I have been wanting a larger caliber rifle for when I go out west to hunt Elk or Moose. But I will also use the rifle for whitetail here in Mississippi.

My search has been for a 338 Win Mag, but the 8mm Rem Mag has caught my attention as well. I know the rifle and bullet selection for the 338 will be much greater, but the 8mm seems like a good choice for dual purpose, large and medium game. Plus I am just liking the underdog(8mm) I think.

Please share your thoughts, experiences and opinions!

I like both calibers just the same-alot.The 338 will be tons easier to find ammo.Iam loading my 375H&H with the hornady 225gr.sp bullet to about the same speed as the 8mm magnum.I can go up from there in bullet weights to 235,250gr.,270,285,300gr.if i take a fancy.I cant do that with the big 8mm.so i sold my 338 & 8mag and bought a 375H&H......Good Luck!

I love the .338wm but if the 8mm floats your boat, go for it. You might also throw in the .325WSM (if you can still get one).

The 8mm w/ 200 gr. accubonds is going to shoot flatter and hit harder at long distance. I like the 8mm, but if you have to try and find factory ammo in Elk City, ID or Mora, NM, you are going to be up the proverbial creek, BIG TIME.

I don't think there is even a question unless you want an 8mm for some reason. There is only .015 difference in bullet diameter, and I don't think trajectory is going to be a real world issue, no matter what the tables say. Given the popularity of the .338, the availability of ammo, the excellent bullets available from 175 to 275 grains and the efficiency of the cartridge, I think the .338 is a much better choice.

It will be you, not the elk, that knows the difference.

If you are most concerned about hitting at long range, the 8mm has perhaps a slight edge. If you are most concerned about optimum terminal performance, the .338 has a slight edge. Either is an excellent elk cartridge, and either is provides plenty of range and a significant margin of power over what is adequate for bringing an elk down.

As far as ammunition availability, that's only a hypothetical concern. Would you ever, under any circumstances, be such a dufus as to go off without a more-than-adequate supply of ammunition that is highly tailored to your rifle?

skid2964

Both will work fine but my choice would be the 8mm.

8mm rem is very potent caliber but factory selection of ammo is very limited and is more or less a handloaders cartridge.

Boddington has written some very inspiring articles about 8mm rem. Craig loaded his with 220 grain Sierra and got 3100fps (28 inch barrel). Perhaps someone has the articles from Rifleshooter? In 8mm bullet ranges from 123 to 250 gains.

I think 8mm is a very versatile caliber but for some reason it never have won the American crowds vote.

Cheers
/JOHAN

I would go 8mm Rem Mag

quote:

Ok, which is it gonna be? 8mm Rem Mag or 338 Win Mag?

.338 for sure.....

I also like the 8mmRemMag, seems more interesting then the run of the mill 338WinMag. I sort of wish Remington had re-introduced it in the 700SPS with 26" barrel, but then common sense doesnt seem prevalent at Remington. As Johan suggested, its definately a handloaders cartridge and projectile choices have increased significantly thanks to the 325WSM.
Cheers...
Con

I'm a died in the wool 338 man, however as a handloader the 8m/m magnum leaves much to the imagination. I'd like to see the big 8 chambered in the Sendero.

While, I would prefer the 338 Mag over the 8mm Rem, as it never sold well, ammo and components are more limited....

However, I humbly submit, that you have the East of the Mississippi Idea that you need a bigger rifle, since distances between shots are supposedly longer, and the game much larger in the west.....

You also have the aire of unfamiliarity of both, or else you wouldn't be asking other people's opinions....

Let me tell ya, if you can shoot worth a darn, and are a semi experienced hunter.. if you own a 30/06, 270, 308, or 280... anyone of those will do the job of dropping game west of the mississippi just as well as it works east of the Mississippi....

