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338 Federal

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Dogger View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/11/2007 at 07:38
I don't hate the 270 but not a big fan.  My attitude is coloured by the results I have seen on deer at our camp over the years.  It always appeared to me to be an overly distructive calibre but this could have been a result of poor available factory bullets at the time, none of us were handloaders.  Nothing scientific here just observation.  Other calibres in the camp at the time included 30-30, 308, 30.06, 300 Sav, 303 British, 44 mag.  None of them seemed to tear up as much meat as the 270, no matter where the bullet hit.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/11/2007 at 08:33
i hate the .270 because people think its the answer, truth is the .270 has a tiny amount of weight of bullets to choose from and i agree with dogger's theory on the meat destruction, a few guys i hunt with use the .270 and you can tell which deer they shot as oppose to say the guys who use the 30-06. yes the people were brainwashed by the typewriter of jack o connor, craig boddington and layne simpson they cant sway the masses that jack did even if they tried.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/11/2007 at 10:34
Pyro......................I understand your points. I was just curious........I`ve always been a .30 caliber man and shall remain one.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/11/2007 at 10:38
BIG & TALL.........................Let us know what rifle and caliber you purchased.....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/11/2007 at 13:50

Originally posted by Big Squeeze Big Squeeze wrote:

Pyro......................I understand your points. I was just curious........I`ve always been a .30 caliber man and shall remain one.

me too, its my bread and butter but i am also a fan of the 7mm and the 6.5mm  but the 30's will always be my go to choice.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/11/2007 at 20:32

Originally posted by pyro6999 pyro6999 wrote:

i hate the .270 because people think its the answer, truth is the .270 has a tiny amount of weight of bullets to choose from and i agree with dogger's theory on the meat destruction, a few guys i hunt with use the .270 and you can tell which deer they shot as oppose to say the guys who use the 30-06. yes the people were brainwashed by the typewriter of jack o connor, craig boddington and layne simpson they cant sway the masses that jack did even if they tried.

 

I don't know why, but I've never been able to get a .270 to shoot all that well; just "o.k." but never any groups worth bragging about.  I don't necessarily dislike the .270, but the fact is, anything a .270 will do, one of the 7mags does better, depending on which 7mag, in some cases without much additional recoil, and there's 10X better bullet selection in .284 than .277.  In fact, I like the .25-06 better than the .270.  It shoots flatter, and gives pretty much the same performance on game short of elk, with better bullet selection, and from my experience, I've been able to get far better accuracy out of the .25-06 as well.

 

An interesting side note about Jack O'Connor.  He used to live in Lewiston, ID, where one of my best friends lives.  My buddy almost bought Jack's old house, but he said they were asking too much money for it.  It was supposedly a very modest house, but it had a nice reloading/gun room downstairs according to him.



Edited by RifleDude
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/11/2007 at 21:46
i agree with you 100% ted, the 25-06 the 30-06 and of course my beloved .280 are all better than the .270, i wish my bro in law would go shoot his test loads for his .270 so i can see for myself how much difference there is in accuracy between my 280 and his 270.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/12/2007 at 19:22
...and the .30-06 beats all of those in the versatility department.  Even after all of these years and all the good rounds that the -06 case spawned, the .30-06 is still the king where versatility with modest recoil is concerned.  It's ballistics aren't dazzling, but you can find ammo for it anywhere in the world, there is better bullet selection in .308" than any other caliber, and the grand ol' -06 does the job on anything short of the largest, most dangerous African game, yet isn't excessive for deer sized game.  With these virtues, I wonder why I almost never hunt with the -06, and I guess it's because I'm a short action fan for small to medium sized game, and with the WSMs, even elk.  Where I want more horsepower than the short action rounds deliver, I generally use my .300 mag.  Even though I've grown to like the .25-06 for deer sized critters, I probably wouldn't have it today if it hadn't been for the fact I found a Sako 75 so chambered I liked with pretty wood and a good price several years ago.  I've just always been a fan of short action cartridges...but I find myself torn on the .338 Federal concept, since Hornady uses proprietary powders not available to the handloader to get better performance out of a smaller case.  The same goes for new rounds like the .30TC.  Even though I love efficient cartridge designs that get a lot out of a relatively small case, if I can't at least duplicate factory ballistics by handloading, I'm not interested.

