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I do not own a 338. I had a 300WM for a few years, then sold it because it was too picky. It was some years later before I bought a new 30 cal rifle and it was a 300 RUM. That to me is a big jump in energy. I wouln't hesitate to shoot anything in NA with that rifle and a good 180, 200, or 220 grain bullet. That said, I do not think my next step up is a 338WM. I like power, energy. I'd buy a 338 RUM before I would get the WM version. That to me would be a better "bump up" than to go to the standard 338. I use a riflesmith that likes to use a "minimum caliber for the job." He killed a small mulie with a 22-6mm with a partition bullet. The distance was beyond 300 yards. I do not always think like this. I'd rather have "more than enough" gun when hunting. After all, if we're talking about bumping up recoil, bullet wt., and velocity, I'm going with the ultra mag, (338). Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my guns | |||
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Yes i think the 338 with its 225 grain bullet out does the 300 for long range elk and i would prefer those 250 grain bullets for the big bears at close range. | |||
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Exactly what I was thinking. I shoot two 300 WM's and if it walks North America........lemme at it!! If I felt undergunned with a .300 I'd definitely make more than the cosmetic move to a .338. Prolly into a .375 or .416 bore. Founder....the OTPG | |||
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I've shot a .300 mag for 9 years now. Mine shoots 200 gr bullets most accurately. Killed 8 or 10 elk with it and it works fine. IMO, it doesn't seem to kill elk any better than my old '06, just does it from longer distances. I am planning to go to AK and decided something bigger might be in order, "just in case". I chose the .338 shooting 250 gr and heavier bullets. Haven't shot anything with it yet, it came from the builder looking like he had an apprentice build it as a first project, and it promptly went back. On paper I see no advantage to the .338 until the 250 gr bullets are used. Then I expect it will provide wound channel and penetration superior to the .300. IMO for anything in NA except the big bears (and I have NO experience with them) the .300 with premium bullets is a killer. My .338 weighs about 7 lbs with scope. Using a muzzlebrake shooting 250 gr bullets it recoils about like my similar weight unbraked .300 WSM. | |||
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A 338 is the perfect spare fifle for someone that doesn't want to maintain a whole armory. No matter what you are hunting if your main rifle craps out the 338 will fill in just fine. | |||
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Over the past 20 years, I've shot about equal amounts of game with the 300 and 338. All I can say is, "When the Sh.. hits the fan, I want to be holding a 338". Remember, forgivness is easier to get than permission. | |||
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Me Too. Reading through this leads me to believe that the grizzly is nothing to worry about...the 300 is fine, etc. But the difference between the 300 and 338 is the difference between the 375 and 416 and there is a difference. OK for shot placement etc but it's comforting to know you have a few extra footpounds and frontal area when it's needed. The browns I've seen lead me to believe that a 338 is minimum and while I've never seen a really big inland grizzly i've seen tracks that raised the hair on the back of my neck. When in Grizz country do as the grizz do...have the necessary tools to get the job done. | |||
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If I was in Bear or African Lion teritory,whilst hunting other game, I would rather have a.338 230gnFS@2800,240gnNF@2750,250gnTSX@2700,275gn A-Frame@2550,300gnWoodleigh@2400 than a .30cal200gn@2800 or220gn. A premium 200-230gn .338 will take care of any elk,moose and most of Africas plains game out to 400 yds, If you have any business shooting that far. The 340 WM achieved its legendary reputation for awsome longrange punch, with 210 partions. Stick a 200gnGs custom in a .338WM and you right up there with it without the extra recoil. The .338wm is without dought a truely versatile and highly effective champion of the field. | |||
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I put the 300 Win Mag in the same catagory as the 7mm RM. Great all around cartridges but a little big for most hunting, (deer &'lopes) a good fit for elk, moose, caribou, smaller bear, and minimum for the big bears, even with the premiums. The .338WM is very close to the .375 H&H in performance. With the newer bullets, you can go a little lighter weight, get more velocity, flatter trajectory, and still get the penetration. The 340 Wby is a step up, as is the .35 cal STA. But the recoil step is significant. The new bullets blur the lines some but on elk the .338WM has performed so well it's hard to knock it! Can the .300WM do just as much? Probably, but not with the same level of confidence the .338 has developed with such boring regularity. I see no reason for the .300 Mags!  Nate | |||