Sure plenty of guys tout the virtues of 338s and Magnums of all shapes and sizes... but still more game is killed in the west with 270s and 30/06s than all the magnums on the planet all added together...

an 06 with a 180 grain bullet will take about any animal you need to shoot in the lower 48, and will do fine on anything, elsewhere, unless it is big enough to have you for lunch if you muff the shot.....I recommend the 30/06...followed by a good 270 or 280....or a 7 RemMag if you need to tote a magnum....they are more shootable and more available for ammo, if you need to pick some up anywhere...

good luck,
seafire

Seafire,

Ditto that thought !!!!!!!!!

Seafire,

I appreciate your thoughts and agree with them even though I may be "un-familiar" with some of the subject matter.

I own a 7mm Rem Mag that I have hunted with for years, I know some 175gr Hornady's in that thing will do whatever I need. As for other large game rifles, I own 308, 7mm-08, 243, 260, 280 and 30-06. Some calibers, more than one rifle. I have owned a Tikka in 338 Win Mag but sold it. Now I want another larger caliber rifle.

Yes, the 7 mag or '06 will do, I know, but that means I don't have an excuse to buy another rifle!? This isn't only about what will do or making sure I make an overkill. Simply filling an empty spot in my safe must be factored in as well! ..

If I do not find a suitable rifle in 338 or 8mm, I will most certainly take your advice and bring my 7 mag! ('06 as a backup) .....Thanks

I quite like the .338 win mag...............................mild recoil and good power, I wonder if it actually amkes a 30/06 reduntant in a way, as it's just a bigger version of an 06, my experiences with it so far have been great.

If you shoot a lot at longer ranges, the 8 Mag is your baby. The factory ammo for it sucks much like the factory 8 Mauser. It is a handloader's cartridge. The 338 Win mag is not the proper comparison; the 340 Wby is a closer match. Loaded with 150 grain lead bullets to max, it will flatten (and I mean FLATTEN) coyotes at 500 yds like few others.

It really gets useful as a dual purpose gun like that. The twist rate is fine for the full range of 8 MM bullet weights and velocities are substantially higher than the 338 in comparable bullets. The manuals tend to under-load it too so you have to find max through good handloading skills. Not recommended unless you are well versed in loading "blind" so to speak.

But it kickes harder too, if that is a factor. Resale will be tougher. etc. etc.

I like the 8mm case but the bullets are all the same weight as what is usually available in 30 cal. In my opinion the 338 bullets selection is far better, and you would need to shoot 225's or 250's. If your shooting 180's you have just another 300 magnum.

A couple of years back I looked at this pretty hard. The 8MM was no longer in production that had stopped in 1987 I believe. But you could still get one form the Custom Shop at Remington.

The things that really brought my interest back in the 8MM were the production of more quality bullets for it than when it was in production. Most all 8MM bullets before with just a couple of exceptions were designed for use in 8 X 57. With Remington’s 185 Corelokt being one of the few exceptions to this.

Then RL 22 and 25 came along about the time Remington discontinued the caliber. I felt this really breathed new life into the caliber and before that the .338 probably would have been my choice.

I found a near mint 8MM for sale and picked it up for $425. Scoped it and started my load development. The rifle shot well. I used most of the slow burning powders 4350, 4831, 7828, H1000 then I decided to try the Reloader powder because I'd had some success with them before. Well the 8 only has a 24" barrel in its standard factory configuration. Using some data provided by the Alliant website I started working up my loads. I felt that their loads were shall we say optimistic. But I found as worked with both RL 22 and 25 that the data was right on the mark. The gun was reaching MV's over 3000 fps with both of the Reloader powders. This was with a Sierra Game king 220 Gr. bullet with a BC of .521.

I ran the data through my ballistic program. Comparing it with data from a 338 Win and my 300 Weatherby. I looked at 338 data using the 225 and 250 Gr. bullets and the 200 Sierra Gameking that I was using in my 300 Weatherby. My findings were that at just about 200 plus yards the 8MM surpassed the 338 in energy and that the 338 was losing the trajectory battle. The 300 was behind in energy from the muzzle and the 8MM still had it beat by over 230 pounds in energy at 500. Trajectory wise the 8MM matched the Weatherby all the way to 400. But by 500 the Weatherby had eked out a scant .5 inch over the 8MM. I was satisfied that I'd found my new Elk gun. Is the 8MM the best Elk/Moose gun out there? I’d say not. Will it fill the niche that I use it for? Yes more than adequately and will do it with less punishment than some of the RUM's.

