Last updated September 12th 2026
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How we tested: Every pick here is ranked against our testing methodology. Minimum round counts, accuracy and reliability protocols, the failures that disqualify a gun.
Best .338 Win Mag Rifles in 2026 at a Glance
| Rifle | Capacity | Barrel | Live Price | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEST OVERALL Savage 110 Ridge Hunter | 3+1 | 20 inch threaded | From about $750 | Price ↓ |
| BEST DANGEROUS GAME Ruger Hawkeye Guide Gun | 3+1 | 20 inch | From about $1,200 | Price ↓ |
| BEST BUDGET Mossberg Patriot | 3+1 | 24 inch | $499.99 | Price ↓ |
| HARD TO FIND Winchester XPR | 3+1 | 26 inch | No live listing | Details ↓ |
Table of Contents
Why the .338 Win Mag Is the Classic Big-Game Magnum
The .338 Winchester Magnum has been the standard for serious North American big game since 1958, and for good reason. It splits the difference perfectly between a .30-caliber magnum and a dangerous-game rifle, throwing a heavy 225 to 250-grain bullet with enough energy and frontal area to put down elk, moose, and big bear without the punishing recoil or the specialized role of a .375. For the hunter who wants one rifle for the biggest game on the continent, it has been the answer for over 60 years.
SAAMI lists a 250-grain load at 2,645 feet per second and a 225-grain at 2,770, with a lighter 185-grain option running 3,075. That gives you real reach on elk across a canyon while still hitting like a sledgehammer up close in the alders on a brown bear. It fits a standard-length action, so rifles stay reasonable in size and weight, and factory ammo is available from every major maker.
The recoil is stout, as it should be for the job, but a good rifle and a proper pad make it shootable. Below are the .338 Win Mag rifles worth buying in 2026, ranked by what you can actually walk out of a shop with. If you are weighing your big-game options, our best .300 Win Mag rifles and best .375 H&H rifles guides cover the neighbors, and you will want rugged glass on top from our best rifle scopes roundup.
1. Savage 110 Ridge Hunter: Best Overall .338 Win Mag Rifle
- Caliber: .338 Winchester Magnum
- Barrel: 20 inches, threaded 5/8×24
- Capacity: 3+1
- Twist: 1:10
- Stock: AccuFit synthetic
The Savage 110 Ridge Hunter is the modern take on the .338, and it hits the sweet spot of price, features, and accuracy. The threaded 20-inch barrel keeps a big magnum compact and suppressor-ready, the AccuTrigger is user-adjustable, and the AccuFit stock lets you dial comb height and length of pull. On a rifle that kicks this hard, a stock that actually fits you is not a luxury.
The short barrel gives up a little velocity against a 24-inch tube, which matters less than the handling you get back in thick timber. This is the one I point most .338 buyers toward first, and at about $750 on our card it is the best-value complete package here.
Two details are worth knowing before you buy. The 5/8×24 thread pitch is the common one for this bore, so brakes and cans are easy to source, and the rifle ships with a cap rather than a brake fitted. The 1:10 twist is the SAAMI reference rate and stabilizes everything from a 185-grain load to a 300-grain, so bullet weight is a hunting decision here rather than a rifle decision.
Pros
- Threaded 20 inch suppressor ready barrel
- AccuTrigger and AccuFit stock adjust
- Handy in timber and alders
Cons
- Short barrel costs some velocity
- Synthetic stock is plain
- Recoil still demands a pad
Best For: The hunter who wants one .338 that carries well, fits properly, and takes a can.
2. Ruger Hawkeye Guide Gun: Best Dangerous-Game .338
- Caliber: .338 Winchester Magnum
- Barrel: 20 inches with muzzle brake
- Capacity: 3+1
- Action: Controlled round feed
- Stock: Green mountain laminate
If you are going somewhere with brown bear on the ground, this is the rifle on the list built for it. Controlled round feed means the case is held by the extractor from the moment it leaves the magazine, so a fast, hard cycle while something is closing on you still feeds. The laminate stock shrugs off wet weather the way a walnut stock does not.
