I picked up a win mod 70 super grade for a steal, l'm looking for an excuse to keep it. I know l don't need an excuse really, just have an issue with white elephants. I know waterat sometimes uses a 358 Norma, is there anyone else who can speak for using a rifle in this class for backpack hunting, mountain hunting?

I use a 416 ruger. Had a smith put it on a diet. Sub 7lbs fully geared up.
You can handload that 338 with some lighter bullets and end up with a screamer if you wanted. 338 is a fantastic round.

Nice to hear that, l thought sensible mountain rounds stopped at 300 wsm or thereabouts. I do wander where bears are around, that's my other excuse.

I love the 338 WM and have always had at least one since about 1972 or so.
I built a light mountain rifle in 338 win mag for a dall sheep hunt in 1984 but had to scrap the idea when the Ruger wouldn't shoot accurately and wouldn't feed properly.
Many Rugers were having serious feeding issues with belted mags back then (including my 7mm Rem mag). It cured me of Rugers and now the only ones I own are 22 lr's.

So I "almost" used one as a backpack rifle.
Zeke

I carried a .388 Winchester model 70 this year in the Cascade mountains where I live. I bought it this spring for a very good price that I couldn't resist.

Now I haven't backpacked with it per say but have carried it daily this fall hiking. It's light enough that I wouldn't hesitate to take it on a backpack style hunt. It's certainly enough gun for about anything you might run into.

I used my Ruger 77 338 as a mountain rifle 35 years ago. I had the barrel cut to 21" for carrying convenience. It only cost me 60 fps. Most of my hunting was for elk, so I wasn't climbing steep, rocky mountains.
The wonderful thing about the 338 Win Mag is that you can load it with 200 gr. bullets and it will shoot as flat as a 300 magnum. Load it with 250 gr. or heavier bullets and it will hit just as hard as a 375 H&H. Or so close to it that the difference is not noticeable.
I used both a 375 (270gr.) and a 338 (250gr.) in Africa on a plains game hunt, taking 10 head of large African antelope and zebra and was unable to tell any difference in killing power. They both hit real hard.

I have a NULA model 28 in .338 win mag. Weighs 6.75 pounds with scope. It's great to carry, very accurate and hits hard. I shoot 185 grain TTSX's at 3100 fps. Plenty flat trajectory for mountain hunting.

Positive opinions from real experience in the field. Thanks a lot fellas

Talentrec
I love your set up!! My old 416 was a NULA as well!!

I used my Rem 700 KS .338WM for my Alaska backpack goat hunt using 225gr Swift A-Frames. It weighs about 7.5lbs with scope.

I also used my 700 AWR .338WM for a spring 23 day backpack/snowshoe Alaska Brown bear hunt. That rifle shoots 250gr Swifts.

Love the .338WM.

The new Ruger Guide gun in 338 Win would fit that bill perfectly. Especially with a carbon fiber "Hunter" stock from McMillan.

Fourtyonesix-

I was a bit nervous about the recoil, but the stock design makes it really pleasant to shoot. I haven't tried it with 250's at full power though...

How was the recoil on your .416? I had a custom .416 on a Montana action with a 20 inch barrel. Scoped it was a hair under nine pounds. While very handy, the recoil was a bit more than I like to deal with. It broke two 1.5-5 Leupolds in less than 50 rounds!

I've got a custom 338WM that weighs in at 6 3/4 pounds and by shooting 185 grainers out of it, the recoil is quite manageable, even when shooting prone. I had it built for when I was guiding sheep hunters in grizz country but I have since taken it on a few mountain hunts of my own.

Talentrec my NULA 416 was great!! The recoil I didn't think was any big deal, probably put several hundred rounds thru that gun. It ate a luey 2.5-8
Quick but my 1.5-5 last on it. I did however just toast a luey 1.5-5 on my current 416. Eyeballing a nightforce now....

Years ago I bought a custom .338 WM built on a pre-64 M70 action. Has a Kreiger bbl and is fitted to a McMillan. Only oddity is that it is MagnaPorted.

Weighs 7 pounds without the scope.

