Author Topic: .338 Winchester Magnum for Deer!? (Read 6416 times)

sabretip · « **Reply #30 on:** June 28, 2007, 01:19:21 PM »

There is no such thing as too much gun...................too little is another story

handirifle · « **Reply #31 on:** July 02, 2007, 06:38:42 AM »

Well, I have a choice to hunt with my 338-06 or my 243 this year

. I'm betting the 243 will ruin more meat with it's 100gr bullet than the 338 will with 225's. Was trying to avoid lugging the heavier rifle along but one thing is certain. Black bear season runs concurrent with deer season here. With the 243 I'd question taking a blackie, but NOT the 338-06.

eaglesnester · « **Reply #32 on:** November 24, 2007, 01:57:29 PM »

Yes you can, however bullet choice is critical as you do not want to destroy too much meat. I carry a 308 Norma Mag loaded with nothing smaller than 200gr and wish I had a 338 Winchester Mag. I hunt in areas where there are lots and lots of grizz and I want something that will anchor a bear in a bad mood if the need ever came up. My hunting partner almost died from a mad grizz charge while hunting with a 308, he now carries a 340 Weatherby Mag Loaded with 250gr bullets and carries a Weatherby 12 guage automatic shotgun loaded with 3 inch mag hulls and sabot slugs with a 18" rifled barrel. He puts the shotgun away after the bears go to sleep in the winter but he still uses the 340 Weatherby for deer here in norther B.C.

Cheers and Tight Groups: Eaglesnester

PeterCartwright · « **Reply #33 on:** November 29, 2007, 12:14:08 PM »

Just home from firing the .338WM (Howa 1500) at game for the first time. I had a doe tag to fill. Short version: it will take a deer

.

Longer version: I shot a large doe at a measured 90 yards at a VERY steep downward angle. Result: "bang/flop". Unfortunately, I pulled the shot a couple inches into the shoulders. I haven't skinned this deer yet, but there's clearly a great deal more damage than if I'd missed those shoulders-(dang it!).

Load: Hornady 250 gr. SP pushed by 70.5 gr. of H4831. This load shoots into about an inch @ 100 yards. The Boyd's laminated stock together with the aftermarket "sorbothane" butt pad makes this a pussycat to shoot...really! Sorbothane is a wonderful invention.

kx90 · « **Reply #34 on:** December 03, 2007, 06:19:02 AM »

I posted this in another thread here:

Quote

I have been using my 700 XCR .338 RUM the past two years for deer because I had to remove the scope from my 7600 30.06. This year was the first year that I shot a deer with it. 180gr Ballistic Tip, Federal Vital Shock factory ammo. The entrance wound was normal, the exit wound...you could drop a baseball through it. Didn't ruin any meat, made the vitals into jelly and it still ran 60 yards towards me before it hit the ground and didn't even twitch. After seeing this I don't have an issue with using it for deer however I have concluded that it is absolutely capable of handling whitetails

Oh and the XCR has a built in Limbsaver which makes it feel like I'm shooting an .06

Shot placement was perfect. The deer was an average size deer, nothing big. I've seen my .06 with 150gr Core Lokt's do more/worse damage in certain instances. I like this rifle a lot and I would use it for whitetail again however I'll need to get into reloading soon because ammo is quite expensive and I'm not rich...yet

mantihunter · « **Reply #35 on:** December 03, 2007, 06:29:10 AM »

I've hunted mule deer in the West for 30+ years with .243, .270 and .338 Win Mag. I handload for all of them and have found that a Barnes X bullet in the .338 actually destroys LESS meat than the .243 or .270. The .338 just punches a nice hole right through the animal. Maybe there would be more meat damage with the Power Point bullet, but with the X bullet, " you can eat right up to the hole".
Hey, what's overkill? Can anything be too dead?

