.308 or .338 Caliber Elk and Up Cartridge

Dogz, building it now.
But have 338WSM shooting 223HH, haven't got Elk tags yet, hard to get!

When I started reading about hunting guns, the 30/06 was considered "adequate" for anything in North America with the recommendation to use the 300 H&H for large bears. Nobody disputed this, perhaps because the only thing larger was the .375 H&H. Weatherby built blown-out versions which were very popular but too pricey for most. Over the years the animals haven't gotten harder to kill but the killers have been able to increase their fire-power incredibly. Today's hunters want something that will kill beyond 500 yards (how many of them have ever shot even paper targets at that range, I wonder), must have a muzzle brake and a scope sight that will see a gnat's eyebrow at a mile. Everything mentioned here will do the job. The toughest part is the hunter handling, with competence, whatever is being shot. I've read suggestions that the .243 Winchester is good for elk (a suggestion for a woman shooter who was afraid of greater recoil). The 6.5 Crreedmoor is said to be adequate. Perhaps, given the right circumstances, such lesser cartridges could do the job but most hunters would prefer more energy at the point of contact. I've mostly used a .375 H&H built by Rifles, Inc. Accurate and reliable for the past 20 years. But that's only one man's opinion.

338 Lapua would be hard to beat. But I already have 338WMs and 375Rugers that cover 98% of the hunting opportunities, so I've haven't acquired the Lapua. Donations would be accepted.

Muley Madness said:

It is hard to beat a 338 RUM

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Yes it is !
I'm testing some 250 gr bergers right now.
We will see ..the 300 gr is a all time favorite to me !

Rum Man

The 300 and .338 Win Mags are both very capable Elk rounds! The 300 WM is my choice, with 170gn Hammers at 3180fps. Several one-shot kills at over 500 yards! Every one with exit wounds! Can't get much better than that!

I've owned 4 338 Win Mags. I no longer have any. The biggest bull I've shot was with 250 grain partitions. It penetrated lengthwise.
I now have a couple 300 Weatherby's. They shoot 200 grain partitions very well.
If I were to shoot at elk at 800 yards, I'd pick the 300 Weatherby. But after seeing game run down ravines after being solidly hit I don't think I'd be shooting at 800 yards - Maybe 400 maximum.

For elk only any of the big 30's are solid choice. However, I will give the nod to the 338 RUM. I am loving mine with the 260 hammers. Right at 9 lbs, so the recoil is manageable and my best shooting rifle.

Treeslug said:

I hope I did not sound like I was knocking the big 30s. I would love to have a 30-378, a 338-378 and I already have a 378 "Bee." I now want a 257 Bee for some unknown reason. But .30 caliber is a wonderful thing. I just had to go to .338 because skipglo said I had to.

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you want the 257 because it is a awesome round haha I have one in ultralight and am having a fast twist one built as we speak to shoot the 128 gr hammer bullets. It will be wearing a 1:7 twist 26in rock creek CF barrel. I cant wait to see how fast I can run the hammers...

Rum Man said:

338 Rum or the 338 Edge with a 300 gr berger !
Proven out to 1244 yards ! But who is counting !
Maybe a repeat this fall !
This was my 338 Edge in the picture it's been rehomed !
I have a 338 Rum for this fall !
I'm excited to give it a try !

Rum Man

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How easy is reloading for the 338 Edge? Keep in mind that I only have minimal experience reloading for .270 Win.

A good plain Jane 338WM will handle any situation you will probably find yourself in. It's more than enough to knock the crap out of any Bull...shells are somewhat easy to find compared to the various super duper. 338's, brass can actually be found, It's reasonable on the shoulder, wallet and the anxiety level...it has stood the test of time without question and will bury the vast majority of the others...great elk cartridge...

JumpinLegs said:

How easy is reloading for the 338 Edge? Keep in mind that I only have minimal experience reloading for .270 Win.

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Why are you leaning toward edge over rum? At 800y you won't notice a difference. Using hammers, both would be easy to load.

jakeSCH said:

Why are you leaning toward edge over rum? At 800y you won't notice a difference. Using hammers, both would be easy to load.

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I've been looking for .340 Wby and .338 RUM brass today (the two most commonly mentioned in this thread), and those components just do not exist right now. .300 RUM brass can still be found, and 33 Nosler brass and ammo can also be found. I think 33 Nosler is my frontrunner still, and component availability is a huge factor in that.

JumpinLegs said:

I've been looking for .340 Wby and .338 RUM brass today (the two most commonly mentioned in this thread), and those components just do not exist right now. .300 RUM brass can still be found, and 33 Nosler brass and ammo can also be found. I think 33 Nosler is my frontrunner still, and component availability is a huge factor in that.

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Fair enough...check my pm on brass. 33 Nosler is great, I would go with peterson brass.

With the 33 Nosler, pushing the 260 HH nearly 2800 FPS should make it a 800y gun.

JumpinLegs said:

How easy is reloading for the 338 Edge? Keep in mind that I only have minimal experience reloading for .270 Win.

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It is very easy, you just run 300 RUM brass into the FL die and out comes 338 Edge brass.
Then you use 338 RUM data max loads as start loads in the Edge and load up until you hit pressure like normal.
I sold my Edge last year. I find the Rigby case gives me what I want. The 2800+fps was a little low for me with 300g bullets.
I have 3 338WM's, so you can tell I like them, but all 3 are lightweight sporters on Kimber and Win Model 70 actions.
My true long range 338 is a custom CZ550 Safari action single shot in 338-416 Rigby Improved 45°. It shoots 300g Berger OTM's just over 3200fps with HBN coating, it doesn't get that velocity with uncoated bullets. My competition bullet for punching paper/steel is a solid brass CNC turned 323g bullet with a drop calculated BC of 1.12.
It's still supersonic at 2000 according to my ballistic app, but have no where to shoot that far here. Shot it to 1600mtr (1 mile) with 8 out of 10 hits in blustery conditions. Was super excited with that as all of our ranges now have banned anything larger than 8mm and muzzle brakes are also banned and I'm not shooting that rifle from prone even if it weighs 18lbs without a brake on it.
The 33XC would be the closest cartridge to my design and these are only exceeded by the Cheytac rounds. The 30-378 & 338-378 are close but have less capacity than mine due to the neck length and shoulder angle.
My case deign has .005" taper per inch. This is why I had to use a large CRF action, to ensure reliable extraction.
Anyway, just get yourself a 338WM, become familiar with it and then step up to something bigger. I didn't got straight to my wildcat above, I worked up to it shooting with my 375 Weatherby prone. The brake brought it down to a 7-08 level. Terminator brakes are fantastic, the T-3 or T-4 is what I recommend.

Cheers.