Flew into Jackson Hole and checked into the Motel 6 for an overnight. Went back to the airport to pickup my hunting buddy. We went to the range. Rifle produced a 2" 3 shot group centered on the 300 yard gong.

We went hunting the next morning. ;-)

Good quality straight power scopes (not variables) are more reliable on hard recoiling rifles.

I like 338s my lightest now is a win 70 stainless just under 8 scoped and loaded. I would like a kimber Montana in 338 though with a 22-24".

For the times that I went elk hunting in mountains I carried a .338 Model 70 and I thought the damn thing was way to heavy. So I did myself a favor.
You can too. Sell what you bought and get yourself a Kimber Montana in .325 WSM. Your back and your feet and your arms will thank you.

Really if you're a handloader obviously that helps, if not then I'd get a 338 win mag. A 22" 338 win mag or a 22" 358 Norma is a good set-up. I really think a kimber Montana in 338 win mag would be nice but again, you can get a M70 under 8 lbs scoped and loaded with a sling. I have a fairly lightweight 340 wby on a 700 and that has a 24" barrel. The 340 is a great cartridge for a 24" expansion ratio wise. Damn Brad has all but brow beat me into chopping all my 338 Win mags to 22" .

My hunting buddy has used his Browning X-Bolt 338 Win Mag for the past 5 years hunting elk in CO. One of our trips was a backpack hunt. It also serves as his go-to deer rifle as well.

I camp at about 8,500 feet and hike up to over 10,000 feet where I hunt elk. I suppose that makes my rifle a "mountain rifle". I use an early stainless Rem. 700 in .338 Win. It is more like an ADL in some ways, as it has a blind magazine. It did not shoot as well as I wanted so it sat in the gun safe for several years. I finally started shooting it and fire-lapped the bore with the NECO kit. It got rid of the fliers and shrunk the overall group size so I started hunting with it. So far it has taken 8 elk, 3 mule deer, and some African plains game up to zebra in size. It is not a heavy rifle, probably about 8.5 pounds with scope, but it is also not a 5 or 6 pound lightweight. I feel a little weight in the rifle is nice if I get a close, quick offhand shot. A rifle that is too light I hard to hold steady. I can usually find a few thing to take out of my day pack to save a few pounds to make up for the weight of the rifle.

I guess it all depends on what you want to hunt in the mountains. Elmer Keith saw no problem in a light 338WM for older hunters of elk, bear and sheep.

I may be old now but still prefer my Sako Finnbear 338 for hunting the lower slopes, camping at the car. The so-called Safari Sling, though pointless for single-file African safaris, makes carrying the 9.5-pound set-up easy and the rifle's mass soaks up recoil nicely.

Even a light rifle can be a nuisance on steep hills, though, and I have had trouble carrying my 6.5-pound 270 WSM with a conventional sling. Without a special harness, I find it turns around on my shoulder all the time.

depends on how you value your rifle weight i guess. i am new to backpack hunting, i did a couple backpack elk trips this year. i carried both my 7RM (8.8 lbs without bipod or ammo) and my 338RUM (just slightly heavier). loaded up and with bipod they were each around 10 lbs. i wish they were a little lighter, but i'll take the little extra weight for rifles i really like.

i just got a new, lighter pack, and will get a lighter tent this year. i'll find a few ways to save a few pounds here and there, but keep my rifles as they are.

It's an interesting phenomenon that as we age the mountains literally get steeper thus making a heavy rifle almost useless.

I've hunted sheep and goats over a dozen times and never would attempt it with a heavy gun, but that's just me. Some of you guys are simply tougher than me!

There would be no flies on the 338 for a mountain rifle provided the user can shoot it well under field conditions. Like I said, i almost used one on a backpack sheep hunt.

Zeke

I used a 338WM this past fall on a WY elk hunt. Camped at 8100ft and hunted up to 9700ft.....shot my elk at 409 yards. That's when the fun ended......packing elk is work

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
Talentrec my NULA 416 was great!! The recoil I didn't think was any big deal, probably put several hundred rounds thru that gun. It ate a luey 2.5-8
Quick but my 1.5-5 last on it. I did however just toast a luey 1.5-5 on my current 416. Eyeballing a nightforce now....

