Why I do not miss my .338 Win Mag

[DumpHollow]

I received my Kokotukki Sako. It appears to be unfired.

What a great piece of walnut! Proper layout for strength. Nice rifle.

 

[prairie_rick]

Well I like my 338 with 200 gr. bullets. It is a BAR MarkII with 6x scope. Waiting to get some N200
Accubond to try. I use sand bag on my shoulder to spread the recoil on load test days. Holds around
an inch if I do my part. Your mileage may vary.

 

[centerlineseal]

Well I like my 338 with 200 gr. bullets.

Yessir!

 

[Uncle Ed]

The SAAMI regulates chamber pressure for the oldest and weakest action it will be fired in. If you have a new bolt action Remington 700 30-06 why can't this rifle be loaded to the same pressure as the .270 Win.

 

[David Milisock]

The SAAMI regulates chamber pressure for the oldest and weakest action it will be fired in. If you have a new bolt action Remington 700 30-06 why can't this rifle be loaded to the same pressure as the .270 Win.

I've followed that concept for 50 years. A modern Remington 700 chambered in 30 06, in my opinion can be loaded to similar pressures as my 700 Remington 6mm Remington.

TEST IN HIGH TEMPERATURES!!!

Start with low powder charges and work up. If you're going to play this game get a chronograph, learn how to look for pressure signs, learn to replicate your loading process.

 

[300 win mag]

bought one 35 years ago,it was in a factory win wood stock.this was all before i got into the custom rifle bug.also had a 300 win mag and a 375 h&h.same basic wood stock at that time,well the 375 even with heavier bullets was a pleasure to shoot for me compared to that 338.sold it within a month.over the next several years had customs built in many calibers.from 300 win,300 dakota,35 whelen ai to 375 h&h i have all my n/a elk,moose and bear covered.

 

[FNSafari]

Why I don't miss miss my .338 Win Mag? I've never sold it!

 

[appleseedgunsmith]

Folks talk about turning 50 like they're old. I just turned 51 and just finished building my first .338 win mag .... With a self-designed match chamber, heavy barrel long range style sort of a poor man's 338 Lapua. Weighs 18 lb with a muzzle brake it's a pussycat although it's a fat one.

 

[SBS]

"Why I don't miss my .338 Win. Mag.?" In my case, didn't need it anymore after I had a .300 H&H and a .375 H&H. That lightweight Sako .338 sure kicked!

 

[10XSHOOTER]

I have killed a few Elk, around 600 yds with a .300 Win Mag and 180 Nosler Accubonds. Hit them in the right place, and they fall down. Wrong place, they run 100 yds! I have a .340 Wby also. Kicks less that the .338 Win. but still love my .300 Winch.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

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

Big 30 cals kill very well. I’ve shot a ton of animals with a 300 win mag over a 10 year period and a handful more with a 300 Norma Mag Improved the last few years.

However, I also have a 338-375 Ruger shooting 250gr Bergers at around 3,000 fps... And no matter how fast I get a Berger 215gr or 220gr moving out of my 300 Norma Improved (usually settle around 3200+ fps) the impact on animals just isn’t as impressive as the big 338s moving large wide diameter chunks of lead at fast speeds. When a big 338 hits an elk or a deer, the shockwave that ripples out thru the body from the point of impact is a sight to behold. The big 30 cals kill well but they still can’t quite deliver a punch like a big 338 using big lead

All my big magnums wear very effective muzzle brakes these days so recoil is not a determining factor for me when choosing a cartridge to hunt with.

 

[GoWyo!]

