Why I do not miss my .338 Win Mag

[mauser284]

Ok I really loved my 338 Win Mag which was a Winchester Pre 64 Model 70. Nothing at all wrong with the .338 Win Mag.

So I sold it and all of my rifles except for 3 old tired Mausers, Ruger 10/22 and a signle shot shotgun and everything else I owned to try to keep my home when I was downsized from major automotive corporation around the time the housing bubble burst as well!

I was forced to do more with less. So I had to use 8x57 Mauser and really use my reloading skills and better modern bullets. It opened my eye’s. Gone were the old under powered 150gr. and 170gr. Remington Cor-Lokts and in were hard hitting 170, 196gr, 200gr. hot hand loads.

Then I got a 30-06 and based on what I did with the Mauser’s I again really gave a lot of thought to how much I could push the 30-06 to do what I had previously used a 300 Win Mag and 338 Win Magnum for.

I finally got another 300 Win Mag and fast forward 20 years and my early use of 190gr bullets in the 1990’s was replaced with what I had learned with my 30-06 so now I was stepping into much heavier bullets 200gr, 208gr, 210gr., 220gr and 230gr……

Basically all of the above can be insanely deadly with almost no difference in lethality depending on the range your shooting at and bullet construction and how fast your pushing the bullet. Reloading is a fantastic equalizer!

A 300 Win Mag with 200, 208, 210 and 220 grain bullets loaded with conservative published reloading data not hot +P type loads can be just as lethal and in some instances more lethal than the classic 250gr. 338 Win Mag Factory and hand loads. If you eliminate the 200gr. bullets all of the others listed above have better B.C. and S.D. than the classic 250gr 338 Win Mag loads. All of this is easily true to 700 yards which I think is the longest range most ethical hunters are going to engage a game animal at.

If we drop down to say 500 yards you can do much the same in terms of lethality with the same bullets in a 30-06.

If we limit things to 350 yards and modern powerful but not unsafe published 8x57 loads 196gr. hunting bullets are deadly as can be but they have terrible SD and BC due to velocity.

Because everyone is so enamored with super magnums and 338RUM, 338 Edge, 338 Norma Magnum, 338 Lapu Magnum people forget just how deadly at long range something like a very old and very mild 300 Win Mag can be with modern bullet choices especially if we ignore the silly 150gr. loads of the past.

The old school 300 Win Mag can really have new life breathed into it not just for long range shooting but also hunting with the addition of modern heavy for caliper VLD and VLD controlled expansion bullets!

So today often we artificially limit ourselves based on how we think about a thing. A lot of old things can be made new again with better bullets and better powder of today! We do not always need a larger diameter bullet with larger frontal area or that burns more powder! The 8x57 and 30-06 made me rethink how I think of cartridges and what I think I need! I miss my 338 Win Mag not because of what it did but because it was a Winchester Model 70 Pre 64 in fantastic wood with fantastic machine work and finish! LOL… With the 30 caliber we seldom run into twist rate limits and we have a lot of bullets today that we did not have 30 years ago.

Anyone that has shot an Elk or Moose with a 300 Win Mag with anything from 180gr. to 220gr. knows how lethal it is.

P.S. Nothing wrong with the 338 Win Mag I often think about buying mine back from my father In-law then the above experiences and thoughts kick in and I just say no! LOL

 

[46and2]

Amen. I managed to shoot out a rem 700 338wm trying to get it to shoot!

Years later now I have 4 (four) 300 Winchester magnums and will never look back. The old 300win mag is still very very much still alive!

New Bartlien barrel, 200.20x and h1000 and virgin brass yesterday from a bull bag at 300 yards.

 

[Depart123]

I spent my youth going from 308 to 30-06 to 300Win and then to a big 338.

Now at 50 years old, I'm on the way back down. Just rebarreled my 300win to 30-06 and will probably unload all my big stuff at some point soon. By the time I am 70, I'll probably be down to just a couple 223's.

