After having loaded for several, I finally picked up my own .338WM. It is a Model 70 classic super grade produced in New Haven. The previous owner has glass bedded the lug and put on a brake, and for some reason left the trigger at a touch over 7 pounds. After adjusting the trigger and a thorough cleaning I mounted a Leupold LPS 2.5-10x45 and got to work. The bullets on hand were a few 200 grain Nosler B-Tips and 210 grain Barnes TTSXs. The B-Tips I can no longer find without the black coating. The Barnes shot 5 bullets into 1.1 inches at 100 yards, outside to outside, great, but expensive and hard to find. I have 115 left, but am looking for a bullet for fun that would double as a good deer bullet along side punching paper. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have really good luck in every caliber I own with Accubonds. Honestly if someone told me it was to be the only bullet I could ever shoot I wouldn't cry.

250 Accubonds would be great, 300 would stop a train.

For practice, I load the 225 grain Hornady Interlock. My rifle shoots that bullet really well. For heavy game I switch to the Barnes TS, but I have killed elk moose, and a bunch of heavier African PG with the plain old 225 Interlock.

The Hornady 225 Interlock Spire Point works very well in my rifle. My best load is 73.5 grains of Reloader 19 which gives me 2800+ feet per second and most (3 shot) groups measure less than 0.75 MOA. I can pile on some more speed, but when I do so, accuracy suffers a little bit.

I like this bullet a lot: accurate, perfectly suitable for anything I'm likely to shoot (deer, perhaps elk), easy enough on the shoulder, and cheap.

But part of the fun of our addiction is playing with different bullet/propellant combinations . . . just because. So do shop around.

You may find that the Hornady is great for paper, but you might be willing to sacrifice a little accuracy for a bullet with a different BC, a bonded core or a monolithic bullet for hunting (you really don't need sub MOA accuracy for an elk out to 350 yards).

I have shot a few elk and deer with the Sierra 250 gr. BTSP,not to mention quite a bit of Plains Game and its an outstanding bullet and shoots as flat as most lighter bullets..

I know some Sierras are alleged to be soft, and some are, but the 250 gr Sierra and/or the 215 gr. Sierras are good bullet and at a great price, plus those big boat tails are extremely accurate, and great killers.

The Hornady bullets have also worked for me in a number of calibers..

I am a big Nosler fan, and my favorite bullet of all time in the .338 is the 225 gr. Nosler Partition at 2919 FPS.

I like to experiment, its part of the game we play...Bullet digging!

A nice cheap bullet that's good on game and punching paper is the Sierra 215gr Gameking, works very well.
If you really want accuracy, the 200gr Accubond is hard to beat, but, my rifle only ever sees the 225gr Accubond ride it's bore. It shoots itty bitty little groups in my rifle.

Cheers.

I'm using Sierra 225 grain Pro Hunters in my .338 Win Mag, mine is a M70 Super Grade as well. Mine had a BOSS on it which I didn't really like so I "bobbed" it off.
That leaves me with a 21.5" barrel but I still get over 2800 fps with the 225 Sierra. I took that load and rifle to Africa June of 2014 and had 6 one shot kills on 7 animals, recovered one perfectly mushroomed bullet all others passed on through.
I'll try to attach a target picture, accuracy with these inexpensive bullets is stellar.

I have tried different bullets in my 338 but I'm old school in thinking one bullet for everything and I settled on the 225 gr. Northfork SP. Shoots as good as a target bullet and it seems to me to foul less that bullets without the driving bands.

Thanks all. I think I will try the 215 Sierras and the 225 Interlocks. I am going to use the 210 TTSXs on Canada moose in 2017, but the gun is so fun to shoot these sound like reasonable options. Looking at the ballistics of the 300 grain Accubonds has me intrigued, but the box I found had them at $1.05 a piece. A little steep for plinking.

Quintus,
The 300 gr. Accubonds just don't work well in the short magazines of todays .338 Win Rifles, they must have been designed for the 338 RUM ets. Bullet compete with powder space and velocity is real slow at best..Even the 275 Speer is crowding powder capacity greatly and is just barely proper IMO..However the fix is relatively simple and not very costly. OPen the box up and lengthen the throat..

I got around this even better, but more expensive, by fitting a 375 Swift drop box on my 98 Mauser and opening the throat up to match..Gave the rifle more powder capacity, seated the 300 gr. Nosler accubond to seat one caliber or .338 into the case... I can match any load the factory loaded 340 Wby can manage..Plus I shoot standard 250, .225 and 210 gr. bullets in it and they are very accurate indeed..They have to take a jump but that is something that's over stated not to shoot, this gun shoots them about an inch, the same as the 300 gr. In fact it shoots all weights and loads Ive fed it..

