I looked at a Ruger bolt,M77,MKII 338Win today at sportsmans warehouse.They wanted $469,synthetic stock,ss,barrel.Is this 338WIN enough gun for cape buffalo or buy a 375 H&H and a 416 REM?

Enough? yes
Legal? nope

I've never shot a cape one so I'm not a qualified opinion, but I will say it's JUST enough....nothing more.

L

I have shot several buffalo with the 338 when the tracker was carrying it for plainsgame and I had an opertunity at a nice bull just out of double rifle range..so I used the .338 with its scope and some solids I always carry...It kills Buffalo well enough, but they do make a few tracks, I would put it in the same catagory as the 9.3x62, a minamal buffalo gun, but on the top side of minamal...

Answer to your question, the .375 H&H is a better Buffalo gun than the .338 hands down, the 416 is even better than the .375 IMO, beyond that I don't see much difference, but thats an opinnion and arguable on these forums...

I came at this question from a different angle.....I want to get rid of guns for several reasons and now my .30-06 is shooting so well and with newly found energy that I'm actually getting rid of a pair of .300 Magnums and a .338 Mag.

After seeing the .30-06 in action against the worlds biggest game (outside dangerous game) I asked what a guy wants more gun for.....and the answer was that if I couldn't do it with that .30-06 then I needed to step up.....yup, to the .375 H&H. It seemed that the .338 Mag was a medium and unneeded step.
Using todays premium A-Frames or Northforks the .30-06 is fully adequate IMO for anything this side of dangerous game.

They holler "range Man"...what about range?...and I say that the .30-06 already shoots farther than I'm capable.....why do I want to further hinder myself with more gun that I can't shoot anyway!!!

There's a right answer for me.....but everyone has to find that right answer for themselves.

For me the .338 Mag is an unneeded step in the power chain.

quote:

Originally posted by RiflemanZ:

.... Is this 338WIN enough gun for cape buffalo or buy a 375 H&H and a 416 REM?

One point to consider: Regardless of whether it's enough gun or not, most countries in Africa specify the .375 H&H as the legal minimum for Cape Buff. (I believe some may allow the 9.3x62 as the minimum. Some provinces in South Africa? Maybe Zimbabwe?) But, I'm not an expert on such things. Maybe some of our African forum members can provide more detail.

-Bob F.

Sir,

Enough ? Yes.

Wise ? No.

Legal ? No.

The buffalo will be dead for sure, but as Ray points out, he may leave many tracks to follow. And the tracking may not be too enjoyable.

Do you want to use your time hunting, or tracking ? It is your choice, it is your safari.

I have shot buffalo with lesser cartridges than a 338, however, unless you brain him, you may get a longer follow up than you would like.

As I said, what do you want to spend your time doing ?

My 2 cents worth.

Best,
Phil
http://www.go-on-safari.com

R Z,

I will agree with you it is all in shooting...But if a buff boils out of heavy cover and you are hunting plains game, you are really in the do..do...A boomer in your hands at least gives you a chance...IMO

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I came at this question from a different angle.....I want to get rid of guns for several reasons and now my .30-06 is shooting so well and with newly found energy that I'm actually getting rid of a pair of .300 Magnums and a .338 Mag.

After seeing the .30-06 in action against the worlds biggest game (outside dangerous game) I asked what a guy wants more gun for.....and the answer was that if I couldn't do it with that .30-06 then I needed to step up.....yup, to the .375 H&H. It seemed that the .338 Mag was a medium and unneeded step.
Using todays premium A-Frames or Northforks the .30-06 is fully adequate IMO for anything this side of dangerous game.

They holler "range Man"...what about range?...and I say that the .30-06 already shoots farther than I'm capable.....why do I want to further hinder myself with more gun that I can't shoot anyway!!!

There's a right answer for me.....but everyone has to find that right answer for themselves.

For me the .338 Mag is an unneeded step in the power chain.

