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Today’s Ask Josh comes to us from Mike W. who’s a new hunter . . .

Why are the majority of semi-auto hunting rifles chambered for weak rounds or small calibers? I want to go hunting with a magnum rifle, but there are only one or two companies that make a semiautomatic rifle in magnum calibers. Why is this and will that ever change?

Mike is one of many guys out there who bought into the ‘bigger is better’ mantra early on. Mike fell victim to the common trap of the .338 Lapua and his first long range rifle was a factory gun in that caliber. He doesn’t like bolt actions, it turns out, and is less than impressed with anything that doesn’t retain enough energy to kill an elephant from five miles away.

Mike was asking more or less about why there are so few large-caliber modern semiautos in the vein of a 338 Lapua AR. These giants do in fact exist, but are very expensive and are usually a small-run product. Guns like this are marketed to a very specific niche of shooter that really wants these features, and guys like Mike believe that they need a semiauto for fast follow up shots. This isn’t really a reality and I’ll get to that later. There just isn’t much of a difference in speed. It is best to not become a ballistic lost cause in this sense, as there are plenty of classic magnum semiautos that are applicable for hunting, just not at very long distances as their consistency drops off rapidly.

The Magnum Semiauto Today

Today’s magnum semiauto is for the elite few who have both the cash and the time to tune such a monster. NEMO makes a semiauto 300 WM and Alexander Arms has the Ulfberht in 338 Lapua. These guns are priced around $6,000 each and I’ve had the pleasure of firing both of these rifles at various times. They are neither light guns or ideal for hunting.

Mike is unfortunate here in that he is dead set on a 338 Lapua, meaning that his cost will be fairly high to get into the game. He is a bit of a lost cause in that sense as his money is not going to go as far for hunting as he imagines. He explained that in his reasoning it was made for snipers and therefore must be superior. It is and it isn’t, but I’ll get to that.

The thing you get with a .338 Lapua is massive energy at distance. It’s a powder and consumes about 100 grains per round. I like the .338 and will probably end up building one out at some point to take advantage of the bullet selection in the caliber, but I’m an experienced hunter and long range shooter. I wouldn’t really use the .338 set-up in this way as a hunting rifle.

It’s essentially overkill to the extreme when options like 300 PRC offer performance equal to it, but with substantial reductions in cost and recoil. High cost and high recoil make for a longer path to mastery. Despite what people say, a .338 Lapua or any big magnum round is hard to master and can be extremely picky in your ammunition choice.

A .338 Lapua rifle is no more accurate than any other gun. It’s just a popular choice having been developed for snipers.

Again, here is a problem with myth and reality. Hunting is not sniping, and the vast majority of you reading this aren’t snipers. I’m an experienced long range shooter, get paid to do it, and have better equipment than many military snipers do, but I am not a sniper. Not even close.

The function of a sniper in the military isn’t really target shooting and in many cases doesn’t even involve shooting at all. I know a large number of actual snipers and they spend more time spotting and observing than in direct combat.

The idea — the one that Mike W. has latched onto — is that because something is developed for snipers it must be the best. While true in many cases, it doesn’t mean that what makes it better is even close to applicable for a hunter.

You’re kidding yourself if you think that you’re better off with a .338 Lapua rifle over a lever action .44 Magnum for 99% of the hunting you’ll do in North America.

Should You Buy a .338 Lapua Rifle?
.338 Lapua cartridge

The problem with many people out there in terms of hunting is that they take one extreme to another. Mike isn’t satisfied with his bolt action .338. He wants a semi-auto 338 because apparently that will make his game all that much better.

That is not the case and I seriously doubt that the expense will generate more game in his freezer. I do have to say that guys like Mike probably should not even be hunting in the first place. Guys like Mike worry me and some of them are a danger in the woods to themselves and others. Firing more times with a more powerful gun is not what hunting is about. Match shooting? Sure. The steel isn’t alive.

.338 Lapua 300gr SMK (L) vs. .300 Win Mag 220gr SMK. You can load these powerful long range rounds very precisely, but it is hard to master such high-recoil cartridges.

Magnum Problems Require (non) Magnum Solutions

Moving to a semi-auto magnum rifle for hunting isn’t my recommendation. I have, of course, hunted with semi-autos, but the same problems exist in a magnum semi as the do a magnum bolt gun.

