RH300UM
Well-Known Member
Right one was at 850 yards. 1 and done
Mine on the left 450 1 and done 5 minutes later
338 for elk hunting- Build a lightweight rifle
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Mine on the left 450 1 and done 5 minutes later
RH300UM
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Bret GRAVELINE Graveline
Well-Known Member
I put together the rifle you're looking for 25 years ago, back in the 70's Colorado elk camp was at eleven thousand feet, back then 8 lb rifle was a mountain rifle, my Ruger 77 in 338 weighed close to 10, over the years I turned the barrel down and restocked it with slimmer classic style stock of bastogne walnut, with a 2.5x8 Leupold loaded with sling came in at 8 pounds, in the 80's if you wanted a elk you needed to be prepared for a long shot, my 8lb 338 was up to just about any task I asked of it, in the 90's I added a 6lb 257 Ackley but not for elk, a little older now a 6lb rifle was a delight, about 95 I found Sako M995 in 338 Lapua, nice rifle but a little to heavy to my liking, being a fan of the big cartridge Ackley and light rifles I wanted it all in one package, I Ackley improved the Lapua, PTG made my reamers and hornady produced the dies, going back to my roots, I choose a ruger 77 tang safety action, a pacnor number 3 super match grade barrel, and a brown precision classic stock, I decided the num 3 barrel was a little heavy so I turned it down a little finishing the crown out at .590 and a 26 inch finished length, I cut a muzzle break into the barrel so actual barrel is really 25in, The gun has worn several scopes starting with a 3x9 Burris with a ballistic plex reticle, but currently wears a Leopold 4.5x14 with a Boone & crockett reticle, I'm leaning towards going back to the 3x9 its a quarter pound lighter and I as I'm just as likely to find myself pointing this rifle at something standing just in front of me verse across a canyon, I learned how to use a mill dot reticle while spending my summers picking on rock chucks and prairie dogs, hitting a coke bottle size rodent with consistency at 600 plus yds makes deer and elk seem like a chip shot, the finished rifle with 3 rds and sling tips the scale at 8 lbs 3 oz, it shoots the 185 225 and 250 grain Barnes X bullets to the same point of impact, the 185 leaves the muzzle at just over 3600 fps, the 225 gr at just under 3400 and the 250 at 3200, i don't hunt with the 250 gr as I don't feel I need it, recoil is stiff But with a good synthetic stock and muzzle break I don't feel its any worse than a standard 338 Winchester, a good hand laid fiber glass stock such as brown mpi and others obsorb recoil, most if not all the more popular long range stocks i see in use these days are not so forgiving, while it cant be felt the entire butt of a foam core stock acts like a 14 inch recoil pad, a glass stock with Kevlar will save weight but Kevlar does not flex so felt recoil is more severe, this gun will hold sub 1/2 minute moa, with the 185 being almost half that, I shoot four 3 shoot groups to average out my group size, the gun only holds 3 rounds so I feel firing more is wasting good Cooper, sighted 3 inches high at 100 yards its a point and shoot 450 yard gun when aiming center mass on deer, I purchased 200 rounds of Papua brass, using a select 21 rounds to do my load development I' never to lost a case fatigue, good luck in your rifle quest.
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Marine sniper
Well-Known Member
^ Awesome post; is that a coastal brown bear?
Bret GRAVELINE Graveline
Well-Known Member
Yes it is, flew out of king salmon Alaska, 9 feet 10 inches taken at about 45 yds
Marine sniper
Well-Known Member
On my bucket list; I am headed to Africa in September for elephant and cape buffalo, but my next expensive hunt will be coastal brown bear.
What mount did you chose?
Sorry for the temporary diversion from the post- but **** that is a great bear.
A high BC 7mm bullet will not treat you better than a high BC 30 cal like a 215 or 230 or 245 Berger.
7mm 195 Elite Hunter at 2850 (stnd 7mm RM velocity)
300WM with 215 Berger at 3,000 fps, my RBROS get's 3063 significant diff in energy.
Marine sniper
Well-Known Member
The 7mm's can not compete with the 338's for retained energy at long range- not even close.
dennisinaz
Well-Known Member
And a
338 can't compete with the big 375s for retained energy either, and so it goes...
338 can't compete with the big 375s for retained energy either, and so it goes...
Thumpin' deer and elk with 300 grains just gives me a warm fuzzy feelin - in the end, when used correctly they all kill efficiently - pick whichever tool you like the best and go fill the freezer!
Elk Hunter 338
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correct .. that's why my 375 cheytac with 350gr lazers has no equal for stomping game into the dirt!!!
Marine sniper
Well-Known Member
True, but a bit simplistic. There gets to be a point where enough is enough. I "think" the big 338's are the best all around caliber for all of North America.
Bret GRAVELINE Graveline
Well-Known Member
I have it on a pedestal, originally it was to have a red fox on a deer carcass being confronted by Mr bear, however my taxidermist suffered a fatal heart attack before completing the deer or fox, I keep thinking I need to have it completed, but its a little problematic can't just throw it in the back of a pickup and take it in to a studio, I've made a number of trips to Africa but not for any of the big five, not sure if I'll go back, but I have a 8lb 416 ruger on a FN mauser ready to go just in case
Alex Wheeler
Well-Known Member
I love .338s. Nothing smaller can match the day to day poi stability of those big bullets at long range. They are simply more consistent. The 338 Norma imp is my favorite for a repeater, 2900 or so with a 300. The Lapua imp for single shots gets you over 3000, even over 3100 with some barrels. As much as I like them, you could not give me one under 14lbs. Most figures show a rifle recoils almost 1/8" before the bullet makes it out of the barrel. That initial recoil needs to be extremely consistent if you expect any accuracy. When your spinning up a bullet that heavy the only thing thats going to help is mass. The brake does nothing, thats just for shooter comfort. Most of the guys that expect really good accuracy on a consistent basis will not be happy with a light weight .338 pushing 300s. A really good 338 is a 3-4" gun at 1k.
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