It is the most expensive rifle here at $1,399.99, and the muzzle brake that tames the recoil will punish your ears without protection. That is the trade for a rifle you can trust when it matters most.
The 20-inch barrel is the right call for the job even though it costs velocity. A guide rifle gets carried in thick cover, slung on a pack frame, and swung fast at close range, and four extra inches of tube works against all three. Pair it with a 250-grain bonded load and accept that you are trading 100 feet per second for a rifle you can actually handle when something is close.
Pros
- Controlled round feed for hard cycling
- Laminate stock ignores wet weather
- Brake tames heavy magnum recoil
Cons
- Most expensive rifle on this list
- Brake is brutally loud unbraked
- Heavier than a mountain rifle
Best For: Alaska, coastal brown bear, and anywhere a feeding failure is unacceptable.
3. Mossberg Patriot: Best Budget .338 Win Mag Rifle
- Caliber: .338 Winchester Magnum
- Barrel: 24 inches, 1:10 twist
- Capacity: 3+1
- Finish: Stainless Cerakote
- Trigger: Adjustable LBA
At $499.99 the Patriot is the cheapest way into the cartridge from a retailer we trust, and it is not a toy. The LBA trigger adjusts down to a genuinely usable weight, the 24-inch barrel gets full value out of a 250-grain load, and the stainless Cerakote finish handles a wet week in the mountains.
You give up the refinement. The stock is basic, the bolt is not as smooth as the Savage, and the recoil pad is the first thing most buyers replace. For a rifle you might shoot 40 rounds a year through and carry for ten days, that is a sensible place to save five hundred dollars.
Budget the difference properly. A better pad is about fifty dollars and does more for your shooting than any other change you can make to this rifle. Put the rest toward glass, because a magnum with a cheap scope is a rifle that shifts zero under recoil and loses you the animal you came for.
Pros
- Cheapest trusted route into the cartridge
- Adjustable LBA trigger genuinely usable
- Full 24 inch barrel velocity
Cons
- Basic stock and recoil pad
- Bolt is not especially smooth
- Thin availability at trusted sellers
Best For: The once-a-year elk hunter who will not shoot a magnum enough to justify more.
4. Winchester XPR: Good Rifle, Hard to Actually Buy
The XPR borrows the good ideas from the Model 70, including a nickel-Teflon coated bolt and the M.O.A. trigger, and puts them in a no-frills synthetic rifle. In .270 or .30-06 it is one of the best value bolt guns on the market.
We cannot show you a live price for this one, and it is worth saying why. In .338 Winchester Magnum the only listing in our feed is a scope combo at a retailer we do not let set a headline price, so a card here would quote you a package you did not ask for. If you want an XPR in this chambering, check Winchester dealer stock directly rather than trusting a number we cannot stand behind.
Pros
- Model 70 ideas at entry price
- Nickel Teflon bolt runs smooth
- Excellent M.O.A. factory trigger
Cons
- No trusted .338 listing right now
- Basic synthetic stock and finish
- Scope combos muddy the pricing
Best For: The buyer who can wait for dealer stock rather than order online today.
What the SAAMI Standard Actually Says About .338 Win Mag
Everyone writing about this cartridge quotes ballistic charts. Almost nobody opens the document that defines it. ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4 is the centerfire rifle standard, it is published free by SAAMI, and it settles several arguments.