The reason there are so few of these types of rifles out there is that the point of a magnum class cartridge is energy delivery, not necessarily the ability to rapidly fire. The 338 and 300 WM are not the best rounds for semiautos as they are usually made for precision. The cartridges in this case are more accurate than the gun is. In my experience with the NEMO and AA rifles, I was not impressed with the on-target accuracy as compared directly to a bolt action of similar cost.

The weight factor also comes into play here as well. The magnum cartridge, especially the 338 Lapua, is not fun on the shoulder. Most hunting class rifles are light and this makes it worse. The semiautos are heavier and any added weight in the field is a detriment.

These negatives add up to the point where you can pretty plainly see why there are not many products in this category that enjoy as much success as the 700-class short action or rounds like the 6.5 CM. The utility they have is limited to a few or people who just want them for the fun of it.

Follow-Up Shots and Magnum Performance On Game

The thing that I find to be a problem with the magnum guys is that they think fast follow-up shots aren’t possible with a bolt action. This is simply false. Put in some practice time and you’ll soon find that you will only have as many opportunities to shoot a semi-auto as you would with a bolt gun. Aimed fire is usually slow, and the extra recoil and blast will only serve to slow you down, even with a magnum semi-auto.

What do I recommend if you simply must have a semi-auto? I’d probably say get an AR-10 type rifle in .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor. There isn’t much you can’t do with that class of rifle or those calibers and they deliver exceedingly good and reliable performance on game.

Mike claims that his .338 ‘knocks deer over’ but I’ve never seen this to be the case. I’ve seen hundreds of deer shot over the years with everything from handguns and muskets to magnum rifles and there isn’t one single caliber that delivers consistency from kill to kill.

I’ve shot deer that have dropped on the spot with a .45 ACP and deer that ran a half mile on a double-lung shot with 450 Bushmaster nearly point-blank. I’ve shot pigs directly in the head and they got back up missing half a skull.

No matter what anyone tells you, there is no one-and-done way to predict what will happen to any game animal when shot. Going bigger will not alleviate this and will only serve to make it harder to become proficient.

The 1911 in 45ACP is perfect for deer hunting

The very narrow band of individuals who can benefit from the energy generated by .338 Lapua aren’t going to use a semi-auto as they will simply not be as accurate and will weigh enough to be a problem, either for recoil or carry weight. I recommend against using such a rifle and stick to something realistic and easy to master.

Most hunting in this country takes place inside 300 yards and in fairly dense cover. There is no game that can’t be taken with a .30-06, .45-70/450 Bushmaster, or 6.5 CM with the right bullets.

In closing, I think that Mike will learn that he will probably want a ‘normal’ caliber rifle after trying to master his current 338. There are plenty of great semiauto magnum rifles out there, but they are too ‘old man’ for some. Mike will probably end up with an AR-10, which I think he will be more happy with in the long run.

Author’s Note 

This post was incorrectly published with an incomplete draft. Above reflects the correct version with a complete answer.

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83 COMMENTS

    • BAR was the first thing I thought of.

      A friend of mine in college had one in 300 win mag

      It was pretty damned accurate but I thought it was overkill for Mississippi whitetail.

      It did soak up a lot of recoil compared to a bolt gun or single shot, but was also a little heavy.

      To each his own……..I have a Ruger Scout and a Rem Model 7 but mostly hunt with Winchester 94 in 45 long colt or Marlin 1894 357.

      100-125 yards is my limit

      • My first thought too, but the BAR is a beautiful rifle … traditional walnut and steel.

        Definitely NOT tactical, and the mindset of Tommy-tactical says tactical must be better, so a classic hunting rifle must be inferior.

  1. “Why are the majority of semi-auto hunting rifles chambered for weak rounds or small calibers?”

    How big do you want?

    There is no best!
    Perfect is what matches. Use the right tool for the right job.

    Bigger is not always better. Just as newer is not always better. HDMI is not always the best. Change for the sake of change is usually the wrong thing to do (unless your just simply bored). The fact that your computer is 5 years old does not mean its time to replace it. Having 100k miles on your vehicle does not mean its time to replace that either. A six shot 380 can be just as easily used for evil as an AR15. There can only be ONE #1.