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #36 on:** December 03, 2007, 07:02:12 PM »

I hunt in NC too and if I could only own one rifle it would be a .338 Win. I really like mine. I have used it on smaller big game like deer and wild boar as well as a couple of elk hunts. I find far less meat damage than with my uncles 270. The bullets are made for large game and just do not open up, but still poke a hole out the same size as your 30-30. The down side is the price tag on a box of shells. So far I am down to $36 a box for Remington that my rifle likes. The .338 mag is over kill for bruins as well but with some of the monster 400+ boars they are pulling out of Hyde and Pamlico counties, I do not blame him for wanting the extra power as well as making a bigger hole in the lungs. Bigger hole more blood, less time. Unlike Deer that run to the fields to die bears run deep into the swamp when hit.
I am thinking of a .338 Federal for the farm in NC as a general purpose rifle, but the .308 I have at Dad's is hard to beat for everything there or anywhere for that matter. A .308 killed my mule deer 2 years ago at just under 300 yards and goes to elk camp as a back up rifle in case my .338 gets damaged on the horse.

rex6666 · « **Reply #37 on:** December 04, 2007, 05:51:27 AM »

I believe a person should shoot what he is comfortable with (within reason) he will
probably shoot it better.
what raises my eyebrows is people (one in this thread) talking about 500yard running shots
at deer, i am sure some are hit (imo luck) but how many are wounded and never found
I have never needed a deer bad enough to take this shot, standing i might if every thing is just right, but running?

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #38 on:** December 04, 2007, 07:09:38 AM »

Don't worry most people can't range 50 yards much less 500 yards on their best day !

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #39 on:** December 04, 2007, 08:49:01 AM »

If you can see 500 yards in eastern NC where this guy hunts he's in a bean field and your set up for the long shot in a tree stand or Texas tower. Usually only a few hundred yards, 350 and under and you wait for him/ her to stop and feed before shooting. It's real flat and real low. Highest point in Pamlico Country is under 50 feet above sea level.

mcwoodduck · « **Reply #40 on:** December 04, 2007, 08:52:02 AM »

Oh yea your right about the 50 to 500 yard stuff. That's why I spent $150 on a laser range finder. And it's best to range items when your in the stand and use them as a reference than try to range a critter and then shoot him.

Lou270 · « **Reply #41 on:** December 08, 2007, 07:21:47 PM »

Nothing wrong with a .338 for deer. Bullet construction & velocity have way more to do with ruining meat than ft-lbs & caliber. I just killed a hefty doe the other day with my .338 loaded with 200 Ballistic Tips. It ran about 100 yards after taking a shot through the lungs. No undue waste. The interesting thing is rounds like the .270, .280, and .06 may drop deer faster as their "deer" bullets are more typically designed to work on light targets - hence more expansion. Now, if you combine the .338 power with a fragile bullet you can ruin a lot of meat, but I don't think the 225 PP would fall in this category.

Lou

DakotaElkSlayer · « **Reply #42 on:** December 13, 2007, 06:31:01 PM »

Quote from: S.S. on May 12, 2007, 03:48:58 PM

Practice marksmanship instead of tracking skills I would say?
A .30-30 is all the power anyone would ever need,,, BUT...
The more horsepower a round has, the more of a warm, fuzzy
feeling some folks get from it... You may never convince him
that deer do not require artillery... Good Luck !

...truer words were never spoken! Just think, I downsized from my .280Rem for deer because I thought THAT was overkill for those big North Dakota deer I hunted at the time. The more experience I get, the more I think that Ned Roberts had it right when it came to THE deer cartridge. But hey, if you NEED a muzzle-break on your deer rifle, more power to you!

Jim

Mac11700 · « **Reply #43 on:** December 13, 2007, 07:03:11 PM »

If he likes it...why not? Over gunned...only if he thinks so...I took a nice field dressed 90lb doe with a 180 grain Accubonds with a muzzle velocity of 3050fps..It was still doing 2600 fps when it hit her...

Entrance wound

Exit wound

For deer...they seem to work pretty good...I had some blood shot meat in the off shoulder..but not very much..If he doesn't reload..have him try some of the Federal Fusion ammo or these..http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=933164&t=11082005

Mac

RaySendero · « **Reply #44 on:** December 14, 2007, 11:28:56 AM »

I shot a deer this year with my 9.3x62 Mauser.
Shot was 80 yards with my reload - a 286 grain Nosler Partition.
Hit him broad side, high in shoulder - Was DRT!
Wound was bullet size in and round 1.5" out - Broke/Smashed both shoulders.
Lost both shoulders but it did not get into the backstraps.
Got backstraps, loins and 2 hind quarters.

