18x–25x

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

you cant go wrong with either Leupold or Zeiss. These are the 2 brands I have on all my scoped rifles. I agree with you that the 6 power minimum is just too high for hunting. happy hunting!

@double rifle newbie
Noting wrong with a nice meopta 3.5 to 10 with a bdc reticle
Or a meopta optica 5 in 2 to 10 or 3 to 15.
Excellent scopes in my opinion for what it's worth.
Bob

 

[Northern Shooter]

Hope this helps:

Scope Magnification by Distance Chart​

Range in Yards	Range in Meters	Scope Magnification (Large Targets)	Scope Magnification (Small Targets)
50	45.7	1x–4x	4x–6x
100	91.4	4x–6x	6x–9x
300	274.3	6x–9x	9x–12x
500	457.2	9x–12x	12x–15x
600	548.6	12x–14x	15x–18x
1000	914.4	14x–18x	18x–25x

Looks like i'm in the right ballpark then looking for something with a 15x or 18x on the top end for these ranges.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Update to this thread: I bought a 338 WinMag about a week ago. Went with a Ruger as I wanted the Stainless barrel and laminate stock for hunting out west.


Now the fun begins.

Excellent choice! How about sharing a photo or two.

 

[Manny R]

I have a Left handed Dakota 338 Win Mag in Beautiful Condition including the wood. It shoots great with a serial # 100. If anyone interested please contact me for pictures.