    How many other twisted ideas do people have about how things aren’t?

    • Until Easter last year, I was using a PC I built in 2011.

      With a .338, recovering from recoil jump and muzzle blast is going to take longer than the time to cycle a bolt. If there’s a muzzle brake on the gun, add more time for the dust to settle. So no advantage to a self-loading rifle in a Magnum caliber.

      To learn how to operate your gun, use a similar one in competitive shooting. And especially service type shooting. It is the best training for hunting you’ll get. It has been my edge in hunting for about 30 years.

      • I’m not much of a hunter and would likely trust your judgement on that. Although if the wild pig problem becomes an issue for me, that might change. I’m thinking nothing smaller than 308win for that type of activity. Probably in semi-auto.

        I would consider competition shooting to be great training for many things. With all this discussion of constitutional carry these days, if someone wants training then this would be something to look at.

  2. why stop at .338? there are a couple .50cal semi-autos that must be great north american game hunting guns 🙂

  3. I would also add the various calibers available from Browning in a semi – automatic along with some lesser known rounds like the 45 Raptor and the 375 Raptor for the AR10 Platform and 458 SOCOM and 375 SOCOM for the AR15. For the record I own all for of those along with a Browning Semi-Auto in 7mm Rem Mag.

  4. I believe the USMC now uses the .338 in one of its machine guns, but thankfully it is unavailable for general public use. Guys like Mike give hunting and sport shooting a really bad image. I’m really tired of seeing YT videos of game being shot from ridiculous ranges, and much of the time the shot doesn’t kill the animal ethically. Of course the magnums are designed for long range hunting, and the modern VLD bullets are designed to humanely kill the game. But that’s the point. Make the first shot count, and if you can’t then get out of the woods.

    • My personal philosophy is long range shots on game should be apologized for and not boasted about.

      At distance you could be hitting with the same energy as pistol bullets, and this may not do enough damage for a humane cull. Many hunting bullets have a velocity range for best performance and at long range you could be well below the minimum velocity for reliable expansion.

      Note, my personal philosophy. Your mileage may vary.

    • –>”I believe the USMC now uses the .338 in one of its machine guns, but thankfully it is unavailable for general public use.”

      Cough Cough… FUDD. Yeah – public shouldn’t have “weapons of war” or anything like that.

      –>”Guys like Mike give hunting and sport shooting a really bad image.”

      LOL. This is like the same argument mom’s demand action used to describe people that hunt with AR platforms, etc.

      –>”I’m really tired of seeing YT videos of game being shot from ridiculous ranges, and much of the time the shot doesn’t kill the animal ethically. Of course the magnums are designed for long range hunting, and the modern VLD bullets are designed to humanely kill the game. But that’s the point. Make the first shot count, and if you can’t then get out of the woods.”

      Thanks Elmer. Maybe we should pass a law that says we shouldn’t use black rifles for hunting, or semi-autos period. Or 338 Lapua, because that’s “overkill.” LOL.

      • Usmc cartridge is NOT .338 LM for the machine gun, though I agree with the rest of the statement.

        That being said, he’s expressing an opinion about Mike and long range shooting, not saying laws should be passed. You’re extrapolating that without reason. Mike’s ignorant statement *does* give shooters a bad name. We should be knowlegeable about the tools as well as reasonable in our usage. .338 LM is overkill for essentially anything and was not designed for hunting.

        Also, you might consider not namecalling instantly. It doesn’t give your arguments any more credence, morelike less.

        • Sorry no.

          “thankfully it is unavailable for general public use” = FUDD. End of story in my book. Also, you suggested he was “not saying laws should be passed” – except that he is openly saying the public should be restricted from having them. So – politely disagree.

          Further, the generalized air of the entirety of the context of his statement was that he didn’t “like” the manner by which other people were hunting and that they make him “look bad” and that is text book FUDD. FUDDs were saying the exact same thing when people were hunting with black rifles / AR15 platforms. CACinAZ complaining about other people hunting in the manner that he doesn’t approve of, especially with politically incorrect possessions such as “AR15s” is literally ammunition for the left.

          Further, Mike didn’t give any “ignorant statements.” He asked some questions, the questions are listed above, and that is all we know. Anything else appears to be the axiomatic presuppositions of Josh Wayner, which may or may not, be grossly inaccurate.

