WB
Doug and I had a pair of .338 Win. Mags
Monday, August 26, 2019, 12:46

I forgot our motivation but we were loaded for Bear, so to speak. I had a Ruger M77RS Laminate Stainless and he had a special run Weatherby MKV (in .338 Winchester - rare) with a fancy synthetic Kevlar stock and fluted stainless barrel. We had a bunch of tires stacked head high in front of a pin-oak tree about two foot thick. Our target was in front. We shot a bunch of 200 gr. loads at that 125 yd. set up. Come to find the tires were like a pile of leaves, no resistance what so ever. The 200 gr. were fully penetrating the tree, blowing chunks out the back, and we killed the core or heart. About 2 yrs. later the dead tree fell over, it was some 50-60 ft. tall. The Ruger would hold an easy 1" to 1.5" group at that distance and the Weatherby in our hands could not beat it. We did note the Weatherby seemed to beat us up a little more, while the Ruger did not really have any recoil pad at all, just a think rubber butt.

I think the .338 Win. mag is a serious hunting tool. Had they had it back in the glory days of Africa I think it would have been quite popular. It still is a top choice in Alaska with serious hunters and pro guides.