I usually prefer bullets of 250gr or more in my .338WM but loaded down some 180gr Accubonds for a friend to practice with in his new rifle. He was too proud to shoot reduced loads, so I use them in the hope I can reset my nerve memory after sighting in with the heavy stuff.

Though the velocity is still about 2500fps, I can't feel the recoil in my Sako Finnbear and reckon they would be great for mule deer and whitetail, if not deflected by twigs etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Quintus,
The 300 gr. Accubonds just don't work well in the short magazines of todays .338 Win Rifles, they must have been designed for the 338 RUM ets. Bullet compete with powder space and velocity is real slow at best..Even the 275 Speer is crowding powder capacity greatly and is just barely proper IMO..However the fix is relatively simple and not very costly. OPen the box up and lengthen the throat..

I got around this even better, but more expensive, by fitting a 375 Swift drop box on my 98 Mauser and opening the throat up to match..Gave the rifle more powder capacity, seated the 300 gr. Nosler accubond to seat one caliber or .338 into the case... I can match any load the factory loaded 340 Wby can manage..Plus I shoot standard 250, .225 and 210 gr. bullets in it and they are very accurate indeed..They have to take a jump but that is something that's over stated not to shoot, this gun shoots them about an inch, the same as the 300 gr. In fact it shoots all weights and loads Ive fed it..

I agree with Ray but I would add the heavier streamlined bullets in .338 are really designed for long range shooting using the bigger .338 cases. You don't need a 300 gr bullet for normal hunting. Then again, I don't quite see the point in shooting bullets lighter than 225 grains either. The classic bullet for the .338 is 250 grains.

I am not really a classic guy, but more of a light for caliber guy - especially with all copper bullets. I have had difficulty getting "lite" X bullets to stay in game, and since I will not be hunting anything with sharp teeth that out-weighs me I don't think I will ever have a need for a bullet over 225 grains. I was just impressed with the retained velocity of the 300 grain bullet even with the anemic starting speed. As far as bullet deflection goes, bullet weight is not a consideration for me. Back in my younger more obsessive compulsive days I shot dozens of different bullets in several different calibers through all kinds of different woodsy obstructions and found it depended more on the obstruction as it related to type, weight, and velocity of projectile. And really it always boiled down to how far past the obstruction the target was. I do appreciate the insight from the 338 buffs, thank you. I will admit at the time of my life when I did the most shooting, and formed all of my prejudice, I had nothing bigger than a 300 Magnum and 200 grains was the heaviest I shot from it.

I run a 338 Edge for long range and use the 300gr Accubond in it, as well as the Berger.
I tried both in my 26" barreled 338WM, I couldn't break 2400fps with either, the 800yrd accuracy was there, but, I ran out of vertical beyond that distance.
I found the 225gr weight to be optimum in my rifle, it gives the longest MPBR of any weight, so that's what I use.

Cheers.

It is hard to beat a good 225gn bullet in the 338 Win Mag. I have had good results with the 225gn Hornady Spire point, the 225 gn Hornady SST, the 225gn Nosler Accubond, the 225 gn Speer BTSP, and the 225gn Woodleigh Weldcore. All of these can be pushed along at around 2800 to 2850fps. Take your pick, they all do the job. However I have also had good results with the 160gn Barnes at 3400fps, the 180gn Nosler Accubond at 3100fps, and a range of 200gn bullets at 3000fps. I haven't shot anything with 250gn bullets or above, but I am sure they will work too.

My 700 Classic shoots the 210 gr. Partition very well and if you can catch them at Shooters Pro Shop they are not that expensive. Worked real well on a couple of elk this season.

AnotherAZwritter,
I agree with your post, and most of the others. I built that long throated, long box Mauser as a project to shoot 300 GR. Accubonds, and since it also shot standard ammo as well, it was a success..

I also have a Ruger African in .338 Win. and its my elk rifle with the 225 gr. partition and if I want a flat shooting plains rifle that 250 gr. Sierra boat tail soft point, for whatever reason is the flattest shooting of any .338 bullet on the market that I have tried, and I tried them all. In my tests it shot flatter than the 210 Nolser, or Barnes and was the best 250 gr. for trajectory...These test however prove one thing to those who test bullets, the difference is always there but precious little. That also shows up between calibers in many cases..IMO from a hunters standpoint and within reason one is about as good as the other, cuz I can wiggle on as easy as I can wiggle off under field conditions!

On bullets, you are in good hands with the 210 TTSX.

Personally, I use the 225 gn TTSX in a 338WM because of the possibility of dangerous creatures showing up unexpectedly and wanting better penetration.

