338 Rem. Ultra Mag compared to the 338/378 Wea.???

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  While few of our shooters have an interest in these calibers, I am sure some of the guys have tried these calibers. What experience do we have with these calibers and what is your opinion of them if you have used them?? I have shot my pals Ultra. Very accurate, never had a chance to try a .338/378, but shot my friends 378, it would shoot if a guy could manage the recoil. Anyone out there played with these??

[Thebear_78]

The 338/378 weatherby will out perform the rum slightly in the velositiy department but I have to give the accuracy edge to the RUM.  It just seems like all of the ultra mags are accurate.  In real world performance I don't think there is really much differnce, just that the RUM does it with less powder/recoil and much cheaper brass.    I'd go with the RUM.

[wackmaster]

I have used both of them I Have also used the 338-300 ultra. By far I would have the 338-300 it will preform as well as the 378. The 338-378 is way spendy to shoot the brase only last about 3-4 shots. The 338 ultra is a vary accuret round with a little less vol. but the wild cat 338-300 will do 378 vol. with the ultra acc.

[jro45]

I own the 338 RUM and like what was said it is very accurate with Accubond bullets. And
others also.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Thanks, this is what I felt I would hear. Wackmaster, Several times for one reason or another, I have tried sizing brass UP to the next caliber. I should it far more difficult than sizing down. Since it was only an passing thing on my part, I never looked into the process. If a guy went with the 338/300 Ultra mag. what is the best and easiest way to size brass up??   

[Thebear_78]

You just have to run it thru an exanding die.   THe 338/300 rum, aka edge, aka diablo are fairly easy to load for.  I have a budy that just uses a set of 338 rum dies and neck sizes only.

[Sourdough]

I am shooting a Weatherby .338/378.  I do like it, last Tuesday I killed a Grizzly Bear at 567 yards.  Last year I killed a Moose at 790 yards, a one shot kill.  I have done nothing to the gun except mount a scope and shoot it.  I shoot the 225gr Nosler Accubond, and the Nosler 250gr Partition, in front of IMR 7828.  I don't see much difference in accuracy out to 800 yards in either bullet.  I used the partition to kill the Grizzly.

The only drawback is the price of ammo.  I reload but the brass is expensive, more so than the RUM.

My neighbor shoots the REM Ultra Mag, I do not see any difference in accuracy between his gun and mine.  They both hit what we shoot at.

[wackmaster]

Wyo.Cayote hunter
I made me a neck expander that screws in my press. Its made out of tool steel and is hardend to 58rc. It tapers slowly to just over the 338. the outher side necks them to just over .375. The problem I found with necking up with a reg die is the necks are not centerd and you get one out of ten you rouin becouse of a dent. The new hornady dies are easer to neck up with, but the expander ball set up in there dies are a pain in the ass!

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Sourdough, how does the Ultra compare in drop to your Wea.
     Wackmaster, thanks, as I said I have tried necking up, very difficult with a std. loading die. 

[mcwoodduck]

Through the years I have shot both as well as the 338 Lapua.  At one of the shooting fairs I was able to go from 460 WBY, to 378 WBY to 338-378, to 300 WBY and then  next year on to the Remington Booth for the 300, 338, and 375 Ultra. With a friend getting a 338 Lapua in the mean time. 
Other than shooting elk in another county I do not get the appeal.  I can see the appeal of the 7mm and 300's as a Bean field rifle for the 400-600 yard shots from a Texas Tower in the middle of the field through out the bible belt.  Maybe I am missing something.  For bigger or dangerous game I would rather have a wider and heavier bullet.  If you are after Foot pounds up close then I would step up to 375H&H or one of the 416's.
I remember a Capstick story of a guy with a hot load 338-378 where the bullet failed at close range.  The round was going too fast when it hit, I think he said Zebra, to stay together and just blew a softball sized hole in the front shoulder.  When the animal got out farther the bullet had slowed to a design speed and was able to kill the critter.
I settled on the 338 Win Mag and with my skill have limited my self to 350 yard shots with a 200 yard 0 on the rifle.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

mc. In this country, there are elk where 40 years ago there was not huntable herd. Most of this is steep, open, sage brush canyon country. So I see the appeal of this type of rifle, although I prefer the 300's myself, I always have the urge to try something different. I went though several 338's, while they killed elk well, they lacked the range for long shots. I killed one pretty far with a 250 nosler, but the hold over was quite a bit when compared to the .300's. Now though a deal I have a .340, it has killed a couple elk. To my eye, it kills no faster or better than the .300's, but a guy has the advantage of a 250 if one gets to go for brown bear. I have a .375 H & H. I haven't shot it a bunch, but killed several antelope and a waterbuck with it. Mostly I used 300 grain ammo. Even sighted 3" high, the slow old slug shows drop pretty quick on the open plains. Both Elmer and Bob Hagel prefered the 33's for their better SD & BC over the 375. I just came back from Western Wy. and that country is filled with big sage brush ridges, and sections of black timber. Most to the deer we saw and all of the elk, were right around 375 to 425 yards, just far enough to make a real flat shooting rifle very handi. It turned out I got my buck with an old .30WCF at less than 100 yards, but that IS unusual for that country.

