338?
 

Who makes a 338 with a wood stock? Does anyone make one with a wood stock at a fair price?

With the fairly diversified topic of elk rifles going on in the big game forum, it appears the only rifle that seemingly everyone agrees on is the 338. I'd like a good elk thumper in my cabinet, and I think the 338 is just the caliber for it.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

RE: 338?
 

Last I knew the M-70 winchester was available with a wooden stock.....at least the one I bought is!

RE: 338?
 

I'm fairly positive Ruger still makes their M77 with walnut stocks in 338.

"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness..those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Santayana

RE: 338?
 

Are you talking about the .338 Win Mag or the .338-06? If you wait a few months, you may even have to talk about the .338 WSM. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting

Edited by - seattlesetters on 01/25/2003 00:38:29

RE: 338?
 

338 winchester magnum.

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

RE: 338?
 

All the major gun companies have the 338WM available in their primary model with a wood stock. You'll have to be the one to judge if the price is fair or not.

RE: 338?
 

Ruger still makes the m77 mark II in 338 Win mag. You can check this web page http://www.ruger-firearms.com/rfcenterfire_bolt.html for more information. My brother has the Ruger 338 and has never had any problems. Another 338 Win mag is the Sako 75 but it's fairly expensive. The 338 Win mag is a good caliber for elk. Good luck.

RE: 338?
 

I had a Ruger M77 in .338 Win Mag. It was one of the best rifles I have ever owned or ever will own. Extremely accurate and very well-made, I would wholeheartedly recommend one to anyone. <img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting

RE: 338?
 

I had a Ruger m77 with a wood stock. It kicked up in the air when shot. Sold it and bought a Ruger all-weather. Much better recoil, straight back.

RE: 338?
 

Yeah, my wooden-stock Ruger kicked the crap out of me, too. I sold it.

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting

RE: 338?
 

My all-weather 338 with my reload I can keep a .75 group at 100 yards. Shoots really well! Took a whole lot of shooting to come up with the load though.

RE: 338?
 

Ok, I found a used ruger m77 338 with walnut stock and iron sights online for under $400. Exactly what I was looking for.

Now, I'm a guy of average build. Do you think I cound handle the 338 with any kind of accuracy? I know this supposadly works great on elk. How well will they work on deer sized game?

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

RE: 338?
 

I am 6' 2&quot; and my buddy is 5' 7&quot;. We both shoot the 338 with a 215 gr. bullet. The recoil isn't too bad. The heavier bullets kick a lot harder. I have taken two muleys and an elk with mine. First muley 289 yrds, second 367 yrds.

RE: 338?
 

Really? What is it compairable to? The biggest I've ever shot was a 30-06 with 180 grain bullets. The only bad thing is, that stock on the m77 looks like it would kick like a mule even if it wasn't a magnum.

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

RE: 338?
 

I would compare it to a 12 ga with a 3&quot; shell. It's still going to jolt you a bit. The more you shot it the less it will affect you.I personally would not own another ruger 338 m77 with a wood stock. I would get the all-weather. Can get a new one for around the $400.00 you mentioned. I paid $399.99 at dicks sportings goods.

Edited by - 338magman on 01/27/2003 21:49:56

Edited by - 338magman on 01/27/2003 21:52:21

RE: 338?
 

Ok, now I'm not the greatest at math, but my calculations are,
a 270 with a 150 grain bullet generates about 19ft.lbs of recoil.
The 338 with 250 grain bullet generates about 29ft.lbs of recoil.
With the 210 grain federal, it makes in at about 28ft.lbs.

If I'm not mistaken, the military's rule of thumb is the average soldier could only handle a rifle that generates about 28 foot pounds of recoil for an extended period of time. So it would seem that the 338 is a real &quot;thumper&quot; and with bad stock design could make you sore for a day or two. But tolerable (not exactly comfortable) for the average shooter. While it is true that the 338 is fairly good as far as recoil goes, I know that I wouldn't be able to pull off a good shot without flinching under stress. I think I'll stick with a heavy loaded 30-06 for now.

I can't stand a synthetic stock.

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;

RE: 338?
 

I have had a 338 for a number of years now and found that recoil is not a problem. Especially if you reload. The factory loads can really pack a punch. For deer I go with a 175 gr Barnes X or a 200 gr ballistic tip. Reloaded with a slow burning powder I can run off a box of shells at a target and not get banged up by recoil.

RE: 338?
 

I am with Trailhound, the 338 mag, perhaps more than any other cartridge needs to be handloaded to get the full range of use out of it. You can reproduce loads slightly lighter than 3006 factory all the way up to something generating 3500 ft lbs of muzzle energy with 275 gr bullets, and not have a lot of trouble getting accurate loads through out the entire range. I have even shot roundballs in a 338 mag, run a 36 caliber ball through a 338 cast bullet sizer and load it on top of five grains of bullseye with a filler and you have a 60 gr bullet at about 500 fps. Good for close range squirrels and like sized backyard varmints. Extremely versatile cartridge for the handloader!

RE: 338?
 

I shot a 12ga 3&quot; 1-3/4oz slug a few times today and tried to &quot;roll with it&quot; and I did fine. Didn't hardly felt a thing. Recoil should be no problem.

&quot;Hey ya'll, watch this&quot;