Ruger Forum

Deputy sheriff · May 5th, 2012, 02:36 PM

Today I shot my Ruger Sporter 338 win mag for the first time.Not the vicious recoil I have read about.As usual a great cartridge is bad mouthed by people that have no experience in shooting magnums. My friend who has never shot a magnum thought the recoil was the same as his 30-06. Shooting a box of ammo is no problem and it is accurate.The only problem is that it can shoot farther than the 3x9 scope can see.

punkinlobber · May 5th, 2012, 02:55 PM

I have shot two 338s in my life. One was a Ruger #1 and the recoil was moderate and manageable. The second one was an older model M77 with the black composite skeletal stock. That rifle introduced my shoulder blades to each other. Not fun.

shootist · May 5th, 2012, 02:59 PM

Sounds like a new more powerful scope is in order?

Deputy sheriff · May 5th, 2012, 06:28 PM

I guess stock design and weight of the rifle has alot to do with managing recoil.

trigger creep · June 19th, 2012, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deputy sheriff

I guess stock design and weight of the rifle has alot to do with managing recoil.

Exactly. There are some .338 Winmags out there that kick as bad as .375 H&H's. It is all in the stock design and your shooting style off the bench. John Barseness (well-known gunwriter) said that the .338 Winmag is probably THE hardest gun on scopes. My theory is, that because the big bores (non-WBY) push you more than they slap you, the .338 Winmag has enough recoil and is still small enough in diameter to slap, that it wrecks even good scopes. Several people have agreed with me on that, so maybe my theory is correct.

trigger creep · June 19th, 2012, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deputy sheriff

Today I shot my Ruger Sporter 338 win mag for the first time.Not the vicious recoil I have read about.As usual a great cartridge is bad mouthed by people that have no experience in shooting magnums. My friend who has never shot a magnum thought the recoil was the same as his 30-06. Shooting a box of ammo is no problem and it is accurate.The only problem is that it can shoot farther than the 3x9 scope can see.

I don't see how it can shoot further than your scope can see. A 3-9X scope is good well out past 300 yards. I once shoot at metal silhouettes at 200 yards (offhand, not bench-resting) with my .270 Win with 130 grain bullets, and found that I hit the 12" target more often with the scope on 5x than on 9X. My dad was there at the same time, and he experienced the same thing. Too much scope power can cost you game, period. It causes you to overthink things, instead of just shooting. That is why whenever a deer close to 200 yards away, I usually use 5 or 6 power.

That's just my experience, as usual, opinions and experiences will vary. Not telling you not to get a new scope, just offering an opinion.

Deputy sheriff · June 21st, 2012, 08:43 AM

My eyes are 40 years older than yours and mine were always bad.At 15 you have a long career as a hunter ahead of you.Sounds like you already know what works for you is what is best for you. That alone takes some people years to find out.Hunting is like life sometimes you are in the right spot and if you try just a little harder than the other guys it will pay off.Good hunting.

trigger creep · June 22nd, 2012, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deputy sheriff

My eyes are 40 years older than yours and mine were always bad.At 15 you have a long career as a hunter ahead of you.Sounds like you already know what works for you is what is best for you. That alone takes some people years to find out.Hunting is like life sometimes you are in the right spot and if you try just a little harder than the other guys it will pay off.Good hunting.

Oh, okay. I'm sorry.

I am surprised that you're still shooting a .338 WM, that's impressive!