Let me add to the fire just to make things interesting: For the correct choice, look at the ballistics tables at the back pages of the 2005 or the 2006 Petersen's Rifle Shooter Annual, or to the same tables in the 2006 or 2006 Guns & Ammo Annual. First go to the page where the 8mm Remington Magnum is shown, and then go to the .338WM. When you look at those two pages, you will "see" the answers to your questions.
-----------------------

You will find a couple of factory loadings for the 8mm Magnum, in one of which a 200-grain bullet is used. Here are he ballistics for that bullet:

200-grain bullet, 26" barrel, rifle sighted +1.8 at 100 yards. Bullet trajectory equals:
200 yd.= 0"
300 yd.= -8"
400 yd = -23.9"
500 yd = -49.6"

Muzzle = 2900 fps = 3734 foot-pound
100 yd.= 2623 fps = 3054 foot-pound
200 yd.= 2361 fps = 2476 foot-pound
300 yd.= 2115 fps = 1987 foot-pound
400 yd.= 1884 fps = 1577 foot-pound
500 yd.= 1681 fps = 1240 foot-pound
-------
Ballistics of a .338WM with a 24" barrel and a similarly constructed bullet from factory ammo. Rifle sighted +1.6" at 100 yards. Bullet trajectory equals:
200 yd.= 0"
300 yd.= -7"
400 yd.= 20.8"
500 yd.= 42.4"

Muzzle = 2950 fps = 3866 foot-pound
100 yd.= 2724 fps = 3295 foot-pound
200 yd.= 2509 fps = 2795 foot-pound
300 yd.= 2303 fps = 2357 foot-pound
400 yd.= 2108 fps = 1973 foot-pound
500 yd.= 1922 fps = 1641 foot-pound
----
Please note that the 8mm Remington Magnum benefits from a longer barrel than the .338WM. You can also surpass the 8mm velocities offered by factory ammo (if you handload).

However the .338WM already has factory loadings that offer nearly 200 fps more than standard factory ammo. Also, handloaders still can boost the speed of the .338WM ammo, even with its shorter barrel.

Also note that the .338WM has a slightly larger diameter than the 8mm, and also that you can use .338-caliber bullets from 160 to 300 grains. You can push the velocity of the 8mm Magnum, but you can also do the same with the .338WM.

Those who think that the 8mm Reminton Magnum offers great advantages over the .338WM may only be correct if they like to use a longer barrel, and if they prefer a smaller diameter bore. There is no way for the 8mm Magnum to equal the .340 Weatherby, simply because it can't get in the league of the super .338's (.338 Weatherby, .330 Dakota, .338 Lazzeroni, .338RUM, .338-378, etc.). Yes, you can create charts and things like that in a ballistics program and get all excited about it, but so can you do the same for any of the super .338s and still maintain their lead.

The 8mm Reminton Magnum's ballistics are comparable to the ballistics of the .325WSM, and to think otherwise is just in the shooter's mind, not in real life. The bottom line is that one has to compile all the little details on each cartridge to compare it to the next, not just one or two little details such as velocity and energy.

quote:

The 8mm Reminton Magnum's ballistics are comparable to the ballistics of the .325WSM, and to think otherwise is just in the shooter's mind, not in real life.

Ray I'm sure those are factory loads you have listed.

Using Alliant data which I ran over my chronograph my 220 Gr. loads out of a 24†barrel for five shots had an average muzzle velocity of 3056 fps with a average spread of 12 fps.

Heres where I got my data. and my speeds amazingly enough were better than the Alliant claim something that doesn't happen often. You will note when you display the data these loads where shot out of a 24" barrel. Factory loaded data never get near SAAMI spec for this rifle and that's why you see the big descrepancy. I know of guys with 26 and 28 inch barrels claiming over 3200 fps with 22o gr bullets. But lets just stick with the documentable velocities.

