Gents,

Looks like I will get my WM .338 back from J Ricks in my lifetime .I had a Browning A-Bolt restocked on a McMillan,will see whether the barrel will do.Shot terribly before.

Question for today,does it matter,and what are the preferences in bullet weight for plainsgame:210 or 250 gr.

My thinking at this time is that the 210's might be a bit flatter and therefore more useful at 300y, inside 200y it wont matter.Is a 210 bullet enough for zebra,Kudu,Oryx,maybe eland



thanks sheephunter

I have shot more than a few Eland, Kudu and what not with the 210 gr. Nosler Partition at 3005 FPS with a case full of old surplus 4831...It is an excellent plainsgame load..

The 250 is great on Eland and if fact probably somewhat better than the 210, but either will work well enough..the 250 is definatly too tough a bullet for Impala and such unless you hit a major bone perhaps...It works but they sometimes make a lot of tracks, but blood trails are good...

The only bullet that hasn't really impressed me in the 338 is the 225 gr., it's neither fish nor fowl IMO...others love it...

The Nosler and the 338 Win. are a match created in heaven....

I hate to differ with my friend Ray, but I have only used 225. From Eland (225 X's) to Grysbok (with 225 solids) and I did not follow blood trails, all game dropped within sight. Now I have to admit I have only taken around 30+ head of Africian game.

Quite honestly, I think for plainsgame any of the premium 210 gr., 225 gr., or 250 gr. bullets should work well, and I'm partial to Nosler Partitions. I'm taking a .338 Win. Mag. loaded with 250 gr. Partitions to Tanzania next season, and I'm mostly loading that weight for lion (in a pinch) and cape buffalo (in a pinch). I do plan to use a .416 Remington for buffalo, hippo, and lion, but I want some bullet weight going in my plainsgame rifle "just in case", simply because I've had to deal with "just in case" situations before with buff' and lion, which I hope to avoid this time around.

For a straight-out plainsgame hunt, 210 gr. Nosler Partitions should be more than plenty, and should still be capable of shooting completely through eland on lung shots. I've shot clear through before on eland (twice) with premium 180s out of a .300 Win., and if those bullets will do it, 210s will as well. All lesser plainsgame animals should also be pose littel challenge for those 210s........

AD

I agree.

But I'm partial to 225s and used X bullets and Trophy Bonded Bear Claws on kudu, zebra, gemsbok, hartebeest and lion earlier this month.

Exit wounds on all shots, including three raking shots, except for one X bullet found in the skull on my lion.

I used 225 grain TSXs on my recent hunt in Namibia and was very happy with their performance on jackal, springbok, hartebeest, kudu, oryx, and zebra. They were a bit rough on the jackal, but what can you expect? Short of something trying to eat you, I think the 225 is a perfect combination of flat shooting ability and hard hitting performance. Of course, I've never shot the much-ballyhooed 210 grain Partitions.

I have used a.338 Win for kudu, gemsbok, zebra, red and lichtenstein's hartebeeste, warthog, impala, nyasaland wildebeest, and maybe a few other things. All I use in this caliber is 225 Hornady bullets. Shot four bull elk, a spike elk, a few caribou, and a moose with that load as well as a few mule deer.

I used my .338 Win. Mag. with 230 grain Fail Safes on Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Kudu, Eland and Sable.

That said, I won't use Fail Safes anymore and will switch to Nosler (Partition or Accubond) if/when I take the rifle back to Africa again. I will use whatever grain size that shoots best in my rifle as IMO all will do the job.

sheephunter,

Just something to consider: Do you know what the terrain is like where you will be hunting? This could affect your choice of bullet weight (and velocity).

If know you'll be hunting in bushveld conutry, then the 250gr would be my choice. The Limpopo Province in South Africa and Zimbabwe are good examples of bushveld country. Shots usually run around 50 to 150 yards on average. (I've been twice to the Limpopo Province and my longest shot was about 120 yards.)

In more open terrain, Namibia comes to mind as a good example, then you might want to go with a little lighter bullet for a little more velocity.

Just a thought....

-Bob F.

Various family members have used the 225 Rem Core Loct to great effect on Zebra, Wildebeest and Kudu as well as small stuff with complete satisfaction. In as much as the 210 and 250 are both probably better, I can't see how you could go wrong with whichever one of them shot the best in your rifle.

