Should I buy a .338?
- Thread starter MTLabrador
- Start date
Exactly what I was thinking is this thread going to carry on forever?One hundred twenty posts in and no pics of the newly acquired.338 Win Mag. Lame.
Looks like you can lead a horse to water…
GoWyo!
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PsRpOiGrRiAtM
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Replying to draw attention to the fact that the pics of the newly acquired 338 HAVE been posted.
That Sako is a beaute
Don Fischer
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I've had two 338 Win Mags and a 7mm Rem Mag. What they taught me is to never get another magnum of any kind, recoil sucks! Someone mentioned shooting 210gr Nosler's in it. Probably to reduce recoil. I used 225gr Hornady's in mine but truth be known rather than 210gr bullet's, shoot 200gr bullets out of aa 30-06!
First 338 was a Sako L61. Got a box of factory ammo and stopped to shoot it on the way home. Three shots and shooting off hand turned my shoulder black and blue. Did learn to handle it but had to shoot a lot, like several times a week! Do yourself a favor and get a 30-06!
First 338 was a Sako L61. Got a box of factory ammo and stopped to shoot it on the way home. Three shots and shooting off hand turned my shoulder black and blue. Did learn to handle it but had to shoot a lot, like several times a week! Do yourself a favor and get a 30-06!
grizzly63
Well-known member
Just bought one today off the addiction store GB. Now to find some brass. Usually rifles that have a little kick do not get shot as much and are more likely to not be shot out -yet. Oh the fun!
Bingo. Agree with you wholeheartedly. I bought a 2003 Browning BAR that was made in 2003 because it probably had only a box of ammo through it. i could have bought one 10-20 years older, but I wanted a fairly new rifle, not an older one that may be more "valuable". Biggest risk is a burned out barrel.
Hey Cornbread, I used to have a friend (died a few months back) who dreamed of elk hunting, but hated recoil. I told him there are rifles that are big guns, and yet easy to shoot. He wasn't convinced. Since he was like a Brother to me and his boys were like Nephews, I made a plan.
I was in a position to buy him a new BAR with Boss in 338WN. It had the side lever bolt release (mammary glands on Boar Hogs) I had my gunsmith cut that Boss off (too loud, too finicky) and remove that Side Lever. I had it Mag Na Ported and a Limbsaver Pad added. With Winchester 200 Ballistic Silvertips, it purred like a kitten! Between the lighter bullet, the porting, the gas operation, and the great recoil pad, it was super easy to shoot. He never got to go elk hunting with it, his health was failing, but his oldest son claimed it. I hope he kills a big bull with it.
I was in a position to buy him a new BAR with Boss in 338WN. It had the side lever bolt release (mammary glands on Boar Hogs) I had my gunsmith cut that Boss off (too loud, too finicky) and remove that Side Lever. I had it Mag Na Ported and a Limbsaver Pad added. With Winchester 200 Ballistic Silvertips, it purred like a kitten! Between the lighter bullet, the porting, the gas operation, and the great recoil pad, it was super easy to shoot. He never got to go elk hunting with it, his health was failing, but his oldest son claimed it. I hope he kills a big bull with it.
Sorry to hear about your buddy. Lost 2 dear friends in the last 2 years; both to cancer. I have a BAR in .338 win mag. It's a 2003, because I didn't want to get one that hadn't been shot out. It doesn't have a Boss. Ive heard mixed results with those Boss's. Maybe that's why Browning dropped it. I haven't shot it yet. Wanted to get a chrono before I shoot it to see velocity of the different ammo and which ammo it likes. And ammo is friggen hard to find and expensive as sht. I don't reload. I bought a Meopta Optika6 for it with a 2.5-16 scope for it. I'm not worried about recoil. Im pretty focused on the animal when shooting. I saw a great video by an army sniper (my son-in-law was one) that asked the shooter to "call the shot". Absolute great advice. I think it was that guy Ryan Clyster??????. It focuses you on follow thru.
God, these BAR's are hard to find now, and prices have gone through the roof. I used to have a BAR in 300 mag years ago. My first rifle. I'll be curious to see how this shoots. I have 3 new rifles to sight in and am waiting for calm wind days down here. Probably March/Apr/May. Am getting antsy. I found the 7mm RM BLR produces less than an inch groups. Was pleasantly surprised. When I bought the 338 I also bought a BAR Mark3 in 300 wm. Pretty rifle. but want to see what it groups. In Oct 2022 I got my first elk, and was using my 7mmRM. Boy, elk are not deer. Took 4 shots in the chest at 105 yards to anchor him down. We were only 150 yards from private property. He just kept walking in a 5-10 yard circle. You can kill any deer with a .243, or even a .223. A deer might run 100 yards. But elk. They are a totally different animal. Yeah, Ive heard stories about killing them with a .270, but I think even a .30-06 just aint enuf gun. I don't want the headaches of it running on private property in Montana, or running 5 miles before he drops.
