Help me find this Rifle!!!

Q

Quick1

New member
After reading all the responses to my previous posts, I have decided on my next rifle. I am going to sell my Kimber Montana 338 Win Mag because the recoil is to much and I cannot modify it to reduce the recoil enough to make it enjoyable to shoot because it is a carbon fiber stock and the barrel is to thin to install a muzzle break. Here is what I want for my next rifle:

- 338 Win Mag
- All stainless steel
- Laminated stock
- Barrel must be large enough to threat for a muzzle brake
- Would like to stay about $1500, but am flexible

Finally, I am open to both factory built rifle or a custom build. Please help me find this rifle.

Thanks
 
Quick,

Any .338 WM is going to kick really hard even if it has a brake and the rifle is heavier.

While we all agree the .338 is an excellent cartridge it's not the only one!

There are plenty of other rounds that are effective and kick less.

Also brake is going to hurt your ears and others ears.
 
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Savage99, what is your recommendaiton for another caliber that will be as effective against large game. I had another post asking the question about 338 versus 300 Win Mag, and most stated the 338 in in another league. I want the power, just need to reduce the recoil.

Jimro, I thought about a larger barrel, but the Carbon Fiber stock will not accomodate a larger barrel. That would mean a new stock and bedding as well to accomodate the new barrel. Plus, I cannot find a laminate drop in stock anywhere on line to replace the current stock with. At that point the cost was getting pretty high and a new rifle seemed more cost effective. Especially since I could sell my current rifle to off set the cost.
 
Quick1,

Cutting a new barrel channel should be included in the cost of the rebarrel job from a gunsmith. I doubt that your forend is so thin that an extra fraction of an inch clearance needed for a new barrel will cause any problems if it is removed.

Jimro
 
Savage 116FCSS
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Buy a Boyd's or Stockys Laminated stock.

Tikka T3 Laminated Stainless
laminatedss.jpg
 
Savage99, what is your recommendaiton for another caliber that will be as effective against large game. I had another post asking the question about 338 versus 300 Win Mag, and most stated the 338 in in another league. I want the power, just need to reduce the recoil
Click to expand...

The 338 Win Mag can push a 300 grain bullet faster than 2,400 fps, breaking the 4k ft/lb of energy level. This is less than 400 ft/lbs of energy more than a 300 Win Mag pushing a 190gr projectile to 2950 fps. For what it is worth, the 338 Win Mag is advertised to push a 200 gr bullet to 2,950 fps. That is largely a wash from an energy perspective compared to the 300 Win Mag.

So saying that the 338 Win Mag is "at another level" is a bit misleading. A 10% greater energy level isn't exactly what I would call "on another level" especially for North America. Even the big bears in Alaska aren't bulletproof, although if you are going to hunt without a guide (not legal for non-residents) then I'd recommend getting the biggest rifle you can handle. If that is a 308 Win, so be it.

If you want to keep the 338 bore, a 338-06 will kill the animals just as dead. But so will a 35 Whelen, or 9.3x62 Mauser (generally considered to have quite mild recoil), or even a plain 8x57 or 30-06 with full power loads.

Jimro
 
Quick1 said:
what is your recommendaiton for another caliber that will be as effective against large game. I had another post asking the question about 338 versus 300 Win Mag, and most stated the 338 in in another league. I want the power, just need to reduce the recoil.
Click to expand...

What "large game" are you referring to? There is a strong tendency for folks to be severely over-gunned. If you're hunting in the USA, a .30-06 is as much as you'll ever need and more than you'll need 99% of the time. I'd hunt any animal in the lower 48 with a 7mm-08, without a second thought.
 
For the common deer load, a 7mm08 is a .308 with ten grains weight less bullet. Bambi will never know the difference. Elk? I guess a 150-grain in 7mm, maybe 160. (I'm not an elk hunter. :))
 
Whoever told you a 338 was in another league from a 300 mag lied. The only different league is in recoil. If a 30 caliber is too small, nothing short of 375 is going to make a difference.

You can only kill an animal so dead. A 338 won't kill them any deader than lots of others. With todays much better bullets a 308 is a 400 yard elk gun. A 30-06 is still adequate to 500, and a 300 mag about 600. How far do you plan on shooting them? A 30-06 loaded with the heavier bullets has proven to out penetrate the 338 mags on even large bear.

If you are wanting reduced recoil a 308 loaded with premium bullets will do just fine. Trade your 338 for a 308 Kimber. Mine is 6 lbs scoped and 1/2 the recoil of your 338.

