I bought a T3 Hunter in a 338 Win. mag. back in February. It did not take long (about 3 rounds) to realize that a 6.9 pound rifle in a 338 cal. was a big mistake. I called a friend of mine up who is a stock maker and asked him if he could do anything with it? He said he had some mecury recoil reducers that would help immensly. I had him install two of those,one in the forearm and one in the butt and some additional lead in the forearm for a total of one and a half pounds of weight. That sure made things bearable. Now the scope only hits me in the forehead about every 12th round instead of every other round. I love the rifle and every thing about it except for the extremely light weight in such a caliber.
How on earth do you guys sight in such a rifle with that caliber to weight ratio? I litterally could not hold the front end down to shoot good. I did not even have the loads up anywhere near the top end for 225 gr. bullets.
Also it seems to only want to shoot RL22 or something comparible. How many of you use RL22 in your 338 WMs? I've tried RL19, H-4350 and IMR 4831 without much success.

I borrow my buddies lead sled! Sorry can't be more help than that. Don't have a .338 WM but the .375 Ruger can be very brutal from the bench. I'm sure a lot of guys in the Reloading section have loads for the .338 WM they are willing to share.

I suspect the slower burning RL22 is also helping hold the forearm down.

If it's the synthetic stock it might be flexing a little during recoil.

My .338 is a Ruger M77 which isnt as light as your Tikka. I use a lead sled when sighting in. It really likes to shoot 250 grain Nosler Partitions using H4831 powder. What kind of scope are you using? Does it have enough eye relief or can it be slid forward?

Greg

When you take a Tikka apart you will quickly see that it is probably best to not use a lead sled or anything similar. The Hunter is a wooden stock. My friend, the stock maker told me that this stock was one of the hardest pieces of wood he has ever seen. And he has seen a bunch over his 40 years of stock making. The recoil lug is a piece of polished aluminum flat bar that fits into a slot cut into the receiver bottom as well as a slot routered into the stock. I'm sure it is fine as long as the gun is allowed to recoil.

Yes, the RL22 made a significant difference in felt recoil/barrel rise not to mention accuracy.
I currently have (and am putting to the test) an inexpensive (cheap) Nikko Sterling/NRA scope that I purchased from the NRA store catalogue. Believe it or not the optics on it are quite good and I am planning on buying another one if this one holds up. I have the scope as far forward as it can go. The problem is when I sight in I use the highest magnification setting which means shorter eye relief.
I am thinking about rigging up a nylon velcro strap from my shooting table to go over the action. This would hold the rifle down yet allow it to recoil and not break the stock.

Use a more upright sitting position, or even better yet forget about shooting from a seated position and shoot it standing up off of a padded tripod rest like they do for big bores. At least for sighting in.

Or you could try putting a 25 lb. bag of shot between the butt stock and your shoulder. Might break the stock though.

Yeah, they kick. The bag of small lead shot works really well- it has the effect of making the contact area with your shoulder way bigger in area so felt recoil is way more manageable. Ever notice once you get to .338 and bigger the volunteers to help test rifles at the range sort of disappear? I have a permanent "knot" of calcified scar issue just above the inside of my left eyebrow, courtesy of a .338 amd my T3 Deluxe .300 Mag which weighs 6 lbs. 7 ozs. bare. Even my .444 scope whacks me once in a while on the bench - recoil is up and back, which drops the butt and gives the little rifle room to whip back.

Here is something really funny. Back in December I bought a 375 H&H in a CZ 550. It weighs 9.9 pounds empty and the Tikka weighs appox. 8 & 1/2 pounds empty with the recoil reducers and lead added. I am shooting 270 gr. bullets at 2730 fps. in the 375 and 225 gr. bullets in the low to mid 2700 fps. in the 338WM. The 375 H&H does not kick near as bad as the 338 Win. mag. I will weigh both guns with their finnished weights (scopes,etc.) tomorrow and report back.

A friend has the T3 Lite in 338 that I shoot often, and it is a beast. One of the 3 most painful guns I have fired. 2 is a 8lb 458 Win Mag, 1 is a 3.5" turkey gun. I think the recoil of the 338 gave me a concussion! Well, at least a headache.