Lesson learned - No different than if I had shot it high shoulder with my 270 Winchester.

glshop20 · « **Reply #45 on:** February 18, 2008, 02:28:23 PM »

I see this topic all the time in different forums and in print. Dead is Dead.
1. If you like the rifle use it.
2. If you put you shot where it belongs a larger caliber will not cause any significant waste of meat.
3. It is most important to know your limitations and your rifles limitations.
4. I BELIEVE IT IS FAR WORSE TO USE TOO LITTLE RIFLE AS OPPOSED TO WHAT SOME CONSIDER TOO MUCH RIFLE. A GAME ANIMAL DESERVES A QUICK DEATH.
5. Practice, practice, practice. Shooting a few shots off a rest to check your scope is no wheres near enough practice for hunting. Practice estimating range and shooting from different positions. This will help more than anything else. Caliber of any size is no replacement for practice and the confidence you get from it.

By the way I am getting an AR-30 .338 Lapua Mag and plan to use it on woodchucks. I really don't think they will mind or know the difference.

sniperVLS · « **Reply #46 on:** February 18, 2008, 09:37:24 PM »

Quote from: glshop20 on February 18, 2008, 02:28:23 PM

I see this topic all the time in different forums and in print. Dead is Dead.
1. If you like the rifle use it.
2. If you put you shot where it belongs a larger caliber will not cause any significant waste of meat.
3. It is most important to know your limitations and your rifles limitations.
4. I BELIEVE IT IS FAR WORSE TO USE TOO LITTLE RIFLE AS OPPOSED TO WHAT SOME CONSIDER TOO MUCH RIFLE. A GAME ANIMAL DESERVES A QUICK DEATH.
5. Practice, practice, practice. Shooting a few shots off a rest to check your scope is no wheres near enough practice for hunting. Practice estimating range and shooting from different positions. This will help more than anything else. Caliber of any size is no replacement for practice and the confidence you get from it.

By the way I am getting an AR-30 .338 Lapua Mag and plan to use it on woodchucks. I really don't think they will mind or know the difference.

I look forward to using a .300rum on them. Not quite the beast the .338Lapua is but we are striving for the same thing it seems

The AR-30 is a nice rifle @ an even better price, enjoy. I shot the AR-50 last year and wow did I fall inlove fast. If I could stop buying all these Remmys, I'd have one in my safe by now

JD338 · « **Reply #47 on:** February 21, 2008, 05:41:57 PM »

I have used my 338 RUM on deer, as well as elk and bear.
Every animal has dropped in its tracks.

JD338

jro45 · « **Reply #48 on:** February 23, 2008, 05:28:44 AM »

The 338 is alot of rifle for a deer. Now if your friend is using it for practice that's different.

Slowpoke Slim · « **Reply #49 on:** February 29, 2008, 02:04:56 PM »

For several years the only hunting rifle I owned was a 338 win mag. I used it for everything. It killed everything I ever pointed it at, with one shot. The only meat damage I had was when I tried to load it down with smaller weight bullets. I tried the 160 gr Barnes X's, the 180 Partitions, both gave more meat damage. I switched back to the 225 grain partitions for everything, and meat damage was much less.

My 257 wby mag makes more sausage than my 338 win mag.

Maybe the guy can only afford one gun? At least he's got something to hunt with, and he's HUNTING.

handirifle · « **Reply #50 on:** March 02, 2008, 06:46:17 AM »

Is the 338WM too much for deer? I say no. Not if the guy has no problem totn it around, hits where he aims and MOST importantly HE LIKES IT. Who cares what he hunts with as long as it's legal?

My daughter dated a guy that did all of his hunting with a 375 H&H. That means pigs, deer, bear, and he hoped Africa some day. He sure knows where to aim.

A hunting buddy of mine uses his 300 WM for all his hunts. Not many use a 300WM with 180gr bullets for antelope, but he does. Same load, same bullet for everything. It works, and I lost a $5 bet to him one morning that he couldn't hit a 12" rock that was nearly 400yds away. He sat down, braced the rifle on his knees, and the rest of us watched the rock powder fly. this guy knows that big gun.

kevthebassman · « **Reply #51 on:** March 02, 2008, 11:37:41 AM »

I can see using it if he plans on going out west for bigger game, because it's good practice. If this guy just bought that rifle to use on puny southern deer because he thinks that he's gaining some advantage over using an '06 or a .270, he's sorely mistaken.

If he just likes the rifle and shoots it well, more power to him.