I agree that the super 338's as I stated before will out shoot the 8MM. But your shoulder will certianly know it.

200 Gr. bullet

220 Gr. bullet

quote:

Originally posted by Jay Johnson:

quote:

The 8mm Reminton Magnum's ballistics are comparable to the ballistics of the .325WSM, and to think otherwise is just in the shooter's mind, not in real life.

Ray I'm sure those are factory loads you have listed.

Using Alliant data which I ran over my chronograph my 220 Gr. loads out of a 24†barrel for five shots had an average muzzle velocity of 3056 fps with a average spread of 12 fps.

Heres where I got my data. and my speeds amazingly enough were better than the Alliant claim something that doesn't happen often. You will note when you display the data these loads where shot out of a 24" barrel. Factory loaded data never get near SAAMI spec for this rifle and that's why you see the big descrepancy. I know of guys with 26 and 28 inch barrels claiming over 3200 fps with 22o gr bullets. But lets just stick with the documentable velocities.

I agree that the super 338's as I stated before will out shoot the 8MM. But your shoulder will certianly know it.

200 Gr. bullet

220 Gr. bullet

with both the 8mm Magnum and the .338WM I listed anemic factory loads. In fact, the .338WM load I listed was the most anemic of the bunch. Also, the Barnes #3 manual lists a 200-grain XFB for the .338WM at 3051 fps with 76.0 gr. (Maximum) of RL-19. This looks great on paper, but pushing any cartridge to its maximum always looks greater on paper or on the monitor that in real life.

We can push the 8mm, but we can also push any other cartridge and enter the "play with fire" zone. In real life those velocities are much harder to attain safely. And then there are fast and slow barrels to contend with. Even so, the average reloader and shooter has only hints of the pressures building up in the chamber. The chrono may help a little, but a Pressure Trace or similar device would be a greatly safer instrument to use when one pushes the envelope.

quote:

We can push the 8mm, but we can also push any other cartridge and enter the "play with fire" zone. In real life those velocities are much harder to attain safely.

Well if you looked at those loads on the Alliant site and looked at the SAAMI pressures developed for that load they aren't pushed they are under SAAMI specs. I sure would like to know the pressure on those loads you posted. Also I'd like to have them verified over a chronograph.

quote:

Originally posted by Jay Johnson:

quote:

We can push the 8mm, but we can also push any other cartridge and enter the "play with fire" zone. In real life those velocities are much harder to attain safely.

Well if you looked at those loads on the Alliant site and looked at the SAAMI pressures developed for that load they aren't pushed they are under SAAMI specs. I sure would like to know the pressure on those loads you posted. Also I'd like to have them verified over a chronograph.

The loads I posted are anemic factory loads. In fact, there was only one 8mm mag load listed in the page, and I posted that one. It's shown in the Petersen's 2005 Annual. On the same page, there are 19 factory loads for the .338WM, starting with 180-grain bullets and ending with the 250 grainers.

Here is one of the factory loads for the .338-caliber that offer greater velocities and energies:

225-grain SP-HM, 24" barrel, sighted +1.9" at 100 yards. Bullet trajectory is similar to the one posted above, with a drop of -21.8" at 400 yards.

(225-grain bullet, not 200-grain one)
Muzzle = 2950 fps = 4347 foot-pound
100 yd.= 2714 fps = 3680 foot-pound
200 yd.= 2491 fps = 3098 foot-pound
300 yd.= 2278 fps = 2591 foot-pound
400 yd.= 2075 fps = 2151 foot-pound
500 yd.= 1884 fps = 1772 foot-pound

The 250-grain NOS-HE from Federal drops to -22.5" at 400 yards with the rifle sighted to hit the 100-yard mark at +1.8". The muzzle velocity = 2800 fps/4350 foot-pound, and 2080 fps/2395 foot-pound at 400 yards. Then if you look at the A2 loads for the .338WM with 250-grain bullets loaded at 2700 fps, you will notice that both produce over 4000 foot-pound at the muzzle.

But approaching 2700 fps with 250-grain bullets for the .338WM is getting close to maximum. It's possible with some fast barrels, but it may not be very safe with slower barrels.

