.340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

I am looking to purchase a rifle for an up coming Elk hunt. Will somebody let me know which one is better. Which round is faster, flatter, and better for a possible long range shot.
Thanks in advance.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

You really know how to piss off those anti-magnum people don't you. :D

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

I give up, lol

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

I think the topic was .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

I give up again, lol

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

No, the topic was .340 Wby mag v. 338 Rem ultra mag. Not, .338 Winchester magnum.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

The 338 ultramag has a little more case capacity and when both are loaded to design pressures,the extra case capacity will provide slightly more velocity and therefore a slightly flatter trajectory.It really doesn't matter how many guns are chambered in either as long as you find one that you like.As to ammnunition availablility,the only excuse for running out of ammunition on a hunt is poor planning.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

My choice of the two mentioned would be the Weatherby. While either is more gun than needed the Weatherby has a long proven record for its performance and will be with us far into the future.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

Her didn't ask which is more practical for him in your opinion. He asked which is faster. If you ask which is faster...a carrera gt or a ferrari enzo, you say enzo, not "the geo metro will get better gas mileage.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

You can compare every load in existence and write down which one is faster and flatter shooting.

try

www.federalcartridge.com

www.winchester.com

www.remington.com

Then you can make an informed decision. I don't know which is faster or flatter shooting. I only have experience with the .338 Winchester, which has been around forever and kills elk just fine, but nobody wants to hear about it, so I will stop talking about it LMAO.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

The .338 Remington Ultra Magnum is your best elk rifle of the two...

With the Federal 225g Nosler Accubond you have found your BEST elk load in this caliber!

Velocity:
Muzzle: 3020fps
100 yds: 2846fps
200 yds: 2678fps
300 yds: 2516fps
400 yds: 2360fps
500 yds: 2210fps

Energy:
Muzzle:4556ft/lbs
100 yds: 4045ft/lbs
200 yds: 3582ft/lbs
300 yds: 3163ft/lbs
400 yds: 2783ft/lbs
500 yds: 2440ft/lbs

Wind drift @ 10mph
Muzzle:0.0"
100 yds:0.5"
200 yds: 2.2"
300 yds: 5.0"
400 yds: 9.1"
500 yds: 14.9"

Trajectory:
Muzzle: ???
100 yds: +1.4"
200 yds: -0.0"
300 yds: -6.2"
400 yds: -17.9"
500 yds: -36.0"

With the .338 Remington Ultra Mag you can kill elk at distances far beyond where you should be taking a poke at them.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

I took a look at all of the factory rifles available in .338 Remington Ultra Mag and this is what you have to choose from:

Remington 700 XCR
With this rifle you get a nice look, synthetic stock, stainless barrel (26") and a fair price tag. Suggested MSRP $893.00

Unfortunately I think thats about it. If there are others I couldn't find them. Fortunately the XCR is f'in sweet so you shouldn't feel too bad.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

As far as a scope for your elk rifle goes I would recommend the Leupold VXIII 2.5-8x36mm scope, but everyone here seems to like the Zeiss Conquest scopes and will probably recommed one in the 3-9x range. Either way you are dropping $400 for a scope.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

If you are in the process of choosing hardware to mount your scope you should look at Warne rings and mounts. I think that these are some of the highest quality on the market.

I would probably have a professional do the mounting of the scope, and the boresighting of the gun. That will really save you from having to do all the work yourself.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

If you need someone to sight the rifle in for you, or if you want someone to take it elk hunting in your place I would be happy to help. Just drop me an email at [email protected] and I will fly out and get a good 'un for you LMAO.

If you have any other questions, please ask someone else. I have officially burned myself out on this one.

Good luck on your elk hunt, and please PLEASE PLEEEEASE post some pictures of the rifle after you get it!

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

As for one more juicy tidbit. If you sight the rifle in to be 3.0" high at 100 yards you will get a maximum point blank distance of over 350 yards. Which means you won't even have to use any hold over. Just put the crosshairs in the middle of the kill zone from the muzzle out to almost 400 yards and you will make a vital hit. That is performance!!!!!!!

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

If that's not enough for those steel clad elk you could use a .378 weatherby or the .375 RUM. Both are more than any measly scrawny little .338 cal and it might be needed for shooting mountain to mountain at those elk.