[mcwoodduck]

No problem.  I can see your use of the 338 Untra and others but with limiting myself to the 350 yard range it would not do that much for me.
My other concern with any of the ultra fast rounds is what happens up close.
Would a 300 or 338 untra fast something have a bullet failure on game up close?
Since those rounds are designed for distance would the bullet fail at under 50 yard distances?
Not a big deal if you hit an Elk or Moose as they will bleed and lay down somewhere and you may have another shot at them.
But with a bear will you be able to kill it if the bullet fails, like it did on the Zebra in the Capstick story. 
If you are going to shoot really far the flatter the better.
And I understand some people want trucks some want sports cars and for others there is the the Hybrid of the Porsche SUV.  Holly cow speed in a 4X4.  And I understand the appeal.  This is what I see the 300-375 Ultras for.  If you can shoot the 400-600 yards in the field.  Great.  go for it with one of the ultra mags.  I have not practiced enough at those ranges to be sure of a hit.  I have made a hit on a running pig at 350+.  But it was a second one while he was running and the third shot on him.  The first taking his jaw off to badly judged cross wind at 200 yards.
If you are looking for the ULTRA, I would also look for the down loaded loads as back up rounds for Brown bear to ensure the bullet will not fail or go really heavy as a close in back up round.
What ever you choose, good luck.  And with guns and ammo there really is no wrong answer. 
I too have a 375H&H and use it for my elk drive rifle or woods rifle.  I really like the big heavy slug to be able to put the elk down at up to 300 yards with it, again sighted in at 200 yards and have hit gongs out to 300 yards with it off hand.  That thing is a bear from the bench.  And I like how it trasfers energy quickly at short ranges but as an Elk rifle it is my 338 Win Mag as it will carry energy farther.
If I had it all over to do again.  I think I would still go with a 338 only this time it would be a stainless rifle and a fixed objective scope.
Good luck with your pick.

[corbanzo]

That story is why you don't take that shot with that bullet at close range.  You can take a 300 grain bullet and slow it down to 2500fps or so in the 338-378 and have yourself a great short range medium-big animal killer.  Don't ever blame the cartridge, it didn't do anything, it's just brass.  What really matters is what you put into it.  Nonya once talked about blowing a shoulder out of an elk with a 7mag, and that is definitely not one of the huge boomers, but it was the bullet that screwed it all up at that velocity.  Maybe less powder, or maybe a different bullet. 

If you get a good expanding 338 bullet at 300 grains going 2500fps, it is going to have some stopping power.  You don't take the same shot with 185 grainer at 3500fps.

Through the years I have shot both as well as the 338 Lapua.  At one of the shooting fairs I was able to go from 460 WBY, to 378 WBY to 338-378, to 300 WBY and then  next year on to the Remington Booth for the 300, 338, and 375 Ultra. With a friend getting a 338 Lapua in the mean time. 
Other than shooting elk in another county I do not get the appeal.  I can see the appeal of the 7mm and 300's as a Bean field rifle for the 400-600 yard shots from a Texas Tower in the middle of the field through out the bible belt.  Maybe I am missing something.  For bigger or dangerous game I would rather have a wider and heavier bullet.  If you are after Foot pounds up close then I would step up to 375H&H or one of the 416's.
I remember a Capstick story of a guy with a hot load 338-378 where the bullet failed at close range.  The round was going too fast when it hit, I think he said Zebra, to stay together and just blew a softball sized hole in the front shoulder.  When the animal got out farther the bullet had slowed to a design speed and was able to kill the critter.
I settled on the 338 Win Mag and with my skill have limited my self to 350 yard shots with a 200 yard 0 on the rifle.

[JD338]

I have a 338 RUM and have developed loads that shoot .5 MOA with Nosler 200 gr BT, AB, 210 gr PT, 225 gr PT, AB, 250 gr PT and AB. Every animal I have shot has dropped in its tracks to a single shot. The 250 gr AB is my go to bullet.

JD338

[Sourdough]

Wyo Cayote Hunter:  It seem that he was dropping 12 to 14 inches more with the Ultra Mag at 600 yards than my .338/378 Weatherby.  Both of us using the Nosler 225gr Accubond.

[dopinwind]

I have hunted elk with my 338RUM for the past 5 years in Wyoming.  Most of my shots have been in the 250 to 350yd range and have yet to have an animal go more than 30 or 40 feet after being hit.  My rifle is a browning a-boltII and I shot 250gr hornady interlocks behind 99.8grs of Retumbo and a federal match magnum primer.  In my opinion with 18 years of elk hunting in Wyoming both in the mountains and on the sage flats the 338 RUM is the ideal elk rifle.

[jro45]

I'm using RL25 the same amount for my 250 buller. How fast did yours go?

[Tonk]

Wyo-Coyote-Hunter........I have shot most of all the Ultra mags and the Weatherby's too! There is not really much noticeable difference between those calibers, maybe a 100fps and that is batting eyelashes when it comes right down to nailing hides to the side of the barn.

I also don't like the idea of spending almost 40% more for the Wby ammo or their brass. I like my wildcat (.338/300 Ultra mag) but if I had to do things over again, I would have just got myself a plan factory rifle and tune it up a twitch or two. Now pushing a 225 or 250 grain bullet at over 3000fps is nothing to take lightly and those bullets really whallop an animal like a big elk far down range.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Tonk, thanks, looking over the loading books, it didn't appear to be much diff. between the calibers, but of course, the 338/300 ultra wasn't there. I have not shot my .340 across the crony, at present I am using 225 Acc. Bond, and 225 part. How did you find the .340??