I have used and continue to use my A Bolt .338 in Africa as well as the states. I shoot 230 gr Failsafes in it for everything because it groups well. With it I have taken a dozen African game animals ranging in size from 60 lb springbok to 2000+ lb eland. I have only recovered one bullet while hunting in Africa from my .338, and it retained 229 grains. I would not hesitate in recommending this bullet/rifle combination provided it shoots well within YOUR rifle.

Brad

I expect better performance i.e. better expansion, less pass throughs from a premium a bullet, they are not solids. My kill results were based solely on shot location. For plainsgame there are better bullets than Fail Safes.

All the above is my opinion based on my experiences in the field, my rifle groups them very well. I have nothing more to say about this.

Clearly there have always been two schools of thought on how a bullet should perform...One is expending all its energy in the animal, the other is a pass through that leaves a good blood trail if they run some distance....

I, personally am of the two holer school on everything I shoot, not to say that both don't work, but I have had some tough tracking jobs by bullets not punching a seconed hole.

I probably should clarify that my only exercise with a 225 gr. bullet was on some 20 head of plainsgame I shot with the 225 gr. Swift and I was not pleased with its performance. So the other 225 may well be satisfactory I do not know, and that one bullet brought me to the conclusion the 225 was neither fish nor fowl..and that may be faulty conclusion on my part...

Were I hunting in Lion country I would opt for the 250 gr. bullet also as Allen predicted, along with a few solids in my belt...I have shot some pretty big stuff with the 250 Nosler, 300 gr. Woodleigh, and some solids in the 338 and it worked like a charm in each instance, albeit its a bit slow on killing Buffalo with a solid, but it sure lets out a lot of blood..

I hope you like your A Bolt - I think they're underrated. My wife's 270 was bought on sale at WalMart, and has been a delight for her last two trips to Africa.

As to the 338, I agree with finding the premium bullet that shoots well in your new barrel. A-Frames, Trophy Bonded, Nosler Partition, Nosler Accubond all come to mind as worthy contestants. For my 338 (Sako, Lilja barrel) the 225 grain Accubond seems to shoot about the best.

See which ones serve you with acceptable accuracy, then select from among them, picking the one that captures your imagination and confidence. It's all part of the fun in preparing to go to AFRICA !!! (4 weeks and 1 day, but who's counting!)

Odie,

I prefer Nosler Partitions to other types of premium bullets, but it seems that my preference is based on exactly the opposite of what you want to achieve. If I understood your 2nd post correctly, you also want to switch to NP to limit pass thru.

In my experience NP�s pass thru very often � and I like that. The front section ruptures swiftly, causing a respectable wound channel. Much of the front section lead is washed away and the remaining rear section ends up being slightly larger than caliber size, reducing the frontal surface. Less frontal surface = less resistance = pass thru�s more often.

If you want less pass thru�s, you might check out how the Swift A � frames shoot in your rifle. The bonding in the front section of the A-frames helps to keep a lot of lead there, leading to higher retained weight but also more frontal surface, the latter limiting the likelihood of pass thru�s.

I prefer pass thru�s because exit wounds bleed more profusely than entrance wounds. It is thus easier to locate a wounded animal in a herd and easier to follow the blood trail. I don�t think there is any merit in the �total energy dump� theory. Mammals don�t die from an overdose of Joules, but because of the disruption of the CNS, or loss of blood/oxygen.

The only advantage for me with non-pass thru shots, is that it limits the risks of wounding/damaging non-intended targets � and I have my thoughts/doubts on this as well.

But back to the topic of .338 & PG.

Sheephunter,

I don�t own a .338, and have no experience loading for it, but a sizeable chunk of my client�s hunt with .338�s.

I don�t think it would matter which weight bullet you used. Use the one that groups best. The drop difference is of more academic than practical importance. With both zero-ed @ 200 yards, the 250 gr should not drop more than 1.75 - 2� in relation to the 210 gr out at 300 yards. Most people, myself certainly included, can not shoot a grouping of < 2� @ 300yards from normal hunting positions anyhow. Drop differences only become significant when they match or exceed the size of your grouping at any given distance.

Sheephunter;

You have just seen the best, most intelligent replies you will get anywhere.

Take what your gun likes best, and go shoot something.

Terry et al ,
yes I agree.All valid and true comments.I will just see what shoots straight now.I had maybe a bad apple as the stock A-Bolt patterned terribly.Rebedded in a decent new stock- will see whether it will do or whether I need a new barrel.I like its smooth action,never appreciated the tuning of the barrel with the front weight though,too many variables,so I took it off and find the ammo that will shoot.
thanks to all