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For a one gun battery I like the .300. To me I like the .338 as the second in a 2 gun battery for NA. It's the perfect compliment to a lighter rifle, in my case my pet 7x57. Jeff In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king. | |||
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I'm convinced everyone hates the 8mm Remington Magnum. I guess 220 grain Barnes X-bullets at 3000fps don't work very well? It would be my go-to choice for long range heavy big game animals. Pow! Dead. Good weight, good caliber, good velocity and trajectory. Ok, the recoil sucks, but it's still one hell of an awesome big game round. Especially for mixed bag stuff. I don't care how big the bear is, the big 8 Mag is gonna hurt! If only someone would load it to it's full potential and offer it in some rifles... ________  "...And on the 8th day, God created beer so those crazy Canadians wouldn't take over the world..." | |||
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MickeyB, RemsBig8 is afine cartridge. In "Cartriges of the World" it gets abad wrap from the author. But then he tells us about the merits of the 8x68S. ?????  Have aread yourself and you will see that he says that 8mmRM is defeated on both sides by the great virtues of the300Magnum and .338magnums,leaving it cold and purposeless in the middle. Then when you read about the 8x68s he talks about the advantage the 8x68s has over the 300 magnums for Africa. Contradiction galore! | |||
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Poor factory ammo killed the 8mm Rem mag. The cartridge itself could have been a great success. I think Winchester is doing the same thing with their 325WSM. | |||
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| One Of Us |
Great. We now know what we would or would not choose based on what we might already have. In other words, if you already have a .300 win. mag., less need for a .338 or vice-versa. So, what happens when you are starting to build a rifle battery from scratch? What would you choose between the .300 win. mag (or .300 H&H) and the .338 win. mag. if your other rifle was going to be a .375 Weatherby? | |||
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30-06  Chuck | |||
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I have seen very large inland grizzlies. Also, I know a guy from Anchorage who hunts moose near Fairbanks each year, and he killed a record grizzly during moose season. He was looking for a larger one he had seen before, and this one charged him. It was not a huge grizzly, but at 9'6" it was not bad at all for an interior grizzly. The .338WM is very popular up here (in Alaska), and most hunters use 250-grain bullets and heavier. I load a few rounds with 275-grain A-Frame, and know a guy who loads 300-grain Kodiak bullets. | |||
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Make a hole .338" in size??????? | |||
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I'd also go with a 30-06 if the next jump was a .375. I have 25-06, 30-06 and my next move up will be a 35 Wh or .375 H&H. Then probably a .400-458. I have no need for anything bigger that a .260 but like the man says, need has nothing to do with it. | |||
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I had two 300 win mag BAR rifles that Iwon in a deer contest.I wanted 338s but they didnt have any then.I hunted with one for a while and it didnt kill deer much faster or a big difference between it and the 3006 I had been hunting with.In fact with some bullets it was worse than the 3006.I shot a nice 10 pointer with 180 gr Winchester power points.It zipped through both shoulders without expanding.I lost another deer shot in the lungs with 180 gr nosler partitions.I then switched to the 338 win mag.It flattened all the 82 deer I ever shot with it from 3 yards to 425.It ruined hardly any meat or had much blood shot.It shoot less than an inch at 200 yards.its just a plain old 338 Ruger model 77.I have quite a few of them incsae my ever wore out.I have some stainless ones two.I later bought 338-378s to hunt with when i moved to alaska.I hardly hunt in ak in the open with the 338s any more because the 338-378 is so much flatter shooting.I bought a 416 for the thick stuff for stuff that bits back.I still use ,my 338s on deer .It has never failed me with the 200 gr winchester power points.There is no reason to even own a 300 win mag if you have a 3006.If you step up to the 338 you will see a big difference in the 300 win mag and the 338 win mag.The 338 sucked the bark out of wild dogs,hogs,deer,bears and everything I shot with it.The 300 win mag was hard to find the right bullet to do the same thing.I sold one 300 win mag I had and gave the other one to my dad. | |||