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I'm glad your 338 doesn't have a BOSS on it. The harmonics of the barrel change with weather and the amount of fouling it has. A Once a Year Hunter might get by just fine, but long gone Riflemen such as ourselves...we atr gonna shoot that thing, ha. When I got out of the Army on '73, only rifles I had were my nice 30-30 Classic Carbine, an unsporterized 1917 Enfield. I wanted to go elk hunting in the near future (it took 7 yrs before I could, young family after purchase, ha) I bought a really nice BAR 7mm Magnum. No scope just irons ( I didn't use a scope until I was 22!) It shot very well, minute of Skoal Can Lid at 50 steps! I used the 175 Clkt, 1. so I wouldn't tear up those small deer and 2. It was my Elk Round. I killed a few critters with it, that one had to be kept "spotless" or it jammed. Spooked me, I am OCD for Reliability. ( I equated jams with "junk guns", of which I had many previous ones, from semi .22s to semi auto shotguns) I caught all kinds of "grief" from the Hunting Club Members whose idea of the perfect deer rifle was a Mod 742/6mm Remington (a smattering of 30-06s) and "everyone" felt the 30-06 was way too much gun on those deer anyhow! My father felt the 12 GA was perfect, the 30-30 was the "big gun" and the 30-06 was "for killing Japs and tears up too much d--med meat! The Bull Hockey was deep then, ha. 15 yrs later 7mm Mags were everywhere, a few 300 BARS. Plenty of 30-06s. Oh yeah, a scope was "OK" by then. See, I was always told by the old phartz that our woods *Texas, Big Thicket, were too thick to use a scope, you can't get on him in time." I traded that BAR 7mm because it jammed one too many times. I got a good trade, both brand new Mod 870 12ga 3" w/rib (Modified choke) and a little Marlin 1894 in .44 Magnum. I killed alot of game with that little Marlin, no scope, but I used Bowhunting methods to move. Many of those guys just could not even dream of elk hunting, its called a "Poverty Mentality". That's OK for them, but when they tried to poo-poo my dream, oh, now its on, ha. Keep the Dream Alive Gun Loonies!!! lol
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elkhuntinfool78
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So, I also had to buy a. 338 last year too. I used it on an AK moose hunt and it was money. One of my favorite rifles I own and I guess I'm crazy but I even enjoy shooting it....lol Plan on using it on elk here in Montana just for fun.
noharleyyet
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Dang what a beautiful rifle....
Tang safety Rugers are cool. mtmuley
I have tried out two Mod 77 Tangers, in 338WM. They must have been the early models that had one of those famous $17 barrels. Just could not get them under 2.5" with anything, mostly 3" groups. The MKII and for sure the Hawkeye, in my opinion, mind you, are both worthy upgrades.
If you see a Mod 77 Tanger in 338WM at a Gunshow (or listed in Classifieds by an individual,) and they say they will "throw in the dies, components, etc all for a reasonable price, beware. It "could be" they tried to get it to shoot and gave up on it. It could be a good buy. Its a gamble. The Tanger's with that thin, hard Red factory recoil Pad especially. The few you see with a Black Pad have good Ruger made barrels.
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MTLabrador
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This old rifle needs to be out hunting elk, and I’m glad I rescued it from the used rack. Always wanted this exact model with the tang safety and irons. It’s even better now that I found my 6X Leupold thanks to JR.
I just bought 3 mos ago a Lefty Ruger M77 in .25-06 in perfect condition. Ive heard that the tang safety M77 had a junk barrel on them and they don't group that well. You can get a good one, but a lot of times you get a bad one. What's been your experience? What caliber is it?
That's what Ive heard. I didn't know that the recoil pad determined whether it had a decent barrel on it. I recently bought a 2008 M77 lefty in .25-06. Have to get it out at the range, so I don't know what it groups. I put a nice Leupold VX5-HD 3-15 on it. It was in perfect condition. Ive heard that you don't want to bed or free float it before shooting it, that you can actually screw it up. Apparently, the screws that hold the action in take very specific torqueing. 95 inch/lbs on the front one and the two back by the trigger guard take 45-60 inch/lbs and evenly tighten those 2 screws.
Ha, I moved to Florida 10 years ago from Penna. I know what you mean about Big Woods hunting. I just bought this year a Remington 7600 in .270 that I believe was made in April 1956 according to the barrel code. It has the white spacers on the recoil pad, grip cap and end cap. Looks so cool. I won't use it for hunting, but I will get it out at the range to see how it groups at 100 yards. It was in pretty good shape. I just bought it for nostalgic reasons. That was a classic Penna deer stalking rifle. And it was made before the Bean counters and incompetent management ruined Remington.