Your on the right track I reckon.........there is not much that could not be hunted with;

12 gauge
.22lr
22/250
30/06
.375 H&H
.458 Lott

There 5 rifle chamberings with significant steps up in power.............not that I could rationilize just yet

quote:

Originally posted by RiflemanZ:
I looked at a Ruger bolt,M77,MKII 338Win today at sportsmans warehouse.They wanted $469,synthetic stock,ss,barrel.Is this 338WIN enough gun for cape buffalo or buy a 375 H&H and a 416 REM?

My answer to you would be buy the .375 and use 350 grn softs and there isnt any real difference in the game fields between it and a .416 i have seen. Hope this helps you out. Charlie

Retreever,
If a buff boils out of the grass it depends on which direction he is boiling, if its towards you then a 600 N.E. is only marginal in the minds eye at that moment, fortunatly a 416 will probably be enough, whatever you have you had better shoot straight...

Charles,
The 375 with 350 gr. Woodlieghs is certainly an option, I was impressed very with them, then I shot several good bulls with a 450 gr. Woodleigh in a 416 Rem..and that even more impressive...those new heavy Woodleighs are sho nuff good Buffalo medicine IMO...

I have taken a 375, 416 Rem, and the 404 on a one gun Safaris several times and never at any point did I feel shorted in any manner...They are all fine plainsgame rifles and deal with the big stuff just fine in my book...

The only reasoning in taking several guns is in case one goes heywire IMO...or if you just want to broaden your experience with calibers, thats why I take different guns, I am comparing them all, and pretty well ran out of try calibers until I got my latest 10.75x68..It will be a new experience and fun...That's my "thang" when hunting...I enjoy comparing calibers on killing effect and the same with bullets, I am a dyed in the wool bullet digger, I can get in amongst it to find a bullet..

Ray,

I agree but I would rather have a 375 then 338..
But honestly I would rather be shooting my 458Lott..
But how about a slug of that mineral oil so I can slide past him...


Mike

Heh! heh!, I promise you won't need it under those circumstances!

No

I can't imagine not having a 338 in the battery as it fits me and my shooting requirements so well. With good bullets it will almost certainly take anything that walks, crawls, swims or flys but that doesn't mean that you would choose it for every one of those tasks! It seems to me that ballistically the 338 and 375 are cousins anyway. If Africa is in the future with the big five then the 375 would be the minimum for me and probably bigger since I would never give up my 338. All the above IMO.

I love my .338wm!

When I get to Africa, it will be with me and the Lott.

Legality? Well, you've got to remember that Ray has been hunting Africa since Jim Sutherland in the Lost Triangle. Anything he says is of a historical (hysterical?) nature.

BTW Ray, which solids did you use with the .338? Hornady FMJ 250's?

Thanks

Minkman

Speaking with a pro guide at SCI 2005 who takes clients onto Buff as his daily job,stated the .338 gave better penetration than .375. But i cannot be certain if that included the 350gn 375 woodleigh.If interested in stopping power, he mentioned something more like a .505

To answer tyhe original question, No, No, and No, and Hell No.

RiflemanZ

I am not sure if any of you guys reading this discussion get the magazine Game&Hunt from SA, in the May2005 edition there is an article on the .338winmag, I am a .338 man myself. in the article they quote a one MR Fransisco Magalhaes who used this cartridge for many years in Mozambique, and he says " the .338 win mag is one of the finest cartridges I have ever used for normal day-to-day shooting on most african big game. From warthog to buffalo, the .338 will make a clean kill." (handloaders digest, pg133, 12th edition) they go on to say the .338 has managed to combine the speed of the .300winmag and the hitting force of the .375h&h.

Just a bit of info !!!!!!!

Cheers Schmidie

"opie-knoppe"

I would take on a Buffalo with the 338 Mag IF, I was using 225 TSX or 250 X bullets, and a few Solids behind that if needed.

When I can get 100% weight retention from the TSX, and 40" of pentration, what more would I need.

Just make your first shot right.

I think it best to use the biggest gun you can shoot well on buffalo. I doubt that anybody that can shoot a 338 would have trouble with a 375.