Are the .338s becoming pointless?

They kill and disable large game animals a bit better than the .308 and smaller calibers, given equal quality bullets, when killing/disabling quicker has its advantages. And larger calibers even more so than the 338s. I prefer 338s for brown bears more so than smaller calibers.

Also used them on large Alaskan bull moose for many years. Though never had one of them come after me.

I bought just a old fashioned 338 win mag several years back . It's an absolute tack driver with sierra 250 gr pills . I'm not certain that it's obsolete but it shoots just fine for me out to 350 yards . I've killed several whitetail deer with it . Not really what I bought it for but it sure works

Calvin45 said:

Not looking to offend or claim they're not effective, BUT...it used to be that the .338 lapua was regarded as in a league apart compared to .300 and 7mms because of the bcs on the 338 bullets. Now this is definitely a thing of the past, with high .7 and even .8 range g1 bc 7mm and .308" bullets that can be driven faster all things equal For true extreme range the big .375s are dominant. For tactical purposes all of the above are way more than adequate antipersonell rounds, body armour or not. None of the above are truly suitable anti material caliber. The way it seems now is that the .33s don't have an advantage over the 7 and 30 trajectory wise and can't match the 375s out of similar size rifles. Nothing wrong with .338 cartridges but not a whole lot I see that would make me choose one with things as they are now. Show me if I'm wrong!

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My son and I have been going through a lot variables about this since he won a manners stock and wants to build something for long range hunting. We presently have a 28 nosler that is running a 195 Berger at approximately 3050 FPS. He thought about a 30 cal but after running ballistic numbers compared to a 30 cal bullet options and velocities that are attainable we felt why build a 30 when the 28, energy was the same or more with a more efficient projectile. So we decided to go with a 338 caliber shooting a 300 grain projectile to separate them. The 300 gr seems to be a game changer in the 338 caliber.

I am planning to move to the .338 for hunting big elk. 275 grain

Calvin45 said:

Not looking to offend or claim they're not effective, BUT...it used to be that the .338 lapua was regarded as in a league apart compared to .300 and 7mms because of the bcs on the 338 bullets. Now this is definitely a thing of the past, with high .7 and even .8 range g1 bc 7mm and .308" bullets that can be driven faster all things equal For true extreme range the big .375s are dominant. For tactical purposes all of the above are way more than adequate antipersonell rounds, body armour or not. None of the above are truly suitable anti material caliber. The way it seems now is that the .33s don't have an advantage over the 7 and 30 trajectory wise and can't match the 375s out of similar size rifles. Nothing wrong with .338 cartridges but not a whole lot I see that would make me choose one with things as they are now. Show me if I'm wrong!

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Pointless for what specifically?
What are you trying to accomplish?
Max distance on game? Steel? Paper?
Size of game you are hunting?
I don't have a 338 myself currently.... What do I know I rarely shoot rifles.
But I do have a specialty pistol in 375 Chey-Tac!
It is a free country, purchase or build what you want and be content with it.
There are a lot of ways to skin the cat...Choose what you want and support others who make a different choice.

Thought about a .338 mag but not for long. I purchased a Remy BDL 8mm mag in 1979 and never looked back. Great combination of power and range with those long wicked bullets it shoots. Today it is better than ever with the bullet selection offered.

Dirtrax said:

I aspire to having a .338. I'm a big 7mm fan but I gotta admit just about any .338 anchors elk better than most 7's. The heavy .30's do a great job but I am in the camp of having just a bit more than necessary. It's like having an ace up your sleeve imo. 375's are awesome but ridiculously expensive.

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Big bullets make big holes.

I have the perfect combo a 7 Mag and a 338 would not trade either of them. I put a terminator brake and a decelerator pad on my 338 RUM shoots like a 270 or less and is a very accurate instrument. The last elk
I shot with the 7 did not find it until the next day, lost a lot of meat. The 338 AKA Cowzilla solved that problem.
Thats my story and I am sticking to it.

@Rum Man chime in here. This is your wheel house

Calvin45 said:

Not looking to offend or claim they're not effective, BUT...it used to be that the .338 lapua was regarded as in a league apart compared to .300 and 7mms because of the bcs on the 338 bullets. Now this is definitely a thing of the past, with high .7 and even .8 range g1 bc 7mm and .308" bullets that can be driven faster all things equal For true extreme range the big .375s are dominant. For tactical purposes all of the above are way more than adequate antipersonell rounds, body armour or not. None of the above are truly suitable anti material caliber. The way it seems now is that the .33s don't have an advantage over the 7 and 30 trajectory wise and can't match the 375s out of similar size rifles. Nothing wrong with .338 cartridges but not a whole lot I see that would make me choose one with things as they are now. Show me if I'm wrong!

