.338 Winchester Magnum

[deboog93]

My boss at work has inherited a .338 Winchester Magnum rifle and reloading supplies. Not familiar with this caliber I had posted items for sale on this forum. So got no response to the items for sale. Is .338 Winchester Mag just an odd ball caliber people just do not own and shoot a lot? I know the .338 Lapua is more common but think they are not the same.

So is .338 Winchester Mag and odd ball caliber few people own or shoot?

any idea where I can sell bullets and brass at. looking for a website that it might sell on.

Thanks

[shell70634]

I believe the 338 Win Mag is the most popular and most common of the 338's. You might try The High Road or one of the long range shooting forums.

Shelly

[ShooterAZ]

The 338WM makes for a fantastic Elk rifle. I wouldn't exactly call it an "odd ball" caliber, but it certainly isn't as common as say a 30 or 35 caliber.

[Wolfer]

I have a 338 win mag and love it. Excellent elk rifle. Accurate at longer ranges and hits hard. Recoil may be a bit more than most folks like.
Loads down very well. 24 gr of 2400 and no filler behind the lee 220 gr gets me close to 1900 fps and is extremely comfortable to shoot. Very accurate and handles deer sized stuff about like a 35 Rem which is to say quite well.

[Ickisrulz]

I looked at the items you listed. Your prices for the once fired brass, dies and Hornady bullets are very close to what it costs for brand new stuff. You might do better with lower prices.

I shoot my .338 Win Mag a lot with lead bullets and Promo powder. It's a fun rifle when the recoil is minimized and the cost per shot is pennies vs dollars.

[richhodg66]

Always seemed to me to be the most sensible of the big magnums. None of the .30 caliber magnums really seem to make much sense, if you need more power than an '06, you should up the bore size.

It was real popular in Alaska when I lived there for obvious reasons.

[GregLaROCHE]

It’s very popular for large game shooting from long distance. Moose, Elk and Brown Bear. A bit oversized for a white tail in my opinion.

[GregLaROCHE]

Always seemed to me to be the most sensible of the big magnums. None of the .30 caliber magnums really seem to make much sense, if you need more power than an '06, you should up the bore size.

It was real popular in Alaska when I lived there for obvious reasons.

If I were going for long range power, more than .30-06, I would go up to a .375 H&H Mag.

[MT Gianni]

Probably the most shot caliber in Montana for elk with factory loads.

[Three44s]

The 338 Win Mag is about as odd ball as Ford, Chevy and Dodge being unusual for trucks.

Three44s

[AlaskaMike]

If I were going for long range power, more than .30-06, I would go up to a .375 H&H Mag.

Both the .338 Win Mag and .375 H&H are hugely popular here in AK. In fact, my Dad has an old model 70 that he used to take more moose and caribou than I can count since about 1965. My moose gun is a Ruger .375 H&H.

[quilbilly]

My 338 WM is also an excellent cast boolit shooter which makes it a affordable joy to shoot all day and a fine whitetail, blacktail, or mule deer rifle at CB velocities. It took me a while to discover that my rifle would not stabilize the Lee boolit below 1650 fps but at 1750 fps it will bounce paint cans at 700 yards consistently. When I switched to a different shaped and slightly heavier (235 gr) boolit from an Accurate mold, the rifle would stabilize down to 1500 fps. Very versatile when you switch to cast.

[dverna]

Not oddball at all. A great caliber but It hurts me too much to shoot it. Sot 12 rounds once and it cured my "need" for one. If I am going to down load it, to be able to use it, I may as well get a .358 and have cheap brass from the .308, or even the .338 Federal.

Listen to Ickisrulz. Fair pricing will sell anything. It is was a true oddball, components would fetch a premium. Always look at the price of new to set your prices.

[Wild Bill 7]

Call me a wimp if you want but a towel folded and put on your shoulder will help with the recoil. Shot my friends 338 wm and the 416 rigby and they were fun to shoot that way. Being a old fart I can enjoy shooting them that way.
Wild Bill 7

[deboog93]

Thank you for the large bore education.

[gunshooter]

My 338 WM is also an excellent cast boolit shooter which makes it a affordable joy to shoot all day and a fine whitetail, blacktail, or mule deer rifle at CB velocities. It took me a while to discover that my rifle would not stabilize the Lee boolit below 1650 fps but at 1750 fps it will bounce paint cans at 700 yards consistently. When I switched to a different shaped and slightly heavier (235 gr) boolit from an Accurate mold, the rifle would stabilize down to 1500 fps. Very versatile when you switch to cast.

Thanks for the experience! I will pursue CB for my 338 as well. Greeat to know that those long shots can be made with CB!

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Fairly common in the elk hunting states CO, WY, MT. Excellent rifle for heavier game, probably better than the 300 Mags. Recoil with full factory loads can get your attention. Excellent with boolits, Good selection of jacketed bullets, good molds available from Accurate, NOE others. Definitely in the 'thumper' class while suitable for long range hunting(400 yds and under). Shots beyond 400 - wounding risk too high in wild country, save those for the high fence 'hunting'.

[Tripplebeards]

I remember reading an old article on shooting through brush in either outdoor life or field and streaming the mid to late 80's. The author piled brush and logs up and placed a target in back of the brush pile. He's tested slugs and dozens of calibers from 22-250,30-30,45-70, to 12 gauge slugs. The 338 WM was the most accurate. I remember pics of the targets and the 338WM was almost dead center. For some reason the speed,weight, and diameter of the caliber sailed through the brush accurately. It was a cool article and test I tried to google it but can find it in anyone's archives.

IMO When the "new" ultramag calibers came out around 1999 the gun writers put the old faithful calibers like the 338WM on the back burner. Back in the 70's and 80's every outdoor magazine wrote several articles that the 338 WM was the only caliber on the planet test could kill an Elk.lol How times change.

[JMax]

I inherited a set of CH Dura Chrome dies and wondered what to do with them, now I have a clue as I am a cast boolit shooter

[Shawlerbrook]

Great Alaskan big game caliber. Not an oddball, but when you start getting into the big boys, there are few that shoot them all.