I want to purchase a .338 Win Mag rifle for a trip to Africa. I do not have confidence in my current .338 and am considering a Ruger M77 Hawkeye African and a Kimber Model 8400 Classic. We will be hunting leopard and possibly a croc so I really want that 1st shot to count. We will be hunting some plains game as well (Sable, Kudu e.g.). I want to stick with the .338 as I have a lot of expensive ammo. Your thoughts will be appreciated. Thank you.

Last year I took my 338 Winmag Ruger M77 MKII, stainless / laminat to South Africa.
Loads was 250 grn Woodleigh RN.
Ten shots and ten animals, It can´t get any better
Never had any problems with my Ruger rifles, none, whatsoever.

Good caliber for what you are going for.

Personally...I would choose a Winchester M 70. Nothing wrong with the ones you mentioned though.

Jim, did not shoot a 338 in Tanzania but my son did in Zim, a big zebra in Zim with a TSX on the shoulder down in 10 yds.
I shoot a Kimber Caprivi in 375. With a TSX a 338 will flatten a leopard and be devastating on a croc. With 225 gr.
Accurate shooting is more then important. and ABSOLUTELY illuminated reticle my config is a German #4 dot illuminates.

Mike

Both shot with TSX 375 2006 for croc 09 chui.

quote:

Originally posted by Arild Iversen:
Last year I took my 338 Winmag Ruger M77 MKII, stainless / laminat to South Africa.
Loads was 250 grn Woodleigh RN.
Ten shots and ten animals, It can´t get any better
Never had any problems with my Ruger rifles, none, whatsoever.

I am not a huge fan of laminate stocks, but your rifle and zebra just look 'right'.

The .338 Win. Mag. is the perfect caliber for medium and large plains game. It is a very powerful and flat shooting caliber.

I use 225 grain premium bullets in my .338 - which is a Blaser R93. It's a very accurate rig.

Here's a gemsbok that I killed in northern Namibia several years ago with that rifle.



Good luck with your choice.

The 338 is one if not my favorite calibers. I took one as a light rifle on my second safari back in 2005 and used it with 250 gr. Noslers. My rifle is a Brown Precision on a Rem. 700. I have not tried one of the new Hawkeyes but like the way they look. My experiences with earlier model 77s has not been good but I would give the Hawkeye a try. I have a Kimber 8400 in 30-06. It is not one of my favorite calibers but the rifle is accurate with a variety of loads. A Kimber in .338 would be sweet althogh possibly a handful on the bench.

I have owned several calibre .338 rifles over the years. I now have a .338 by HS Precision in a Take Down version. If you want a nail driver in a compact package this is it. It is not inexpensive, however, a great value.

Traveling with a take down rifle is so much easier. PH's and bush pilots will appreciate the small case. The accuracy is 1/2 inch, or in my case, better at 100 meters. No feeding problems. No extraction problems. With a detachable scope and iron sights it is the cat's meow.

Also, while ordering, get a second barrel in .458 Lott. My Lott is accurate to 1/2 inch at 100 meters. Can't recommend HS Precision highly enough. Not a controlled feed, but I am not in the bush long enough to really dirty up the action sufficiently to have problems.

I have a left hand Browning Medallion grade w/ BOSS topped with a 4.5 x 14 - 50 Leupold Vari-X III.

In Africa I used it for eland, sable, kudu, zebra, blue wilderbeest and a really unfortunate baboon. Only the blue wilderbeest wasn't a one shot kill.

I used 230 grain Failsafes which were way too heavy a constructed bullet for the task and acted like solids.

Not a 338 WM, but a 338-06 at about 200fps slower. Zebra to Waterbuck with 210 gr BTSX bullets. Shortest shot at 120 on Zebra and longest at 310 on Black Wildebeest....all one shot harvests. 338 is a great caliber.

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI
DSC

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
The .338 Win. Mag. is the perfect caliber for medium and large plains game. It is a very powerful and flat shooting caliber.

I use 225 grain premium bullets in my .338 - which is a Blaser R93. It's a very accurate rig.

Here's a gemsbok that I killed in northern Namibia several years ago with that rifle.



Good luck with your choice.

DUDE somebody forgot to put an action on your rifle!

.338 Winchester is an excellent choice for a variety of African game. It is more than you need on most, but its authority is nice to have on the larger stuff.

I'm partial to the older Sakos, which is what I took to Africa. I don't particularly care for the current production Sakos, but have frequently told friends that if I were in the market for a new rifle, the Kimber 8400 is perhaps the best of the current lot and comes closer to being worth its price than most.

A word of caution: You are attempting to buy a rifle to match ammunition you currently have. This is going about things in reverse. No matter how fine a rifle and how good its accuracy potential, there is some ammunition which just won't perform well in it. If your ammo is a mismatch with the rifle you buy you're no better off than now.

