Taming a 338 Win Mag

[royinidaho]

Was dreaming about a 338 RUM. Came across "one heck of a deal" on a used REM 700 BDL 338 Win.

Shoots pretty fair, a bit over an inch with the first loads I put through it. Considering the pain, I'll settle for that.

How to tame that sucker when shooting off the bench. Pointers, please.

BTW, this is first experience with a thumper!

 

[sniper2]

Muzzle Brake is the first thing that comes to mind! A cheaper option is the Uncle Bud's bulls bag, they grip your rifle and have a lot of weight so you don't get much of the recoil!!

 

[7ultra]

Roy,
I've got a 338 Win chambered in a Winchester Sporter LT. I've got a muzzlebrake(vais) and a limb saver on it. With hot 250 grain loads, it kicks about as much, if not a little less than my 7mm Rem (which is bone stock ruger M77) with moderate 150-160gr loads. With 200 grainers, the 338 does not kick at all. Comfortably, I could shoot 40-60 rounds of 200-250 grain bullets without any problems. Hope that helps

 

[BountyHunter]

Roy

If you are looking to tame it off the bench, buy a PAST pad. it is a slip shoulder pad that has a special material that really takes the sting out of shooting heavy recoiling magnums. Cost is about $30 and most full line sporting goods stores and catalogs have them.

BH

 

[Duff]

When looking to "tame" my .300 win mag, I decided on an Answer Products brake and really like it. Yes, your rifle will be louder to the shooter with a brake, but it is so much more fun to shoot!

They did great work for me. I think there address is
www.answerrifles.com

 

[Mysticplayer]

Another suggestion is to get the rest that looks like a cradle. Has a front and rear rest connected by a pipe and bottom plate.

That way the rifle is 'held' in this device and a lot of weight can be put in the tray. All that weight will dampen recoil. Not sure how well it will feel for accuracy but interesting to try for heavy kickers.

Personally, I use muzzle brakes, rifle weight/pads, and shoulder pads whenever I shoot a nasty hitter.

Jerry

 

[royinidaho]

Got her tamed!

Still shooting 225gr @ 2800 and a little more at times. And not having any further problems.

Dug out the dremel tool and dug out as much wood as I thought appropriate from the fore arm. Took the biggest drill bit that would chuck up in my drill and went as deep as I could with 3 holes in the butt stock.

Wanted to add about 1.5 lbs but there wasn't enough wood that didn't look like it was necessary. Melted what I could up front and put the rest, 7 1/2 shot in the butt. Added maybe a pound. Its up to just about 10 lbs.

Carried it for 4 hours on an easy hunt the other day and 2 hours today. Kind of nice. Fired several shots, standing and elbows on the bench. No problemo! Wearing only a tee shirt and no pads etc.

She's a keeper.

 

[COBrad]

7Ultra mentions a limb saver. I use them on my bow. How do they work to reduce recoil on a rifle?

 

[7ultra]

Its just a brandname, like Decelerator. I haven't spent too much time staring at the pad on my gun, but I think I remember it saying Limbsaver. Who knows

 

[Innovative]

Roy,
As long as you're still in the dreaming stage .... and you want a tame rifle with serious knock down power .... try a Browning semi auto - chambered for .338 Winchester.

I was amazed after trying one. This gas auto reduced recoil much more that I ever would have imagined. It was actually very pleasant to shoot, and accurate too.

- Innovative

 

[Warhawk]

http://www.geocities.com/bigfish7677/

The benches at the above site are amazing. The rest is pinned to the bench, using the weight (38 lbs) to tame the recoil of the biggest rifles.

 

[ricka0]

[ QUOTE ]
Roy try a Browning semi auto - chambered for .338 Winchester. I was amazed after trying one. This gas auto reduced recoil much more that I ever would have imagined. - Innovative

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got the 338 win Mag BAR with BOSS - it kicks less than my .243 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The BOSS muzzle break/Harmonic adjuster does far more than the auto action for reducing recoil (at least that's what the guys without the BOSS tell me). The PAST pad is a good idea too. Midway was selling a Winchester version for $5 each last month. I bought 3 of them and they seem to work as good as my past PAST pad.

My brother and nephews and I all say my 50 BMGs kick the least of my guns, but my petit nieces all claim the <font color="red"> 338 BAR </font>kicks the least (altho the girls like to shoot both calibers).

the big bar is far more accurate the any fun shooting mass produced auto has the right to be. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Jon Bischof]

The poor man's way of taming the .338 Win Mag (and yes, I do have a .338 WM!) and a lot of other hard-kicking rifles is this:

I use a Uncle Bud's Bulls Bag (you can get them from Natchez Shooting Supplies) filled with 40 lbs of sand. I leave the sling on the rifle and run it underneath the Bulls Bag. I pull the rifle backwards in the bag until the sling tightens against the front of the bag. When the bag starts to slide backwards-stop, you are ready to shoot! Of course, you want to use a little sand bag on the stock underneath the comb. Get steady and take your shot. Amazing how 40 lbs of sand makes a .338 feel like a .243!

Works great on my .300 Win Mag too. The .300 actually kicks harder than my .338 because the Browning BAR .338's gas-operation really softens the recoil. But the .300 is a Bolt gun so without the Bulls Bag it punches hard.

 

[royinidaho]

B1g_B0re and JCB,

Holey good squat. It ain't all that bad. I put a pound and an half of lead in it and I'm ready to go. Shoot 3 shot groups off the bench w/o a problem. However, only shooting a 225gr @ a little over 2800.

What kind of velocity can one expect out of the BAR. I don't want to end up w/a 338 Win that shoots like a 338-06.

Just asking.