# 338 win mag for deer



## swerve

Does anyone have any experience with using a 338 win mag on whitetails. I purchased one recently and was thinking about using it for deer season this fall. I am loading 185gr barnes tsx bullets on top of 70gr of H4831 and it is shooting very well. I know it is more knockdown than I need but I am wondering what kind of wound channel I can expect. Is it going to be all burger and horns or will there be some edible parts left over.


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## hagfan72

As with any rifle/hunting question, shot placement is key. If you hit a shoulder with that thing, yeah, you are gonna loose a lot of meat. IF you can avoid hitting the shoulder, and slip that bullet into the boiler room right behind both the near and off shoulder, you will just loose some rib meat.

I don't buy into the theory that any gun is "too much" for this or that. If you can shoot it well, and you place your shots accordingly, there isn't more dead than dead. Just don't expect a lot of meat around the wound channel to be salvageable.

Since you are handloading, can't you throttle back on the powder charge and make your 338 WinMag behave more like a 30-06? I dont handload, so I am just asking for my benefit as much as yours.

Good hunting.


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## NDTerminator

I shot an old 6 point/340 class bull elk last year with my 338 Mag, using 225 grain Nosler Accubonds at 2850FPS. The shot was 240 yards through the shoulder.

The entrance hole (through the rib cage under the hide) was about 3"-4" in diameter. I cupped all my fingers together and my hand went into the hole up to the knuckles. The wound channel through the body was that roughly that large.

The bullet was recovered under the off side hide, perfectly mushroomed, with a weight of 167 grains. The bull literally died in his tracks.

I didn't draw a buck tag this year, so purely for the hell of it, I'll probably use the 338 to bump off a doe come November...


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## rasmusse

I used my .338 on whitetail and found it did no more meat damage than my .30'06 and a lot less than deer I have seen shot with a 7mm magnum. I used 225 grain Hornady bullets loaded to around 2,700 fps.


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## Horsager

When considering meat damage, caliber is far less important than:

1. Bullet placement
2. Bullet construction

Shoot a deer through the front or rear quarters and you will have ruined meat. Shoot it through the ribcage and you won't.


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## hunt4P&amp;Y

Hey, all great posts. I go along with all of your theories about shot placement.

I actaully picked up at Browning in a .338 last fall, and took it out with me. I shot a doe at 50 yards, through the Boiler room. I will say it did less damage then my .270WSM and she actaully ran about 10 steps. If I would have hit her in the shoulder it would have been a different story.

Good luck.

Mike


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## Horsager

When shooting deer through both front shoulders with TSX's my experience has been caliber sized entrance wounds, golf ball or small sized exit wounds. That's with 140gn .277's and 200gn .308's spread out over a dozen deer and one elk. Ranges from 50yds to just over 500yds.


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## hec66705

:sniper: If you use the barnes X family of bullets you won't have any problem; but if it won't stablize the light bullet try the 225gr nosler partition.


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## Plainsman

Horsager said:


> When considering meat damage, caliber is far less important than:
> 
> 1. Bullet placement
> 2. Bullet construction
> 
> Shoot a deer through the front or rear quarters and you will have ruined meat. Shoot it through the ribcage and you won't.


Exactly. Heavy calibers meant for large game have bullets with thicker jackets. Combine this with lower velocities and I would expect less meat damage with the 338 than a 270 Winchester with a 130 gr bullet. As an extreme example I know of a deer shot with a 505 Gibbs. Bullet in, bullet out, wound channel about caliber size and the deer ran 400 yards. There is nothing wrong with a 338 for deer. If your worried about damage go to a heavy bullet for caliber which will give you better bullet construction and lower velocity.


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## jackal_727

A good friend of mine uses his .338 several times a year to hunt deer with on my property. More often than not, the damage is about the same as any other rifle round would be. But one time about 5 years ago, he took a 75 yard shot when the deer was directly facing him, hit it in the throat, and the last thing he said he saw was the front hooves fly up in the air(said it looked like sone sort of deer backflip). When I came and picked him up we went over to where the deer had fallen and were very suprised at the damage. It looked more like a shark attack than an exit wound. The entrance hole was about 3" in diameter. There was a small 4" wide 1/2" thick piece of throat area holding the head onto the body. It was almost decapetated(spell check?). I had never seen that kind of damage on an animal that size before.

That being said, yes use it. That is a situation that has never happened before to him, and has never happened since. Just thought it was a pretty neat story.


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## sdeprie

I am a firm believer that meat destruction is more a factor of high velocity than strictly energy. Large caliber, sturdy bullet construction, moderate velocity (enough for proper bullet performance) and shot placement shouldn't cause excess meat destruction. By the way, I hit a doe in the neck (don't scold, it was the only shot I had) with a 358 Win at about 80 yards. Wasn't exactly decapitated, but I lost 6-8 inches of neck, so it sounds like shot placement is probably the most important factor. On the other hand, the blood trail was extremely easy to follow, all 2 feet, straight down.


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## hagfan72

sdeprie said:


> On the other hand, the blood trail was extremely easy to follow, all 2 feet, straight down.


LOL!!!! :lol: Those are the easiest bloodtrails to follow.


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## Hardsell

My brother has been using a .338 Win. Mag for many years now. I think proper bullet placement is the most important thing. All the deer that he shot we very edible.


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## magnum44270

miss the shoulder and no worries............

and with CWD bit tii many people do neck roast anymore. so go for the neck and dont worry about loosing 2-3 lbs of meat


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## Scooter

Can't say anything about using a .338Wm but I have used my .338 RUM and some 210gr TSX's. The combo was devastating on deer no extreme meat damage and always caliber size entrance and 1-2" exit holes. Would use this combo for most any big game hunting.