I our 338s, we now shoot a mild load of IMR 4064 and 200 grain Hornady or Ballistic Tips. Of course, we're only hunting deer.

Yikes, I always thought about trying out a Tikka in .338 because the price is nice on them, didn't think they were that light, though! As to your .338 recoiling more than the .375, I've heard a lot of people say the .338 is worst than the .375, not sure why, but I'm guessing it has more to do with actual felt recoil rather than anything you can calculate on a recoil calculator. I don't have much experience shooting a .338 Winchester, but I can say without a doubt that a .338 RUM I shot had more recoil than my .375!

sbtennex,

If you need any help shooting your big guns and supply the ammo, come down to PA, I'll shoot them til I talk funny(er). I'm new to big bores but I definately like it!

I appologize if I gave anyone the wrong impression, but since I had the extra 1 & 1/2 pounds of recoil reducers and lead added, it is now managable. It only kicks slightly worse than my 375 H&H. But that is with me still giving the forearm a firm death grip. If you do not mind having some weight added to the stock, the Tikka is a fine rifle. I prefer wood to plastic in stocks and that helps some. I would definately consider another T3 Hunter just not in a non-magnum caliber. I will weigh my rifles for finished weight tonight.

I have a T3 Lite stainless 338WM, put a Limbsaver pad on it before I shot it after reading other's experiences with it, it weighs just over 7lb with scope, I've only shot it once from the bench without using the Leadsled, but I did wear a Past Mag shoulder pad, shooting Rem 225gr factory ammo wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the Leadsled works fine for working up loads from the bench, I don't load the sled with too much weight, maybe 10lbs of sand bags so it can still move some, but it takes the sting out of the heavy kickers without subjecting the stock or me to undue punishment.

For anyone who cares, my 375 H&H weighs
10 & 1/2 pounds with scope - no ammo, sling etc.
The Tikka 338WM weighs 9 lbs. and 2 oz. the same way. This according to my Cabella's genuine made in China - counter top meat scale.

quote:

Originally posted by Rae59:
I bought a T3 Hunter in a 338 Win. mag. back in February. It did not take long (about 3 rounds) to realize that a 6.9 pound rifle in a 338 cal. was a big mistake. I called a friend of mine up who is a stock maker and asked him if he could do anything with it? He said he had some mecury recoil reducers that would help immensly. I had him install two of those,one in the forearm and one in the butt and some additional lead in the forearm for a total of one and a half pounds of weight. That sure made things bearable. Now the scope only hits me in the forehead about every 12th round instead of every other round. I love the rifle and every thing about it except for the extremely light weight in such a caliber.
How on earth do you guys sight in such a rifle with that caliber to weight ratio? I litterally could not hold the front end down to shoot good. I did not even have the loads up anywhere near the top end for 225 gr. bullets.
Also it seems to only want to shoot RL22 or something comparible. How many of you use RL22 in your 338 WMs? I've tried RL19, H-4350 and IMR 4831 without much success.

I've got a Weatherby Vangaurd in .338WM. Shoot 250gr Rem. coreloc @ +2700ft/s. Once you get used to it it,s fine even off the bench. Got to under 1/2" groups with old 300gr Winchester Power points @ almost 2500ft/s. Don't be affraid of the beast and you'll learn to tame it!
Good luck Johan

I was very close to order a tikka t3 lite (composite stock) in .300 wsm today...until I read this post. Do you think I should better go for a 270 or 7mm rem mag. ? Or you were just talking about the 338win mag? Really don`t want to get another scar. Sorry for the little hijack rae59!

There is a big difference in recoil between 300wsm and .338winmag. Go and order your Tikka in 300wsm you won’t regret it.

OK.
Puh, had the same thoughts... Thank you for confirmation, Ingvar

Hey Dentist, I would have to agree with Ingvar on the 300WSM, but beware, I have a 300WSM in a Winchester M-70 Coyote with a medium factory bull barrel. I never have weighed it but it is somewhat heavier than than the Tikka before I had the weight added. With 180 gr. bullets I can make it jump pretty good too, but not anywhere near like the Tikka.