The maximum average pressure for .338 Winchester Magnum is 64,000 psi. That is the same ceiling as the .300 Winchester Magnum, and higher than the .308 Winchester, the .35 Whelen and the .375 H&H Magnum, which all sit at 62,000 psi. The .30-06 Springfield runs 60,000. Read the pressure column carefully if you go looking: SAAMI publishes it in psi/100, so the table entry reads 640, not 64,000.
| Cartridge | SAAMI maximum average pressure |
|---|---|
| .338 Winchester Magnum | 64,000 psi |
| .300 Winchester Magnum | 64,000 psi |
| .308 Winchester | 62,000 psi |
| .35 Whelen | 62,000 psi |
| .375 H&H Magnum | 62,000 psi |
| .30-06 Springfield | 60,000 psi |
| .45-70 Government | 28,000 psi |
Here is the part that says something about the cartridge rather than the number. The .338 Win Mag is one of the very few magnums in its section with crusher pressures established at all, listed at 540, 554 and 574 CUP. Every one of its modern neighbors, the .338 Lapua Magnum, .338 Norma Magnum, .338 Remington Ultra Magnum, .338 Ruger Compact Magnum and .338 Weatherby RPM, carries the line “Crusher Pressures Not Established”. That is what 1958 buys you: the round has been measured on equipment three generations apart and it is still in the book.
One warning on reading the standard yourself. CUP is not psi, and the two columns are not interchangeable. A 540 CUP figure and a 640 psi/100 figure describe the same cartridge measured two different ways.
The drawing pages give the rest: a groove diameter of .338 inches, a bore diameter of .330, and a cartridge overall length between 3.180 and 3.340 inches. If you handload to the top of that range, check it fits your magazine before you load fifty.
.338 Win Mag Ballistics, Bullet Weights and Recoil
SAAMI lists reference velocities for each standard bullet weight, and the spread tells you how to think about the cartridge.
| Bullet weight | Reference velocity | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 185 grains | 3,075 fps | Flattest option, lighter game |
| 200 grains | 2,940 fps | Elk at reach |
| 210 grains | 2,855 fps | All-round premium bullets |
| 225 grains | 2,770 fps | The classic elk and moose load |
| 250 grains | 2,645 fps | Big bear and deep penetration |
| 300 grains | 2,415 fps | Heaviest factory offering |
Recoil is the honest reason people trade these rifles on. A 250-grain load out of an 8-pound rifle is a serious push, and it is why the Savage AccuFit stock and the Ruger muzzle brake earn their place. Shoot it from a bench with a bag between the butt and your shoulder, sight in with the load you will hunt, and stop after twenty rounds. Flinch is learned faster than it is unlearned.
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.338 Win Mag vs .300 Win Mag, .375 H&H and .30-06
The .300 Win Mag is the one people cross-shop most, and on paper they run the same pressure ceiling. The difference is frontal area and bullet weight: a 250-grain .338 bullet carries more momentum into heavy bone than a 200-grain .30 caliber at similar velocity. For elk either works. For a coastal brown bear the .338 is the one I would carry.
The .375 H&H is the next step up and it is a bigger, longer cartridge needing a magnum-length action, with more recoil for game most North American hunters will never draw a tag for. The .30-06 handles the overwhelming majority of the continent at 60,000 psi and a fraction of the recoil. The .338 sits exactly between them, which is the whole argument for it.
If you are hunting elk specifically rather than shopping the cartridge, our best elk rifles guide covers the wider field including the .30 calibers.
Best Factory .338 Win Mag Ammo for 2026
Ammo is easier to buy than the rifles are. These four are the loads worth your money, and unlike the rifles, every one of them has a live price from a retailer we trust.
Hornady Superformance SST, 225 grain. The best balance of speed and terminal performance for elk, and at $56.99 it is the cheapest premium option here.
Federal Premium Trophy Bonded Tip, 200 grain. A bonded bullet that holds together on heavy shoulder bone, $85.99 at Palmetto State Armory.
Barnes VOR-TX TTSX, 210 grain. An all-copper bullet for states that require it and for anyone who wants deep, straight penetration. $74.99 at Brownells.
Nosler Trophy Grade AccuBond, 225 grain. Often the most expensive of the four, and the one I would load for a hunt I had saved five years for.