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Heading to Montana tomorrow for elk. Taking 2 rifles. Rem 700 in .338 WM shooting 225 Barnes TSX and a Rem 700 in .300 WM shooting 180 Swift Scirroco. I wouldn't feel over or under gunned with either one. Fast Ed Measure your manhood not by success, but by significance. | |||
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question should be what can the .300 win do that the .30-06 can't do? I like the 300 win but I see no more need as the ole .06 works just fine but the next jump would be to the .338 mag--by the way the only reason people do not see any big grizzlies is due to the fact you are probably roadside hunting and not really and truly getting into the back country of Ak. I have seen and shot them where you can compare them to a horse. Yes the .338 mag is a jump from the .30calibres-period | |||
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I have hunted in Alaska since I was 12 and have used an 8mm Mag all that time. It was a bad gun to begin with as I still flinch, but it sure killed alot of animals! IMO, it is one of the best rifles made, but a limited supply of factory ammo, was its downfall. I reloaded, so it was great. One of the big problems that I have found hunting in the area of Alaska where I hunt is the brush. This has led me to the bigger bullet theory. I know some of you may disagree, but if I have to put a bullet through some brush, I want it too be a heavier bullet. I have upgraded to the .375 ultra mag and it is an absolute killing machine! Nothing has ever needed a second shot! I think having the bigger rifle 338 vs. 300 makes you feel a bit better and realistically it probably hits harder with better penetration. But with todays bullets, I would have no problem hunting all the animals up here with the .300WSM that I currently own for sheep and caribou. I feel much better carrying the .375 for moose and bear though! JMO | |||
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*** ASK ELMER KEITH *** ELMER KEITH , --- ( whose advocacies I have massive respect for ) , wrote a ton of information on the subject , -- in justification for his .333 OKH Wildcat . If you have some way of going back into his published material , ( maybe some of his books ) , -- you'll find all the depth you need , -- from the master , so to speak . The easy answer is " more power , - for anything you might need more power for " . -------- MMCOUGAR . NRA Benefactor Member ---- 2nd Amend. -- They could have said , " The Right of Such a Militia " ; ----- But they didn't , they said " . . . . . The right of the PEOPLE " . | |||
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If you are looking to purchace one or the other, I'd lean towards the a .300 mag if most of my hunting was elk or smaller. If most of my hunting was elk or bigger, I'd go .338. The .338 is Alaska's 30-06. If you already owned a good .300 mag and felt the need for something bigger, I'd probably go up another step to a .375 - lees overlap in their uses. All else being equal, bigger frontal diameter and heavier bullets will do better on bigger game. Its simple physics. | |||
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Do you need to get rid of your .300 and get a .338? No! That said, I did exactly that. I came to like my .338 so well I sold the .300. Not necessarily because my .300 was inadequate but just because I like the .338 and the rifle it is chambered in better. | |||
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I like the 338 way betterr than the 300.I have had both of them.I use the 338 win mag as my all around gun,the 338-378 weatherby for my long range gun and the 416 rem mag for stuff that bites in the thickets. | |||
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I can't figure out whats wrong with having both! Right now I've got a 300 WIn and Wby magnum along with a 338 and a 375. As the game gets bigger so does the rifle. | |||
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Properly used.....absolutely nothing. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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If you have a 300 there is no reason to get a 338 - unless you want one. If you have a 338 there is no reason to get a 300 - unless you want one. I guess I'm obsessive cumpulsive when it comes to rifles. Even though I already have a 300 WM and a 338-06, and a 375 H&H I am quite certain I will end up owning a 338 mag of some nature . . . and that is just going to require me to hunt more so I can decide which is the better choice. I'll let you know. | |||
