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338 Win Magnum Ammo For Sale

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Designed with the big game hunter in mind, the .338 Winchester Magnum is especially popular among elk and moose hunters. With ballistics similar to a .30-06 – but more commonly featuring heavier bullets – it has found favor among African plains hunters as well. Learn More
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  1. Hornady Superformance 338 Win Mag Ammo - 20 Rounds of 200 Grain SST Polymer Tipped Ammunition

    $58.99

    39 In stock now

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +10
    Bullet type SST
    Primer Type Boxer
    Casing Type Brass
    Condition New
    Muzzle Velocity 3030 FPS
    Muzzle Energy 4076 ft lbs
    • 20 Rounds
    • $2.95 per round
    • Made by Hornady

History of 338 Win Magnum Ammo

In 1958, Winchester introduced their .338 Winchester Magnum to a specific group of hunters of large North American game. The popularity of the cartridge soon spread to Africa, where hunters used it to harvest medium-sized game as well as some large animals.

The .338 used a .375 H&H Magnum case that had been necked down to take the smaller .338 caliber bullet. This allowed the use of a rather heavy bullet, which meant that with enough powder, a 200 grain soft point bullet could reach 3,000 feet per second and a muzzle energy exceeding 3,800 foot pounds. The Winchester Model 70 Alaskan was among the first rifles chambered for this cartridge and was designed with the hunter of big Alaskan game in mind. With a reputation for being one of the best cartridges for hunting elk in use today, the .338 has also been employed with great success for bear hunting. A great advantage of this cartridge is how well it retains energy at long distances. With the right load, it has nearly 2,000 foot pounds of energy available at 400 yards – making the effective range of the .338 better than the .375 H&H Magnum.

But all that power and reach comes with a cost. The rifles that fire .338 are built heavily and weigh an average of eight to ten pounds. More often discussed than gun weight is the recoil factor. While the .30-06 generates recoil in the range of 15 foot pounds, the .338 Winchester Magnum generates recoil in the range of 30 foot pounds! This is a significant number for recoil, but it's not enough to dissuade hunters who need the performance that this cartridge presents.

Several major manufacturers sell rifles chambered for the .338 Winchester Magnum, including Winchester (obviously), Ruger, and Remington. Weatherby and Savage also make some of the more well known options. Bolt action rifles are the most common platform, although Browning makes a BAR semi-automatic rifle that is chambered for the .338.

.338 Winchester Magnum ammunition is also for sale from nearly every U.S. manufacturer. Federal and Hornady sell high-performance ammo for hunting, and their advanced bullet designs make this excellent hunting cartridge even better.

338 Win Magnum Ballistics: Chart of Average 338 Win Magnum Ballistics

Note: This information comes from the manufacturer and is for informational purposes only. The actual ballistics obtained with your firearm can vary considerably from the advertised ballistics. Also, ballistics can vary from lot to lot with the same brand and type load.

338 Win Magnum Bullet WEIGHT Muzzle VELOCITY (fps) Muzzle ENERGY (ft. lbs.) TRAJECTORY (in.)
  Muzzle 100 yds. 200 yds. 300 yds. 400 yds. Muzzle 100 yds. 200 yds. 300 yds. 400 yds. 100 yds. 200 yds. 300 yds. 400 yds.
185 Grain Superformance 3080 2850 2632 2424 2226 3896 3337 2845 2413 2034 1.4 0 -6.4 -18.8
200 Grain 3030 2820 2620 2429 2246 4077 3532 3049 2621 2240 1.4 0 -6.5 -18.9
210 Grain 2830 2590 2370 2150 1940 3735 3130 2610 2155 1760 2.5 1.4 -6 -20.9
225 Grain 2785 2517 2266 2029 1808 3871 3165 2565 2057 1633 2.5 0.4 -8.5 -25.9
225 Grain Superformance 2840 2758 2582 2414 2252 4318 3798 3331 2911 2533 1.5 0 -6.8 -19.5
230 Grain 2780 2573 2375 2186 2005 3948 3382 2881 2441 2054 2.5 1.2 -6.3 -21
250 Grain 2660 2456 2261 2075 1898 3927 3348 2837 2389 1999 2.5 0.2 -9 -26.2
250 Grain Ultra 2860 2645 2440 2244 2057 4540 3882 3303 2794 2347 1.7 0 -7.6 -22.1
Molly Carter
Written by
Molly Carter