I have been a long time hunter and shooter, but recently decided to start loading. So far i have only made two lots of .338 WM with marginal sucsess. I can say that my second lot is a lot tighter than my first, but i am still in that 1 1/2 to 3 inch group range. Any help would be appreciated.

.338 WM might be a tough one to learn on.

I will offer an opinion based on nearly 40 years of loading. A lot of folks start loading to save money when money is tight. They don't have enough cash to shoot enough to be a really good shooter using factory ammo. Reloading allows them to shoot a lot more.

The problem with a .338 and someone that has not shoot a lot is that it beats you up when you shoot it a lot. This beating is discouraging and does not promote good groups or extensive shooting.

It is a bit easier to learn with a rifle that
has lower component cost and less recoil. You may be a long time shooter but I doubt that you have fired the number of rounds a long time reloader has fired.

The marginal success that you speak of can be attributed to a lot of things.
There are two are 3 basic areas of concern.

1. Choice of and assembly of the components
2. Conditon and precision of the rifle scope combination
3. Shooter ability and technique.

Two thirds of the capability are the capability of the shooter and rifle.
#3 Make sure you have a good rest and a spotting scope.
They will pay for them selves with improved results with all ammunition testing. Technique you have to learn.
#2 Start with a known good rifle and scope combination from shooting factory ammo. Get the bore clean and keep it clean.

#1 Research manuals and article for commonly mentioned combinations that shoot well. For example Max loads of 4350 in a 30/06 are often recommended because they shoot well. Same for 4895 in the .308.
Make sure you resize the case only enough to fit your chamber with about .001 clearance. This is difficult to determine without a gauge of some sort.
Make sure your chosen bullet is seated straight. You can check this by watching the bullet tip as you roll it across a flat smooth table top- like a glass table. If it wobbles your seating set up is suspect.
You did not mention the bullets you are using. Start you reloading with a brand of inexpensive but known accurate bullets in a weight that is medium to heavy weight for the caliber. Shoot them up just for the learning experience. I hope you are not trying to learn with $1 per shot bullets.

Don't expect to be an expert with two boxes of reloads.
You might consider getting a common less expensive rifle to learn with. Considering the cost of components pick something between a .223 and a .308 bolt gun and shoot it a lot.
You might even consider shooting 100 yard groups with a 22 rim fire for practice.

I take it that you read and understand at least two different reloading manuals. I use Modern Reloading second edition by Robert Lee a lot. The reason is he has taken the data from almost every other manual.

How do your reloads compare to commercial ammo fired in your rifle? If you Know the rifle is capable to start with you will save yourself a lot of frustration.

Perhaps the first thing in establishing the rifles ability to digest reloads is to start with a recognized good bullet. One such bullet for you might be the Sierra 250gr. HPBT match king pushed by 69gr. of Reloader19. Very the load 1/2 gr.at a time, up and down and see if you notice significant change. If you find that indeed the rifle and you can do the job than select the bullet you want to hunt with and your quest begins anew.

This whole learning process would go a lot easier if you were loading for a .224 or .243 caliber varmint rifle as there are a vast number of quality bullets and a hugh number accurate loader shooters to give you advise. roger

Take your time

Read the intro to reloading section in the front of your manual over and over.

Read the instructions that came with your dies over and over.

Agree with reloading something 'cheap' over and over.

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
I take it that you read and understand at least two different reloading manuals. roger

Now that's good advice.....I wholeheartedly support this!

Post here often and ask questions.....lots of darn good folks here to help out.

Ditto to what bartsche said. (I am assuming you've tried some factory loads and they group better.)

What the other guys said is true. What kind of accuracy were you getting w/ factory ammo? If th ebst you could do was 2", it may be that is the best you can shoot w/ your 338winmag. You also do't mention components used, but it can make a big diff. I hav had great luck w/ certain powder/bullet combos & only marginal results w/ others.
I choose a bullet that I want to use then 2-3 powders that I think will give me the vel. I am looking for. Start 10% below max. avg. from at least 2 sources & work up in 1/2gr increments. Seat the bullet to an OAL that clears your mag. & doesn't hit the lands. You can adjsut OAL to fine tune a promising load. Bettering 1 1/2", if that is what you get w/ factory ammo, would be my goal.

