.338 favorite hunting loads

Tturbo

Tturbo

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Hey Guys So I just took to the step and bought a new rifle. A Browning X bolt Hunter (wood Stock) .338 win mag to match the exact same rifle I already have in 7 mm rem mag. I was wondering what everbody has used and or tried for loads. I am going to stick to factory loads for the mean time and will be hunting everything from coyotes-deer-elk-moose-bison. I do know that I will not be firing the largest bullet possible as that is totally not necessary but I am more curious about some of the lighter loads 180,190,200?
My bullet preference will be a partition or Barnes Triple shock X, but am open to others?

Lets not fight over what/whos better, lets just exchange some info and past experiences PLEASE!:cool:
 
Tturbo said:
I do know that I will not be firing the largest bullet possible as that is totally not necessary but I am more curious about some of the lighter loads 180,190,200?
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You already passed "totally not necessary" when you bought the .338WM. If you want to shoot light bullets, use the 7mmRM. The whole point of having a .338WM is to shoot 225gr or bigger.

The only llight bullets you can get in factory ammo is the Federal Premium with a 180gr accubond, Federal Premium 210 Partition or the Winchester SuperX with a 200gr power point. The rest are all 225 or heavier.
 
I tend to favor heavy-for-caliber bullets; and in magnums particularly.

If you want to try heavier bullets, I've been slaying moose/caribou/bears with 250gr gamekings over IMR 4350 for a couple of decades. Very accurate bullet and always performed perfectly. I've also started shooting 225gr SST's, and they shoot quite well. No results on game yet...
 
I agree that you already have a great cartridge for shooting lighter bullets, laser fast, in the 7mm RM. Load up some 250s and complete the spectrum, that's where the 338shines.
 
Tried the lighter bullets in the 338 and found they drop off too quickly. The heavier bullet actually shot flatter. I found the 225 accubond shot the best. Tried the 185's that i thought would be good for deer, but found at 400-500yrds did some weird patterns on the paper. Have a box of 338 200gr barnes x that will sell if you want to try.
 
Tturbo:

What you say makes no sense..........leave the lighter bullets for the 7mm Rem mag. 140 - 150 for everything from coyotes to deer / antelope.

Take that .338 and load the 225 Barnes TSX's. A good stiff load of RL22 will get you near 2800 fps. That should kill anything you need to.

I like to load the heavier bullets myself.....Like the 250 Barnes TSX's and the 275 gr Swift A - frames. The last moose I shot was a cow on a draw tag and the range was 28 yards!!! Not exactly a hard shot but she was running through the bush. Two A-frames to the chest at that distance set her on her belly and then the work started.

I found both the bullets on the off side and they retained a large amount of their original weight!!! With my experience with the Barnes TSX's I would guess that they would have gone all the way through her.

Good luck with whatever you choose, but stay with the heavies in the .338!!!

Later
 
apapro said:
Good luck with whatever you choose, but stay with the heavies in the .338!!!
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+whatever. The 338 shines with heavy bullets, if you want to shoot 180gr-200gr bullets, a 300 mag is what you are looking for. The sectional density is too low in the light .338 bullets and BC suffers as a result.

You should really be looking in the reloading forum for load info. Here is a thread I started a while ago with a lot of good load info for the .338:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=480554&highlight=338

Mark
 
I'm loading 73.5gr/RE19 /225 Hornady SP I've killed many,moose,deer ,black bear,one grizzly,several elk and a caribou with it.In the neighborhood of 2800fps or so as I don't own a chrony...............Harold
 
i use nothing but 250's and 275's in my 338- imr 7828- 70 grains a pop, and that's a factory load in the 250 grain - you REALLY handicap the 338 by using anything less than a 225- i doubt if a bullet that light will work the action in my bar
 
I've got an older Browning (BBR) in .338 that absolutely loves a Hornady 225 grain spire point over 72 grains of Winchester WMR. Completely agree with the posts above that the .338 was made for bullets 225 grains and heavier. Have never had the need to step up to 250 grainers myself, though, as this particular rifle also performs quite well with a 225 Barnes TSX bullet, which provides more penetration than I know what to do with ;)
 
I shoot Federal Premium ammo with 225 gr. trophy bonded bear claws. These things expand to like 5/8" in the two moose I shot. The first one still weighed 215gr. they group under 2" at 200 yards. Going to try some 225 gr Accubonds right away
 
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