When you load ANY of the 30 calibers with heavy 200-220 gr bullets they will outperform any of the comparable 338's in penetration with comparable weight bullets. You have to move up to 250-275 gr bullets in a 338 just to match the 300's with 200-220 gr bullets The 338's show very slight energy advantages at the muzzle, but the 30's will outpenetrate at any range and their much more aerodynamic bullets actually have more energy at longer ranges. After about 150 yards the 300 mags are the clear winner. The .03" difference in bullet diameter is about the thickness of your fingernail and is insignificant. After bullet expansion you cannot tell the difference between a .308 or .338 bullet.
 
Quick,

Any .338 WM is going to kick really hard even if it has a brake and the rifle is heavier.

While we all agree the .338 is an excellent cartridge it's not the only one!

There are plenty of other rounds that are effective and kick less.

Also brake is going to hurt your ears and others ears.
Click to expand...

I agree with downsizing the chambering a bit:

.30-'06
.338-'06 A-Square
.35 Whelen

One could make a very good argument that the .30-'06 is plenty big enough for *anything* there is, UNTIL you get to the size of something that needs a .375 HH mag (such as polar bear, zebra, eland, lion, leopard, giraffe, blue wildebeest - and up). But nothing wrong with getting something in between either. The .338-'06 and .35 Whelen are very popular in Alaska, in my understanding. I personally subscribe to this: currently my battery is 6.5 and 7mm -based rifles for most all ungulates & other large game, both short-range to long-range, up to and including the largest pigs, tundra caribou, & black bear,, etc. BUT, then the battery steps up to the two "big boys" for special / expensive hunts with potentially "over 500 lb" game: A .30-'06 for moose, elk, inland brownies, roan, kudu, orynx, & other large-ish African plains game, and .375 H&H mag for anything on earth bigger than that, and/or meaner than that.

But yeah, a heavier rifle in any chambering is easier to shoot. Don't go for an ultra-light in anything past .280 or .30-'06 in my opinion. But then again, I've had shoulder injuries....
 
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I'm not surprised you find your Kimber uncomfortable to shoot; if you take a powerful cartridge like the 338 and put it in one of the lightest rifles around it's going to KICK.

You really don't want a muzzle brake unless you and everyone for 100 yards around is wearing hearing protection. Not even once.

If you must have a 338 - you haven't said why - then you are going to have to get a heavier gun if you want recoil to be anywhere near tolerable. It's not stainless, but I'd recommend the Browning BAR. It's reasonably heavy and the gas auto action will spread the recoil out a bit. Give it a couple of coats of wax and go hunting.
 
+1 to Brian's post

A 7mm-08 or 308 is adaquate for hunting any game animal in North America. I have a good friend in WY who has taken elk every year with his 308 and 150gr bullet.

But...like so many people now days, if you have been bitten by the magnum bug; you might consider the 7mm rem mag. Not really that much more kick than a 30-06, and you would have that increased distance potential, lots of power, and better ballistics (generally) than anything 30 caliber. Plus, since belted magnums are (for some reason unknown to me) falling out of popularity, you can usually find them pretty cheap on the used rack.
 
Well, yeah, but better yet the 7mm WSM. :)

Yep, I'm sure a 160 accubond from a 7mm-08 would kill a 1K lb polar bear as fast as a 338 buttstomper if hitting in the same spot.

Having said that, personally I'd use a .30-'06 with a premium 180, or even a bigger chambering. But it's really overkill if you think about it. That 160 accubond from a 7-08 would probably go clean through two 1K lb polar bears or coastal brownies, or at least clean through one and far enough into the vitals to kill the 2nd one behind the 1st.
 
I guess no one ever looks at the OP's other topics that he's started. OP already has a .270 and .338 WM. He has a shoulder problem and needs to reduce recoil. OP is in the Army as well and hopes to get stationed in AK in the future that is why the desire to keep a .338 WM. He only wants two hunting rifles to simplify the moving process while he's in the Army.
 
taylorce1, thanks for your post, your comments are spot on, accept for one thing...I am in the Air Force not the Army. But that is OK, I have nothing but love for my Army brethren, have served with them both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also, here is an update. I have selected the rifle I want, it is the SAKO 85 Gray Wolf, also known as the Hunter Laminated Stainless on the SAKO website. My only question is, I need to determine the barrel diameter to see if I can put a muzzle brake on it. I have another post out there with that question but have not gotten the answer yet. I plan to go with an American Precision Arms muzzle brake as long as the barrel is large enough to thread.

Also, my Kimber Montana is up for grabs if anyone is interested.
 
I think you are on the right track. My dad has had shoulder problems for a long time and even had one replaced. He shoots a .300wby. Before he had the break put on that thing was punishing to shoot. He had a Weatherby smith put the break on and it tamed it right down. He can now stay on target so well that he can see the spray when the bullet hits the elk.
 
I was going to suggest a 300 ultramag but in thinking about it, it may have more recoil than a .338. Its not as bad in my sendero.
 
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