If we're using stats, let's use come fairly constant ones. A 338 WM case holds 74-77 grains of water to the base of the neck depending on brand. 8 Mag brass only comes in one brand and it holds 92-93 grains of water, again to the base of the neck (about 7% more than the 375 H&H). Those numbers come from Pet Loads, FWTW.

Loaded to identical pressures with identical weight and profile bullets and barrel lengths, the 8 Mag will out run the 338 every time. At least that has been my experience.

Also, given the same weight and construction bullet, the 8 Mag will have better sectional density and better theoretical penetration.

The 338 has heavier bullets but the heaviest 338 bullets are wasted on elk so in this case that doesn't seem an advantage.

The 8 Mag is more of a niche caliber but if the niche is to be elk, it has specific advantages for the open country shooter the 338 WM doesn't. If all your shots are under 300, I suppose it's a coin toss.

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
If we're using stats, let's use come fairly constant ones. A 338 WM case holds 74-77 grains of water to the base of the neck depending on brand. 8 Mag brass only comes in one brand and it holds 92-93 grains of water, again to the base of the neck (about 7% more than the 375 H&H). Those numbers come from Pet Loads, FWTW.

Loaded to identical pressures with identical weight and profile bullets and barrel lengths, the 8 Mag will out run the 338 every time. At least that has been my experience.

Also, given the same weight and construction bullet, the 8 Mag will have better sectional density and better theoretical penetration.

The 338 has heavier bullets but the heaviest 338 bullets are wasted on elk so in this case that doesn't seem an advantage.

The 8 Mag is more of a niche caliber but if the niche is to be elk, it has specific advantages for the open country shooter the 338 WM doesn't. If all your shots are under 300, I suppose it's a coin toss.

But you have to take into consideration that the 8mm bullets is slightly narrower than the .338WM's. The slightly larger bore may help just a little with chamber pressures. You can see this when you stuff a larger diameter bullet in a smaller cartridge. For example, the .375 Taylor. This cartridge uses less powder to produce ballistics that are close to the .375 H&H's.

Other than that, the real advantages of the .338WM over the 8mm Rem. Mag are as follows:

-Every manufacturer produces more bullets (you can look for yourself)
-Bullets are offered from 160 grains (Barnes), to 300 grains (Woodleigh, Kodiak, and others)
-There are enough factory loads, something like a 18:1 ratio
-slightly larger diameter
-Does not require the use of 26" barrels
-It's as popular as the .30-06 and the .300WM in Alaska
-Reloaders have the choice of using lighter than 180-grain and heavier than 250-grain bullets if they don't want factory loads of 180-250 grains
-One can find ammo for it at any of the local stores

The rest is just left for the shooters' imagination, because these things are "reality." In real life there are not tangible benefits when placing a lethal shot on game using either one.

That's 8 things listed:

1,2 & 7 are the same point.

3 & 8 are the same basic point.

4 is a good technical point but the difference between 338 and 323 isn't significant enough to overcome a 20% difference in case capacity.

8 Mag doesn't need a 26" barrel to out run a 338 WM but with 26 and up the difference becomes more pronounced.

As far as 6, most available calibers are more "popular" than the 8 Mag in every state, much less Alaska. All that matters here is what skid2964 wants.

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
That's 8 things listed:

1,2 & 7 are the same point.

3 & 8 are the same basic point.

4 is a good technical point but the difference between 338 and 323 isn't significant enough to overcome a 20% difference in case capacity.

8 Mag doesn't need a 26" barrel to out run a 338 WM but with 26 and up the difference becomes more pronounced.

As far as 6, most available calibers are more "popular" than the 8 Mag in every state, much less Alaska. All that matters here is what skid2964 wants.

