338 Winchester Magnum

The .338 Winchester Magnum is a .338 in (8.6 mm) caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The .338 in (8.6 mm) is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are considered to begin. The .338 Winchester Magnum is very popular amongst American hunters for bear hunting as well as back up rifles. It is also the most popular medium-bore cartridge in North America and has the most widely available choice in rifles among medium bore rifles. The action length is the same as a 30-06 and most major rifle manufacturers in the United States chamber rifles for the cartridge. The cartridge was intended for larger North American big-game species and has found use as for the hunting of thin-skinned African plains-game species.[Wikipedia]