.338 Winchester Magnum
In 1987 the editon of a popular hunting magazine
asked thirty gun writers, outfitters, and shooting industry officials what
cartridge they would pick if restricted to hunting all North American big
game with one rifle. Naturally, the
.30-06 was
the first choice by a considerable margin. The big surprise came when the .338 Winchester
Magnum, .340
Weatherby Magnum, and the
7mm Remington
Magnum tied for second place. The
.280 Remington
came in third, followed by the
.270 Winchester.
The .300
Winchester and
.300 Weatherby
Magnums tied for fifth place.
Introduced in 1958, the .338 Winchester Magnum has plenty of fans as well
as its share of detractors. Some say it is our all time greatest elk, moose,
and grizzly cartridge, without being totally ridiculous when used for hunting
deer size game. Others say with equal fervor that the .338 generates more
recoil than most hunters can handle and its power is excessive for all except
dangerous game.
There's no law that says the .338 Magnum can't be used on deer and the like,
but the cartridge is seen at its best when used on bigger game. Whether or
not the .338 Magnum is actually a better elk and moose cartridge than the
.300 Magnums, or even the 7mm Magnums, will long be debated, but when large
carnivorous game becomes the topic of conversation all such arguments quickly
end.
For hunting deer size game with the .338 Magnum, the Speer 200 grain and
Hornady 225 grain bullets are excellent
choices. For all around use on game from deer to elk, the
Nosler 210 grain Partition is even better.
A single load for all big game, including the dangerous variety, would consist
of the Nosler 250 grain Partition pushed
along at 2700 to 2800 fps by H4350,
H414,
IMR-4350, or
IMR-4831.
Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition
© www.reloadbench.com 1999 - 2005 All Rights Reserved
|
|
 |
|