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I noticed Hornady also is making the 338 XLT Marlin, a .338 cal 200 gr bullet with a BC of about .430 traveling at 2560 fps.

Lever fans will be happy.

Does the Ruger case have more capacity than the older 416 Rem? It would be nice if the new Ruger round could make the 400 gr bullet at 2400 fps without the pressure of the 416 Remington. I've read the Remington gets sticky in the heat.


munk

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IMHO, The "sticky" issue is a lot of BS...regarding the Rem .416...have used it on 4 hunts in Africa in temps up to 118F...never had a bit of a problem ...ever...

another thing I noticed when I was in Zim this year...3 of the PH's in camp were carrying rifles in .416 Rem...can hardly believe they would do so if there was a problem with it..talked to them on this very issue...again, none of them had expreienced a problem..and they do this every day...good enough for them..good enough for me...

When I head over to hunt bull elephant..this will be going with me again...without a doubt...

Thanks

Ripp

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It's probably true that the "sticky" issue isn't an issue now, & may not have been for a long, long time. But I don't believe the reports early on of pressure problems were imaginary issues, either. And by early on I mean up until about 10 years ago.

African Hunter magazine may be the main "culprit" here. They report on rifles and cartridges used during at the annual PH & Guides test/refresher training course in Zimbabwe. And apparently there have been problems with some .416Rem ammo, and Remington rifles in 416Rem in particular. It's the kind of issue that, if it happens, the rifle & cartridge get a stink attached that lingers on after the real bug has been worked out. Particularly when that info gets preserved in book form like "Ndlovu," which is African Hunter magazine's guide to hunting elephant. It's a great book, and I'm sure the info about actually hunting elephant will remain valid as long as there are elephants to hunt, but what may have been perfectly valid rifle/cartridge info when the book was compiled may not represent the state of manufacturing a couple of years later. If your ammo is fairly fresh it isn't a problem anymore.

Still, some people hold onto and use old ammo for a long time. I know some old deer hunters who last bought a new box of ammo 15 years ago, which means they have 5 years to go before they'll need a new box. PHs, I hear, fall into the same general category. So leave some extra ammo if its legal. I know I'd feel better, at least, knowing that if I went back a year or two later he'd rotated some reasonably new stock onto his cartridge belt.

Anyway, I hope the Ruger round doesn't have any teething problems. I'm trying to talk a friend into going to Cameroon with me in 2010 and he's looking at getting one. Let us know how it shoots.

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