The BC is marginally better, too, going up from .48 in 210TTSX to .51 in 225TTSX, though that is not a practical difference. While on the question of BC I should probably comment on the Sierra 250 grain. It may have a higher BC than the Barnes 225 TTSX, but I had some of the Sierras separate the core and jacket thirty+ years ago, so I don't trust them around buffalo. I am more than happy to trade the .565 BC of the Sierra for the .514 BC of the Barnes 225, which is only marginally less. First of all, the 225 Barnes sets out at a faster pace, +135 fps, and flies flatter for the first 300-400 yards by about 1-2 inches. I am not interested in Africa for a higher BC over the next 400-800 yards.

I shoot the 225 Gr. Hornady Interlock Spire point and the Nosler Partition in the same weight. The nice thing is they both shoot groups under 1" and shoot to the same POI. Rifle is a Rem. 700 stainless BDL.

I also have a 30/06 that will shoot the 165 Gr. Hornady Interlocks and the Nosler Parttion into small groups and to the same POI. Give this combo a try.

I use the Hornady's for range work and deer size game and the Partitions for larger stuff.

I have been back to the pit for another session with the Barnes working the bullet back to magazine length (surprised at the long throat compared to the mag length) and am really enjoying this rifle. The bolt runs as though it were coated in butter. The wood on this particular rifle is not typical, but it is beautiful. With very wide, pronounced grain, it looks more like French walnut and is dense and well balanced. Once tuned I have always liked Winchesters trigger as a good hunting trigger. The best part is the accuracy. It amazes me to see those big holes on top of each other! 5 holes outside to outside in an inch and 16th at 108 yards. The barrel cleans fairly easy and the whole thing has just been a joy. I will be getting the Sierra 215s and Hornady 225 Interlocks and will report back. Thanks much for the advise Gents.

I tried all kinds of fancy seating depths with my 338 and 225 TTSXs. Then I read a post where a guy said he just seats all his Barnes into the front groove which is basically factory oal. All the sudden it shoots under moa. Exact same experience with my 270 and 130 TTSX. funny how that all worked out

...and 260, 30-06, 375 H&H, 7-08, 7RM, 308, yadda, yadda.


Nothing like a 5 round work up.


Buy that pack sucka........

I agree with Tanzan, but as much as I like the 250 gr. Sierra BTSP, I would not opt for it for buffalo..If I had to shoot a buff with a .338 and I have, I went with GS Customs and North Forks.

I am content with the Sierras and Hornadys mostly because they are cheaper than all the new super deligates...and they seem work well enough for guvment work...Never had either fail on elk size animals and larger. I am fortunate that I have a very old, and large supply of Nosler partitions in various weithts in several different calibers, including .338...Purchased them in bulk many years ago at ungodly cheap prices like $22. a box for some..

The most consistently accurate bullet I've shot in every caliber, including the 338 win mag is:
#1 Nosler Accubond
#2 Sierra gameking and TSX
#3 Remington core lokts

Hornadys have been a hit and miss for me so if you try hornadys and it just doesn't seem to be working well, don't waste your time with them any more and move to the Sierra game kings. I haven't tried the 215 sierras but if they are anything like the 250's they will shoot great with a dialed in load and are actually affordable.

Not a big fan of the Sierra 215s I find them a bit hard. The Speer 200gr is an awesome deer bullet. I like the Hornady 225 as well and shoot prob more of them than any.

I like the 250 grain Sierra boattail for deer hunting, shoots flat, penetrates fully and seems to stay together as I have never recovered one. They are inexpensive too.

Amazed at the number of folks here that use the .338 on deer and antelope..I have used the .338 in Tanzania and Zim while in pursuit of PG but where one might come up on a elephant, Lion, buffalo, with a snare on his foot and ticked at the whole human race..I also use stout bullets there such as the 300 gr. Woodleigh or 250 gr. Nosler partition, they work fine on PG and will do in a pinch on the mean stuff, but would hope I had a big bore backup handy and a PH that could shoot.

In RSA, or the USA, I normally use a much smaller caliber on deer size game such as something between a 250 Savage and a 30-06..

The .338 is certainly not needed for deer and antalopers, but neither is anything above the .223 with the right bullet and shot placement. The fact is I have a 300 Roy that is lighter and less pretty for hunting moose and such that will get the nod in bad or steep country. I just really love the rifle and it is proving to be easy MOA with at least 3 bullets so far so the deer will just have to get pounded extra hard. The more I shoot this rifle, the more appreciation I have for the classic Winchester model 70 and the .338 Win Mag.

The .338 can be ultra destructive on deer size game unless one uses tough bullets as is the .375 H&H, but with heavy tough bullets and broadside shots they destroy less meat than say a 90 gr 243 or 130 gr. .270..but if one takes shots as they come the .338 and 375 can be incredibly destructive.

I have had my best results while using big bores, with flat nose solids on African PG, with very little meat destruction or blood shot shoulders and the kills are quick, but some states don't allow solids in the US..

I'm having very good luck with the 215 gr. SGK. Accurate, inexpensive, and more than good enough for thin-skinned big game.