The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles 338-06 only effective to 300 yards?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Ive seen elk make a lot tracks when shot at 400 yards plus with lighter rifles like the 270, 30-06, 308 Win. Some shots were border line one lung etc. but I have never seen an elk make many tracks with a one lung shot with a .338 Win. and most of the time a gut shot elk will lay down and give you a chance to get to him..Thats was why I switched over to the .338 with the 210 Nosler or 225 Accubond..Maybe coincidence but never the less my experience and Im good with my decision.. Would I hunt elk today with a 270 or 30-06 or even a 25-35? I would but I would change my hunting technique to 300 yards for the 06 and 200 or less for the 25-35 Win.. Common since is the one best calber for hunting any animal.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I also believe that we miss a point on elk or even deer rifle to a degree in that a proper caliber and bullet should be able to penetrate full body length of the animal you hunt, just in case your first shot doesn't put it down and that is often with about any caliber..It sure will save you from having to walk 5 miles or down in the damp and dirty black timber bottoms.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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50 cal! | |||
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I believe my 308 win is good enough for that range. -------------------- THANOS WAS RIGHT! | |||
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Loading 4895 behind 225 gr. bullets in my 338/06 I'm not able to go over 2600 fps. 24" bbl. 8 twist. I'm going to drop down to a 210 gr. bullet or a Barnes. There is no way to prevent permanent hearing damage when shooting a 340 with a muzzle brake. velocity is like a new car, always losing value. BC is like diamonds, holding value forever. | |||
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The average hunter should not be shooting at elk with a 270, or anything else, at ranges over 200 yards, if the guys I see at the range sighting in their rifles for elk hunts are any indication. And they are, representative. Now, for AR members, well, yes they do shoot the small bores; 270s and the like are still way too small for me. With perfect shots, maybe. Still, 33 is minimum, 35 better. | |||
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All depends on the cartridge since some you would think are too small for elk or moose have bullets that have greater SD than some of the larger calibers. An example is the .33 caliber versus the .35. There aren't any .35-caliber bullets that have the SD of the .33-caliber. The next step on bullet SD is up to the 9.3-caliber. http://www.chuckhawks.com/sd.htm (Please note the .270 on that list)
Or this one: http://www.chuckhawks.com/want_better_sd.htm
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SD is only a proxy for penetration (while useful) it is not relevant when comparing bullets of different construction types. For example, A barnes tsx with a lower SD will out penetrate a cup and core with a higher SD. Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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That is very true, Mike. Also, a solid of the same construction as the Barnes TSX (weight and shape, non-expanding), will out penetrate the TSX. But Chuck is referring to bullet SD only (SD does not change). In this case one has to understand that the bullets are of similar construction relating to expansion for each caliber. The 6.5mm with a controlled-expansion 140-grain bullet is very popular with in the EU for hunting stag or elk. In the US a lot of hunters used the .264 (with 140-grain bullet) and .270 (with 150 grainer) for elk and moose. Not that I would use either one of these two for moose in Alaska, but with the right bullet they do fall in the category the author of the article above is referring to. Mr. Hawks explains which type of bullets he is referring to in his articles about bullet SD as follows: http://www.chuckhawks.com/want_better_sd.htm
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There's no doubt the 338-06 can kill elk out past 300 yards. The ballistics say so. A 210gr Scirocco leaving the muzzle at 2850fps has just shy of 2200ftlbs at 400yds. Velocity is also the same which it would need to open the bullet up. The trajectory is about 21in low. Granted this is with the AI version. All this being said I would not take that shot. Not worth it, get closer or wait to fight another day. Just my 2 cents worth. | |||
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Well, this is interesting! What has recoil got to do with how ANY cartridge works beyond your set distance? I own 338-06, 338WM, 340 Weatherby and 338 Edge. All 4 catridges are within 10” of each other to 400yrds. I do not know what point you’re trying to make? I have made quite a few 400+yrd shots with all 4, none are difficult to make hits with at these ranges, in fact the 338 cal has some very high BC hunting bullets that make hits even easier. As to power, the 338-06 has ample power all the way to 800yrds. Cheers.  | |||
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To me, this reinforces the general all-purpose application of the 338 WinMag. Both fit in the same length action, but the 338WM has just a little more flexibility all around. So if the 338-06 is good to 300 or 400 yards, and it is, the WinMag puts a little frosting on the cake and can do the same thing with a bullet of one-notch heavier weight and better BC. Put another way, the huntability of the 338-06 gives me pause to re-appreciate the 338 WinMag. If I don't plan on hunting beyond 400 yards, then I really don't need a 33Nosler, 338Lapua, or 338 wildcat. Just give me an accurate 338 WinMag and I'm good to go. The 225gnTTSX at 2825-2850fps, .514BC, sort of does it all. (In Africa of course, they want .375" or more for DG. Even more is better for buff.) PS: A 210gnScirocco at 2850fps is a pretty hot load, even in 338-06 AI. It is almost 3800ft#, normally the realm of the significantly larger WinMag case. No doubt doable in some rifles, but pushing the edges for the -06 case. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles 338-06 only effective to 300 yards?
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