I've got two Sako AV .338's. I'm also in process of buying an AV carbine in...338. (It's a 'catcher in the rye' thing.)! I've got two 330 class elk and a 6.5' black bear that I took with a Rem. 700 sendero in .338 WM. I used 200 gr Nosler Ballistic tips on the elk and factory RP 250 gr RN on the bear. The Noslers were complete pass through at 200 and 300 yds. ( Both were broadside middle lung shots.) The RP didn't hold together and didn't exit at 35 yds. Heart/lungs, broken off shoulder and the boar ran 80 yds. Elk died within 5 ft.. of being shot. All three guns are not lightweights, nor do they have brakes. I think that is the reason I'm a fan of the Sakos- Accuracy and proper heft for the caliber, helps to mitigate recoil, even with the hard, solid red pads on the AV's. My oem laminate gun will cloverleaf with 210 partitions and does well with 200 gr BT's. I don't know about the other. (It's NIB and I'm saving it for my son's 21st birthday). Synopsis- I'm still a fan. All of that said, I've shot most game (Whitetail, antelope, coyotes)over the past 20 years with various 6mms, my favorite caliber. Ok, he got the older rifle, as it's gtg.

 

[JimPag]

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 used to think the pre 64 Winchester Model 70's were the cat's ass until I met a old timer that a gunshow in Sturbridge, Mass that had worked at Winchester's New Haven plant for over 35 years. He enlightened me that those rifles were made on machines that were so worn out and out of spec after WWII that he said the only good 70's were the pre war ones. It made a lot of sense to me after that.

 

[FNSafari]

I used to think the pre 64 Winchester Model 70's were the cat's ass until I met a old timer that a gunshow in Sturbridge, Mass that had worked at Winchester's New Haven plant for over 35 years. He enlightened me that those rifles were made on machines that were so worn out and out of spec after WWII that he said the only good 70's were the pre war ones. It made a lot of sense to me after that.

One man's opinion that may or may not be correct. Did he get fired or laid off by Winchester? If you have a rack full I will take them off your hands as long as your price them as the junk they are!

 

[JimPag]

One man's opinion that may or may not be correct. Did he get fired or laid off by Winchester? If you have a rack full I will take them off your hands as long as your price them as the junk they are!

Greg come on. This guy retired. He knows what's going on at the plant. Did u ever work there?

 

[FNSafari]

Greg come on. This guy retired. He knows what's going on at the plant. Did u ever work there?

No, did you? And you trust his opinion without question? I'll take all you have at the junk prices you say they are....really!

 

[FNSafari]

I have four and everyone is a 1" or a bit less at 100 yds. I have a post 64 (1974) M70 .270 that's almost too pretty to take out. I haven't shot it yet.

 

[JimPag]

I have four and everyone is a 1" or a bit less at 100 yds. I have a post 64 (1974) M70 .270 that's almost too pretty to take out. I haven't shot it yet.

I don't care how many u have or how they group, because that wasn't the issue that I was trying to make. Don't go putting words in my mouth. He nor I said that they were junk. All he said is that the ones made after WW2 were sub std from what they were before the machines got used hard. Chill out man. Boy the Rutland Street hemorrhoid got u spun up some hard. You need to cold cock him on Saturday. It might make you feel better.

 

[FNSafari]

I don't care how many u have or how they group, because that wasn't the issue that I was trying to make. Don't go putting words in my mouth. He nor I said that they were junk. All he said is that the ones made after WW2 were sub std from what they were before the machines got used hard. Chill out man. Boy the Rutland Street hemorrhoid got u spun up some hard. You need to cold cock him on Saturday. It might make you feel better.

Typical you.

 

[FNSafari]

speaking of rifles, I just sent a brand new, unfired Sako 85 in .223 I bought in Dec 2020 back to Sako in Maryland. Beautiful looking rifle, smooth bolt operation, nice single set trigger. The hang-up in inside the barrel. The first 3" in front of the chamber looks as if someone has taken a cold chisel to it...numerous gouges, tool marks, inclusions...looks like a Remington 700 barrel just before the last bankruptcy. Balance of the barrel looks good. Not sure if they button, cut rifle them or hammer forge them. Whatever the do, prolly hammer forge, the mandrel at that point was bad, real bad. Their Sako shipping box has "aiming for perfection" on the outside of the box. We shall see!