Perfect deer rifle - 338 RUM

[Engineering101]

I discovered something that had not occurred to me in 50 years of hunting deer and other stuff. Basically the idea is this. If you use a bullet that will mushroom and still penetrate all the way through the animal (a Barnes TTSX for example) then the bigger the animal the harder they get hit.

In other words more kinetic energy gets dumped into an elk than into a deer. I suspect that this is not a linear effect since kinetic energy goes by the square of the velocity so a smaller animal is still going to get hit pretty hard. To test this theory and to assess meat damage I shot a relatively small Montana whitetail with my 338 RUM using the 210 Barnes TTSX. This deer was about 220 yards, muzzle velocity about 3,200 fps and velocity and energy at 220 yards was 2,860 fps and 3,820 ft lbs. Most people would say that 3,800 ft lbs is a wee bit of overkill for deer, however....

The deer hunched up, stumbled for about 20 yards and went down. This was a double lung broadside shot and there was not a scrap of meat damage. A 6X6 Blue Mtn elk at 348 yards with the same bullet did the same thing, again without a scrape of meat damage.

So now I'm thinking I've got the perfect deer (and everything else) rifle - as long as you use a Barnes or similar bullets. If you want a better BC, plug in the 280 grain LRX. Since there is no free lunch, there must be a downside of this approach but I haven't thought of it yet. Is there anyone else out there thinking they can shoot ANYTHING with their 338s?

 

[MudRunner2005]

I'm prett confident I can shoot anything with my 7mm's.

Shot 2 whitetails this year at around the same distance as yours with a 7mm RM, pushing a Berger 168 VLD at 3,115 fps MV. First one was angling away slightly so I put my crosshairs about 3" back from where I would normally aim for a double-lung if they were completely broadside. Hit my mark perfectly, and it exited directly behind the aft shoulder. Ran 20 yards with a 2" bore-hole sized exit. Ruined virtually no useable meat (I don't eat rib meat on deer, not enough there to ever salvage). Next one, same rifle, same bullet, about 175 yards out. Waited for perfect broadside. Put it on the meat directly in front of the lower front shoulders (heart). Pulled trigger. Dropped so hard and fast, it was like a freight train hit her. Pin-hole entrance, pin-hole exit. 0 meat damage and never took a step.

Had this scenario happen a few times with different bullets from the same caliber rifles (7mm RM). Including Barnes 160 TSX's.

I'm not saying anything is better than anything else, but since deer is the biggest thing we kill around here, my .25's, 7's, and .30's will work just fine for me.

 

[RHC]

More power to you for shooting a .338 RUM. Had one in an 11 pound hunting rifle. Still knocked the snot out of me, even with the muzzle brake. Got rid of it quick.

 

[Engineering101]

RHC

Sounds like you needed a better brake. I have Kirby's medium Painkiller on mine. Kirby told me that I'd be able to shoot it all day long wearing only a tee shirt. He was right. Kicks less than my 06.

To be clear, when I say the 338 is good for hunting ANYTHING, I'm assuming you have a good brake on the rifle. That is what makes this all possible - that plus the solid copper bullets. Without the brake it would be back to the 06.

 

[RHC]

RHC

Sounds like you needed a better brake. I have Kirby's medium Painkiller on mine. Kirby told me that I'd be able to shoot it all day long wearing only a tee shirt. He was right. Kicks less than my 06.

To be clear, when I say the 338 is good for hunting ANYTHING, I'm assuming you have a good brake on the rifle. That is what makes this all possible - that plus the solid copper bullets. Without the brake it would be back to the 06.

I loved the accuracy of the one I had. Easy half inch groups any day of the week but I'd get really flinchy after 5-6 shots. I better be able to make it to about 20 with a magnum before I feel like I'm flinching. Even my 8mm Remington Magnum I can shoot about 22 times before I get flinchy.

 

[Bear Camp]

THANK YOU! I'm tired of these threads about is this gun big enough to kill xxx, at xxxx yards. I shoot everything (deer/elk/bear/coyotes/rocks/steel/ and hopefully a moose this year as I have drawn a tag) with either my sporter/carry weight 338 RUM or my heavy weight 338 EDGE. There is never a question if I have enough gun. Dead is dead. As far as meat damage goes, a dead animal has less wasted meat than one that gets away. That's the way I see it right or wrong. I like stacking all the odds in my favor (terminal performance/ballistics) as I can and not look back. There I got it off my chest.

 

[Engineering101]

Bear Camp

Congrats on the moose tag. I put in every year for up North of Spokane but so far no luck. Out of curiosity, what bullet(s) do you use in your 338s?

 

[Timber338]

You guys are killing me while I have to sit here and wait for my 338 RUM to be built. If it's not ready before this hunting season, I may be forced to use my 300 win mag on my elk hunt this year. And I'm only half ways being sarcastic. I've never shot an elk with anything other than a 338 bullet. Started out with a 338 win mag, hammered a bunch more with a fun little 338wsm, and now moving up to the 338 RUM. Come to think of it, I've shot a mule deer and an antelope with my 338 win mag, and it did in fact work very well.

I know, other cartridges work just fine too... but walking around the mountains with a nice 338 just feels right to me.

 

[Bear Camp]

Engineering 101,

Over the years especially before long range I have used a few different bullets. I have used 250 gr partitions, A frames, and Accubonds. Then I shot the 300gr SMK's until the hunting season before last. Last year I switched to the 300gr Bergers.

One thing I think guys get wrong when there concerned about wasting meat is bullet weight. I hear to many times that someone is JUST hunting deer so they want to load a lighter bullet for ANY cartridge there talking about. This in return ups there given velocity. Its this VELOCITY that destroys more meat! So shooting a big 338 at long range (this is a long range hunting site) with a heavy for caliber bullet at lower IMPACT velocities works great. I wonder just how many of these people have even tried it? Don't take any crap from anyone that your over gunned and rest assured that you won't have to worry about having enough gun long range or not. I think you made a great choice. Its hard for me to even think about taking anything else when looking to go long range hunting. The ballistics are awesome.