Should I buy a .338?
- Thread starter MTLabrador
- Start date
I'd have to say that the grizzly population has grown considerably over the years, so your experiences over the past may not be applicable in the future. People can get into trouble, in general, by not recognizing that circumstances have changed. And way too many grizzlies means that there is more competition for food, which leads them to go all over the state looking for a beer and a good burger. Just sayin'
buffybr
Well-known member
You're right, the grizzly population has grown considerably in the last 30-40 years, and grizzly/human encounters are becomming more common. They need to be managed.
45 years ago we could buy an OTC grizzly tag for $25 and I think there was a 10 bear quota, which wasn't reached some years. Back then I would buy a grizzly tag every year just in case I would see a bear on the gut pile of the deer or elk that I shot, like one of my co-workers in Eureka did one year. But back then I didn't realize how good we had it and just like the $25 Unlimited bighorn sheep tags that we could buy every year, I didn't take that hunting seriously enough.
But just because a few years ago a bow hunter videoed a grizzly in the field across the road from my house, and my next door neighbor saw grizzly tracks in the snow 300 yards above our houses, and last summer a black bear climbed the fence to eat the berries in my back yard and left piles of partially eating berries, I'm not packing a .44 magnum every time I cook burgers on my BBQ.
WVmike
Active member
Never have too many guns, but I would be letting it sit in the safe or cabinet if it was me. Price of ammo and the amount of bad habits that would come along with the recoil. No thanks.
Hey MTLABRDR- great buy you made! Way back in '83, I had traded for a Interarms Mark X Alaskan in 458WM. Shot/played with it some, but it was brutal, ha. I took it to a GS in Baytown, Tx to trade specifically for the same model/caliber as your rifle! They found me one in Houston, but it was a slick-head and I wanted the iron Sights ( almost every rifle looks better to me with Irons) They looked via telephoning warehouses, wholesalers, etc and never could find one with irons. I took the trade dollar value for the big mag, all for powder/components. It was almost 10yrs later when I got that MKII in 338WM. It was without irons, but it was a fine rifle to carry in the mountains, in its wood stock. The last Ruger 77/338WM I owned was a like new All Weather SS, and it shot very well, but even it seemed heavier to me than that MKII/wood stocked Mag. I have used mag na Porting on many hard kickers, it seemed to help. I never cared how a brake on a iron sighted rifle looks. That's just a personal "eewww", ha. I also found the LimbSaver Pads worked the best, anything beats a Ruger Tanger Pad, lol. If you like to Still Hunt, I too found a 1x5 , 2x7 or similar (set on low power) not only left the rifle to balance/handle well, but the wide field of view helped me make many difficult shots up fast/close/furious, ha Good luck to you pard! You might also find that rifle's recoil "feels better" shooting the slower 250gr ammo than lighter/faster loads. But do yourself a favor and 'at least" change out that mean (some say eveeel) Red Ruger Pad, ha.
Last edited:
GeneralLefty
Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2023
- Messages
- 40
Ya should!
Westelker
Well-known member
The feds designated the grizzly as an endangered species in the lowers 48 in 1975.You're right, the grizzly population has grown considerably in the last 30-40 years, and grizzly/human encounters are becomming more common. They need to be managed.
45 years ago we could buy an OTC grizzly tag for $25 and I think there was a 10 bear quota, which wasn't reached some years. Back then I would buy a grizzly tag every year just in case I would see a bear on the gut pile of the deer or elk that I shot, like one of my co-workers in Eureka did one year. But back then I didn't realize how good we had it and just like the $25 Unlimited bighorn sheep tags that we could buy every year, I didn't take that hunting seriously enough.
But just because a few years ago a bow hunter videoed a grizzly in the field across the road from my house, and my next door neighbor saw grizzly tracks in the snow 300 yards above our houses, and last summer a black bear climbed the fence to eat the berries in my back yard and left piles of partially eating berries, I'm not packing a .44 magnum every time I cook burgers on my BBQ.
GoWyo!
Well-known member
30 years since they should have been delisted.
BuzzH
Well-known member
Montana had a grizzly season until 1993-94. Last seasons were spring.
Westelker
Well-known member
I hunted hard in Alaska for four years when I was single, "fearless" and "foolish". I hunted Cold Bay for brown bear with two buddies and hunted Kodiak Is. alone for the brown. I camped all over McKinley NP and hunted caribou and moose with no fear... Now I don't step out of my truck in grizzley country. I'm terribly afraid of them and personally feel they should be managed to the number slightly above "endangered" same for the wolf. That's how I feel!!
406dn
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2019
- Messages
- 2,266
More accurately they were listed as threatened, if memory serves. That is the "loophole" that allowed for grizzly hunting in the Bob.
ismith
Well-known member
You need to carry a 375h&h, at a minimum, with the length of some of those, those sentences.
I've owned two .338 Win mags, a Ruger 77 with a tang safety and no sights. I put a Weaver 6X on it and carried it for elk a few times. To me, it was heavy so I sold it to a buddy who still uses it to this day. (He replaced the scope). I then bought a Sako Deluxe Hunter and put it in a Bell and Carlson stock with a 3x7 Leupold. I killed elk, mule deer and whitetails with that rifle, it didn't recoil like a .243 but it wasn't terribly obnoxious either for a sub 8 pound rifle. I then had a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight rebarreled to 338-06 that soon became my favorite rifle. IMR 4350 and a 210 gr Nosler Partition at about 2700 fps was magic on elk and deer for me in a 7 pound rifle that recoiled much less than the Sako .338. That rifle has ridden 100's of miles in a rifle scabbard and been carried just as far. I don't hunt much anymore but I will never sell that rifle!
Buy the .338, you won't regret it and you will always be able to sell if if you want!
Buy the .338, you won't regret it and you will always be able to sell if if you want!
Westelker
Well-known member
I had just read that quote about "endangered" from some "official" document, I wasn't relying on memory. I think what happened, individual states started making their own regs. which may have led to the hunting in the Bob. I guess it doesn't matter about the regs., a person just needs to protect themselves one way or another....firearm or some good spray.
MTLabrador
Well-known member
I tried and failed to buy my sister’s 6x36 Leupold, I offered her more than it was worth and she wasn’t willing to part with it. I decided to spring for a new Zeiss for my Sako and mounted the trusty old VX3, slicked up the trigger a little, and the old Ruger is ready to hunt. It shoots well with Hornady 225 CX factory loads, and I’ll probably load up some 225 Accubonds once I shoot the factory stuff.
SportOptics is running sales on Leupolds.....Just sayin', LOLOLOL.
And don't forget to bring along a shovel! LOLOLOLOL
MTLabrador
Well-known member
I wish they still made the old fixed 6x or the 2.5-8 without CDS. I got a pretty sweet deal on the new Zeiss though.