          –> “Also, you might consider not namecalling instantly. It doesn’t give your arguments any more credence.”

          The argument, that he is a FUDD, has lots of credence. So – politely disagree.

  5. Long Range Hunting is my passion but I don’t use a 338 Lapua Magnum to do it. Typically I use a 7mm Mag, 7mn STW, or a .300 Win Mag. All three of these cartridges launch bullets at high velocities and you can find bullets with a really high ballistic coefficient to load these cartridges with. For short range hunting I’d prefer a 35 Whelen.

    • I’m seeing neither Josh nor many commentators hunt at distance. There nothing wrong with that but for those of us that do and very successfully please let them write the articles because your not a SME by any means.

    • Exactly.

      Mike shouldn’t have asked Josh. End of story. Josh dodged the question and instead focused on why Mike “shouldn’t” have a long range hunting gun.

      Maybe Mike wanted to be able to pierce armor at long ranges also, “should the situation require it.” Having lots of downrange energy at good accuracy (bolt gun would be better accuracy) is something everybody can get on board with.

      Instead, Josh delivers stuff like this gem:

      “I do have to say that guys like Mike probably should not even be hunting in the first place. Guys like Mike worry me and some of them are a danger in the woods to themselves and others.”

      Josh sure has a lot of shit to say about someone he knows nothing about. Sounds like guys like Josh probably should not even be writing articles on a gun blog promoting gun rights.

      But this is pretty par for the course for Wayner. I remember reading a few of his articles years ago, and trying to filter out useful substance through all the arrogance. Looks like not much has changed. Josh still thinks he’s a hot shit because he made himself a 12″ 308 bolt gun and won some camp perry matches back in the day. And … he’s here to lecture us.

  6. Honestly my takeaway is that Josh doesn’t *know* why they don’t have many semi autos in heavy calibers. This article is annoyingly preachy but if he’d at least explained the challenges it would at least have been informative.

    “You’re kidding yourself if you think that you’re better off with a .338 Lapua rifle over a lever action .44 Magnum for 99% of the hunting you’ll do in North America”

    If it was 30-06 instead of 44 then sure, that would probably be true. As written though it’s just trying too hard to dunk on “Mike W” and anybody else who dares to want a high power rifle.

    • That’s exactly what I was just going to say (except .308 instead of -06). Has he SEEN half of North America? The fact that someone goes to a ridiculous extreme doesn’t oblige us to be ridiculous at the opposite extreme.

      “you will only have as many opportunities to shoot a semi-auto as you would with a bolt gun. Aimed fire is usually slow, and the extra recoil and blast will only serve to slow you down” Semis recoil more than bolt guns? The opposite is almost always true. Also, a competitor (or WWI Tommy) may be able to cycle a bolt with minimum disturbance, but a newb will ALWAYS recover faster when he doesn’t have to take his firing hand off the grip and cycle a bolt between shots.

      “You can build a much more accurate bolt action than you can a semi-auto” Theoretically possible, and probably beneficial to a sniper (which the author took pains to demonstrate the newbie hunter isn’t), but no newbie hunter is going to outshoot a quality AR. In fact, along the lines of the previous paragraph, anyone but an expert bolt-rifle shooter will produce more repeatable practical accuracy when he doesn’t have to crank a bolt between shots.

    • Preachy is right, didn’t really address the question at all.

      I think a 7 mag in a long action type AR would be a hoot personally. I figure the answer as to why it’s not common is likely weight and cost. There hypothetical answer.

      • My limited understanding was that it’s just Really Hard to get one to be both reliable and non-explodey with the range of loads that ‘real’ hunting cartridges have available. Obviously I’m no expert so I was hoping for a better discussion.

  7. Please tell your buddy that wrote about the Camp David “Sniper School” that he isn’t a sniper either.

  8. A .308 bolt action with the right bullet can take just about anything. I use it to hunt deer, elk, and hogs, and have shot a black bear with it. You can buy one (with a scope) at your local sporting goods store for $300-$500, even these days. Put in the practice and you’ll have meat on the table.

    It’s not complicated.

    • Any standard cartridge from 6.5 to .35 will do the job. I personally think the 6mm (and especially .243) doesn’t quite have the mass and people using varmint bullets for accuracy doesn’t give good results. The 6.5s on the other hand were very effective so that is why they are my minimum.

