MidSouth Shooters SupplyInline FabricationRepackboxTitan Reloading
Lee PrecisionReloading EverythingRotoMetals2Load Data
Wideners
Page 5 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast
Results 81 to 100 of 109

Thread: .338 in. Mag - second to 45-70 for more open deer-elk

  1. #81
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Boonesborough, KY
    Posts
    6,925
    Burris Fullfield II is outstanding, I have them on three of my rifles. I think they are actually better than the Leopold VX-I. None of my rifles are hard kickers but they have endured alot of clambering up and down trees and getting knocked around in the woods. One of them got dropped so hard it bent the outside of the objective bell but stayed zeroed. Burris fixed it fast n' free!
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  2. #82
    Boolit Master Ithaca Gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Between two mountains
    Posts
    1,592
    I currently have four Burris scopes, original Fullfield 3-9x I bought used close to 30 years ago on a .30/06 sporter-never a problem. A 25 year old ''Mini'' 4-12x now on a Ruger M-77RS .308-never a problem other than having to buy an extention ring to mount it, (short scope). A 20+ year old Signature 3-9x on another .30/06 heavy sporter-never a problem. Extreme Tactical XTRII 5-25x (34mm tube-huge scope!) haven't used it yet on a heavy .30/06 target rifle, very clear, seems built like a tank!

    Burris claim to fame is their scope build quality, they're tough and hold zero. Optical quality isn't the best on the 4-12 Mini. It's good on the lower powers, but the higher you go the more the edges are wavy. The old 3-9 Fulfield is generally good, but tinted yellow, I understand this was only on the older scopes. The optical quality on the 3-9 Signature is comparable to Leupold, plus it has a lock on the side that locks the turrets, (don't have to use it if you don't want to). I say optical quality on the 5-25 tactical is excellent, maybe someone with better eyes could find fault, but I can't.

    One thing Burris makes better than anyone, in my opinion are their Signature rings. They're very much over size with an interior bevel radius that captures 2 piece ''nylon'' bushings that protect the scope from scratches, can zero the scope, (or at least get it close that only minor adjustments need be made with the turrets) by adjusting them in position within the rings themselves. MOA can be gained by placement of the inserts. Brilliant system! No lapping needed, they also self center the scope.

    Bad side of Burris? I don't know, I really like the U.S.A. made scopes, (Greely CO.) now they're made in the Phillippines. My new 5-25 seems solid as a rock and optical quality is excellent. We shall see.
    Liberalism is a cult divorced from reality.

  3. #83
    Boolit Grand Master
    Mk42gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Butler, MO
    Posts
    9,021
    One way that I have found to help when mounting short tubed scopes on long action rifles is to use a one piece Redfield style base. This gets the rings closer together than using two piece bases.

    I have a Leupold Vari-X II 2-7X on my .30-06 Mauser, and a 1.5-5X on my .35 Whelen built on a 98K Mauser. No problems needing extension rings.

    I have become a bit of a scope snob in my later years. Buying quality glass does away with a lot of problems.

    With that said, I wasn't always that way. I had a Simmons AETEC 3.5-10 (I think) on a rifle once, and it was a good scope for range or midday hunting. Right at dusk you couldn't see through it. I did like the fast focus eyepiece, the first that I had seen.

    But the one that will get people laughing is I once put a Simmons 22MAG 4X on a Savage 116 in .338 Win Mag. Hey they were both silver. Surprisingly it lasted for several years and a couple of hundred rounds before I sold the rifle. Then the guy I sold it to took it to Colorado and killed an elk with it.

    Robert

  4. #84
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Boonesborough, KY
    Posts
    6,925
    My Burris scopes are all Philippines made and work great. I would gladly pay more for them to be USA made, unfortunately alot of other folks would not and Burris would be no more.

    Some lower cost scopes are really good for the money. I have a little Hawke Vantage 2-7x32 on my Zastava .223 bolt gun and it works great, one fella I know on another forum has the same scope on his Guide Gun and loves it. I have a late model Bushnell Trophy as a backup scope, it has been on a couple of rifles and always stayed zero and was certainly clear and bright enough for hunting use.

    I'm not so much a scope snob as I am picky about details, particularly size. Never saw the usefulness of a 4-12x50 on a stock 10/22 carbine yet lots of people do just that. Or, a huge scope with adjustable objective on a standard weight .243 or .308 that is used strictly in the woods. Buddy of mine has a 20 year old low end Bushnell with 50mm adjustable objective on his .243 carbine. Dude really doesn't shoot it that much, but every time we sight it in the POI has drifted a few inches. Even my aforementioned Trophy would be a significant improvement. And don't get me started on those horrid see through rings!
    Last edited by FergusonTO35; 01-29-2023 at 10:11 PM.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  5. #85
    Boolit Grand Master


    GregLaROCHE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Southern France by way of Interior Bush Alaska
    Posts
    5,286
    I would go with the .338. Probably because I always wanted one. I used a 30.06 for my scoped gun in Alaska. One day I found a deal on a 7mm mag. I never was happy with it and went back to 30.06. However, I always wanted a .338 for those long caribou shots.

    What ever you decide on. Make sure you get the best twist for using cast boolits. I’m assuming you plan on using them.

  6. #86
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Quote Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE View Post
    I would go with the .338. Probably because I always wanted one. I used a 30.06 for my scoped gun in Alaska. One day I found a deal on a 7mm mag. I never was happy with it and went back to 30.06. However, I always wanted a .338 for those long caribou shots.

    What ever you decide on. Make sure you get the best twist for using cast boolits. I’m assuming you plan on using them.
    I'd love to do a caribou hunt. That's serious outbacking.

