Light kicking 338? Yes sir

[quietman]

Went to the range this weekend and took my new 338 with me.

It garnered a lot of interest and some comments from another shooter that shot it.

He'd been sighting in his '06 and after putting 4 rounds through the 338 He told me me was rather surprised. I could tell he was after the first shot. I saw him getting prepped for some big time recoil the first time and the look of surprise on his face when it didn't happen.

He'd just put 12 rounds through his '06, so he had a good comparison. When he was done he told me he couldn't believe how much less it kicked than his '06 shooting 180gr bullets. He was even more surprised when I told him it was pushing a 200gr bullet that was as flat or flatter than his '06 out to 300 yards and only dropped a couple more inches at 400 yds, but hit harder at all distances.

He told me he was going to have to look into one.

Several people came up and talked to me about it. They were telling me they figured it was a big bore the first time it went off. Couldn't talk them into giving it a try because they were assuming it kicked like a mule. But they liked the look and feel of the rifle a lot.

The source of all this interest? The 338 Marlin Express. Marlin definitely has a winner there. If you get a chance, give one a try.

[O.S.O.K.]

Well, any owner of a 338 Win Mag knew you weren't talking about one of them...

[Chuck 100 yd]

Yes, I was surprised after the first shot with mine. About like shooting a Win. 94 in .30-30 .

[JReed]

Cool.
I have been looking real hard at a 338 Federal bbl for my Stevens. Looking at the numbers it is only a little faster then the Marlin round and I can make brass from some of the 308 I have on hand.

[edsguns]

Cool.
I have been looking real hard at a 338 Federal bbl for my Stevens. Looking at the numbers it is only a little faster then the Marlin round and I can make brass from some of the 308 I have on hand.

I have a Ruger M77 .338 Fed and from day one after shooting side by side with an '06/180gr I have said the 200gr/.338F has pretty much the same recoil. It would be difficult to tell one from the other if shot blindfolded. As far as performance, mine is very accurate and I am simply a fan of the larger frontal area along with heavier bullet. Only one buck with it so far, but it performed very well.

[BenT]

It's the Magic powder. My handloads that are just under 2400 fps kick harder than the factory loads at 2560fps.