  9. I live in an open prairie-like area where most shots on whitetail or elk are 200+ yards. So no, a .44 Mag is not going to cut it. My guess is the author lives in MI or PA or some other woodsy “sportsman’s paradise” where straight wall cartridge or slug guns rule.

    If Browning made a BAR in 6.5PRC I’d be first in line for one.

    • I’m in Pa and I’m still scratching my head on using a 1911 in 45 to take white tail.
      I mean, you could, but I woudn’t claim its the best at it!
      357 from a rifle, yea.
      45-70, yup
      10mm, sure.

      It’s also lovely here for hunting, thanks.

      • It wasn’t meant to offend. I’d love to hunt back east someday…as most there would love to hunt the Mountain time zone.

    • –>”My guess is the author lives in MI or PA or some other woodsy “sportsman’s paradise” where straight wall cartridge or slug guns rule.”

      You got it! LOL

  10. 30/30 was THE DEER GUN for many many years for a reason. Almost anyone that used one would have to wait until they had a decently clear shot before they fired. Now people think a badly placed shot with the newest “WIZBANG” caliber will knock a deer off their feet. Worse, because most folks can’t handle the recoil from these “WIZBANG” calibers, they often don’t even hit what they are aiming at. Sooo – They get a bigger “WIZBANG” rifle. and now are even worse shots. Wonder why so many old school hunters will still use their 30/30, .300 Savage, .257 Roberts, etc. to get their deer???

    • .30-30 will suit most anybody’s needs in an open sighted rifle. Back in the day, nobody had a scope and now there’s still no need for one in the woods. If you don’t plan on taking shots on game outside of 200 yards there’s not much reason to be shooting anything else.

      • I’ve done more hunting with iron sights than scopes. Out to 100m in wooded country, iron sights are not a disadvantage.

        The 2.5×28 Scout Scope I fitted to a Yugo Mauser was a very effective combination.

  11. “Josh doesn’t *know* why they don’t have many semi autos in heavy calibers.”

    Well, why don’t they? It’s because there is very little market for high-power semi-autos.
    There are a few but look at the price you’ll pay to purchase one.
    If there was a demand for BIG calibers the market will supply.
    Personally give me any caliber as long as it’s .300 WM.
    And this is coming from someone who has killed more animals with a standard velocity .22 than anything else.

    • Barret has made a great deal of money from the 50 caliber semi-auto rifles they make. These are very much in demand. They are just simply priced outside of reach for most people.

  12. It has never ceased to amaze me that some hunters believe that 300 win mag is the only caliber for hunting deer. I had a boss who went elk hunting every year with his trusty .270. If he had a shot, he got his elk. .243 is more than adequate, and a hundred years ago, .32-20 was taking deer (I assume at fairly close range; 20 grains of BP is not a lot of oomph.) 300 win mag is overkill for anything less than an angry moose or grizzly.

    • Its no different from people that say 45ACP in a 1911 is the only thing worthy of using for self defense.

    • –> “300 win mag is overkill for anything less than an angry moose or grizzly.”

      LOL – No it’s not. Who is the arbiter of what is “overkill?” You? Josh? No. Negative.

  13. He asked a straightforward question. You mansplained a bunch of irrelevant stuff, and you FAILED to even answer his question.

    • “You mansplained a bunch of irrelevant stuff, and you FAILED to even answer his question.”

      Harsh.

      It sounds like you need to “really show him” and not bother to read this blog anymore.

      Please? 🙂

      • Harsh but true. This was one of the poorer quality articles TTAG has allowed to be published in a while. You get more of what you tolerate, so I’m entirely onboard with this article being roundly derided.

    • –>”You mansplained a bunch of irrelevant stuff, and you FAILED to even answer his question.”

      LOL!

      He went on a long tirade and lecture over why he, Josh Wayner, the legend of Camp Perry, competition shooter turned blog writer and fiction novelist, doesn’t like them.