Johanv, as I stated it is now bearable with the additional 1&1/2 pounds of weight/recoil reducers. But prior to that, I can not see how anyone could get used to that recoil, not to mention the scope hitting you in the forehead every other shot. That is like saying: just get use to Mike Tyson beating the crap out of you!

Rifle weight aside there is very little difference between the recoil of a 338Win and a 300 mag until you get to the 250 grain bullets.

RL-22 does create another level of recoil (and muzzle rise) over standard powders. I prefer RL-19 for most of the velocity and better accuracy with 225grain bullets.

When RL-22 is used in the 338 Win over 225 grain bullets you can easily run into a pressure spike...So easy does it!
Call Alliant if you don't believe me.

I have a T-3 lite in 300 WSM. It can be harsh off the bench but when I shot my spike I didn't even feel it.

Exman, just exactly what type of pressure spike do you speak of?????
I am currently loading a partially compressed load of RL-22 and the recoil is not as "abrupt" as RL-19, AA-4350, IMR-4831, and H-4350.
I too would prefer RL-19 since I have it on hand and cannot find any RL-22. HOWEVER, with all of the fore-mentioned powders, I am getting 1&1/2 to 2&1/2 inch groups at 100 yards EXCEPT with RL-22 which gives me sub-MOA groups at 100 yards as well as at 200 yards. The bolt opens easily and the cartridges come out easily whether Full-Length resized or Partial-Length resized. The gun has not blown up and does not even show any signs of being close to doing so. What more do YOU want? I personally do not care what Alliant's attorneys have to say about possible pressure spikes. Sorry, I do not usually twist off like this, but I have had a bad day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have shot several 300 Win. Mags., Rem. and Win., shooting 180 gr. bullets (but not heavier) and there is no way their recoil is as heavy as my 338/Tikka, even at it's current weight of 9lbs./4 oz.
I must ask you, are you actually monitoring your velocities? Do you out weigh me?
I weigh 185 lbs. wet.
Energy going forward=energy going backwards- until dissipated (Where is the spell checker on this site?).

I have the T3 Lite in the same caliber and I took my time getting used to it by slowly loading up. I also have a T3 Hunter in 6.5x55, and I switched the stock as an experiment. The recoil was more bearable with the synthetic stock, even though it was lighter. Perhaps due to the flexibility. Right now my favorite load is 74.5g of AA3100 with the 210 partition (about 2800 fps). The rifle weighs 7# with the scope and I'm only 160#, but I've worked up to it by only shooting 12 rounds per session. I anchor my cheek securely to the stock being mindful of eye relief and keep a snug but not tight grip on the forend. Doing so, it moves me a bit, but doesn't hurt me. Once you master this rifle, you will be amazed at how well your shooting of other lighter rifles improves. Also, try shooting with people firing on either side of you. Once you can maintain your concentration this way, you will go a long way. I hope this helps. If you give up you will regret it. Shoot fewer rounds more frequently and you won't need all that weight in the stock.

quote:

Originally posted by Rae59:

Johanv, as I stated it is now bearable with the additional 1&1/2 pounds of weight/recoil reducers. But prior to that, I can not see how anyone could get used to that recoil, not to mention the scope hitting you in the forehead every other shot. That is like saying: just get use to Mike Tyson beating the crap out of you!

If it happens often enough you might!!!

Dentist,

I've got a T3 in 270 Winchester. Its a pussycat to shoot.

Ken

In .270win for sure. Have fun with your pussycat!

I have a break on mine which is removable for hunting. I know, I know others don't like breaks at the range, but I am lucky I own my own range and the only people that shoot there are by my invitation.

I have aT3 lite in 338win mag .You learn really quick to hang on,my prefered load is a225grn. Hornady interlock over 76grns AR2213sc (H4831sc)
and a215 federal magnum primer .I use this load every where in thick scrub or the wide open spaces.I really dont notice the recoil any more than any other of my rifles,in fact i used to have a 308 that hurt me a lot more.lol.Might have to do more with stock dimesions and body size than actual recoil..