snw41
Straight Shooter
Registered: 02/03/09
Posts: 10
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| | 02/05/09 at 09:28 PM | Reply with quote | #6 |
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Have not had that problem with a 338. I shot my first elk at 12 with a 25-06. Worked fine, but wanted to move up to what the big boys at the time were shooting and got a 270. Shot the 270 for years on Deer, Elk and Bear. I never had a problem tipping over cows and spikes with the 270, but admittedly I never shot a big bull with it. When I drew my first coveted Blue Mt. Big Bull tag decided to use a big gun and shot a 7mm mag. I tipped over a 6 point with one shot from the 7mm and the 150 grain partition through the shoulder with full penetration to the hide on the far side. After seeing how big a mature bull was on the ground I decided that if I did it again I would do it with a 338. That brought me to the bull in the picture and choose the 338 because of all the time you wait and effort into getting that tag I wanted to make sure that I could take any shot presented. A 270/7mm will tip over elk all day with the right broadside shot, but it everything is not perfect I did not feel I would have the confidence to take a shot. So when this bull presented himself he was perfectly broadside and had just come out of the timber right before dark. I was still glad for the 338 because when I shot him he did not turn and run back in the timber, which was a very steep and deep hole that I would have had a hell of a time following him in the dark alone. So by having the 338 I intentionally took out both shoulders with my shot and he went right down. I know for a fact I could have killed him with a 25-06/270/7mm all day, but he would have turned and ran back in that timber and I would have had a hell of a night. I got back to camp at 4:30 in the morning as it was with killing him out in the open where I did not have to spend anytime locating him. It's a bit**ch to work over one of those big guys alone, a mile from the road and 2000 feet down in a hole. I didn't gut, I skinned down the middle of the back and quartered from there and then caped and sawed horns for the pack out on my back. Two days of follow-up trips to pack out the meat all on my back made for one hell of a well earned bull and he scores just a few points under 350. With the 338 I was shooting 225 interbonds and I recovered the slug and it weighed 186 after smashing both shoulders. I'm sold on this bullet as it was devastating. I took photos of the shoulder turned inside out with the massive hole in it for reference. Let me know if you want me to email them. My buddy shoots the 210 partitions in the 338 and he has knocked over about 5-6 big bulls with it and he has no complaints and puts them down. He went to the 338 after putting three 7mm's through a big bull with no sign of being hit until out of the blue the bull tipped over. Needless to say I am a firm believer in good tough bonded or partition bullets for the big bulls. Didn't mean to be too long winded here but I love talking about these things, especially in the middle of winter when not much is going on and I can reminisce a little. Still love the 270 for everything else, have a sweet custom wood stocked pre-64 I love, and pack it the most. I know Elmer made a comment about a 270 being a good Coyote gun, but with good bullets we have today even he would have to really take a long second thought about that statement. I'm also a big O'Connor fan and even he thought the 338 was great and owned one, but he did not think the average Joe was well suited with one because you have to be a Man to master it, and even O'Connor himself admitted that he had a tender shoulder!
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