338 RCM for hunting larger game - Result

[JG26Irish_2]

I am a student of bullet effects on game and am always interested in how different bullets perform on game. I enjoy reading reports from others and as such am posting this report for you all to read. This is from a WV Deer Hunt in 2025 using my Ruger M77 Hawkeye compact magnum in 338 RCM. It was loaded with Hornaday factory 225g SST loads that chrono 2738 fps at the muzzle. This is with a 22" bbl and that is about 93% of the performance of a 338wm (26" bbl) all in a light, handy package. Yes - it is too much gun for deer but I was also hunting bear that week and I just wanted to get some real world data on its performance on large game and I wanted a doe for the freezer.

I am planning a 2026 Texas Nilgai hunt and my guide had advised me to not use SST bullets on Nilgai since it is a non-bonded, fairly frangible projectile and in his view was prone to fragmenting too much and might not put down a Nilgai effectively. I also spoke to my African PH about SST's and he loves them and uses them a lot on African PG hunts with both 308 and 375HH loads which are his client loaner guns. He said, he would not hesitate to deploy SST's on game like Wildebeest or Eland, both of which are as tough as a Nilgai IMO.

I was hunting in WV in Eastern woodland where the shots are rarely over 100y due to forest and terrain. I shot a large mature doe at 89y with my 338rcm and it dropped the deer in its tracks and the only movement was its tail flipping up for one second. Not even a kick. DRT. The deer was quartering to me at about a 45 deg angle. I forgot that I had zeroed the rifle at 200y and aimed at center of the shoulder but hit about 2.5" higher, just above the shoulder. The bullet entered and hit a rib and just under the spine but somehow blew the heart apart, liquified both lungs and exited the left side of the deer a bit behind the ribcage. Entry wound was small and unremarkable. Exist wound was almost impossible to find, indicating to me that the bullet probably broke up. The carnage in between was devastating. I could not locate even a small piece of lung tissue that was identifiable and as I said the heart was destroyed. The chest cavity was full of blood and the gut was busted (yuck).

Would I use it on Nilgai? No but that is because I cannot get factory ammo with bonded bullets and am not set up to reload for it yet. Also, the rifle is not a super accurate gun and is only able to hold 1.5-2" groups for me and that is not enough for me to shoot 300y with enough confidence to do the job. But, it is fast becoming my favorite deer rifle.

As a deer, elk, bear, moose gun, the 338rcm in my view is very effective at least at close range. I am planning a 2027 Eland hunt and might consider it for that job if I can get some better bullets loaded by then. I also have a 338wm that shoots better and a few other options.

Photos attached. WARNING - the heart shot is not pretty.

 

[wildwilderness]

Thanks for sharing. The 338 rcm is an interesting cartridge especially for bigger game. A nice modern case design with efficiency that outperforms the 338-06, and does everything a 338wm does at close range.

 

[ftrovato]

In my experience, with premium bullets the 338 caliber is simply spectacular near and far.

 

[AZDAVE]

My wife has shot a ton of plains game from Springbok to Wildebeest with her 338 RCM using the 185gr GMX. Have found in the 225 and lighter bullets it runs close to the 338WM. in a lighter more handy rifle. Have loaded 225 CX and barnes bullets and they shoot well but she hasn't had time to shoot any kritters with them as her last couple hunts have been with her 375.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

My wife has shot a ton of plains game from Springbok to Wildebeest with her 338 RCM using the 185gr GMX. Have found in the 225 and lighter bullets it runs close to the 338WM. in a lighter more handy rifle. Have loaded 225 CX and barnes bullets and they shoot well but she hasn't had time to shoot any kritters with them as her last couple hunts have been with her 375.

I love the light, short, handy nature of this rifle and the more I prank with it, the better, it is shooting. I was about to give up on it when a gun dealer friend of mine advised me to shoot at least 100 rds thru it to break in the bbl and to be sure to torque the action screws properly, especially the angled one in front of the magazine. I torqued the screws, glass bedded the action and floated the bbl. Each step improved it some. I have about 70 rds thru it now. I do not normally re-load for hunting rifles but am planning to do so for this one.

Would you be willing to share your pet loads for the 338 RCM? I am really looking at the 200g and 225g Barnes TTSX or the Swift Scirocco or similar bonded bullet option in the same weight range. My next safari is looking to be in Namibia, for Eland, Golden WB, and an undetermined list of others.

 

[AZDAVE]

Later today I will head out to the shop and get you the load data I have.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I am a student of bullet effects on game and am always interested in how different bullets perform on game. I enjoy reading reports from others and as such am posting this report for you all to read. This is from a WV Deer Hunt in 2025 using my Ruger M77 Hawkeye compact magnum in 338 RCM. It was loaded with Hornaday factory 225g SST loads that chrono 2738 fps at the muzzle. This is with a 22" bbl and that is about 93% of the performance of a 338wm (26" bbl) all in a light, handy package. Yes - it is too much gun for deer but I was also hunting bear that week and I just wanted to get some real world data on its performance on large game and I wanted a doe for the freezer.

I am planning a 2026 Texas Nilgai hunt and my guide had advised me to not use SST bullets on Nilgai since it is a non-bonded, fairly frangible projectile and in his view was prone to fragmenting too much and might not put down a Nilgai effectively. I also spoke to my African PH about SST's and he loves them and uses them a lot on African PG hunts with both 308 and 375HH loads which are his client loaner guns. He said, he would not hesitate to deploy SST's on game like Wildebeest or Eland, both of which are as tough as a Nilgai IMO.

