My favorite Hunting rifle 338wm - what is yours?

I enjoy the details to these gun selections, I feel inadequate, as I have lot's of rifles for hunting and now wish perhaps I had a favorite. 338, a bit more than I think I would like. I do have a 375 H&H for cape buffalo, etc. Now I find myself having to watch my budget and switching some scopes around to the gun I want to use, based on my feelings for a trip coming up. Don't have a Ruger #1, but now I want one. LOL
 
LWPhunt said:
I enjoy the details to these gun selections, I feel inadequate, as I have lot's of rifles for hunting and now wish perhaps I had a favorite. 338, a bit more than I think I would like. I do have a 375 H&H for cape buffalo, etc. Now I find myself having to watch my budget and switching some scopes around to the gun I want to use, based on my feelings for a trip coming up. Don't have a Ruger #1, but now I want one. LOL
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Think of it as an investment. Instead of gold or silver, you just invest in Walnut, Steel and Brass. They tend to hold their value better than gold over the long haul.
 
I have way too many hunting rifles to pick a favorite but I am certainly fond of my Dakota 375 h&h. Took this Eland with it in June!
 

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I tend to not have a true favorite hunting rifle as I generally bring the caliber best suited for the hunt. But if I have a current favorite it is probably my 338 Win Mag. It is a Tikka T3 that I bought probably 20+ years ago for $385 brand new from a gun shop in Mississippi I think. The shop was selling it on GunBroker.com. First time I ever purchased a firearm online. Apparently 338 Win Mags were not popular in MS and the shop owner just wanted to get rid of it. Since that time I have restocked it with a Bell and Carlson stock and re-barreled it with a Lija barrel. It shoot 1/2 MOA, so I have developed a lot of confidence in the field with this rifle. It has taken game ranging in size from small feral hogs in TX to very large water buffalo in Australia. I tend to pick a bullet/load combination that suits the game I am hunting. For pigs in TX we used 225 grain Hornady's, for water buffalo we used 275 gr Swift A-Frames, my leopard load was 210 Gr Nosler Accubonds and for African plains game I have used 210 gr Barnes TTSX. A few years back I went to Talley QD rings on most of my rifles so I have used different scopes on this rifle. For my leopard hunt earlier this year I used a Leupold VX6 HD 2-12 x 42 Firedot, for my buffalo/plaines game hunt in September I plan on using my Swarovski Z8i+ 1-8 x 24 with illuminated reticle for the plains game animals.

So count me in the 338 Win Mag camp!
 
My brother has it right now. Matching numbers 1896 Swedish mauser 6.5x55 that dad and pawpaw " sporterized " with a hack saw and a drill press. Its ugly and shoots great, and has killed a ton of deer.
 
I've got one of those as well. Picked it up a bunch of years back from a friend's estate. He shot a moose with it using factory Norma, I think, 156gr. I've not shot it YET, as I have 3 other 6.5's including Varberg 6.5x55 that loves 120gr. TSX at 2,930fps.
Can't help but ask, what was the drill press used for? Scope mounts?
 
Houston Bill said:
I tend to not have a true favorite hunting rifle as I generally bring the caliber best suited for the hunt. But if I have a current favorite it is probably my 338 Win Mag. It is a Tikka T3 that I bought probably 20+ years ago for $385 brand new from a gun shop in Mississippi I think. The shop was selling it on GunBroker.com. First time I ever purchased a firearm online. Apparently 338 Win Mags were not popular in MS and the shop owner just wanted to get rid of it. Since that time I have restocked it with a Bell and Carlson stock and re-barreled it with a Lija barrel. It shoot 1/2 MOA, so I have developed a lot of confidence in the field with this rifle. It has taken game ranging in size from small feral hogs in TX to very large water buffalo in Australia. I tend to pick a bullet/load combination that suits the game I am hunting. For pigs in TX we used 225 grain Hornady's, for water buffalo we used 275 gr Swift A-Frames, my leopard load was 210 Gr Nosler Accubonds and for African plains game I have used 210 gr Barnes TTSX. A few years back I went to Talley QD rings on most of my rifles so I have used different scopes on this rifle. For my leopard hunt earlier this year I used a Leupold VX6 HD 2-12 x 42 Firedot, for my buffalo/plaines game hunt in September I plan on using my Swarovski Z8i+ 1-8 x 24 with illuminated reticle for the plains game animals.

So count me in the 338 Win Mag camp!
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I can do you one better. My favorite is a 338 in a Tikka M695. Got it 25 years ago for $20. I won it in a raffle from the RMEF. I've taken countless plains game species with it and it has definitely been my favorite. Never found a bullet it didn't like. Best $20 I ever spent.
 
mauser98 said:
I have two that are about equal to me as favorites and they're both working rifles and far from being my nice higher end ones. One's a 1944 dated M98 in 8x57 and the other is a Zastava 8x57. Both work horses that get put to use often.
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Recently I've been thinking that I wouldn't mind using a 8x57 in the field...
It probably doesn't do anything a .30-06 doesn't do, but that's not a bad thing either...

Russ
 
Russ, properly loaded, the 8x57 duplicates .30/06 ballistics with all bullet weights. This is the "instance" where the case capacity is countered by the increased bullet diameter.
The '06 has a slight advantage in sectional density and ballistic co-efficient. Todays premium bullets counter most of the differences.
It's a really great round, just as-is the old '06.
 
Oh no. Even if I did look that cool, the modern photography just doesnt convey it that well.

I always enjoy reading your posts and seeing the awesome pictures. If you havent yet, you should write a book. Id buy it.
 
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