      LOL

  14. Agreed. I don’t use my 300WM for white tail or medium game at anything less than about 300 yards. My 7mm-08 works great for most of what you note above. .270 Winchester – yes. .243 – yes. Why? Because they have the terminal performance at ethical distances. I don’t believe that hunting at yardages over 400 – 500 yards is ethical. Most hunters can’t even make those shots anyway. But I think that was the point of the article – some clown named Mike wants to spray multiple rounds of magnum cartridges in a semi-auto rifle to make up for lack of skill, ethics, common sense. We’re talking about knuckleheads here that can’t shoot, don’t know anything about ethical hunting much less ballistics. The bullet choice is as important as the caliber, and shot placement is paramount.

    • “…some clown named Mike wants to spray multiple rounds of magnum cartridges in a semi-auto rifle to make up for lack of skill, ethics, common sense.”

      Yeah – we actually don’t know that. You assumed that – likely on the basis of Josh’s presuppositions provided in this article, that he himself assumed. We don’t know anything about Mike, except the minimal questions he has provided.

  15. Idk where I hunt and killed around 100 whitetails , a bow, .357, 12 ga ( killed by far the most ) 7mm08 all worked just fine . Once we went rifle here I got the 7mm08 ,have yet to fire twice . My daughter uses reduced recoil loads . Our shots are mostly bow range . Shooting 200-300 yards you are a sniper .

  16. ‘You’re kidding yourself if you think that you’re better off with a .338 Lapua rifle over a lever action .44 Magnum for 99% of the hunting you’ll do in North America.’

    Upgrade to a .30-30 and you’ll be good for 99.99% of hunting you’ll do in North America.

    Can’t verify the accuracy of the story, but an old friend who used to work on a ranch in Idaho once told me a story about an Indian who was so poor that all he had was a single shot .22LR. But that didn’t stop him from hunting moose. He’d put a few shots into the animal’s lungs and follow it around for a few days until it fell over. The moose probably thought it was bee stings, but eventually succumbed. Seems plausible. Probably didn’t waste much meat…

  17. Maybe it is just me but the one semi-auto magnum rifle I have shot is the Nemo Omen. It is an awesome rifle and a lot of fun to shoot but it costs $5000+ and weighs in excess of 10lbs without a bipod, scope or ammunition and is rather large. I think that would limit the number of people that would want one for hunting alot.

  18. I was talking to a guy once who wanted to buy a 338 LM and it was funny doing the math on reloading for it. If I remember right the round was something like $2 to reload if you had the brass and that wasn’t in today’s climate. That means you’re probably not going to practice as much as you should with it, unless you’ve got some one paying for you to do such. Even then you have recoil to contend with. Yeah autoloading takes care of some of that but how much with a 338LM in a weight you’d want to lug around the woods even if you only have a hand full of rounds?

    If you need a tool like that, you certainly need it. For a lot of people it’s like owning a brodozer, some people may need a 1 ton dually truck for a function of their life but most don’t. It’s a niche at best and a gaudy status symbol at worse.

  19. “Today’s Ask Josh comes to us from Mike W. who’s a new hunter . . .”
    (emphasis mine).

    I’m sure “Mike” feels really, really welcome in the gun/hunting community(ies) after asking a question and getting a 1089 word response that is not only shitting all over him, but which can basically be boiled down to “Don’t ask dumb questions newfag” like something from a chans post. And not only that, he got it in the form of an article. Not some snarky email or forum post reply, but an actual fucking article.

    Damn, that’s welcoming. I mean, I can feel the conveniently accessible nature of the online gun community seeping out of my monitor right now. I might even need some Bounty to quickly pick it up, or at least slow it down, as it oozes towards my keyboard like a spilled mop bucket at a popular porn theater.

    I mean, it’s superfantasticamazingneverbeforeachievedawesomeness to see POTG making inroads on turning some of those record numbers of new gun owners into 2A supporters, and articles like this are just the ticket.

    Displaying a celebrities-at-the-Oscars level of self-awareness is a great plan here, I mean, those 2021 views were off the charts, amiright?

    OK, /sarc, now seriously, Josh usually does a decent job of splitting the different between a no-nonsense answer and being a dick.

    Was this article even written by Mr. Wayner? Or did an angsty teen take a break from cutting themselves during a Zoom class, steal some pictures from previous articles and bang this out while listening to RATM and playing puff-puff-pass with Hunter Biden?