So, buy the rifle you like. If the ammo shoots well in it, fine. If not, try different ammunition until you find what it likes, then sell or trade your current stock for that ammunition.

+1 for the Blaser. With its take-down configuration and choice of multiple barrels, it's hard to come up with with a better rifle for travel hunts....22 RF to 416 Rem.

I have 2 338's at present both Rugers of very different vintages.The old MK 1 has been on 4 overseas safaris,3 to Africa and a few trips to the Cape and NT in Australia.It is an excellent caliber,I have seen it take Australian buf and Cape buf. with ease.But,,,the rifle.If you have the time to wait a mauser actioned weapon, built by a man you trust with your dangerous game rifle is an investment your grandchildren will cherish and so will you.

quote:

Never had any problems with my Ruger rifles, none, whatsoever.

I have had my 338 Win Mag Ruger M77 since 1986, and have worn out 2 barrels. They are good reliable rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by Arild Iversen:
Last year I took my 338 Winmag Ruger M77 MKII, stainless / laminat to South Africa.
Loads was 250 grn Woodleigh RN.
Ten shots and ten animals, It can´t get any better
Never had any problems with my Ruger rifles, none, whatsoever.

Arild, I like that gun!!




Another +1 vote for the 338. Took mine as a backup and ended up using it almost exclusively for everything from bushbuck to Kudu to this old stinky stallion. On this trip I used the 250 grain Nosler Partions but she also likes the 225 grain TSXs.

On my next PG hunt that will be my primary rifle, no doubt.

Regards,
Scott

quote:

the Kimber 8400 is perhaps the best of the current lot and comes closer to being worth its price than most.

Don't expect out of the box accuracy just becasue it is considered a premium grade rifle. I speak from experience and if you get into the Kimber argument you'll find a lot of others with the same.

A great trophy and a great rifle Scott

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:
DUDE somebody forgot to put an action on your rifle!

Action?

We ain't got no action.

I don't have to show you any stinking action!

I would be interested to know what rifle you are shooting now that you have lost trust in?

I shoot a ruger 77 tang safety model and its always the first rifle picked up for game larger than deer. I've owned it from the early 80's and its never let me down.

quote:

I would be interested to know what rifle you are shooting now that you have lost trust in?

+1...does it NOT go off when you pull the trigger?

Nothing worse than a gun you don't know where the bullet is going to go!

The big question to me is what do you want to do with that gun? You can either look on it as a family member and will send it to a quality gunsmith to have it looked at, or is it the cheating girlfriend who no matter how great she is in the future you'll always never fully trust her again and just want her out of your life?

Anyway, if you like the caliber and like your gun too (i.e. have no intention of getting rid of it) then I'd suggest finding a qualified person to send it to and have it evaluated. Maybe it just needs a thorough cleaning to remove some stubborn copper, or maybe it needs a new barrel or just maybe a scope mount is defective. But even if you spend a ton of money and get your gun shooting, if subconsciously every time you pull the slack up in the trigger if you are wondering "is the bullet going to go where it's supposed to?" then I'd say keep looking for a replacement.

Now, if you are actually happy with the gun and are just looking for a BS answer to justify the purchase of an additional rifle hey, we've all been there too so you're among friends!

Had a great Ruger 338 but like an idiot I sold it. If I could have it back tomorrow i'd take it back in a heart-beat. I'm in the market for Winchester now though just because I've bought a few and like the look/feel better. 338 i a great round, have never met anyone who thinks poorly of it, bvut am sure now that I say that the .001% will come out of the woodwork.

I grew up shooting a .338 remington topped with a shepard scope, hand loads of 200 gr to 250 gr.. I have taken all of Montana game with--elk ,bear every year--,all of alaskan game and other states game and in my opinon its the first and last rifle you will ever need, best long range rifle they make with lots of shock power......

african-montana-taxidermy.com

I believe all the animals I took in Africa with the .338 WinMag were one shot kills. That's kudu down to warthog.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Schaefer:
I want to purchase a .338 Win Mag rifle for a trip to Africa. I do not have confidence in my current .338 and am considering a Ruger M77 Hawkeye African and a Kimber Model 8400 Classic. We will be hunting leopard and possibly a croc so I really want that 1st shot to count. We will be hunting some plains game as well (Sable, Kudu e.g.). I want to stick with the .338 as I have a lot of expensive ammo. Your thoughts will be appreciated. Thank you.

Why don't you have confidence in it? What is it doing wrong? Is it fixable?

465H&H

The fact is that the 338 Mag is what this very old man calls " a bad recoil" caliber. It does have a bad "kick" -and that can change your perspective on the next shot. Now let me introduce you to a real African cartridge! The 338 is not quite what you should carry in Africa if you intend to face animals determined to ground you into the ground (like elephant and buff) Anyway, why am I even arguing with a guy who likes to shoot a 338? (Just kidding)