Properly sighted either will kill elk at half a lightyear and do so with ft-lbs left over. Heck, I know guys that live in Wisconsin that shoot elk in Colorado and never leave home.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

Can't wait for some bigger rifles to come our way. The elk may get even tougher as time goes by. I am sure that I couldn't chew one even now.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

Ok TomfromTheShade, I'll bite. Why do you llike the .338 Win over the other two I asked about.Is there a performance advantage in the .338 win over the .340 Wby and .338 RUM.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

Not to answer for Tom but the 338 is more than enough gun for elk with ballistics that are ideal for elk at a probably much lower over cost to buy and to shoot not to mention ease of finding ammo. Weatherby ammo is very spendy unless you roll your own. The 338 RUM is mainly an African game gun and is much more than needed in recoil and performance. IMO. Good Luck on your elk hunting.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

So...is there a performance advantage over the .338 RUM and.340 Wby? I understand your point about a .338 Win having enough power for an elk, ammo availability, and cost. However my concern is neither of these. I am purely looking for the best caliber.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

Absolutely not.The 338ultra mag offers the best ballistics followed by the 340weatherby and the 338win magfollows both of these two.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

Good luck. There absolutely is no best caliber. Not for elk or anything else. You need a rifle with enough power to do the job. The rifle is not going to do it by its self. Its what you do with what you have that will determin your success or failure. Every caliber has its strong points and weak points. If you are a good hunter carring anything from the 270 on up, you will be successful. The best will be argued forever, with guns, with cars and even girls;). This will always come down to a matter of opinion. Therefore when it comes down to it you will have to make the choice and then live with it. You have some good advise here. Now do your homework and pick one. I have never missed an oppertunity with the 30-06 and 270 class rifles. That is because of the way I hunt and not what I used to kill the animal with.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

This is why I would pick the .338 Winchester magnum over the Remington ultra magnum or the Weatherby magnum.

The .338 Winchester magnum is available in about two dozen different factory rifles, while the Weatherby and the Remington ultra are only available in a handful of pretty expensive rifles.

The .338 Winchester magnum also has a huge following in the elk hunting community, and there are many many many great elk hunting loads available in this caliber. There are nosler partitions, bear claws, fail safes, barnes x, grand slams, A frames, and a huge list of other bullets available to choose from when sighting your gun in. What if the two or three elk loads available didn't shoot well through your Remington ultra mag?

You will never meet a man alive that wouldn't list the .338 Winchester magnum as ideal for elk, moose, big bears, or almost any other big game for that matter. It is a time tested and field proven big game cartridge.

Now that you asked my opinion, and I won't get kicked in the nuts for giving it LOL, I am happy to share this information with you.

To go one step further, the 338 Win Mag is even available in one of the nicest semi auto rifles ever made, the Browning BAR!

If you have any other questions, please let me know!

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

JamesB, not trying to be argumentative but when given a choice of three there will always be a first place and last place.Note my questionwas about performance.I've found my answer but was curious why tom felt so strong about his .338 win. My prediction of his answer was correct.
Anyways group think and popular opinion doesn't merit much in the way of substance. It all boils down to the numbers.

Thanks for your help gentlemen.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

The 338 RUM has the best ballistics hands down but at a price. I fired a 338 RUM "3 shots" and the recoil wasabsurd.The guy that fired it before mehunts witha 300WSMand he shot the 338RUM one time, and let a few expletives fly and did not shoot again. All we heard the next morning was how his shoulder hurt. I can only speak for myself but I would be afraid of that gun after a range session. I have also shot a 300 RUM and it was manageable compared to the 338. It is hard to believe how different the 338 recoilwas from the 300.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

To be honest ,I own two 300ultramags,have fireda few others, have fired a couple of 338ultramags and have owned a 338x8mmremmag.I found that the felt recoil varied greatly from gun to gun even in the same chambering.My own 300ultramags have mcmillan stocks,decellerator recoil pads and heavier contour barrels and they produce noticeably less recoil than the factory remington 700s in 300ultramagthat I have fired.My 338x8mmremmagwas ballistically slightly behind the 338ultramag,but it also was noticeablyeasier to shoot than the factory 700s in338ultramag.I liked my 300ultramags so much that I sold my 338x8mmremmag.Usinga180grbullet the 300ultramag will shoot flatter than the 338ultramag and it is very effective at killing elk at longer distances.I have now killed 10 elk and 2 moose withmy 300ultramags and not one animalcovered 50 yards after being hit.My shot distances were from 80 yards to 377 yards with mostbeing 200yards to 300 yards.Using the 180gr tsx I would not hesitate to use the 300ultramag on any game in North America.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

A first and second place in Who's mind. Like I said it will always come down to one person or anothers personel opinion. There is more to being a good hunter than the numbers. In fact they may have the least to do with success than any other factor. I have guided a lot of hunters who had the nunbers but not much else.Find 20 expierenced elk hunters and ask them what the best caliber is. You will probably get at least 10 different answers. I would agree with Stubble in that a 300 Mag may be the best choice when it comes to everything concerned. They shoot flatter than most of the bigger mags and have all the ME needed to take elk. With that I will leave it up to the rest of you to hash it out. Good Luck to all this season.

RE: .340 Wby mag v .338 Rem ultra mag.
 

I have a .340 Wby. Mag. that pushes a 250 gr. Barnes XFB 3,062 f/s 5,204 ft/lb. I have not found any .338RUM or data faster yet. Good luck.