    • Agreed. Garbage article that manages to make him look like a Fudd and an asshole at the same time. Guess he must not like Mike all that much and decided to vent his pissiness on the internet. I very much hope TTAG doesn’t make articles like this a habit.

    • “Author’s Note

      “This post was incorrectly published with an incomplete draft. Above reflects the correct version with a complete answer.”

      So, it seems either he wrote the article, and then did some editing to soften his tone after reading the comments, or he wrote the first draft after his morning coffee, and the final draft after his evening highball.

    • –>”Was this article even written by Mr. Wayner? Or did an angsty teen take a break from cutting themselves during a Zoom class, steal some pictures from previous articles and bang this out while listening to RATM and playing puff-puff-pass with Hunter Biden?”

      Josh has written articles like these before. It’s not new to me. Looks like it’s new to you. The level of arrogance from him is astounding, particularly in this one. Dan needs to email Josh the definition of arrogance:

      ar·​ro·​gance | \ ˈer-ə-gən(t)s , ˈa-rə- \
      Definition of arrogance
      : an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions

      It was hard for me just to get past the first two paragraphs. Mike learned his lesson. Don’t fucking come here!

      • Rarely do I quote myself here, but…

        “OK, /sarc, now seriously, Josh usually does a decent job of splitting the different between a no-nonsense answer and being a dick.”

        I didn’t say “…Josh always does a perfect job…”.

        I’m quite well aware that Mr. Wayner occasionally strays into what I would consider self-defeating territory but he’s usually not this blatant about it. He generally keeps the pretension just below the level of being worth mentioning.

        But this one is an example of the age-old adage that I just invented: You win more dicks with assholes than you do with mousetraps.

  20. When I was a kid I enjoyed fireworks much more than I do today. Cherry bombs and TNT blasts were sold along with firecrackers. The cherry bombs and TNT’s were kept for special occasions because they could rock the world. The firecrackers cost much less and got the job done. Of course we used Vienna sausage cans instead of 5 gallon buckets to launch into the air with the firecrackers.

    I suppose it’s somewhat the same with large caliber shooters. They like the Big Bang and the greater recoiling to the shoulder. Accurate placement is the name of the game In shooting sports. Bigger doesn’t equal better placement in ordinary conditions. The larger caliber can be argued to be more resistant to wind,rain and twigs. If I could only choose one, in my opinion the 30-06 is the best all round caliber for hunting North American game. There is a wide choice of grain weight bullets in different configurations and most importantly you can find it fore sale at most sporting good stores across the country.

  21. Mike W needs the semi auto magnum because the bolt in 338 and the dodge ram longhorn he drives still isn’t enough to make up for how small his manhood is.

    • Penile,

      This tells us more about you, than Mike. Lose weight, exercise, better your cardio, and your manhood will start working again. I would recommend a 4 or 5 day fast to start, to blow out some of the fat in your veins and liver, followed by nutritious and low carb meals with lots of exercise. Think broccoli, fish, small portions of brown rice, followed by some cardio and weight lifting.

  22. Josh, Why did the excerpt from “Mike’s” inquiry not mention the 338 Lapua? Did you just fabricate ” Mike’s” concern just to pontificate about the 338 Lapua being overkill? Do you get paid for this drivel?

  23. I know a guy who hunts with a Browning BAR in .300 Winchester Magnum, a beautiful rifle. He keeps his long range skill up on coyotes. The purpose of the gun tho is elk.

    Seems to get both jobs done just fine and he enjoys shooting it.

    So why should anything else be important?

  24. All I want is a Model 81, or a Browning Safari, in .416 Rigby for badgers, possums, raccoons and such, and I get a lecture.

  25. Once upon a time, humans were restricted to hunting with nothing more than the thigh bone of an antelope with which they would wack the game on the head. Of course most humans couldn’t run fast enough to keep up with the antelope.

    As a result, someone like Mike W invented the spear.

    The Joshs of the day disaproved.

    Then Mike W’s great to the nth grandsons invented the bow and arrow as well as the sling and the boomerang.

    The Joshs told them that they were crazy and compensating for something.

    Then some spoiled sport Mike W invented the match lock.

    The Joshs were enraged.

    Then the Mike Ws invented the flintlock, then the rifle, then the mini ball and horror of horrors, the breach loader.

    The Joshs were apoplectic.

