I am looking to pick up my first 338 Win Mag for my first plains game hunt in Namibia. Specifically, I have found a New-in-box Beretta Mato in 338. I do not have any experience with Beretta rifles. It seems like a great action. I like the 3 position safety. Does anyone have experienc with the Beretta Mato?

For plains game including Eland, what size and type of bullet would you recommend for a 338. I was initially thinking about 225 grain TSX.

My other rifle will be a McWhorter Sako Action in 300 Win Mag.

Thanks for the advice.

As far as the 338 Win Mag goes, I absolutely hammered Namibian plains game with 210 grain Nosler partitions. Nothing required a second shot, from Gemsbok at 10 yards to Hartebeest at 300. In terms of body size, the largest animal I shot was probably my Mountain Zebra. My PH was certainly confident the 210 grain Nosler would do the job on Cape Eland, which were present. He had absolutely no qualms about taking me with that rifle and that load after them. But I had different priorities and wasn't interested.

I would have more faith in a heavier bullet if I were specifically after Eland. The 210 grain Noslers we did recover had performed very well (obviously as we had a dead animal to recover them from) and the destruction they caused in all cases on these large, tough animals was confidence building. But Eland are huge animals. I don't think the relatively few animals I've shot with that load provide definitive evidence of the lighter bullet's effectiveness under all circumstances. I'd certainly have full confidence in a 225 or 250 grain Nosler, though. I can't see why the 225 grain TSX wouldn't work.

IMHO, the .338 Win. Mag. with 225 grain Barnes X bullets is the perfect caliber and bullet combination for Namibian plains game. I have used the .338 Win. Mag. and 225 grain bullets (both Barnes X bullets and Trophy Bonded Bear Claws) for mountain zebra, greater kudu, gemsbok and red hartebeest - and that combo just flat out works.

From all I have heard, the Beretta Mato is a good, solid rifle. Beretta quit making them only after and because Beretta acquired Sako.

Just make sure you wring yours out thoroughly for function and reliability before you leave.

I've used 225 Gr. Nosler Partitions in my .338 on all sorts of plains game with great success. Never lost an animal and most didn't go very far after being hit. I only shot one Eland with it and that load worked fine.

Gee mrlexma and I agree 100%++

This would be a good combo. I took a pre-64 Win .338 with the 225 triple shocks to Namibia last year and was very happy with the bullet performance. I also used to own a Mato- mine was a 7 mag. I sold it because it was too heavy for a 7mag and I don't care for detachable magazines on hunting rifles. I bought mine on closeout for $500 and made a tidy profit on the sale. The rifle was very nice and I would still own it if it had a conventional magazine.

I used 250 gr. Nosler Partitions in June 2008 on a plainsgame hunt in South Africa. I was using an older Ruger M77. I shot Kudu, Waterbuck, Warthog, Eland, Zebra, and Blue Wildebeast. All animals were one shot kills. The Zebra and Waterbuck dropped in their tracks and the other four ran no more then 40 yards each. I only recovered two bullets from the Eland and Waterbuck.

I think the heavier bullets would be the way to go especially for the Eland and even the Wildebeast.

Greg

Sound like a great combo.

I believe the Mato was made with Dakota's model 97 round bottom, controled round feed Model 70/Model 98 hybrid action, which is a good one.

JPK

The Mato is a great gun, we used one in Zim a while back. The only problem I saw with it was sometimes the magazine looks like it's locked in but when the first round is fired it falls out. it was fixed with some "african wonder tape", also known as duct tape. Very accurate and reliable except for the aforementioned problem.
JJ

wwww.mbogo.net

The rifle should be a nice one, and the round is more than capable for plains game.

I had originally intended to take a .300 Win to Namibia in 2007, but when I couldn't get it to shoot like I wanted, I switched to my .338 Sako. The .338 would put three consecutive 225 Nosler Partitions in to an inch or less consistently. The only drawback to the .338 would be its fairly hefty recoil, but if that is not a bother to you, it will take everything from springok to eland as efficiently as any round available.

The bullet performed flawlessly on game like kudu, mountain zebra, red hartebeest, and even a springok at 350 yards. Similarly, I have never heard of anyone being disappointed in the performance of the tried and true 210 Nosler Partition. Realistically, there are very few poor bullets for the .338. Use whatever shoots best in your gun and you'll be well-armed.

Nothing wrong with the .338 but there are many shooters who can't shoot them well due to recoil.

My advice would be that you need to HONESTLY evaluate your rifle shooting experience AND ability to handle slightly heavier recoiling rifles before stepping up to the .338. IMO you've already got a rifle that is perfect for Namibian plains game and that is the .300 Win Mag using good bullets. That's no reason not to buy a new or bigger caliber rifle but be sure you can handle the extra recoil. I can assure you that a good hit with a .300 Win Mag and Nosler Partitions is a helluva lot better than a bad hit with a .338.

I have three Mato rifles. They are wonderful rifles to hunt with.

I am looking to acquire a .375 wood stocked Mato.

I had a Mato in 280 Rem. and still cry in my beer whenever I wonder why I sold it. Great looking, accurate, and balanced rifles.

Jim