Why a .338 WM in Africa?

[dogcat1]

Why would anyone use a .338 WM in Africa???
Favorites are .375 HH and .300 WM or 7mm REM.
Convince me I need one!

 

[JimP]

Why not?

On both of my safaries I used a 340 Weatherby and know a number of other hunters who use various. 338's

 

[CZDiesel]

Hey DC! Easy, first the 338WinMag is one of Winchesters Holy Trinity! The 264, 338, and 458 have all gone on to be iconic cartridges that to this day are really not surpassed…
Second among the three cartridges that you listed it hits as hard as a 375 H&H and shoots as flat as the 7mm or 300!
So you have a cartridge that, if loaded with the right round, even if taken for PG can also be very useful if you stumble on DG

 

[Tundra Tiger]

"It has proven so effective and so versatile that it has been the only rifle I have taken on several safaris."

"... the .338 WM would probably be my caliber of choice if I were limited to hunting with one rifle."

Jim Carmichel, Nosler Reloading Guide Number Four

 

[Northern Shooter]

I’ve heard PHs say it’s one of their favourite cartridges for the largest of plains game. Hits with more authority than 30cal, manageable recoil.

 

[Scott CWO]

Love my .338 WM with 225 grain Swift A-Frame bullets for PG, crocs, elk, any bear on earth, moose, etc…. If you grew up shooting a 30-06, it’s about the same trajectory but with more authority. I’ve found it to be an inherently accurate round as well.

 

[Green Chile]

Love my .338 WM with 225 grain Swift A-Frame bullets for PG, crocs, elk, any bear on earth, moose, etc…. If you grew up shooting a 30-06, it’s about the same trajectory but with more authority. I’ve found it to be an inherently accurate round as well.

Very true. I use my 338 very little but it's just because I like trying other things not because there is anything wrong with it. I could easily sell 1/2 dozen other guns and just use the 338.

 

[ftrovato]

Why would anyone use a .338 WM in Africa???
Favorites are .375 HH and .300 WM or 7mm REM.
Convince me I need one!

I love my 340 WM. But honestly, if I had a 375 H&H I'd just take that.

300 or 7MM compared to a .338? Please!!!
That would be like showing up to a gun fight with a knife!

;-)

 

[Mark R]

338WM is a great pg rifle. My first safari in 2009 I took it to hunt everything from impala to eland including sable and kudu. I never got my eland but that wasn’t a calibre/cartridge issue……

 

[Hunt anything]

I’ve had a couple of PH’s tell me I could shoot a buffalo with my .338 WM with quality 250gr ammo. That reason enough for me.

 

[CZDiesel]

I’ve had a couple of PH’s tell me I could shoot a buffalo with my .338 WM with quality 250gr ammo. That reason enough for me.

@RayAtkinson I believe has taken multiple Cape Buffalo with the 338WinMag… Woodleigh used to load a 300gr for it with 375 H&H velocities! I’m sure that it would have made a serious impression on Buff

 

[Houston Bill]

I am taking my 338 WinMag for Bongo this year. Great caliber for plaines game and my rifle is very accurate.

 

[Hunt anything]

I am taking my 338 WinMag for Bongo this year. Great caliber for plaines game and my rifle is very accurate.

Good luck on you bongo hunt! Can’t wait to hear about it. Be careful though, you may have to stretch the barrel on that thing to at least 10 yards!!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Why would anyone use a .338 WM in Africa???
Favorites are .375 HH and .300 WM or 7mm REM.
Convince me I need one!

@dogcat1
NO-ONE NEEDS A 338wun mag.
Everybody needs a 35 Whelen tho.
The 338 is nothing but a bitch slapping noise making, flame throwing over rated cartridge.

The Whelen on the other hand is a mid mannered tower of power that will do everything the 338 will without all the bucking, belching and roaring ( and that's only from the hunter when he pulls the trigger on the 338)
The Whelen will do everything the 338 will out to 400 plus yards. It does it quietly ,efficiently without fuss or bother.

So see you don't need a 338 wimpchester mag nun.
Bob

 

[Rimshot]

NO-ONE NEEDS A 338wun mag.
Everybody needs a 35 Whelen tho.
The 338 is nothing but a bitch slapping noise making, flame throwing over rated cartridge.

Whoa Bob!
I think you're being a bit unfair to the unfortunately named 338. It is a "magnum" in name only, with case capacity more or less the same as my beloved queen 9.3x74R - with a bit more pressure, and a 33 instead of 36 caliber bullet. The ratio of powder to bore diameter doesn't put it in the "overbore" category of other magnums crammed full of Ramshot Magnum or Retumbo that torch barrel throats in a few hundred shots. The 338 does it's best work with medium-slow H4350 family, or RL 16-17-19 series. My favorite powder in the 6.5 Swede (H1000) is even too slow for the 338 "magnum"! Perhaps it should be renamed the "8.5 Creedmoor".

The 338 is an efficient, versatile cartridge. Even today it fills a wide gap between the 30s and 37s. There is a much broader selection of bullets available for the 33, including highly aerodynamic hunting bullets that don't exist in the 35 or 37. Maybe you're on a trip to the western US for pronghorn or mule deer (the need for a 400+ yard shot not uncommon), then hunting Elk in a grizzly bear area - the 338 has you covered for all! Of course a 30 would work, but the 33 is a step up in "thump", similar to a 30 compared to 270. A 37 has even more thump, but suffers from comparitively blunt bullets that come with more wind deflection. No fault of the other cartidges, it just seems bullet makers are not interested or seeing demand for more advanced 35, 36 or 37 caliber hunting bullets.

 

[Northern Shooter]

I’ve had a couple of PH’s tell me I could shoot a buffalo with my .338 WM with quality 250gr ammo. That reason enough for me.

Which countries allow that?

 

[Northern Shooter]

@RayAtkinson I believe has taken multiple Cape Buffalo with the 338WinMag… Woodleigh used to load a 300gr for it with 375 H&H velocities! I’m sure that it would have made a serious impression on Buff

Too bad it now looks like 250gr is the top end of factory ammo for the 338WM.

A 300gr would have great S.D.

 

[BeeMaa]

Which countries allow that?

Legal and allowed are not the same. Sometimes the lines get blurred, especially when money is involved. If the PH knows the client very well, is confident in their shooting and they are using something like a 338WM or 35W...I'm sure exceptions are made in the heat of the moment.

 

[YancyW]

I think the 375H&H makes more sense, but there is zero issue with 338wm. I have a costly habit of buying Dakota 76s in 338, so I have a few at this point. A couple of them have been to Africa and preformed well, as you would expect.

The 225gr accobond is super accurate in all my rifles, and you can push plenty fast. H4350 or R19 will get you over 2900fps, which is more than enough for anyting I would use it for.


Not to get @Bob Nelson 35Whelen too exercised on a Saturday morning, but the 35 Whelen will also get a 225gr accubond to 2900fps with CFE223 and Reloader 15.

 

[Philip Glass]

Why would anyone use a .338 WM in Africa???
Favorites are .375 HH and .300 WM or 7mm REM.
Convince me I need one!

That is a great gun for AK but for Africa it just makes more sense to go right to .375.