Perfect for elk, moose, sheep and bear. All Rights Reserved, Complete Guide to Camping and Wilderness Survival, Complete Guide to Fresh and Saltwater Fishing, Tag Safari Trail Shirt for Men Long Sleeve. Things might be different on the bench. Winter is finally drawing to a close, and spring brings with it new life, and most importantly, a new hunting season. Would you take one on your grizzly hunt? Will that make a difference in terminal performance? .tg .tg-4q2i { Keith wanted something which would hammer through a quartering-away elk (his favorite game) out to 300 or 400 yards and realized a .338 caliber bullet driven fast enough would get the job done. Always consult with the bullet or ammunition manufacturer as to your needs before you choose. Ruger chambers the .454 Casull in both the Super Redhawk with a 4-inch barrel and the Alaskan in a 3-inch variant, both of which are compact and easy to draw when things get up close and personal. This combination is the goal Winchesters designers had in mind when they introduced the first production .338 magnum in 1958. Alaska guides love the 338 Winchester Magnum with heavy bullets for bear protection as well as bear hunting. Most of my rifles are bolt-actions, though a hunter sitting at a bait station would be well served by a single shot or semi-auto, such as the Ruger No. of energy. Like all of Winchesters belted magnums, the 458 was short enough to fit and function in the standard, 30-06-length Model 70 action and magazine, so all they had to do was neck it down and give it a 25-degree shoulder to create a magnum 338 reminiscent of Elmer Keiths 334 OKH of the 1940s. border-style: solid; A friend of mine shot a grizzly that was uphill from him, which was a mistake because bears frequently roll, and when it came to a stop only a few yards away and Jack pulled the trigger a second time, he got the click of an empty chamber because his other three rounds were in the tall grass at his feet. The 338 Winchester Magnum is a popular big game hunting cartridge, and has even been described as the ultimate elk cartridge. Sale price: $79.97. Both cartridges are devastating. And theres no doubt what my guide pal has to say on the subject. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. Both of them will bash just about anything absolutely flat. The .338 Winchester Magnum is among the popular choices for large bearsboth my Alaskan guides carried a rifle so chamberedand I see the wisdom of using bullets of 250 grains. The kinetic energy of the projectile drops dramatically the further downrange it travels primarily due to energy lost in the form of heat generated by friction against the air itself. Although, even the least powerful here (.338 Win. http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php?t=5799, Revision - Airworthiness Directive (AD) Affecting Continental Engines border-style: solid; You dont want to discover that your ammo is buried beneath four layers of clothes and your chest waders. font-weight: normal; And momentum is conserved. Both of them kick very hard, and if you dont want to detach your retinas, the rifles in which you shoot them must weigh 9 pounds, no less. It hits the shooter the least, has proven itself in both Alaska and Africa for decades, and ammunition is available most places. Here is some common Brown Bear advice you did not ask for. When most people think of grizzly cartridges, something on the order of a .338 Win. Warren Page did more bear hunting than anyone I know, and had a dedicated bear rifle. Is the .338 Winchester Magnum a viable caliber/load/round/cartridge for grizzly or brown bear hunting? John B. The Winchester engineers had shortened the .375 H&H case to 2.500", and necked it either up or down to hold .458", .338" and .264" diameter bullets, releasing the trio of new magnums in 1958. .tg .tg-hwi9 { Bottles & 12-oz. owner needs to consider the recoil issue carefully. The .338-378 has devoted fans in the long-range hunting sub-culture, but only exceeded the .340 Weatherbys muzzle velocity by 119 fps; a small reward for the huge recoil it produces. The .458" and .264" bore diameters were certainly no strangers to the hunting and shooting community; those bore diameters date back to the . Best .338 Winchester Magnum Ammo, Rifle Ammo. Sbt Sierra Game King 20-pack. However, as with all hunting, the best rifle is the rifle you shoot confidently. In the question of Is the .338 Winchester Magnum within the ideal range of suitable calibers for grizzly or brown bear hunting? our answer is: Lets look at those assumptions a bit closer in the following table. border-spacing: 0; John B. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. 