All that is good, but we can't argue that where the .338WM does its best is with heavier than 225-grain bullets, and also that the heavier .338-caliber bullets have greater SD, which is preferred when one wants the most penetration on the heaviest game. That's why the .338 is so popular with Alaska hunters. Now, here is a list of most of the .338 bullets:

.338-caliber (8.59)

Barnes
185-gr TSX
210-gr TSX
225-gr TSX
160-gr X FB
250-gr Solid

Woodleigh
225-gr PP SN
250-gr RN SN
250-gr PP SN
250-gr FMJ
300-gr RN SN
300-gr FMJ

Kodiak
200-gr PSP
200-gr FNSP
200-gr SP-HG
225-gr PSP
250-gr PP
275-gr PP

Swift
210-gr Scirocco II
225-gr A-Frame
250-gr A-Frame
275-gr A frame

Sierra
215-gr SBT GameKing
250-gr SBT GameKing
250-gr HPBT MatchKing
300-gr HPBT MatchKing

Nosler
180-gr BT
200-gr BT
210-gr Partition
225-gr Partition
250-gr Partition
180-gr Accubond
225-gr Accubond
230-gr FS

Hornady
200-gr Spire
225-gr SST
225g-gr Spire
250-gr Spire
250-gr Round
225-gr Interbond

GS
180-gr HV
200-gr HV
225-gr HV
250-gr FN

Northfork
225-gr SS
240-gr SS
200-gr SS

Speer
225-gr GS
225-gr GS
225-gr TB BC
200-gr SP
225-gr BT

OK, that's 50-51 bullets, not including Norma, Lapua, Privi-Partizan, Remington, Winchester, probably Breneke and 6 or ten others I don't know of.

Let's say for the sake of argument there are 350 different 338 bullets between 210 and 250 grains and only 10 different 8 Mag bullets between 200 and 220.

Why does that make a 338 better for elk? Because an anal-retentive handloader can have 40 different boxes of 338 bullets on his shelf?

And were really aren't discussing calibers here, we're talking cartriges. The bullet count is irrelevant to the merits of the two cartriges now that there are enough good 8 MM bullets available.

If you like under dogs, get a 325 WSM - it is well on it's way to 8mm RM fate I'll bet...

Woud be easier to download for Eastern hunting too...

The browning 325s are are fairly light...

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
OK, that's 50-51 bullets, not including Norma, Lapua, Privi-Partizan, Remington, Winchester, probably Breneke and 6 or ten others I don't know of.

Let's say for the sake of argument there are 350 different 338 bullets between 210 and 250 grains and only 10 different 8 Mag bullets between 200 and 220.

Why does that make a 338 better for elk? Because an anal-retentive handloader can have 40 different boxes of 338 bullets on his shelf?

And were really aren't discussing calibers here, we're talking cartriges. The bullet count is irrelevant to the merits of the two cartriges now that there are enough good 8 MM bullets available.

I don't know about elk since I don't hunt such, but for Alaska moose and bears I prefer heavy-for-caliber bullets starting at 250 grains and ending at 300. I have never said that one is better than the other, since elk and all sort of game are killed with much smaller cartridges than these two (8mm Mag. and .338WM). All I have said that the only advantages of the .338WM over the 8mm Mag are mainly bullet choices from 160 grains to 180, and from 250 grains to 300. I also said that another advantage is for those who don't reload and buy factory ammo, since the factory ammo ratio between the .338 and the 8mm Mag is around 18:1 (if not more).

I also said that a well-placed shot on any game, from either one, does not give any significant advantage to one or the other, and implied-with the tables provided-that either one can be used to kill game at longer ranges than average, out to 500 yards.

The reason why the 8mm Magnum didn't become as popular as the .338WM is in fact ammo availability (ammo and bullets). However, the 8mm magnum is a great cartridge, and those who use it, even with the limited number of tough bullets for it, can do just as well as .338WM shooters and hunters. These are the facts, nothing else.

quote:

Originally posted by skid2964:
Seafire,

I appreciate your thoughts and agree with them even though I may be "un-familiar" with some of the subject matter.

I own a 7mm Rem Mag that I have hunted with for years, I know some 175gr Hornady's in that thing will do whatever I need. As for other large game rifles, I own 308, 7mm-08, 243, 260, 280 and 30-06. Some calibers, more than one rifle. I have owned a Tikka in 338 Win Mag but sold it. Now I want another larger caliber rifle.