Edited by RifleDude
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/12/2007 at 20:25
i hear you there kinda like the light mag ammo hornady is making
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 00:44
Exactly.  They use the same proprietary powders for the light mag ammo that we can't get our hands on.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 06:17
i am pretty sure that the weatherby lineup is the same way, norma does most of weatherby's factory ammo and they get more out of it than the handload safely can as well
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Big & Tall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 10:09

I'm back from the show and suprisingly did not come back with a new rifle. Didn't have what I was looking for, but they did have plenty in 300WSM's. As for the .270 debate the problem was it was hyped as a better all around cartridge than it was. This does not in fact make it a terrible cartridge, it's just not a big game cartridge. It also is limited in bullet weight's, if you use it within its limits it does what it's supposed to.  I happen to like my .270, it's accurate, has a good trigger, and hits hard. I have also handloaded it to it's maxium potential, but it's twenty years old and time to play with something else.

 

Rifle Dude.... My thinking was that If I was using it mostly for deer hunting 300WSM would seem like overkill. I know you can reduce the load, but here in West Central FL, deer are not exactly monsters and 130gr bullets are more than enough, that's why I was'nt exactly looking for magnum power. I was also looking for a more compact lighter rifle and through experience working up different loads, a full power 300WSM in a lightweight rifle would be somewhat punishing for a day at the range. I have not totaly counted it out for versatility sake and I do like to shoot my hunting rifles quite a bit in the off season. There are more rifles chambered for 300WSM than 338 Federal, and there has been quite a bit in the forum on the 300WSM but not the .338.



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 11:24

Understand, B&T.  Not at all trying to dissuade you from a .338 Federal.  Was just curious why you'd select that since your original post said you were using it for deer hunting.

 

BTW -- the .300WSM is not at all overkill on deer, depending on the bullet and load data.  Don't forget there's also the 7WSM, which handles almost every task the .300WSM will with greater B.C., better wind resistance, flatter trajectory, and it's really no more overkill on deer than the .280 Rem.

 

BTW, in the discussion of the .338 Federal, for some reason, I was thinking of the .375 Ruger, which is why I mentioned the Hornady proprietary powder issue.  A handloader may or may not have a problem duplicating factory .338 Federal velocities, I don't know.  It hasn't been out very long, so I haven't heard anything about handload data for it yet.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Big & Tall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 11:53

Rifle Dude I understand you are not trying to sell me on 300WSM everyone has their favorites,and it mostly depends on where you live and what you hunt. When I purchase a new rifle I like to do some research and get some opinions from people who have one so I can make an informed decision. I would hate to put down a chunk of cash and end up with something I won't use cause it tears up too much meat. Just looking for versatility. Down here it's mostly tree stand hunting except for hogs. I have hunted in Texas many moons ago and in California in the mountains (wish I had a lighter rifle, not used to the altitude) and will probably have another opportunity in Maine in the future.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 16:54

B&T,

Good luck with your decision and keep us posted on what you decide, along with pics!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 20:57
i agree with you ted , i guess if i didnt want the 300 i would have bought the 7wsm its a gem and packs plenty of punch. but yet small enough to handle smaller deer and even the occasional coyote
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/13/2007 at 21:00
Originally posted by Big & Tall Big & Tall wrote:

I'm back from the show and suprisingly did not come back with a new rifle. Didn't have what I was looking for, but they did have plenty in 300WSM's. As for the .270 debate the problem was it was hyped as a better all around cartridge than it was. This does not in fact make it a terrible cartridge, it's just not a big game cartridge. It also is limited in bullet weight's, if you use it within its limits it does what it's supposed to.  I happen to like my .270, it's accurate, has a good trigger, and hits hard. I have also handloaded it to it's maxium potential, but it's twenty years old and time to play with something else.

 

 

as of right now my friend you have for sure earned my respect! well said! i can really respect your statements

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375H&H Mag: Yeah, it kills stuff "extra dead"

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Big & Tall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/14/2007 at 11:29
Thanks pyro6669. I haven't really thought of the 7WSM. It's worth looking into. I'll let you know what I decide and post pics when I buy. Then I suppose we will get in another discussion on the topic of glass.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/14/2007 at 16:06
we cant wait for pictures and glass!
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375H&H Mag: Yeah, it kills stuff "extra dead"

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trinidad Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: August/14/2007 at 23:35

Originally posted by Big & Tall Big & Tall wrote:

I haven't really thought of the 7WSM. It's worth looking into.

 

 

 

Yes.

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