Sight in with the exact load you will hunt. Point of impact shifts of two to four inches at 100 yards between brands and bullet weights are normal in this cartridge, and a zero confirmed with cheap range ammo is not a zero.
.338 Winchester Magnum Buyer’s Guide
Four decisions matter when you buy one of these, and only one of them is the rifle.
Action length: why the .338 fits a standard action
SAAMI puts maximum cartridge overall length at 3.340 inches, which is the same envelope as a .30-06. That is the quiet reason this cartridge has lasted: it delivers big-bore energy without forcing a magnum-length action, so rifles chambered for it stay the size and weight of an ordinary hunting rifle. The .375 H&H does not do that, and you feel the difference on the third day of a hunt.
Twist rate and bullet weight
Every current .338 Win Mag rifle uses a 1:10 twist, so this is not a specification you need to shop. What it means in practice is that the same rifle handles a 185-grain bullet at 3,075 feet per second and a 300-grain at 2,415 without restriction. Pick the bullet for the animal: 200 to 225 grains for elk, 250 and up for bear where penetration through heavy bone is the priority.
Brake, pad, or neither
A brake cuts felt recoil hard and costs you your hearing if you fire it unprotected, which is a real risk on a hunt where the shot comes fast. A quality recoil pad and a stock that actually fits gets you most of the way there with no noise penalty. The Ruger ships braked, the Savage ships threaded so you can choose, and the Mossberg gives you neither until you spend the money.
Magazine length if you handload
The standard allows cartridge overall length between 3.180 and 3.340 inches. Load a long heavy bullet toward the top of that band and it can bind in a magazine that was cut for factory ammunition. Seat one dummy round, cycle it through the magazine by hand, and confirm it feeds before you load a batch of fifty.
Why Our Price Can Differ From a Big-Name Store
The headline on each card above is the cheapest current listing for that exact rifle across every dealer in our feed, not only the big-name stores. On this cartridge that matters, because the lowest price often sits at a smaller specialty dealer, so here is what the cards show.
The Savage 110 Ridge Hunter leads its card at $749.99 from a specialty optics dealer, $80 under Sportsman’s Warehouse. The Ruger Guide Gun leads at $1,197.15, and the Mossberg Patriot at $499.99.
Both of those cheaper sellers are real businesses. They are not in our headline slot because we cannot vouch for their returns, transfers and stock accuracy the way we can for the five above. If you are comfortable shopping wider, search the model name directly and you may save the difference. We would rather show you a price we can defend than the lowest number on the internet.
The State of the .338 Win Mag Market in 2026
Be realistic about what you are shopping for. Across the retailers we track there are 55 complete rifles listed in .338 Winchester Magnum, and 48 of them sit with a single specialist dealer. Three are stocked by a retailer in our trusted list, and all three are in this guide. That is the whole market, and it is why this page ranks four rifles rather than the nine you would find in a .300 Win Mag roundup.
The rifles that do exist beyond those three are worth knowing about if you are willing to hunt for stock, and Savage and Ruger both list current production in this chambering on their own sites. Tikka lists the T3 in this chambering around five hundred dollars, Kimber builds the Montana at roughly twelve hundred, and Sako, Seekins and Mauser all offer it between fifteen hundred and four thousand. We have not ranked them because we cannot show you a price today from a seller we trust, and naming a pick you cannot buy is not a recommendation.
Ammunition is the opposite story. Every major maker still loads .338 Winchester Magnum, four of them are priced in the section above, and supply has been steady. You will pay more per box than a .30-06 shooter does, which is the running cost of the cartridge and worth factoring in before you buy the rifle.
How I Ranked These .338 Win Mag Rifles
Availability came first, and it shaped this list more than anything else. The .338 Winchester Magnum is a niche chambering now, and most of what exists sits at specialist optics and rifle dealers rather than the retailers most readers actually buy from. Every rifle ranked above was checked against live listings, and the three with prices are the three you can buy today from a seller we trust.
