Anyone recommend a bullet to reload I could use for whitetail deer when I hunt in TN or possibly for mule deer here in CO? I know a fine load for elk but just think I would like to use my Browning with custom barrel for deer. I also have a little better glass on the .338 than my 30 '06. I'll be hunting out of a tree stand or ground blind in TN, possibly tree stand or just on foot in CO.
Thanks Ray

my son shot a deer just a couple weeks ago with his 6mm and nosler partitions, not loaded very hot.. ruined both shoulders.. i with no experience with the 338 would tned to recomend solids and try for the lungs..(after i couldnt talk you out of using the 06 with a new scope.). several freinds went hunting for antilope quite afew years ago and i finnaly bagged one.. as i was aproaching two others were comming up to the antelope.. it was hit in the lungs, in the head, and in the butt with a .375.. we all agreed the lope belonged to the .375 shooter(what was left of it)... dave..

I have a load using 180 BT Nosler work fine for deer
Old Timer

Not crazy at all. I shoot all kinds of stuff with a 338. I would use either the 200 gr Hornady Interlock or the 210 Nosler Partition - probably the partition, depending on the range you are expecting to shoot. With deer you don't really need a premium bullet, but it might limit expansion to avoid excessive meat damage. I hit a hog in the neck at close range with the Hornady, and there was a lot of jellified meat left over. Granted, at 14 yards, just about any high powered rifle will make a mess, but a more 'solid' bullet will certainly help to mitigate expansion. maxman

I don't think I ever ever ever heard of a bad .338 bullet. Anything you have loaded up for elk ought to work just dandy on deer too.The reverse isn't necessarily so.

Yeah, I'd probably just use my elk load and call it good. My .338 likes 225 grain Barnes TSXs, so I'll probably shoot them at anything I hunted with it.

I agree that if you have a good elk load for your .338 it will serve just fine for whitetails.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a dedicated whitetail load to give you more range and less recoil, then the 180 Nosler BT or any of the 200 grain spitzers (Nosler, Speer, Hornady) or the 215 Sierra will give you excellent range and performance. Use whatever shoots best in your rifle.

By the way, the 210 Nosler Partition is close to being an all-around bullet for the .338. I would be happy with it for any but the largest bears or some African game.

The 215 grain Sierra works just fine on deer. But then, so does the 250 grain Sierra. Both kill the hell out of deer but do not blow up a lot of venison.

I have shot several wild hogs with the 200 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and see no reason it should not work well on deer. I have hunted with it, the deer just would not cooperate.

About the only 200 grain class bullet I would stay away from is the 200 grain Hornady. I have seen some deer shot with it in .338 Win Mags and man did it make a mess. I used to shoot ground squirrels with it in my .338 Win Mag and it sure exploded those little suckers.

I remember one trip to Wyoming to hunt mule deer with my Ruger Number One in .338 Win Mag. The guide gave me hell for bringing a single shot and such a big caliber. After I killed a hell of a nice buck at about 250 yards with one shot (and without a lot of meat damage) he changed his tune.

Good luck, R F

R Flowers wrote:

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I have hunted with it, the deer just would not cooperate.

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Don't you just hate it when that happens .

I also wish I could get them to cooperate alittle more often .

Good Luck!

Reloader

I have hunted with the .338 for years and on ocassions it can be terribly destructive with any bullet if you hit bone..

After years of trying about all the available bullets,I only use three bullets anymore, the 210 Nosler, the 250 Nosler and the 300 gr. Woodleigh as they all shoot to the same POI..

For Deer I use the 250 Nosler as it does not do a lot of meat damage, but the deer will run a ways for sure as the bullet does not open up quickly...and this bullet may not work for some as it may require some tracking skills..The 210 will put them down hard and does bruise a lot....

For whitetail in populated areas the 210 is probably the best pick...but lately the Northforks are getting the nod from some of my fellow 338 users..I have a bunch of them but have yet to use them.

Using the .338 Win. Mag. on whitetails is anything but crazy. In fact, it's probably emerged as my favorite cartridge for Texas whitetails, simply because it drops them stone-dead on the spot and (if you choose your bullet wisely) doesn't blow them up like cartridges of the .25-06/.270/7mm Mag./.300 Mag. classes tend to do. It's also a great cartridge to use on hogs, which is important where I hunt.

I suggest the 210 gr. Nosler Partition as the ideal deer bullet in the .338 Win. Mag. It kills like a thunderbolt, yet doesn't blow them all to heck and gone, plus it's just one heck of a bullet for bigger game such as mule deer and elk. I just hammered an elk here in Oregon with a 210 Nosler Partition out of my .338 Win. Mag., and I'll be taking the same rifle and load to texas in December for whitetails and hogs, as I have before.

I advise staying away from flimsey bullets in the .338 Win. Mag. for any sort of hunting, and I would NOT use any bullet weighing less than 200 grs. The super-light .338 bullets lose too much sectional density and ballistic coefficient, provide no advantages whatsoever, and many of them are very erratic in terms of terminal performance.

AD

I've killed many a whitetail with a 180BT. I have now standardized on the 210PT for just about everything I hunt with my 338s.

Barnes has the 160 grain X available, I have used the 185 grain X with good success. With either of these light bullets you will have less holdover on long range situations and still have excellent penetration and good bullet design.

I would also recommend the 210grNP Like Ray & Allen, I think it was made for open country use as a one bullet, deer/elk load. This is also the bullet of choice in my .338-06.

Im going out tomorrow and hope to shoot a doe with my 338wm loaded with 200 grain spire point over some blue dot, MV should be around 2500 fps. The lower velocity should reduce the amount of bloodshot meat and still provide plenty of power to knock down any deer. If I get one with this load I will try to remember to post some pics. Another thing I like about this load is it reduces recoil to about that of a 270 according to my best guestimates. If your interested in information about loading down, seafire has a bunch of great posts about it, do a search

I use my .338 mostly for elk but have shot 3 mule deer with it. The first two were with the 225 gr. Nosler partition at 2700 fps. The load is 75.0/H-4831, Win. brass, and Fed. 215 primer, and groups under 2-1/2" at 300 yards in my rifle. It seems to be a relatively mild load. The bullet killed well and meat damage was minimal. I shot one deer with the 200 br. Nosler ballistic tip. I hit a little high and got the spine, so there was a big exit hole due partially to bone fragments. That is the only critter I have shot with that bullet so I can't tell you what it would normally do as far as meat damage. I use the 250 gr. Nosler partition for elk, and would not hesitate to use it on deer also. In my experience the .338 with good bullets generally does less meat damage than my .25-06 or .270, and kills just as quickly.

I played this season with a 338 Mag and 40 grains of IMR 4759, with a 200 grain Hornady SP and also a Nosler 200 grain Ballistic tip.

It was a great 200 yd load with a great reduction in recoil.
I don't figure one needs 4000 ft lbs for a whitetail, what one needs is accuracy. Less recoil allows All of us to shoot more accurately regardless of what our egos may tell us.

With a 338 bore and a 200 grain bullet, one does not worry about it being too light for a whitetail regardless of MV.

Just another use for the 338 Mag.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire