COTW - .338 Winchester Magnum

AJ · May 24, 2003

In 1958 Winchester introduced a version of the Model 70 called the Alaskan. It was chambered in a new cartridge called the .338 Winchester Magnum. This cartridge uses a standard length, belted magnum case necked to hold the .338” bullet. 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 Winchester 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.

In 1987 the editor 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 Springfield 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 .338 Winchester Magnum is indeed a versatile round.

Since the .338 Winchester Magnum is a standard length cartridge that is easily fitted into a long action, each of the major rifle manufacturers offer a rifle chambered in it. The most popular design is bolt action rifles but Browning even offers their semi automatic BAR chambered for the .338 Winchester Magnum. Ruger has their single shot beauty the Number 1 chambered for the mid sized magnum round also.

The .338 Winchester Magnum is starting to get into the big, serious round arena. Recoil is starting to get substantial and quality optics that are recoil proof, sturdy rings and mounts, should only be chosen. This will eliminate headaches down the road.

Factory loaded ammunition is offered by just about every big manufacturer for the .338 Winchester Magnum. Bullet weights of 200, 210, 225, 230, and 250 grains can fit the bill for most scenario you could imagine on this continent. Winchester loads their 200 grain Nosler Ballistic Silvertip to a velocity of 2,950 fps with 3,864 ft-lbs of energy. At 200 yards this load still has 2,794 ft-lbs of energy. When this load is sighted in to hit 2” high at 100 yards, it is less than 2” low at 250 yards, and is only 6” low at 300 yards. This combination finally drops below 2000 ft lbs of energy at 400 yards. Hornady offers the Heavy Magnum series of ammo in the 225 grain soft point traveling 2950 fps. This load has the same trajectory as the 200 grain Winchester load but offers higher energy throughout its path. Federal offers their High Energy Premium load with the 250 grain Nosler Partition traveling 2800 fps. When this load is sighted in to hit 2” high at 100 yards, it will impact 2 ½” low at 250 and 7” low at 300 yards. This is still plenty flat for big game shooting. This load also is a hard hitter offering over a ton of energy at 400 yards.

Handloaders can make the .338 Winchester Magnum extremely versatile by loading bullets weighing 160 grains on the low end to over 300 grains on the high end. Popular powders for this cartridge include 4350, 4831, and Reloader 19.

While most of the medium bore cartridges never really caught on with the shooting public in North America, the .338 Winchester Magnum has become one of the most popular with hunters that hunt animals on the medium to large size of the big game scale.

This cartridge can be fed the proper bullet to do just about anything you can ask of it. It combines a fairly flat trajectory with heavy hitting bullets to be one of the most versatile cartridges on the market.

iron buck · May 24, 2003