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## jim knapp

Overkill. Choose the proper gun for the animal. I have shot my last eight deer with a 223. I shoot all of them in the neck and have yet to have one even take a step. I havent ruined any meat. yes I am a meat hunter. I hunt elk with a 270. I am most likely going to get a 25-06 for all my big game hunting. Shot distance will have affect on your choice. I hunt in western montana where long shots arent an issue.


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## Hardolin

jim knapp said:


> Overkill. Choose the proper gun for the animal. I have shot my last eight deer with a 223. I shoot all of them in the neck and have yet to have one even take a step. I havent ruined any meat. yes I am a meat hunter. I hunt elk with a 270. I am most likely going to get a 25-06 for all my big game hunting. Shot distance will have affect on your choice. I hunt in western montana where long shots arent an issue.


Overkill? Not at all.
Proper gun for the animal? This is only your opinion.

1) The firearm needs to be powerful enough to put the animal down with a well placed shot.
2) You need to be able to make a well placed shot with the firearm.

Beyond that, the 'proper gun for the animal' is your personal preference.
That said, yes I would be a little disapointed if I saw someone shooting deer with a large caliber explosive round and shredding the whole animal, but we're talking about a few ounces of meat here. I use my .338winmag for deer myself and the difference with a well placed shot is negligable, and as said before dead is dead.

Bullet selection is more of a factor than a .30 vs a .338 cal.
I'm not going to load up a 300gr FMJ for deer. I use a 200gr ballistic tip that gives me excellent performance in deer sized game. Some manufacturers also offer .338cal bullets as light as 175gr, put the right powder charge behind it and yes you can pretty much duplicate a 30-06's performance.

Best part is when I get my points for a bear permit, or elk, or 'insert larger game of choice here'. I don't need to go buy a new rifle. I simply step up my bullet selection and re-zero my .338.

I've never told anyone not to buy a .223 or a .270 or a .30-30 or whatever caliber they're interested in. I don't understand the reson people who shoot these calibers seem to argue against someone going with a larger caliber if that's what they prefer. There's nothing wrong with shooting a deer with a .338. In some instances you may loose a little more meat, but we're talking ounces here not the whole animal.


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## MagnumManiac

Plainsman said:


> Horsager said:
> 
> 
> 
> When considering meat damage, caliber is far less important than:
> 
> 1. Bullet placement
> 2. Bullet construction
> 
> Shoot a deer through the front or rear quarters and you will have ruined meat. Shoot it through the ribcage and you won't.
> 
> 
> 
> Exactly. Heavy calibers meant for large game have bullets with thicker jackets. Combine this with lower velocities and I would expect less meat damage with the 338 than a 270 Winchester with a 130 gr bullet. As an extreme example I know of a deer shot with a 505 Gibbs. Bullet in, bullet out, wound channel about caliber size and the deer ran 400 yards. There is nothing wrong with a 338 for deer. If your worried about damage go to a heavy bullet for caliber which will give you better bullet construction and lower velocity.
Click to expand...

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Large,heavy bullets will,and DO,damage far less meat than small,lighter bullets.This is a commonly misunderstood part of TERMINAL BALLISTICS.
Light ,fast bullets open with extreme energy,almost 'explosive',large, heavy bullets open far slower and don't have the same amount of HYDROSTATIC SHOCK that smaller bullets do.Bullet CONSTRUCTION is heavier in larger calibres,velocity is normally slower,therefore they should almost 'pinprick' the animal.
This is my experience with the 338WM,even on large Sambar deer.Calibre entrance hole,'dime' exit hole,even when shot through both shoulders!
*MagnumManiac*
:sniper:


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## Hardsell

My brother has been using a .338 Win. Mag for years now. It's a great all around caliber. He's never had any problems with it being too powerful. 
I'm going to get my .338 set-up this year, so I'll have first hand experience this fall.


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## honkerslayr

i agree totally that low velocity with a heavy bullet is the way to go. i have shot a whitetail with a .270 140 gr. trophy bonded bear claw at very quick velocities and it made a huge wound channel and ruined meat as opposed to a my 150 gr. soft point with a lot lower velocity and the deer died just as wuick with less meat ruined. and again bullet placement is key but fragments can do heavy damage depending on your bullets construction and when it will mushroom/fragment. But a .338 is certainly not overkill.


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## headshot

I know first hand that hard cast, slow moving bullets do very little damage. I shot a big elk with a 45/70. 300 gr non-jacketed bullet @ 18-1900 fps. 237 yrd shot right behind the shoulder. He never went 10 feet, very little blood and when we field dressed him there were 2, 1/2 inch holes in him. There was an area of meat lost on both sides of the ribs no bigger then my fist, but the trauma or "shock" to the lungs was insane, drowning was the official cause of death not lead poisoning. I am a firm believer that you can't kill an animal dead enough with the first shot, but you don't need a magnum to kill a deer cleanly.


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## Joe Green

I hunt whitetail with a .338 winchester chambered in a weatherby vangaurd rifle, i use 225 grain federal soft points and it works great! Unless you hit it in the shoulder of course, i've also hunted whitetail quite a bit with a 7mm 140 grains, both those rounds hitting in the around the same spot the .338 seems to tear deer up less and is more clean... I also prefer the size and power of the .338 because there is a million and a half black bears around my area the majority of which are trouble makers and deemed dangerous. Maybe it is the faster moving round of the 7mm, but in that case if you are loading your own rounds with lighter lead weight in the .338, you might experience more damage then? I would personally go with 225 grain federals on whitetail in the 338, they work great for me not a lot of "hamburger" around the wound as they and the deer don't like to walk far after you shoot either.


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