Yes, the 7 mag or '06 will do, I know, but that means I don't have an excuse to buy another rifle!? This isn't only about what will do or making sure I make an overkill. Simply filling an empty spot in my safe must be factored in as well! ..

If I do not find a suitable rifle in 338 or 8mm, I will most certainly take your advice and bring my 7 mag! ('06 as a backup) .....Thanks

heck Skid,

if you need a MAGNUM, then get a real Magnum.....

I'd just jump to a 375 H & H....Plenty of history, nostalgia, and then If you do go to where the game can eat ya, then you don't have to worry with the 375.... downloaded with SR 4759 or Blue Dot shotgun powder, or IMR 4227.. you can duplicate the old 38/55 or the 375 Winchester for deer hunting.... and you won't have to worry about blood shot meat....

But as a person that had a Savage 116 come into my possession not long ago, that with a 175 grainer, loaded to 7mm Weatherby specs....I think you are in good hands there also....

A CZ 375 H&H is probably going to be in my future... I don't need one, but then again, the wife doesn't need me, but keeps me around.. says I am fun to have around....

good luck and cheers
seafire

If you want something obscure and different go with the 8mm. If you want a popular easy to find round go with the 338.
The 338 Win mag is a good step up in power to the 7 Mag. Loaded with proper bullets it can be a decent long range round. My second longest shot ever was with a 338 Win Mag on an Elk with a 225gr Accubond. The 338 Win Mag is also extremely versital with bullets offered from 160 to 300grs. With 180gr bullets it's a near copy of a 300mag, with 300gr bullets it nips at the heels of a 375 H&H. IMHO every rifleman should eventually own one.
The 8mm is IMO more of a specialty round. It's a little overbore and needs a longer barrel than is my usual preference to hunt with. It probably would be an even better long range hunting round if it had more bullet choices available in the US. Maybe the 325 WSM will help out. I wouldn't tell anyone who wants one to not get one but just be aware when you buy it how hard components etc. are going to be to get. If you don't mind someday fireforming the brass out of another caliber etc. go right ahead otherwise choose a caliber thats a worldwide standard...................DJ

The way I see it, the primary drawback to the 8m/m Remington no longer exists with the cure coming in the form of Nosler's Accubond. True, most .323" bullets were intended for use in 8X57 and therefore are too soft for the big 8, but for the conscientious handloader there should be no problem. For the less thoughtful however, there is bound to be disappointment.
The other drawback is, or was as it were, the ugly rifle the big 8 was available in. The cure of course, is the Sendero. I think it is past time to give this calibre another try before it makes its final turn into obscurity.

I would go with the 338 Win Mag.It has a awesome bullets selection and when you go above 220 grain bullets it beats the 8mm Rem Mag.I also think thaty brass for the 8 mag will not be around forever.I hjad a chance to buy a 8 mag in a remington 700 classic and turned it down.I dont need anything that over laps the 338 and is very hard to find ammo for.If you loose your ammo you can find 338 win mag good luck finding 8 rem mag ammo.The 338 is chambered in a bunch of rifles.My favorite is the Ruger all weather stainless model 77.Its tough ,accutrate and is the only rifle you will ever need for 99% of all North American game.Stick a 3x9 nikon monarch on it and your good to go.Mine shoots groups of 3/4" at 200 yards with 225 gr remingtom factory ammo.

There is no disputing the 8mm mag will have an edge over the 338 for long range pokes, sleeker bullets leaving the muzzle quicker are better for shots past 400 yds. The problem is, you don't have alot of choice for componet bullets, brass is going to be hard to come by, and harder to come by in the future, and you'll have either get a custom gun built, or luck into a used one.

The 338 win mag just plane works, is easy to come by, and factory ammo can be had anywhere big stuff is hunted. Traveling with guns, and ammo is a bugger, and common factory chambering is highly recomended, should the friendly TSA folks feel like relieving you of your ammo.

Now, if you want the best of both rounds, get a 340 Wetherby, or 338 ultra mag.