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Not offended but I own a lot of calibers ranging from 204 to 416. I thoroughly enjoy 338LM for long range hunting and ELR limited class. Economically it's more practical to shoot than 375 or 416. Your style of hunting is different with a 338LM as well since these are big heavy rifles. I hunt from a fixed position in the prone or from a mobile platform on high seat.

If I was on a ground stalk 338LM would feel like a burden for sure.


I always say the perfect caliber is the one you need that day for the shot you are trying to make.

When I hunted in New Zealand last summer, I was bummed to learn I could not hunt there with handguns. So I decided to use my guides rifle. i do own rifles, but didn't want to go through the hassle. 338 Lapua, at over 600 yards. It worked fine. Yes, I have killed stuff with a rifle!

The 338 enablr and 375 enablr are teaching me a lot!

Although theoretically a 28 nosler, 195, 30" barrel DO EVERYTHING

A 338 ENABLR DOES MORE FURTHER!

375 ENABLR 400 GRN EVEN FURTHER STILL!!!

however shooting deer beyond 1000 yards in field conditions is beyond my capabilities 90% of the time AND a true hunting rifle for me needs to be 13lbs or less...

The 375s @ 13# loaded ready to hunt kick like a mule EVEN WITH A BRAKE, BIPOD AND HYDRAULIC BUTTPAD!!!

28NOSLER IS PERFECT
30PRC WITH 245S IS PERFECT

HOWEVER

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED

A 338 LAPUA OR EDGE, 30 PRC, 28 NOSLER, 30 SHERMAN SEEM TO BE THE MOST PRACTICAL.....

ESPECIALLY BIG BEARS, ELK, KUDO ETC FOR 90% OF ALL HUNTING DONE ON FOOT, ESPECIALLY IN TIMBER....

MAYBE A 375 RUGER/375 WEATHERBY/375 ENABLR WITH 350BARNES TSX or 400 berger in a carbon barrel carbon stock horus reticle.....

Seems like the 1 world rifle solution to me...

338s are not obsolete at all!!!

I will always use the 338 win mag firing the 225 barnes x @ 2950 in a 9# browning AS MY BENCHMARK....

MAYBE AN ALL CARBON 33 SHERMAN WITH 225 TO 275 HAMMERS WOULD BE MY NEW STANDARD???

350TSX OR 400 BERGER IN A 375 RUGER???

338 LAPUA 300 GRAIN ALWAYS WORKS AND MIGHT BE THE BIGGEST PRACTICAL CARTRIDGE.....

MAYBE NOT LOL

highdrum said:

Absolutely not. My 338 rum is one the most accurate and easy to develop rifles I've ever worked with. It's fairly light long range rig at 10.5# ready to hunt. Capable of 1/4moa groupings, shooter ability depends upon how it shoots. The energy and ballistics are only rivaled by 230-245 bergers running a fair bit faster. The 338 rum with 300s @ 2830 fps has less felt recoil than the 300 norma improved pushing 245s @ 2950. Rifles weigh close to Same #.

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Fully concur! Wouldn't trade my 338 RUM for anything... Easiest to load and tune over my other customs.. 5 shot string 250 accubonds 1/2" or better...

Calvin45 said:

Not looking to offend or claim they're not effective, BUT...it used to be that the .338 lapua was regarded as in a league apart compared to .300 and 7mms because of the bcs on the 338 bullets. Now this is definitely a thing of the past, with high .7 and even .8 range g1 bc 7mm and .308" bullets that can be driven faster all things equal For true extreme range the big .375s are dominant. For tactical purposes all of the above are way more than adequate antipersonell rounds, body armour or not. None of the above are truly suitable anti material caliber. The way it seems now is that the .33s don't have an advantage over the 7 and 30 trajectory wise and can't match the 375s out of similar size rifles. Nothing wrong with .338 cartridges but not a whole lot I see that would make me choose one with things as they are now. Show me if I'm wrong!

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This will be a good discussion. Cause I'm with you. There will be some people that no matter what, will always Say bigger is better. I'm just not one of those people. I believe that there are way better options out there now. I shot a 338 in the military and I'm not knocking it. It was a fantastic round. But with Berger 195 grain ( 7mm ) that has a .755 BC and Alcoa 195 grain has .932 BC those bullets pretty much dominant IMO. Alco makes some 30 cal 240 grain bullets with .899 BC and Berger's 245 grain bullets with .807. Berger's 338 300 grain bullets have a .814 BC and Alco doesn't make 338 Bullets. . I hope Alco brings back their 205 grain 7mm bullets be cause if I remember right it was over .970 BC. Yes this will be a good discussion. ((Hope everyone is doing good with all this stuff going on right now in this crazy world. ))