So I was watching Choose Your Weapon with Jim Burnworth from Western Extreme. I have always really liked him and his hunting advice. The thing that really rubbed me the wrong way, especially about this episode, is his gun recommendations. He normally recommends the .338 Lapua for hunting African plains game and sometimes even elk. Now I see him recommending a benchrest rifle chambered in the .338 lapua necked down to 7mm while hunting antelope. He says it's a great gun for new shooters who can't handle lots of recoil. I may not know a lot about hunting African plains game or the .338 lapua round for hunting, but this seems like really irresponsible advice. Does anyone have any opinions on Jim Burnworth or his caliber recommendations. I just want to know what the consensus is from the African plains game hunting community before I jump to conclusions about him or his show.
I think his advices are totally off.
As
Johnny7604 says, the .338 Lapua is very expensive to shoot and demands a very experienced shooter to consistently shoot well.
Most people need a muzzle break or silencer to shoot it well.
It also really shines at 500 yards and beyond compared with other cartridges when it comes to hunting in my opinion. Personally those ranges are not hunting to me.
I think it is a great cartridge for its use, but to me it is mostly a cartridge for use in warfare and long range target shooting and not so much hunting.
For hunting I personally think the .338 win mag is a better choice than the .338 Lapua.
And the idea of a 7mm wildcat based on the .338 Lapua case is even more useless than the .26 Nosler and will eat your barrel very quickly.
And to call it a great cartridge for a novice who can't handle lots of recoil is total nonsense.
I many cases I think even a .300 mag of some sort is to much for a beginner.
A 6.5x55, 270 win, 7x57 mauser, 308 win or a 30-06 are much better choices for beginners and for African plains game hunting.
A 7mm rem mag is also good if you want something flat shooting.
More experienced shooters can use a .300 mag, .338 win mag, 9.3x62 or a .375 of some sort, but the cartridges above are good for them too