Re: Is the 338WM enough?

29 October 2004, 09:34

NOT kag358, but,

I have been dragging some form of .358 through the woods for better then 25 years.

Probably one of the most underrated but over surprising rounds you can have in a handy rifle.

I have had 3 different .385s. A Grendel, an 88 Winchester, a custom bolt gun..nope make that 4 .358s over the years, I now have a first run BLR in .358. ALL of them shoot/shot like the Speer 250gr bullet was made just for them.

They have power beyond the way they appear. Probably the most impressive take as to what they will penetrate is simply that on everything I have ever killed with the .358 and Speer bullet, I have never recoverd a single one. That includes the nice little 4 point I jumped walking out one night that I basically flash fired on as it cleared a blowdown. The bullet entered the right rear leg, smashed the big thigh bone to smithereens, proceeded to travel its way through the stomach, kept on trucking, clipped the heart and piece of the left lung, continued on, hit a rib and smashed through it, then exited punching rib peices and internal parts before it as it exited. For all I know the bullet is still going. It has shot clean through bear. It has punched clean through elk. I won't even go into the times I stuck that heavy little pill poking through the brush after deer taking shots I would never take with a hot loaded magnum. They just sorta get where ever you point them without brush blow up or deflection problems.

The man I bought the rifle from handloaded also. He used almost the exact load, same powder and bullets, just one grain more then I did. He said he had 8 elk on the rifle... and never recovered a bullet. Didn't know how many mule deer, never recovered a bullet. Is that good or bad bullet performance????

At this stage of my experience with the little nonmagnum cartridge, I would say you could take it just about anywhere in North America and fear no beast. Sure there are bigger and badder, but that little round certainly does work.

ONe other thing. If you go to the search engine for the site on the Medium bores, ther have been a few strings dedicated to the .358s with good info on it.

29 October 2004, 16:42

North60

You know all you guys are wrong...wrong..wrong...

The 338 is way too light and the 375 way too heavy. The only choice is my 358 Norma.

It's Just Right!

30 October 2004, 01:07

LouisianaMan

Ok. I need?...I want a 338WM or a 358. Anyone know where I could get a good deal on either, new, stainless steel (all the rain the inside passage gets I need the SS.)? We are relocating to Juneau,AK the end of Jan. Not the best time of the year I know, but my wife got a good job offer at the hosp. there. We had hoped to move up in June. Should I buy the gun/guns I want before I leave Louisiana or should I by them after I get to AK.?

27 October 2004, 01:37

LouisianaMan

Man, you guys make me feel like my little 40cal. is a childs gun. I don't plan to go out hunting for bear, but I do want to be able to defend myself against one if I have to.
By the way I am moving up to AK in Jan. Maybe I need to up grade my 40cal to a 358 win before I go?

27 October 2004, 04:54

JBabcock

40 Caliber what? Is it a pistol, or a rifle? I wouldn't count on any pistol for Bear protection. It might make you feel more confident, but I wouldn't want to have to use one unless I was forced to. Pistols are nice in a tent, it's hard to move a rifle around in a small tent, especially if the Bears foot is on it

27 October 2004, 07:16

crazyjjk

Not count on any pistol in bear country. I have a hunting companion who spent quite a bit of time in bear country. Anytime he was out with someone he would carry his 1911/45. Everybody used to just shake there head when they saw it. That is until someone finally asked him about taking that popgun with him telling him it would never stop a grizzly. His reply was "I don't have to stop the bear I only need to slow you down so I can run faster than you."

01 November 2004, 18:49

grape creek

Stick with the 338....in a pinch, you can buy 338 ammo in any town or village here. You might want to wait til you get here to buy gun and scope... see firsthand the hunting conditions and ask questions of the locals (they will know or at least have opinions... kind of like this web).

PS.... welcome, it's a great place

04 November 2004, 10:56

RupertBear

Quote:

relocating to Juneau,AK the end of Jan. Not the best time of the year I know, but my wife got a good job offer at the hosp. there. Should I buy the gun/guns I want before I leave Louisiana or should I by them after I get to AK.?

You'll do almost all your hunting somewhere else than Juneau. It is a good place to live, but the hunting in the immediate area is limited - at the minimum you need a boat to get to decent hunting places. As you noted, it is a rainforest here, so SS/synthetic or SS/laminate is the way to go. As you've seen, the 338WM has a lot of adherents here, but I'm one of those who feel comfortable with a Whelen for nearly everything. If you've got a touch of bearanoia, a .458 Lott would round out your battery.

FWIW, the state has recently liberalized a lot of the bear seasons, so you might be doing a bit more than once every four years as was the case in the past. For the coastal brownies, the Lott will do nicely, for everything else, the Whelen will do the trick. A lot of sheep/goat hunters insist on a longer reach than the Whelen will deliver, but my personal experience has been that I have never had to shoot more than 125 yards for mountain game.

You can probably get as good a deal and with as wide a choice in rifles if you buy in Anchorage. You won't get a deal, nor a wide selection, in Juneau.