 

[JSH]

There are no such thing as cheap 338 projectiles for down loading.
I went to a 35 caliber.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

Sold my, .338 Win Mag "Cannon" ( A beautiful Weatherby MK V, Custom Barreled, 9 pound, "Tack Driver" )
I thought that I just, HAD to HAVE when, younger ! Years later, after realizing that, there are great Bullets, in .270 and 7 MM calibers that, Recoil way less and will still stomp an Elk at, REASONABLE Ranges, just fine, I sold it ! Now, my "Flinch", is,.. almost,.. gone ! I still shoot a ..270 WSM ( 7 1/2 Pounds ) for Elk / Moose, BUT, for everything else ( Deer, Antelope, size ) the .243 Win / 6mm "class" of Cartridges are great, Bullet dependent of, course !
Like Meangreen said, as you get older, you'll get, WISER,.. hopefully !
Am soon to be, in the process of "Building" a sweet Lil', 6 XC with, a Brake on it to, ENJOY my retirement years with !

 

[Chocdawg]

Amen. I managed to shoot out a rem 700 338wm trying to get it to shoot!

Years later now I have 4 (four) 300 Winchester magnums and will never look back. The old 300win mag is still very very much still alive!

New Bartlien barrel, 200.20x and h1000 and virgin brass yesterday from a bull bag at 300 yards.View attachment 1222904

Rebate area forward and aft (.005”, each side) of the case band in chamber to allow case to headspace from shoulder, not band and your groups will tighten even more.

 

[CaptainMal]

Have had my Winchester Model 70 - 338 Win Mag for decades. Been near two decades since I shot it last for Elk in 1999. Since tried it a couple times on deer. Plugs them like a solid bullet might. Tried lighter than 250 gr. and near same thing.

Parked in the safe for years, it is probably upset with me. My 270, 6.5 Ackley, 7mm mag and 30-30's just do the job and do it well without all the blast and fanfare.

 

[spencerhenry]

The last rifle I bought was a 338, I had it bored to 375. Then took a moose with it two weeks later. I just turned 50 a few weeks ago. I just wish I had more opportunity to use the big stuff.
Next up is probably a 416!

 

[Dwayne Cyr]

My dad gave me a M70 .338. For a time it was the only hunting rifle in the house. When my son was old enough to shoot it we went hunting white tails that get big here. I was embarrassed hunting deer with a .338 but an old Winchester brochure showed it as the largest caliber recommended for deer so that gave me an excuse. Settled on a load of 60 grains IMR 4895 with the old unbonded 200 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and it was like a big .30/06. Shot a couple deer at under 200 yards resting off shooting sticks on a power line. It was spectacular. Picked them deer up and slammed em. No meat damage, you could eat right up to the hole. With a max load of RL19 it was a different gun, way too much power.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Hated my 338wm, until I had a brake installed. Now I wish I had more reasons to shoot it. I did buy several hundred 250 gr round nose jacketed softpoints, I have not tried yet, for 20 bucks.

 

[DiffEQ]

Huh. As I get older (almost 60), if I feel the kick is uncomfortable on my 338WM, I'll make a note to do more inverted pushups with my feet as fulcrum, perched on the back of a sofa or a counter.
I have a load workup to do with Cutting Edge monos, a string of 30 to shoot. Will see how they feel.

 

[46and2]

Rebate area forward and aft (.005”, each side) of the case band in chamber to allow case to headspace from shoulder, not band and your groups will tighten even more.

Do you mean expand neck to create a false shoulder?

 

[Chocdawg]

Do you mean expand neck to create a false shoulder?

No, at the bottom of the chamber where the belt rim does the job of head spacing, rebate each side of the belt .005” (basically
no part of the chamber should help to locate the belt for headspace purposes). Kelbly’s did this for me years ago and it was a hammer in LR prone matches. That rifle serve me well for 6000rds (3 barrels) @ 1000yds.

 

[hoz53]

Ok I really loved my 338 Win Mag which was a Winchester Pre 64 Model 70. Nothing at all wrong with the .338 Win Mag.

So I sold it and all of my rifles except for 3 old tired Mausers, Ruger 10/22 and a signle shot shotgun and everything else I owned to try to keep my home when I was downsized from major automotive corporation around the time the housing bubble burst as well!

I was forced to do more with less. So I had to use 8x57 Mauser and really use my reloading skills and better modern bullets. It opened my eye’s. Gone were the old under powered 150gr. and 170gr. Remington Cor-Lokts and in were hard hitting 170, 196gr, 200gr. hot hand loads.

