New Project: The 185 grain TSX Bullet in the .338 Win Mag.....

R

rojogrande

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
My load development project for the winter will be to introduce my .338 magnum to a deer hunting load for next year....My first choice of powder will be good ol' IMR4350.....but I'm thinking IMR4320, RL-15, and Varget might be worth trying.......All I want is an accurate load at a muzzle speed of 2,850+........(just a 30-06 on steroids)....Anyone worked with this bullet in their 338 WM and what results did you get...?

Thanks,

Rojogrande
 
IMR4350 and serria 250gr gamekings move along at around 2725fps from my 338win. I also had a 200gr nosler BT load with IMR4350 that was around 3000fps so you should have no trouble getting a 185gr to 2850. I like 250gr SGK for deer, the 200gr BT was a disaster.
 
185@ 2850 will be a bit of a joke for the .338, so focussing on accuracy will be where you need to put any efforts.

Nosler data shows 180 grain Accubond at over 3200 fps with several powders. Your 185 TSX should be not too far off from that. RL-15, one of the powders you mentioned, is a good powder in the .338 WM with lighter bullets.
 
Last edited:
In my 338 wm I Used Varget with good results. 3275 fps with the 185's. I will play with the 185's more this winter but the 210 ttsx are great in my gun at 3020 fps.
 
I shoot a 185-grain GMX out of mine at right around 3,000fps. I'm using RL17. It's not a super hot load but recoil is very pleasant and accuracy is good. I suspect the TSX would perform in a similar manner with this load.
 
Last edited:
sunray said:
"....338 magnum to a deer hunting load..." Lot of unneccessary recoil but if that's what you have.
Click to expand...

If it's what the OP wants to shoot.. why not? Also a 185 running at 1850 wont produce tremendously stout recoil.

To the OP, you'll lose a significant amount of the sectional density that folks like about the .338.

What is the reason for loading down? In my experience the heavier, slower moving bullets do significantly less damage on game. I've shot a couple dear with my .257 Weatherby and I've hit deer with it within 100 yds pushing 80 gr TTSX's up around 3650+ and the whole side the bullet entered was blootshot etc. I've also shot 2 deer with my .375 H& H using 300gr full honk rounds that ran around 2600 and did no serious damage to the meat of the deer. It left a 3/8" hole going in and about a 5/8" going out, deer dropped right there, and neither had any noticeable meat loss etc.

If loading down is something you want to go for it, but it isn't something that is necessary. If you have a round that works and is accurate, use it for everything in North America. Deer, Elk, Bears (black ones at least.. and even brown ones not trying to eat you), and even moose are all pretty similar from what it takes to drop them. I would suggest that most anything you can use to drop a deer effectively would have the same result on moose or whatever else you are hunting.
 
I shot tsx 210 barnes for years with less than good accuracy... I now load 200gr accubonds in front of 71grs of H414, 2950 fps, sub MOA , very soft recoil out of my custom sako, great deer, bear, elk load. This load also works very well with leupolds B&C reticle. (found my old test data), 338 win mag-185 tsx, imr4350 start load 67.5gr/ avg fps 2847 /fps spread 42., most accurate load was 70.0grs/ avg fps 3002 / fps spread 11...I found the 200gr accubond to be way more accurate than any of the tsx bullets in my 338, you may have better luck, btw, I use a 11 gain twist 24in barrel.
 
Last edited:
I developed a fast sub MOA load for my bro's 338WM with the 185TSX over Reloder 19 and 215m primers. Worked very well on a large bull elk at 450 yards this fall.
 
I'm running the 210 ttsx in mine at 2925fps. Strictly for deer I'd use 225gr or 250gr. Less speed will do less damage.
 
Hi Rojo

I shot 180's and 185's out of my 338's for years and sometimes posted questions on the various BBS. I always got comments like above. "why waste a 338 using light bullets etc" I quit posting after getting abused so often about being so stupid to use the light bullets.

I shot a lot of deer and never had any issues. The rifles worked extremely well. The only thing with my rifles using Re15 and Varget was that they couldn't take the published Nosler loads. Use caution trying to get to 3200 fps. I couldn't in my rifles. The fastest I could get to was 3000 fps with good safe pressures. These loads though were extremely accurate and very comfortable to shoot. They added a lot of versatility to using my rifles throughout the season.

Steve
 
Five years ago, I suffered a severe neck and shoulder injury, (with nerve damage)...Since that time, the big .338 has sat in the gun cabinet. I want to get re-acquainted with the rifle this next year, and with the help of the Caldwell Leadsled, I want to start with the lightest recoiling loads and work my way up from there....Full up with scope and sling and 4 rounds in the magazine, the rifle weighs in at 9-3/4 pounds, so a 180 or 185 grain bullet at 2,800+ should be no problem in the recoil department.....Turns out my retailer had an error in their inventory and were out of stock on the TSX 185 grain bullets, so I picked up a couple boxes of the Nosler Accubond 180 and 200 grain bullets....I've shot these before and they are very accurate in my old .338...

Rojogrande
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom