I wanted to get some opinions on different types of bullets. My bullet thrower is a 338 ultra mag i wanted to try to stick with the lighter bullets like 200 grain to 230 grain.what it will mostly be used for is a mountain rifle mostly for deer sheep and goats while out there I usualy shoot a moose and regularly come across grizzly bears I will be shooting loads at maximum or near maximum velocitys (3000+ fps).The bullets I have available to me in British columbia are nosler, barnes, barnes xlc coated, trophy bonded bear claws, and winchester fail safes I have heard rumors about certain bullets not being accurate and that the lighter noslers wont perform well. I am hoping to be able ti keep accuracy at under 1.5 inches at 100 yards. Any info on your experince with any of these bullets would be appreciated.
Any weight of Nosler Partition in .338 will act about the same; the heavier weights will penetrate a little deeper because they have a heavier rear core; but the 210 and 225 will "do-in" anything that the 250 will, among the species your described. The 225 would be a good compromise if you want to keep your bullets on the lighter side, but the 250 is a pretty universal and largely infallible bullet in the .338 bore. The new Nosler Accubond 225 grain should also serve you well.
Among the other bullets you list, I don't trust the Barnes or Failsafes to expand on lighter game, and they are notoriously difficult to get to shoot accurately. I have no experience with the Bear Claws, but they are more expensive than the Noslers and are sure to work no better.
Posts: 13242 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001
I've taken quite a few animals w/ the 210grNP, but @ .338-06 speeds. i think it's a great bullet up to 300fps or so. For your Rum, I would move up to the 225grNP or TBBc. Nothing wrong w/ Barnes, I just haven't had any luck getting great accuracy from them. You might also give the Nosler Accubond a try if you can get them.
Posts: 7752 | Location: kalif.,usa | Registered: 08 March 2001
225 to 250-grain Swift A-Frame bullets should work very well. The 225-grain TBBC is similar to the A-Frame (bonded bullet), but too expensive and not any better.
Also, some rifles shoot Barnes bullets very well, and if you have one of such rifles, the 210 or 225 XLC should be outstanding bullets. The 230-grain FS is similar to the XLC, except that the FS is coated with Molybdenum Disulfide, and has lead at the base. The XLC is coated with a dry substance, and it does not have lead. I have killed several moose with the FS at approximately 2,800 fps out of my .338WM rifle. Most have been one-shot kills, the closest at 100 yards, and the farthest at nearly 250 or so.
Posts: 2448 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 25 May 2002
I come from the two hole school (enter and exit),so it should not be a surprise that I'm a Barnes fan. They are hard to get to shoot but if you find the laod for your particular gun they can be very accurate. Although some say they do not expand on smaller animals, and some say they know this bacause the exit hole was not as big as they thought it should have been, it has been my experience that the internal wound channel is very large. I cannot say if they do not expand because I have never had the opportunitty to recover one.I shot a 280lb whitetail in Canada last year, bullet entered the right shoulder and exited the left hip at about 160yds from my 300wsm.
I also like partitions and do find them alot easier to work a load for.
I were going where your are and wanted to be sure on animals like bear and moose I would rather have something that might be considered "over kill" or "over penatration" on the smaller animals.
Simdow I agree with the two hole philosophy. Usually entry holes don't bleed much, but an exit hole bleeds like hell. If you hunt in an area where the brush is heavy or the timber is dense you need a good blood trail even if it's only 25-50 yards to the critter.
Barnes bullets suck, there customer support sucks even worse, but if you can afford $200.00 worth of bullets to work up a load for your rifle have at it. I have tried them in both .300 Win and .375 H&H using the load data provided by Barnes and I got an amazing 6" group at 100 yards with the .300 and worse with the .375. I emailed Barnes and asked for some help and got a curt reply from their customer service people.
The .300 Win will shoot 3/4" groups or better with Nosler Partitions and the .375 will shoot 1" or better with 270gr Corelocks.
Posts: 41 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 14 June 2003
I have been throwing Nosler Partition bullets out the end of my rifles since the late 1950's. .257 Roberts, .257 Whby 300 Whby, 300 Apex, 30-06, 375 H&H, in all that time, I have never had a terminal ballistics failure of a Nosler Partion bullet. The are not super bullets, they will not do everything. However driven within their ballistic parameters, they simple do what they say they will do, every time!
There are a lot of great premium bullets out there today. Find one that is right for you and stick with it!
If they made Noslers for my 450/400 double rifle, I'd use them there too!
The idea that the lighter Nosler Partitions won't perform well is a crock, of the first magnitude!! In addition, I have found them to generally be as accurate as Sierras. Now, you might want to take a look at the new Nosler Accubonds. They retain weight well, and open initially as fast as a Ballistic Tip, but hold together after opening. Besides, their B.C. is up there. I am considering using the .375 260-grain Accubond for elk this fall!
(Looks like you've got a great selection of bullets available - the Failafes are great bullets also, if they shoot well in your rifle. Try some before the hunt!!)
In my 338 Win Mag I couldn't get the 210 gr Partitions to shoot well, where the 225 and 250's shot into sub 1" groups. My hunting partner used 210 grainer in his 338 very successfully. I believe alot of opinions are based on the rifles we have loaded for to date. This same fellow also shot sub 1" groups with 200 Barnes X. His rifle perferred the lighter bullets, for wahtever reason.
In my 35 whelen I load 225 gr Barnes X and like them very much, they are accurate and perform well on game in my opinion. I took an impala at 225 yards and it expanded well enough on a double lung shot. I wanted an all-around load for impala to zebra and the Barnes X performed well.
I have not had the need to call their customer service department, so cannot comment there.
All the bullets you mention will work well and have a good reputation, the Swift will act like the Partition in many respects, but it will not lose its front section. I say just pick the one that shoots well in your rifle and you'll have a good load.
BigBullet
Posts: 1218 | Location: Lorraine, NY New York's little piece of frozen tundra | Registered: 05 July 2003
I use the Sierra 250 BT in my 338 Win Mag for all my Alaska Hunting, using 73.0 of RL 19 and Fed 215GM Primers w/Fed Prem Cases. This bullet seems just right, with a little more weight retention than the lighter GK bullets, and very accurate.
Posts: 523 | Location: North Pole, Alaska | Registered: 26 January 2003
It is true that Barnes bullets suck- They suck the life out of anything that gets hit with them. In all calibers from 22 to 470, I have had no problems with accuracy, and some has been outstanding. The topic of Barnes often brings up the sour grapes posts.
Posts: 2851 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 02 September 2001
www.gun-tests.com/ ...Tools & Techniques... Ammo... There you will find some side by side test of bullets. I came away with the fact that the popular Nosler bullet has been surpassed by several bullets such as the Barnes, Fail Safe, A-Frame and some others.
[ 07-28-2003, 19:16: Message edited by: Losthwy ]
Posts: 16 | Location: Golden, Co | Registered: 23 July 2003