Then I got a 30-06 and based on what I did with the Mauser’s I again really gave a lot of thought to how much I could push the 30-06 to do what I had previously used a 300 Win Mag and 338 Win Magnum for.

I finally got another 300 Win Mag and fast forward 20 years and my early use of 190gr bullets in the 1990’s was replaced with what I had learned with my 30-06 so now I was stepping into much heavier bullets 200gr, 208gr, 210gr., 220gr and 230gr……

Basically all of the above can be insanely deadly with almost no difference in lethality depending on the range your shooting at and bullet construction and how fast your pushing the bullet. Reloading is a fantastic equalizer!

A 300 Win Mag with 200, 208, 210 and 220 grain bullets loaded with conservative published reloading data not hot +P type loads can be just as lethal and in some instances more lethal than the classic 250gr. 338 Win Mag Factory and hand loads. If you eliminate the 200gr. bullets all of the others listed above have better B.C. and S.D. than the classic 250gr 338 Win Mag loads. All of this is easily true to 700 yards which I think is the longest range most ethical hunters are going to engage a game animal at.

If we drop down to say 500 yards you can do much the same in terms of lethality with the same bullets in a 30-06.

If we limit things to 350 yards and modern powerful but not unsafe published 8x57 loads 196gr. hunting bullets are deadly as can be but they have terrible SD and BC due to velocity.

Because everyone is so enamored with super magnums and 338RUM, 338 Edge, 338 Norma Magnum, 338 Lapu Magnum people forget just how deadly at long range something like a very old and very mild 300 Win Mag can be with modern bullet choices especially if we ignore the silly 150gr. loads of the past.

The old school 300 Win Mag can really have new life breathed into it not just for long range shooting but also hunting with the addition of modern heavy for caliper VLD and VLD controlled expansion bullets!

So today often we artificially limit ourselves based on how we think about a thing. A lot of old things can be made new again with better bullets and better powder of today! We do not always need a larger diameter bullet with larger frontal area or that burns more powder! The 8x57 and 30-06 made me rethink how I think of cartridges and what I think I need! I miss my 338 Win Mag not because of what it did but because it was a Winchester Model 70 Pre 64 in fantastic wood with fantastic machine work and finish! LOL… With the 30 caliber we seldom run into twist rate limits and we have a lot of bullets today that we did not have 30 years ago.

Anyone that has shot an Elk or Moose with a 300 Win Mag with anything from 180gr. to 220gr. knows how lethal it is.

P.S. Nothing wrong with the 338 Win Mag I often think about buying mine back from my father In-law then the above experiences and thoughts kick in and I just say no! LOL

so much marketing-- how much game in this country could not be cleanly dispatched with a 7x75 -8x57 or especially 30-06. Bell shot alot of elephants with a 7x57-- For the vast majority of hunters in the US we never needed more than the above 3-- somebody just wanted to make us believe we needed something better to sell it to us. Now better bullets, powder ect- im all for that.

and i appreciate the fine lines and quality machining and wood working of a fine rifle as much as anybody, and ive got alot of different cartridges represented in the safe

 

[ebb]

I killed my first and only elk with a 338 win mag, I got it for helping a friend form a driveway all day Saturday and half a day Sunday. The out fitter that I hunted with outside of Gunnison Col. has killed 2 or 3 elk every year for his freezer with a 30/30 for many decades. There is nothing mild about a 300win mag. Its just choices, and we have made a big deal out of having the best rifle for the job when just about all of them used properly will do the job. When you get the 338 back do all the research and make modern loads for it, you will love it too.

 

[Brians356]

I spent my youth going from 308 to 30-06 to 300Win and then to a big 338.

Now at 50 years old, I'm on the way back down. Just rebarreled my 300win to 30-06 and will probably unload all my big stuff at some point soon. By the time I am 70, I'll probably be down to just a couple 223's.

A buddy of mine is around 70, with a lifetime of hunting and reloading behind him. He's now settled "back down" on the 6.5x55 Swede. Says it is so accurate and kills as if by lightning, for no apparent reason, with moderate recoil, and a plethora of good bullets to choose from.
-

 

[Treerat-sniper]

I once attempted to help a friend sight in a .338 WM (turned out the scope was bad). Maybe it was the stock fit but I swear my .375 H&H kicked less...