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| One Of Us |
Very interesting discussion from the past... I'd still choose my 300 Win. Mag. with 180gr. bullets for a mixed bag hunt. If purporsefully hunting for Grizzlies or Brown Bear, I'd take a 9.3x62 or 9.3x64 or my 375 H&H Mag. | |||
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A 300 Win Mag can't shoot a 338 caliber bullet and therefore with the same shot placement and similar weighted bullets (i.e. equal sectional density) the 338 win mag destroys more tissue. 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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Easy one... 1. shoot 250gr bullets 2. kill big critters Antlers Double Rifle Shooters Society Heym 450/400 3" | |||
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+1 From Terry Wieland’s article "O’Connor vs. Keith: And the Winner Is..." published years back in Gray's Sporting Journal: ‘Dick Dietz, longtime public-relations guru for Remington Arms, once opined that as a man gets older he prefers “his meat rarer, his whiskey straighter, and his bullets bigger.” This isn’t because, as a man ages, he grows to enjoy getting pounded by recoil. It’s because, as we become more experienced and witness many of the things that can go wrong hunting big game, we come to realize that one way to minimize problems is to use a bigger caliber and heavier bullets. As Robert Ruark said, “Use enough gun.” ‘ In that context, if you find yourself in a situation with your back against a wall where you are tested if you have “enough gun”, a 338WM with a 250gr bullet has proven a good benchmark. Best  | |||
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This fall I will be hunting Coastal Grizzly with my 300wm shooting 180gr tsx. My buddy will be shooting his 338 with 225gr tsx(I think) Hopefully I can give you a full report on the outcome. Doug McMann www.skinnercreekhunts.com ph# 250-476-1288 Fax # 250-476-1288 PO Box 27 Tatlayoko Lake, BC Canada V0L 1W0 email skinnercreek@telus.net | |||
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I'm just guessing but assuming you are both comparable shooters you will have difficulty telling any difference in the outcome. Good luck hunting bears. | |||
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Interesting thread with a five year gap. Most of the discussion revolves around what other gun is available to round out a battery. Like if someone already has a 30-06, then the 300 doesn't do much more, the 338 becomes more significantly different, a more noticeable step up. When I first made a choice in this area I debated the balllistics of the 8mRM and the 338WM. The 8 m Rem looked great until I checked out prices and availability of rifles. I got a W70 in 338WM. (I've had several 338WM since then and have come to think of it as a benchmark.) Because I happened to like 338s, when I needed something bigger I went to a 416 Rigby. Why? The 375HH wasn't that much more than a 338WM. So I went 416 Rigby (handloaded to 5500-5800 ftpds). So where a person is coming from will play a large role in the choice between a 300WM and 338WM. In my case, a 270 helped me choose 338 over 375, and a 416 over 458. Carmichael once wrote a piece on three rifles to hunt the world. He chose 280 Rem, 338WM and 458WM. (Maybe today he would choose the Lott in the last item.) For me, it is 270 Win, 338 WM, 416 Rigby. They cover the bases, the first two for NA, the last two for Africa. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "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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416Tanzan, that's great writing - and good thinking for my $$$ too! Thanks! friar Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain. | |||
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PS: . . . the last two for Africa. Last year, coming towards camp around sundown, we saw some guinea fowl. My son hopped off the Landcruiser, snuck back to the open meadow, and neatly dropped a guinea fowl with the 338. "Only accurate guns are interesting." Drop a guinea fowl high in the shoulder/frontwing area so as not to touch the breasts. Excellent camp meat. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "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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Split the difference. Get a .325 WSM in a lightweight Kimber Montana so you can carry it, load it with the Nosler Partition bullet, and go hunting! | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting What can a .338 Win. Mag do, that a .300 Win. Mag can't do just as well?
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