14 April 2020, 22:08
bisonhunter1.338 WM powder ??
Thinking of trying some Nosler 300 gr AB's in my .338 Win Mag. Trying to find a good ball powder to create the loads. Thin Africa, .338 versus Eland. Any ideas out there.
15 April 2020, 02:47
impala#03In my 338 WM, I used Remington Safari ammo with 225 Swift A-Frame bullets. Absolutely flattened a huge bull eland.
Ball powders tightens down the number of options, but H414 has loads for 300gr bullets and the .338WM. I haven't used it. 53.0 to 59.5 gr.
15 April 2020, 05:19
craigsterWith all the options out there, why ball powder ?
15 April 2020, 08:51
sambarman338The last ball powder I used in mine was Win 785 but that was deleted for some reason. It seemed to work well enough with 300-grain bullets but Winchester was very secretive about load data, giving just one weight as though for shotshell loading. Were it not for Accurate Reloading forums, I would not have known where to start with it.
Why don't you consider H4350 or one of the 4831s? They're extruded but well thought of in regard to the 338WM.
Alliant probably have a good one, too, but don't show any 300-grain loads in my 2018 manual.
15 April 2020, 12:56
buckeyeshooterI have always used H4831, not as fast as some others in the books. But I can always find an accurate shooting load.
15 April 2020, 19:20
StonecreekThe 300 grain Accubond is a very long bullet which may give trouble stabilizing in a normal .338 Win Mag barrel. Also, it will take up a lot of powder space, so you'll be down below 2400 fps in muzzle velocity, which will rainbow your trajectory and limit your range with a caliber which otherwise does a pretty good job at longer ranges with bullets of more modest weights.
Plenty of eland have been killed with .270's and 7x57's. If you want to use one of the excellent Accubonds I'd advise looking at either the 250 or 225 grain bullets, which will do everything that the 300 would do except they'll get there faster. Slower powders have worked well for me in the .338. I'd suggest something in the 4831 or RL22 range, but 4350 probably works fine, too.
15 April 2020, 19:29
phurley5I am shooting a .338 Win for a buddy seeking the bullet his barrel likes. RL-19 is the best powder tested so far. 270 grain Northfork is the heaviest bullet tried so far and it performed well as the Northforks normally do. Good Shooting.
26 April 2020, 22:33
boomer46I've always used IMR 4831 with great results. My hunting buddy swore by IMR 4350. Either one is a great choice for the 338 over ball IMO.
28 April 2020, 06:05
AtkinsonRL-19 and 22 works best for me from an accuracy and velocity standpoint. Im sure H414 would work with that heavy bullet. I shoot the 300 Woodleighs for elk and on one buffalo in Africa, its sure thumps them..