    No, for the .338, on the hunts themselves, I intend on using premium bullets (not that cast isn't "premium," I mean Barnes Triple-Shock,Speer, etc.).
    -Paul

  7. #87
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Thanks for the ton of useful info on the optics and everything else, guys. Lots to consider. I'll start gathering up slowly and make that plan for a couple years out.
    -Paul

  8. #88
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Alright. I know this is backwards, but a couple reasons I'd ask. One, well, no armory without the venerable -06. Have had many, love it.

    Secondly, it occurs to me how easy it is for me to look for the next "thing," over knowing one's weapon, its possibilities and its limitations, through and through. I know it won't get to the range of a magnum, but I also have to acknowledge I'd rather stalk well and get within range than "have" to have a weapon out to 500 yards.

    Finally, well, just discovered a cache of several hundred 3X or so fired-through 30-06 brass, tumbling as I write this.

    For the viewing public, the good old '06 for elk, with the 45-70 depending on the terrain.

    Thoughts?
    -Paul

  9. #89
    Boolit Grand Master
    Mk42gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Butler, MO
    Posts
    9,021
    I have never killed an elk, a lot of deer but no elk. With that said, I think the .30-06 loaded with some of today's premium 180-200 grain bullets will make a dandy elk cartridge. Maybe not as good as the .338, but f you get close enough, it should work fine.

    For the record, the last four years I was in the Navy and was able to come home during deer season, I always brought the current rifle I was playing with to use. But I also brought my old 98a Mauser in .30-06 for those times the new rifle hiccupped or it got to the last day of season and I still had tags.

    Robert

  10. #90
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Well, after all, happy owner of a Ruger M77 Hawkeye laminate .338 WM on its way. Described on Guns International as excellent in all parameters, "This Ruger M77 Hawkeye is perfect in every way. It looks almost unused."

    Thanks much for the input all. Ithaca, member of the club now!
    -Paul

  11. #91
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Seems a great value. Looks like 3-9X is the lowest power, is that correct?
    -Paul

  12. #92
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Boonesborough, KY
    Posts
    6,925
    Awesome, sounds like a good one!
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  13. #93
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Thanks! Pretty dang happy.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Sturm-Ruger-and-Co-Model-M77-Hawkeye-Bolt-Action-Rifle-338-Winchester-Magnum_102205379_2628_3B60.jpg 
Views:	7 
Size:	68.8 KB 
ID:	310333
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Sturm-Ruger-and-Co-Model-M77-Hawkeye-Bolt-Action-Rifle-338-Winchester-Magnum cu.jpg 
Views:	7 
Size:	88.6 KB 
ID:	310334
    -Paul

  14. #94
    Boolit Master Ithaca Gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Between two mountains
    Posts
    1,592
    Quote Originally Posted by huntinlever View Post
    Thanks! Pretty dang happy.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Sturm-Ruger-and-Co-Model-M77-Hawkeye-Bolt-Action-Rifle-338-Winchester-Magnum_102205379_2628_3B60.jpg 
Views:	7 
Size:	68.8 KB 
ID:	310333
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Sturm-Ruger-and-Co-Model-M77-Hawkeye-Bolt-Action-Rifle-338-Winchester-Magnum cu.jpg 
Views:	7 
Size:	88.6 KB 
ID:	310334
    Yup, same gun I have except for the pad. If no manual comes with it, you can download and print one from the Ruger website. I think you're gonna fall deeply in love with that rifle and want another, in a standard caliber. When they redid the M-77 to the Hawkeye, they did it right.
    Liberalism is a cult divorced from reality.

  15. #95
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Quote Originally Posted by Ithaca Gunner View Post
    Yup, same gun I have except for the pad. If no manual comes with it, you can download and print one from the Ruger website. I think you're gonna fall deeply in love with that rifle and want another, in a standard caliber. When they redid the M-77 to the Hawkeye, they did it right.
    Thanks again, Ithaca. Can't wait. Your pad, you may have said it - Limbsaver?
    -Paul

  16. #96
    Boolit Master Ithaca Gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Between two mountains
    Posts
    1,592
    Quote Originally Posted by huntinlever View Post
    Thanks again, Ithaca. Can't wait. Your pad, you may have said it - Limbsaver?
    Pachmayr Decelerator is what's on mine, but it's about the same as a Limbsaver or Kick-eaze. I think any of them would work the same.
    Liberalism is a cult divorced from reality.

  17. #97
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Thanks Ithaca. I think it's a grind-down Limbsaver I have on the gg, but I've always wanted to try Pachmayr.
    -Paul

  18. #98
    Boolit Master Ithaca Gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Between two mountains
    Posts
    1,592
    I would imagine they're similar and the same effectiveness. Though the .338 is a sharp kicker, with a thick soft pad it isn't painful. Just remember to pull it in snug and hang on to the fore end or it'll jump off your bag at the bench.
    Liberalism is a cult divorced from reality.

  19. #99
    Boolit Master huntinlever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    S. Central Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,196
    Thanks. I had wondered about that, whether to hold on or not. Then it's like my 45-70....doing the one-hand hold with left hand clutching a rear bag was pretty useless as the muzzle jump is stout.
    -Paul

  20. #100
    Boolit Master Ithaca Gunner's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Between two mountains
    Posts
    1,592
    Quote Originally Posted by huntinlever View Post
    Thanks. I had wondered about that, whether to hold on or not. Then it's like my 45-70....doing the one-hand hold with left hand clutching a rear bag was pretty useless as the muzzle jump is stout.
    You got it! As stated above, recoil isn't painful, but it is heavy and left unsupported the muzzle end will jump off the bag. Good choice in the Leupold 2-7X scope, it has plenty of eye relief which removes worry about another eye brow being cut in.
    Liberalism is a cult divorced from reality.

Page 5 of 6 FirstFirst 123456 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check