You might look at Nikon monarch 1-6 i think. Michael was. Using them on all of his B&M rifles as the leupolds all had broken reticles. I use the nikomn on my 500 and458. The nightforce shoudl be fine as well, just a bunch more pennies

quote:

Originally posted by brent ebeling:

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
Talentrec my NULA 416 was great!! The recoil I didn't think was any big deal, probably put several hundred rounds thru that gun. It ate a luey 2.5-8
Quick but my 1.5-5 last on it. I did however just toast a luey 1.5-5 on my current 416. Eyeballing a nightforce now....

You might look at Nikon monarch 1-6 i think. Michael was. Using them on all of his B&M rifles as the leupolds all had broken reticles. I use the nikomn on my 500 and458. The nightforce shoudl be fine as well, just a bunch more pennies

If Nikon scopes are better than all others in withstanding recoil I will be surprised - having had one (or the Tikka mounts) let me down in NZ once. Notwithstanding the qualities of their lenses, I would have thought they'd have less experience in scope making than many other brands*. I'm also inclined to think that 6x zoom multiples are likely to exacerbate recoil-inertia problems in the articulated erector sets of all scopes with constantly centred reticles. On a light .338 magnum that mini-me inside will really start bouncing around.

*I'm now informed their scope-making goes back about 50 years

I used a 338 RUM to take a Mountain Grizzly at 381 yeards up in the Dillinger Pass.

The 338 RUM packs quite a wallop. Load, performance?

If I remember, it was a 225gr Accubond. It was in a Remington Custom Shop KS Mountain Rifle.

Had a client run bergers in his 338 rum this fall on a 8' grizzly. Some of the worst performance I've ever seen from a 338 bullet. Those speeds need a good bullet like a tsx or something that'll hold together on impact.

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
Had a client run bergers in his 338 rum this fall on a 8' grizzly. Some of the worst performance I've ever seen from a 338 bullet. Those speeds need a good bullet like a tsx or something that'll hold together on impact.

What was it?

Biebs was that your RUM? I run out of practicality in 338s past a 24" 340 wby.

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
Had a client run bergers in his 338 rum this fall on a 8' grizzly. Some of the worst performance I've ever seen from a 338 bullet. Those speeds need a good bullet like a tsx or something that'll hold together on impact.

I can imagine a Berger wouldn't hold together at RUM velocities. Too many young un's today seem to think they are the end all of bullets.

quote:

Biebs was that your RUM? I

No, I took my Bear 4 years ago. And I don't trust any bullet brand that started out as a target/match bullet maker :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
If I remember, it was a 225gr Accubond. It was in a Remington Custom Shop KS Mountain Rifle.

My chosen combo of rifle and bullet weight but I use Swifts.

Bobby, the Swift A-Frame is my African bullet, none better. I think the Accubond probably flies a bit better (ballistically). Ranges up in the mountains are long, no cover, difficult angles, so the flatter the better.

Ran swifts a bit, even petition golds, once I settled into my 225
Tsx in my 338 I never looked back.

A friend of mine is a guide and also a resident Alaskan hunter. When he was first getting into guiding he really liked my Kimber Montana and bought one in .338wm. He's used it for everything from his own sheep hunts to guiding for sheep and even brown bears on Kodiak. He also shoots the 225 grain TSX.

Brett

The first custom rifle I had built was a 338 WM by Brown Precision. With a 2.5x8 Leupold it tipped the scales at a a hair over 7 LB. It worked as well as a sheep rifle as it did for moose, caribou and African PG. That was way pre TSX bullets but the 210 NP, 225 SAF and 250 NP all shot nicely in that rifle. Recoil was brisk but perfectly tolerable.

Mark

I took my 338 WM Ruger 77 MKII boat paddle stocked on a hunt in the mountains of Alaska about 2000.

So that makes it a mountain rifle.

Carried up and down for 10 days.

Seemed just fine at the time