First i want to thank everyone for their input. I got into reloading mainly for better accuracy. Right now i am loading for my fathers rifle a winchester m70 (mine is being sent back to ruger for the 2nd time for stock failure, i have put less than 200 rnds of factory loads through it). we're not sure of the model anymore as it is a heirloom from my grandfather and i haven't done a serial number check yet. this shoots 1 1/2" with winn powerpoint 200gn. my first loads were with IMR 4350 and nosler CT 200gn, 200gn accubond, and 180gn accubond. overall length was set at the saami length of 3.340". I was having tumbling issues with the 200gn bullets, as the bullet was striking the paper vertically. i started my loads with 69 gns and went as high as 73. the lower gns was where i was tumbling. my last lot was with w760 and i loaded my rounds a little longer. i am shooting of off a lead sled so i dont look like i went 10 rounds with tyson and to take as much human error out as possible. i don't have a chronograph so my fps is whatever the nosler and speer book say. again, thanks for the feedback

quote:

Originally posted by sgt. mac:
First i want to thank everyone for their input. I got into reloading mainly for better accuracy. Right now i am loading for my fathers rifle a winchester m70 (mine is being sent back to ruger for the 2nd time for stock failure, i have put less than 200 rnds of factory loads through it). we're not sure of the model anymore as it is a heirloom from my grandfather and i haven't done a serial number check yet. this shoots 1 1/2" with winn powerpoint 200gn. my first loads were with IMR 4350 and nosler CT 200gn, 200gn accubond, and 180gn accubond. overall length was set at the saami length of 3.340". I was having tumbling issues with the 200gn bullets, as the bullet was striking the paper vertically. i started my loads with 69 gns and went as high as 73. the lower gns was where i was tumbling. my last lot was with w760 and i loaded my rounds a little longer. i am shooting of off a lead sled so i dont look like i went 10 rounds with tyson and to take as much human error out as possible. i don't have a chronograph so my fps is whatever the nosler and speer book say. again, thanks for the feedback

Your lead sled maybe breaking the stocks.
With that much recoil the rifle needs to move a little. I suspect you might shoot better with out the lead sled for a few rounds.

the first time it broke after only 60 rounds and i never even got the chance to use my sled, my hunting buddy still had it for his .300 RUM. the second time i was able to put 80 rds though it before cracks started showing up. the last 20 rounds were on the sled with 10 lbs weight. it has broke out just behind the bolt int he same area both times. first stock was a black laminate and the second one was regular walnut.

quote:

Originally posted by sgt. mac:
First i want to thank everyone for their input. I got into reloading mainly for better accuracy. Right now i am loading for my fathers rifle a winchester m70 (mine is being sent back to ruger for the 2nd time for stock failure, i have put less than 200 rnds of factory loads through it). we're not sure of the model anymore as it is a heirloom from my grandfather and i haven't done a serial number check yet. this shoots 1 1/2" with winn powerpoint 200gn. my first loads were with IMR 4350 and nosler CT 200gn, 200gn accubond, and 180gn accubond. overall length was set at the saami length of 3.340". I was having tumbling issues with the 200gn bullets, as the bullet was striking the paper vertically. i started my loads with 69 gns and went as high as 73. the lower gns was where i was tumbling. my last lot was with w760 and i loaded my rounds a little longer. i am shooting of off a lead sled so i dont look like i went 10 rounds with tyson and to take as much human error out as possible. i don't have a chronograph so my fps is whatever the nosler and speer book say. again, thanks for the feedback

I've heard this before about the lead sled. I just use a Past pad & shoot off a bench rest, even for my 404jeffery. That's as big as I can go though.
One issue w/ your loading. The CT is a moly bullet. Shooting copper after moly often yields terrible accuracy unless the moly is cleaned out of the bbl. One reason I don't use moly coated bullets. For now, pass on the CT200gr & just work w/ the NABS. I like H4350 or RL19 in the 338mag, even IMR4831. Not a big fan of W760 in this cart. VV150 is about as fast as I would go. Yep, lower vel. will often cause tumbling.
Also, in sizing the case. I find partial sizing, for belted magnums, yields a better case fit in the chamber than full sizing, yet still allows more positive feeding than neck sizing. Then little things like while seating the bullet, seat half way then turn the case 90deg & finish.