30-338 wildcat

couple of guys I know have been using a wildcat round for Mule Deer and Elk. It's a 30-338 and it sounded interesting, so I did a little digging to see what was so special about it. Bottom line is that it looks almost the same as the good old 300 Win Mag, though I'll keep that to myself. I wouldn't want to dilute their happiness with their wildcat.

Anybody else out there use this necked down 338? If so, is there anything particularly special about it that I'm not seeing?

I think the neck is longer on the .30-338. As I recall, one of the initial criticisms of the .300 WM was the short neck. I think history shows the concern was theoretical, but it's all good. Most wildcats make zero sense. For that matter 99% of the cartridges introduced in the last 20 years make no sense in any real terms.

Yes, there is a 30-338 Win Mag and I have loaded for it. The 338 Win Mag has a shorter shoulder than the 300 Win Mag. So, it is very similar, but the 30-338WM has slightly slower speeds.

Slightly slower speeds with their 30-338? I'm sure not going to tell them that. I did tell them that their loads weren't "flat to infinity" like they were saying, and gave them some data on what the actual trajectory would look like, which is really pretty decent.

Yes. The 30-338WM has a shorter shoulder than the 300 Win Mag. That means smaller internal case and less powder, which equals less speed. I love letting people talk about stuff like that to hear what they think is better than sliced bread. It allows for interesting stories around the camp fire!

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." -- Mark Twain

how true

No need to dilute their happiness. The 30-338 is a hell of a round and was used competitively for years. It's also nearly identical to the 308 Norma. Both are excellent rounds and will hold their own against the 300 WM without any trouble (with minor trajectory differences of course.)

Have an uncle that I dearly love that says his 270 win is dead on at 100 and only drops an inch out to 300 yards... He will never shoot past 75 so I smile and nod and keep on going.

Redchevy, I am often surprised to find folks that really have no factual idea what their bullet trajectory is. The 30-338 guys didn't know. They had crazy ideas about how fast the MV was. That said, they always do get their Elk, so inside 300 yards or so, the diff between reality and what they think isn't significant.