I was hunting in WV in Eastern woodland where the shots are rarely over 100y due to forest and terrain. I shot a large mature doe at 89y with my 338rcm and it dropped the deer in its tracks and the only movement was its tail flipping up for one second. Not even a kick. DRT. The deer was quartering to me at about a 45 deg angle. I forgot that I had zeroed the rifle at 200y and aimed at center of the shoulder but hit about 2.5" higher, just above the shoulder. The bullet entered and hit a rib and just under the spine but somehow blew the heart apart, liquified both lungs and exited the left side of the deer a bit behind the ribcage. Entry wound was small and unremarkable. Exist wound was almost impossible to find, indicating to me that the bullet probably broke up. The carnage in between was devastating. I could not locate even a small piece of lung tissue that was identifiable and as I said the heart was destroyed. The chest cavity was full of blood and the gut was busted (yuck).

Would I use it on Nilgai? No but that is because I cannot get factory ammo with bonded bullets and am not set up to reload for it yet. Also, the rifle is not a super accurate gun and is only able to hold 1.5-2" groups for me and that is not enough for me to shoot 300y with enough confidence to do the job. But, it is fast becoming my favorite deer rifle.

As a deer, elk, bear, moose gun, the 338rcm in my view is very effective at least at close range. I am planning a 2027 Eland hunt and might consider it for that job if I can get some better bullets loaded by then. I also have a 338wm that shoots better and a few other options.

Photos attached. WARNING - the heart shot is not pretty.

View attachment 729206View attachment 729207

@JG26Irish_26
I love the SST a pity they don't do it in 35 cal.
In the 338 on bigger game I would prefer a bonded bullets like the Woodleighs.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

In my experience, with premium bullets the 338 caliber is simply spectacular near and far.

@ftrovato
In my experience the 35 calibre is even better near and far. Just drops game better than ballistics says it should.
The 338 runs a close 2nd tho.
Wonder how the 338 compact magnum would go necked up to 35, the mind boggles.
Bob

 

[JG26Irish_2]

@ftrovato
In my experience the 35 calibre is even better near and far. Just drops game better than ballistics says it should.
The 338 runs a close 2nd tho.
Wonder how the 338 compact magnum would go necked up to 35, the mind boggles.
Bob

Imagine, a cartridge that is as short as a 308 and fits in a nice stiff, short action, that runs magnum pressures and is about as big around as a 458wm, so the powder capacity is enough to get serious velocity. I am not sure it would do any better than the 35 Whelen though. We are getting action verified velocity of 2738fps from a 22" bbl and a 225g bullet with the 338.

 

[Doug3006]

I recommend that you listen to your Nilgai guide. Nilgai are on a different level when it comes to toughness. African plains game are not as tough as Nilgai. The front shoulder of a Nilgai is practically armored. Wounded, even if eventually mortally, they will run for a very long distance. The 338 RCM is probably enough gun, but choose the toughest bullet you can find. TSXs, A-Frames, Woodleighs come to mind.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

I recommend that you listen to your Nilgai guide. Nilgai are on a different level when it comes to toughness. African plains game are not as tough as Nilgai. The front shoulder of a Nilgai is practically armored. Wounded, even if eventually mortally, they will run for a very long distance. The 338 RCM is probably enough gun, but choose the toughest bullet you can find. TSXs, A-Frames, Woodleighs come to mind.

Make no mistake, I am listening, but also use my own experience when planning any hunt as well as try to learn from experience of others. I totally agreed with my guide's advice to avoid SST or other non-bonded cup & core bullet for this hunt. But, the guide also veto'ed the use of TSX, TTSX, or CX monolithic copper bullets which are about as tough as they get. I used 375HH and 300g TSX for Cape Buffalo, Blue Wildebeest and Kudu all with satisfactory results. The guide recommended we use Nosler Accu-Bond, Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, or Swift A-Frames for the Nilgai. Those are all tough bullets and good advice but I still did not understand his dislike of the Barnes TSX??

Based on what I can determine, the Nilgai has a thick hide that is comparable to a Cape Buffalo and a tough will to go on similar to a Wildebeest. Keen eyes and a wary nature that makes it also difficult to get close to. Our hunt will be with a combo of 338wm using 225g AB's and 375HH using 300g AB's, or 250g TBBC ammo. I also have some 300g TSX ammo for the 375 that I might still use in spite of the guides advice simply because it shoots best in my rifle.

This is a father-son hunt and we will be two hunters with a single guide. We agreed that we would flip a coin to see who gets the first shot as primary hunter on the first Nilgai. The 2nd hunter is to follow to the rear but deploy to the side when a shot is about to be taken and will backup the primary hunter with a fast 2nd shot on the beast to help anchor it faster, provided the conditions will allow. The secondary shooter is to aim for the neck/spine while the primary shooter aims for a traditional heart/lung shot. After a successful shot on game we swap places to hunt the 2nd animal. The 338 is good out to 400y but we hope to keep all shots inside 300y or better still 200y if we can. While the 375 is accurate out to 400y, it is to be limited to 200-300y shots as a primary rifle. I get about 100fps faster than factory published MV from my 375 with the Barnes ammo and as such, I would feel much more confident with it for a longer shot. I have used it on game out to almost 200y in the past. They just run out of Ooomph out past 300y or so IMO. Pic below is a Blue WB that I shot with it at 180y facing frontal. It is an SCI record book bull. It absorbed three 300g TSX bullets and two did not penetrate all the way thru. All shots were well place and the first shot hit the right lung, top of heart and just clipped the left lung, so it was a mortal wound but the beast still ran 60y. It weighed about 600lb and I still think a Nilgai is not going to be that much tougher.

I think the bullet placement on the first shot is far more important than the actual bullet or cartridge used. Too many Nilgai are taken with 308, 30-06 and 300wm for them to be invincible. We just want to drop them quick to avoid reliance on Texas trackers.