    The Joshs’ world came to an end when someone invented the telescopic sight.

    Excuse the Hell out of me, but many of us live out West where the wide open spaces enable long range shooting. Since the bow hunters are enabled to harass the animals for over a month before rifle hunters are even allowed to take the field for only a few days, we need to be competent at at least medium range shooting. Those of us who can’t sneak through the woods because we are hearing impaired and have a displaced pacemaker lead wound through three out of four chambers of their heart need to be adept at longer range shooting.

    I understand the issues of an ethical hunt and a humane kill. However; the guy who aims for center of mass on a deer at 300 yards with a 30-06 is far more ethical and humane than the guy who tries to take a head shot or a neck shot at 100 yards with an AR-15 rodent rifle. As much as I respect the skill and tenacity of bow hunters, the extremely marginal lethality of their chosen weaponry provokes extreme empathy for their prey who are so often merely wounded.

    And I’m not ashamed of bagging an elk that was 950 meters away and running when I put a 750 grain bullet through its spine with a .50 BMG Barrett. On the other hand, whenever I go hunting with my .338 Winchester Magnum, bolt action, I will be haunted by my vivid memories as well as photos of a elk calf peeking at me through my living room window.

    • The older I get the harder it is for me to pull the death toggle.
      I got a pig hunt planned but if I see a mamma with her babies, hmmm , I dont know, might have to pass on hunting pigs.
      I quit deer hunting when a doe raised her baby in my yard. I figured she knew it was safer there then out in the timber.

  26. Personally, I’m a long time .300 Win Mag fan. In the 25 year span I hunted, it never failed to put an elk in the freezer. I stopped hunting due to a financial/employment issues, not for tree hugger/bunny fornicator reasons. Now, I’m no longer capable of handling the recoil due to joint disease. Even my old 30-30 becomespainful after a few rounds, which is why I love my AR-15’s. Been toying with the idea of 6.5 Creedmore on an AR 10 platform, just so I’ve got something that I can reach out and touch someone without screaming in pain. I’ve most of the parts on hand, finished and ready to put together, except for the barrel and big. Right now, with Ammogedon going on, it’s pointless to even pick a caliber unless I already load for it, so it’s languishing on a shelf above my workbenches.
    And Joe Biden can F@#% himself. I’m not registering any of my builds.

    • I built an LR243. If the Creed is like that gun you’ll love it. She’s got rifle length gas and is an utter kitten. My 8YO loves shooting it and was pissy when I stuck him behind the 5.56 carbine gassed AR15.

  27. I’ll stick with my old Ithaca 30.06 bolt gun for field hunting and my old 30-30 Marlin for woods hunting….. That about covers it….

  28. OK, I think some folks have missed a couple of facts with respect to the .338 Lapua Magnum.

    The first and most important issue is that the .338 LM doesn’t fit into a:

    a) “standard length” action – ie, an action made for a .30-06 length cartridge,
    b) a “short length” action – ie, an action made for a .308 length cartridge,
    c) and it also barely fits into a “magnum-length” action, with overall cartridge lengths just a tad too long for actions that take 3.600″ OAL magnum rounds.

    First question: Why bother with the .338 LM for hunting? The .338 WinMag is already more than enough cartridge in .338 for everything in North America, including bears, moose, etc. This being the case, you can find semi-auto rifles chambered in .338 WinMag, such as the Browning BAR.

    One other thing to consider when asking “why aren’t there hunting rifles in .338 LM?” is that in order to burn all the powder the .338 Lapua has, you’re going to need a 26″ barrel (at least). Most hunting rifles have 20 to 24″ long barrels. My .338 WinMag bolt action rifle has a 26″ barrel – and it becomes inconvenient when I’m in heavy brush.

    Getting away from “magnum” cartridges and just looking at performance… If someone wants a semi-auto rifle at an inexpensive price in a cartridge that performs well on larger game, I’d recommend the Remington 7400 in .35 Whelen. The .35 Whelen gives you most of the power of a .338 WinMag in a case based on the .30-06. The 7400 is a handy semi-auto rifle, simple to clean and work on, available in the used market at a very reasonable price.

    If you don’t want a semi-auto in .35 Whelen, you can get it in the Remington 7600 as well, which is a pump-action rifle.

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