Light weight 338

[Northerngos]

I'm leaning towards going with the mega. I still have time to decide since I'm going to be waiting a while for my barrel as well.

I think so too, I'm restricted to 3 3/8" magazine so just need to see how it compares with that length restriction.

 

[Wy Will]

I

You will not be able to see your impacts, so dont miss, or have a spotter with you. It will beat you up, no matter what brake. It will be much more finicky to shoot and hold tune day in day out. I build a decent amount of .338s and my customers typically expect top accuracy and aren't happy when they can only do it some of the time. Light .338s have not been too popular once they start working with them.
That said, your considering a smaller .338 and only talking medium ranges, if you stick to the lighter bullets it will be better. But I place a lot of value on seeing my hits. Not knowing what happened after a shot is not a good feeling.

I typically hunt solo, so no spotter. The light weight is why I am not considering any of the bigger magnums. I'll probably stay with 250 grain bullets, or somewhere within that range.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Id recommend trying to find someone with a similar rifle you can shoot.

 

[Wy Will]

Id recommend trying to find someone with a similar rifle you can shoot.

I wish that was an option. Not my wildcats around here except big ones on heavy rifles. At least not many that I've found

 

[hunter67wa]

338/06 is what I use. 22" with 210 TTSX at 2741 fps

 

[ofbandg]

I like the 338/06 as well. 180 gr. Accubonds at 3000 fps does a nice job on everything up to Elk and probably beyond - and it doesn't kick too badly. My wife has killed Elk with her .338 Federal using the same bullet at 2850. I have a .338 Win Mag I use as a back up for big moose and bears but using my .338/06 with the 210 gr. Partition wouldn't scare me either.

 

[sp6x6]

338 NM 8 3/4 scoped,I shoot across to next ridge,type hunting up higher. Listen for impact,im good at getting back on target.Rifle 7-2 oz bare.I started at 20 with a unbraked 340,38 years ago this is a puzzy cat compared too.Have many Weatherby tattos from steep incline shooting,heh

 

[Wyowind]

WY Will,

Some good advice on here from Alex Wheeler. Trying something similar to what you think you might want before committing to it is a wise idea. Might or might not be practical where you live.

The choices you make in building your lightweight elk hunting rifle are quite personal. Much depends on the possible conditions of your hunting situation. Hence the many arguments on the perfect elk cartridge and rifle.

For me personally, I have found a rifle of 8.25 lbs ready to hunt is not too much for hauling up and down mountains. That weight is on the light side for shooting a powerful cartridge, especially when shooting without a muzzle brake. Definitely try before you buy for a rifle of light weight and heavy recoil.

While I have carried rifles of up to 9 lbs for elk hunting, these days I am much more inclined toward lighter rifles. At the end of a long day, a heavy rifle weighs a lot more than it did at daybreak.

You will treasure your lightweight rifle when hunting elk in distant and rough places, especially if you are hunting on foot. Lots of cartridges will work well, as long as you choose an appropriate bullet.

Good Luck on your elk hunting!

Wyowind

 

[Wedgy]

Cody's 9lb .338 Norma is worth a look;

My shiny new light .338 Norma Magnum build thread!!

Some of you may have seen bits and pieces of this in other threads, but I like having threads dedicated to each rifle build I do (more for my reference later so I can document and review why I did what I did ha ha) so this is for my most recent build, and so far my favorite I have done yet!!! I...

www.longrangehunting.com

 

[P7M13]

I wish that was an option. Not my wildcats around here except big ones on heavy rifles. At least not many that I've found

Have you been to FMC Park in Green River? Great Range. I've been there twice, and each time there are a few folk who show up with customs.

Edit: 338 WM / Win M70 / 26" barrel / 9# with four cartridges, scope and sling. That's as much as I want to carry all day, and I find the 26" is too cumbersome in the thick brush of the Oregon coastal range.

 

[Wyowind]

Edit: 338 WM / Win M70 / 26" barrel / 9# with four cartridges, scope and sling. That's as much as I want to carry all day

I am totally with you on that. A 9 lb rifle carried all day long gets to be pretty heavy by the time you make it back to camp!

Wyowind

 

[dogz]

I have two 338 Winchester Magnum's that I use for elk. One was built for grizzly hunting in Alaska which I purchased from the original owner. The grizzly hunting rifle weighs 8lbs 10 ounces with scope ready to hunt with its 24" barrel, the other weighs 10 pounds 1 ounce. You definitely know you set the 8 pound one off. It really is to nice to take in the mountains and get scratched up. Picture of the grizzly rifle attached

Gorgeous rifle, how'd the grizz hunt go?

 

[dogz]

I'm looking to build a light weight .338 elk hunting rifle. Thinking about going with a Proof 22" barrel on a R700 long action. My initial idea was to go with a 338 Sherman Max.

Looking for input on possible other cartridge choices. Just wanting something light for packing in the mountains, but still capable of shots at 600ish yards.Thank you!

Will I might of missed it but when you say you want to build a lightweight what are you thinking for weight "all up" (scope, rounds, sling etc)?

 

[Wy Will]

Will I might of missed it but when you say you want to build a lightweight what are you thinking for weight "all up" (scope, rounds, sling etc)?

I'd love to be at or under 7lbs when finished. I know that a Ti action would help, but I couldn't justify spending that kind of money