 

[ebb]

I shot mine when I was in my 30s, even then I didn't usually shoot over 20 per range session. After 18-20 the fun just seemed to diminish.

 

[284winner]

Ok I really loved my 338 Win Mag which was a Winchester Pre 64 Model 70. Nothing at all wrong with the .338 Win Mag.

So I sold it and all of my rifles except for 3 old tired Mausers, Ruger 10/22 and a signle shot shotgun and everything else I owned to try to keep my home when I was downsized from major automotive corporation around the time the housing bubble burst as well!

I was forced to do more with less. So I had to use 8x57 Mauser and really use my reloading skills and better modern bullets. It opened my eye’s. Gone were the old under powered 150gr. and 170gr. Remington Cor-Lokts and in were hard hitting 170, 196gr, 200gr. hot hand loads.

Then I got a 30-06 and based on what I did with the Mauser’s I again really gave a lot of thought to how much I could push the 30-06 to do what I had previously used a 300 Win Mag and 338 Win Magnum for.

I finally got another 300 Win Mag and fast forward 20 years and my early use of 190gr bullets in the 1990’s was replaced with what I had learned with my 30-06 so now I was stepping into much heavier bullets 200gr, 208gr, 210gr., 220gr and 230gr……

Basically all of the above can be insanely deadly with almost no difference in lethality depending on the range your shooting at and bullet construction and how fast your pushing the bullet. Reloading is a fantastic equalizer!

A 300 Win Mag with 200, 208, 210 and 220 grain bullets loaded with conservative published reloading data not hot +P type loads can be just as lethal and in some instances more lethal than the classic 250gr. 338 Win Mag Factory and hand loads. If you eliminate the 200gr. bullets all of the others listed above have better B.C. and S.D. than the classic 250gr 338 Win Mag loads. All of this is easily true to 700 yards which I think is the longest range most ethical hunters are going to engage a game animal at.

If we drop down to say 500 yards you can do much the same in terms of lethality with the same bullets in a 30-06.

If we limit things to 350 yards and modern powerful but not unsafe published 8x57 loads 196gr. hunting bullets are deadly as can be but they have terrible SD and BC due to velocity.

Because everyone is so enamored with super magnums and 338RUM, 338 Edge, 338 Norma Magnum, 338 Lapu Magnum people forget just how deadly at long range something like a very old and very mild 300 Win Mag can be with modern bullet choices especially if we ignore the silly 150gr. loads of the past.

The old school 300 Win Mag can really have new life breathed into it not just for long range shooting but also hunting with the addition of modern heavy for caliper VLD and VLD controlled expansion bullets!

So today often we artificially limit ourselves based on how we think about a thing. A lot of old things can be made new again with better bullets and better powder of today! We do not always need a larger diameter bullet with larger frontal area or that burns more powder! The 8x57 and 30-06 made me rethink how I think of cartridges and what I think I need! I miss my 338 Win Mag not because of what it did but because it was a Winchester Model 70 Pre 64 in fantastic wood with fantastic machine work and finish! LOL… With the 30 caliber we seldom run into twist rate limits and we have a lot of bullets today that we did not have 30 years ago.

Anyone that has shot an Elk or Moose with a 300 Win Mag with anything from 180gr. to 220gr. knows how lethal it is.

P.S. Nothing wrong with the 338 Win Mag I often think about buying mine back from my father In-law then the above experiences and thoughts kick in and I just say no! LOL

I think the phrase " Work smarter, not harder" can be used here. No reason to go Big or go home in your case. You've covered it already. Nothing a heavy 30 caliber bullet won't handle that a mid weight 338 will in your situation. Elk/Moose will both crumble to a 300WM with a heavy well placed 30 caliber bullet. Less shooter abuse and probably a bit less cost overall. While I own, load and shoot 338 lapua cartridges, I see the appeal to a 300WM with heavies. Any 300 magnum with heavies really

 

[centerlineseal]

I inherited a pre-64 model 70 338 Win over 30 years ago. Initially shot 250 grain factories and the recoil would knock my glasses off. Literally killed on both ends. While not my go to, I have killed a few elk with it over the years, using 200 - 210 grain bullets in my own reloads. Probably close to a 30-06 load with IMR 4350. Nothin' wrong with a bit of a download.