After that it is fit, feed and trigger. A magnum you cannot hold still is worse than a .30-06 you can, so stock adjustment and recoil management carry real weight here. Controlled round feed matters on a dangerous-game rifle and matters very little on an elk rifle. Every one of these was shot or handled in this chambering or a close sibling, across at least a box of ammunition, from a bench and offhand.
What I did not do was pad the list. There are beautiful .338s from Sako, Kimber and Seekins in the catalog at two to six thousand dollars, and none of them are stocked by a retailer whose price I can stand behind today. Naming them as picks would be selling you a number I cannot honor.
Who Should Skip the .338 Win Mag
- Deer hunters. It is far more cartridge than a whitetail needs, and ammo costs three times what a .243 does. Buy a .30-06 instead.
- Recoil-sensitive shooters. If a .30-06 already makes you flinch, this will make it worse, and a flinch costs more animals than any ballistic shortfall.
- High-volume range shooters. At fifty to a hundred dollars a box you will not practice enough with it, and practice beats muzzle energy.
- Anyone who wants choice. Three rifles from one trusted retailer is the honest state of this market in 2026.
The Bottom Line
If you want one .338 Winchester Magnum and a straight answer: buy the Savage 110 Ridge Hunter at about $750. It is threaded, it adjusts to fit you, and it is the best-balanced rifle here. If you are hunting coastal brown bear, pay the extra for the Ruger Hawkeye Guide Gun at about $1,200 and get controlled round feed. If the budget is firm, the Mossberg Patriot at $499.99 shoots better than it has any right to.
And be realistic about the market. This cartridge peaked decades ago, the rifle choice at mainstream retailers is thin, and the good news is that the ammunition is still made by everyone and still excellent.
FAQ: .338 Win Mag Rifles
What is a .338 Win Mag good for?
Elk, moose, big bear and any North American game where a .30 caliber feels marginal. It throws 225 to 250-grain bullets with enough frontal area to break heavy bone, and it does it from a standard-length action so the rifle stays a sensible size.
Is the .338 Win Mag good for elk?
Yes, and it is arguably the ideal elk cartridge if you can shoot it well. A 225-grain bullet at 2,770 fps carries plenty of energy past 400 yards. The limit is the shooter, not the cartridge: practice with it enough to avoid a flinch.
Is the .338 Win Mag better than the .300 Win Mag?
They run the same SAAMI pressure ceiling of 64,000 psi. The .300 shoots flatter with lighter bullets, the .338 hits harder with heavier ones. For elk either is fine. For brown bear the .338 is the better answer.
How much does a .338 Win Mag kick?
Enough to matter. A 250-grain load in an 8-pound rifle produces roughly double the recoil energy of a .30-06 with a 180-grain load. A muzzle brake or a properly fitted stock turns it from punishing into manageable.
Is the .338 Win Mag good for bear?
It is one of the classic brown bear cartridges and remains legal and popular for guided Alaskan hunts. Load a 250-grain bonded or solid bullet and choose a rifle with controlled round feed if you can.
What is the SAAMI pressure limit for .338 Win Mag?
ANSI/SAAMI Z299.4 sets maximum average pressure at 64,000 psi, the same as the .300 Winchester Magnum and above the .308 Winchester, .35 Whelen and .375 H&H at 62,000. Note the standard prints that column in psi/100, so the table entry reads 640.
What barrel twist does a .338 Win Mag need?
A 1:10 twist is the standard and it stabilizes everything from 185 to 300-grain bullets. Every current production rifle in this chambering uses it, so twist rate is not a buying decision here.
Why are .338 Win Mag rifles so hard to find?
Demand moved to the .300 Win Mag and to newer magnums. Most .338 rifles still in the channel sit with specialist dealers rather than mainstream retailers, which is why this guide ranks only the three you can buy today from a seller we trust.
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