.338 Winchester Magnum

I've got an unusual choice for Africa.

Maybe not as unusual as your .45-70, but one that is probably fading in popularity here in the States at one time was a powerhouse of a cartridge, Sterling Reputation .338 Win Mag.

Well, you know how much I like a Win Mag.

That old A-bolt I've got's been all over the world.

Go

ahead.

.338 Win Mag as a Plains game cartridge, I think if a guy didn't have a .375, would fill that void, that niche of plus-size Plains game really, really well.

The thing that's kind of cool about the .33 cals, the .338s, is you're shooting a really heavy for caliber bullet.

Episode

338 Win Mag.

So

338 Win Mag.

Actually, we're going to build a 338 Win Mag.

A guy just texted me today, I got to get my stuff together so I can actually make a sale once.

I forgot how to, I think.

Good flat shooting, an accurate long range rifle and all that good stuff.

But what if I come across a bear? I'd better take a 338 Win Mag or a 375 H&H or something." Which, yeah, that sounds like pretty good pragmatic, makes sense, but the more I thought about it over the years, the more I thought, "You know, why don't you just carry a, a bullet that is ready for bear in the gun-

Mm-hmm

... and then it, you're gonna get the penetration.

Uh, very useful.

Um, uh, I mean, uh, slightly less recoiling than the .338 Win Mag, but if you design the ammo right, y- it's still a 400-yard cartridge.

Mm-hmm.

Uh, es- especially the Ackley Improved version.

I do like that firearm.

And if I want a big one, it's the .338 Win Mag, not my Lapua.

That's my go-to guns.

I mean, I shoot my Lapua, but honestly, I do like my .338 Win Mag when I'm going after elk or something like that.

I only need one shot, so if it rips my shoulder off, I'm

okay.

Are you talking about just size of cartridge or are you talking about diameter of bullet? Oh, diameter of bullet, it doesn't hurt.

I mean, listen, if, if that's the case, I would tell guys, "Why aren't you shooting a 338 Win Mag?"

[laughs]

It's bigger.

I would say leave in the comment what, what's your thoughts on that, you know, larger diameter bullets, larger caliber bullets, uh, is it better than smaller ones? I still like a 6.5 PRC, 260 or, uh, a 260, uh, caliber, um, bullet.

Works really, really good for white tails.

But also I got a 300, a 338 Win Mag, so it's like shooting a 225 grain Hornady ELDX at almost 3,100 feet per second.

[laughs] Oh my God.

I don't care if you're shooting a 300 Win Mag.

If you just have no experience and you aim at the center of the deer, like not the center of the vitals but the center of the deer, you're going to get a wounded deer, and you're likely never going to recover that deer because even with a .300 Win Mag or a .338 Win Mag or a .375 H&H and a whitetail deer, if you shoot it in the guts or the paunch, all the leaves and debris and stuff in their gut, yeah, it's probably going to kill them eventually, but you're probably not going to recover them.

I don't care what caliber you shoot them with.

Should I have a .50 BMG? It's just not going to matter because you don't know the anatomy.

I once asked him what he likes to see clients bring.

He says, a .338 Win Mag.

Is this for planes game? He said, yeah.

And I said, why? And he said...

Because so many people flinch.

I was like, well, that doesn't make sense.

Shouldn't they have a lighter kicking cartridge? And he's like, in my experience, anybody that flinches with a .338 Win Mag will also flinch with a .243.

But when you hit them wrong with a .338 Win Mag, I have to trail them a lot less distance.