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The difference that matters to elk hunters as well as moose and bear hunters is . font-size: 18px; The newest .338 magnum, the 33 Nosler arrived on the market in 2016. The 338 win mag ammo is the first choice among . Grizzlies are widely distributed, and have the decency to live in mostly open country, including mountains. The '06 has been the big-game king forever. and 2700 fps, thus delivering massive energy on target. Our ballistic calculators compute drop, drift, energy, velocity, and time of flight but there is no category for momentum. You are using an out of date browser. Answer: Recoil is a consideration with any cartridge. With that said, we have assumed the average hunting distance for grizzly or brown bear to be approximately 200 yards. HubPages is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The third assumption is that a projectile with appropriate terminal ballistics is being used, which for hunting usually means an expanding bullet. All calculations were based on the heaviest Nosler AccuBond bullet available in factory-loaded ammunition for each caliber, unless otherwise noted. AccuBond at 2600 fps. border-color: black; Fuzzy, if your comfortable with your set-up, run with it. Mag. Cartridge popularity drops off dramatically after the 30-calibers. This content is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional. Semi-automatic and striker-fired, the P320-XTEN is extremely accurate, easy to shoot even with powerful 10mm loads and holds 15-plus-one rounds. We offer cheap ammo and bulk ammo deals on the most popular ammo calibers. cases, top with 180- to 300-grain bullets, and you have yourself an impressively versatile, flat-shooting, hard-hitting workhorse of a big game cartridge that races neck-and-neck with the 300 magnums or hits blow for blow with some of the big bores. A strong 400-grain bullet at 2,400 fps is highly persuasive. My personal choice? Popular among Alaskan guides and hunters, the .375 is capable of launching a 270-grain bullet at 4,300 ft.-lbs. The 338 Win. Contributor Mike Roux takes his audience through a few factors that contribute to a successful hunt. In terms of firearm selection, Nelson said its really about delivering a few well-placed shots on target in a short timeframe. text-align: center; Nelson continues to teach a bear defense course in Alaska, instructing geologists and representatives from other government agencies how to operate a wide variety of firearms platforms in a bear defense situation. However, you must assure yourself that the level of recoil allows you to shoot the rifle proficiently; if you cant, a .35 Whelen or .375 H&H makes a much better choice. If you want factory ammo, get Swift, loaded with its 250-grain A-Frames. .tg .tg-xhut { However, a true magnum Mauser action will accept the longest magnums, such as the .416 Rigby which is 3.75 inches long. By that yardstick it is hard to fault a .300 Win. However, as with all hunting, the best rifle is the rifle you shoot confidently. While some may consider it the minimum, its plenty powerful enough to stop an onerous bear. Never, ever, walk up on a downed bear with an empty rifle. Developed for military snipers to bridge the gap between .300 Winchester Magnum and .50 BMG, at first glance, the .338 Lapua seems to define over kill in a hunting cartridge. Sometimesunder some circumstanceshunting is hard to explain. vertical-align: top Fill the magazine and see if it cycles. Mag. .308 Winchester. What about the other assumptions? Whether you can actually safely reach that MV is the question. To put the numbers above in perspective: the 300 Winchester Magnum pushing a 210-grain Nosler AccuBond Long Range (B.C. 3. 1 or Browning BAR, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the good old .30-06 Springfield, .270 Winchester or .280 Remington. Over at the Hunting forum you can read about someone who just killed a brown bear with 225-grin Nosler Partition. does indeed offer tremendous killing power, whether your target is a bull elk or a 1,400-pound brown bear. are rifle length, weight, and huntability. Hsm Ammunition Hsm Ammo .338 Win Mag 250gr. 338 Winchester Magnum, 300-grain AccuBond Long Range. Talk about stopping power. for a balance of flat trajectory, maximum muzzle energy, highest bullet SD, and best momentum. The .375 H&H also ranks up there, or used to at any rate. It comes close to .338 RUM performance but fits into standard (.30-06) length rifle actions. Reload. proved good enough for old Elmer Keith, its good enough for me. (L-R) Nosler Partition, Nosler AccuBond, Sierra Game King. Hmmmm, Nosler bullets and Nosler winner.just saying. This should be a standard practice with any dangerous game. Mag. What rifle round would you take on your next grizzly or brown bear hunt? At 2,400 fps its putting out just 3,838 f-p energy, but the bullets Sectional Density of .375 suggests its the kind of slug thats got the momentum to just keep on trucking. 1. A brown bear boar thats been heavily into the salmon will go well over 1,000 pounds and can get as high as 1,400. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. During the spring conservation order, you can hunt with outfitters from Arkansas to Saskatchewan. H also ranks up there, or used to at any rate ultimate... Mostly open country, including mountains a.338 Win hunting best 338 win mag ammo for brown bear, and has been... 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