I just picked up a 338 ultra and am wondering if there is really a practical difference between a 200 and 225 grain bullet out to 400 yards?

Depending on the bullet I'm not too sure the 200 would stand up to the RUM velocity.

JUST MHO, I would say the heavier the better in that big cartridge. In order to really see a practical advantage of all that case capacity, I'd be shooting a minimum of 250 grainers, and probably even heavier.

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I would say the heavier the better in that big cartridge

The 200s work great in the 338-06. I would jump to the 250 for the RUM.

I shoot nothing but 250s in my RUM and use 210 to 225 in my 338-06.

Why do so low?

Barstooler

200 grains at 3200fps is pretty cool! But right now it is availability. MN is not big elk country and my choice at the only place that had .338 bullets (Cabelas)was 200 grain silver tips, 225 grain Accubonds and 225 grain SSTs. Realistically this gun will be used to shoot deer from 200 to 300 yards out. It's something shiney to pass the time. Even so, I just can't imagine not getting a lot of penetration from a 200 or 225 grain bullet cup and core or not. That's a pretty stiff jacket.

I think Barnes even makes a 160 and a 185 TSX for the .338, now thats fast and flat shooting and worst you could do is blow the petals off the monometal shank.!

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Originally posted by Quintus:
I just picked up a 338 ultra and am wondering if there is really a practical difference between a 200 and 225 grain bullet out to 400 yards?

In response, I started to say,"depends whether you're an anal retentive reloader such as myself or not, but then I got to thinking, the difference between a 200 gr. CTBST or Accubond with a ballistic co-efficient of 0.414 and a sectional density of 0.250,and a 225 gr.Accubond, said co-efficients being 0.550 and 0.281 respectively at 400 yds., and a max book velocity of 3,291 fps for the 200 grainer vs. 3,227 for the 3,227 fps for the 225 grainer (Nosler#7), with a 200 yard zero, is 16" of drop vs. 16" of drop.

So, based on Nosler #7, even for an anal retentive reloader, there is no practical difference between a 200 grain Nosler Accubond or CTBST
and a 225 Gr. Accubond. As far as the Nosler Partiton or Hornady SST, both would be in the range of ballistic co-effecients.
One other practicality, the 225 grainer may kick the shit out of you a little more than the 200 grainer will kick the shit out of you, unless your rifle has a muzzle brake. At the bench, shit kicking tends to be much more noticeable than in the field. JMHO

Having said that, I am currently running 200 gr. Nosler Ballistic Silvertips in my 338 RUM Sendero.

I'm loading the 200 gr. CTBST's over 95 gr. IMR 7828, Fed. 215M primers, 3.065 OAL for +/-3,180 fps.
This happens to work perfectly with the Leupold 4.5 x 14 scope with B&C reticule. Dead on at 200, then the first stadia line below the cross hairs at 300.
Took an Aoudad ewe at 267 yds. and a white-tail doe at 310 yds. with the RUM the week between Christmas and New Year. Both were pass throughs.






If you're planning on shooting deer sized game at 200 to 300 yds, you should have no problem with stuff either being DRT, or at the very least having pass-throughs and sufficient blood trails to track should the animal not be DRT. I do caution folk that with MV's over 2,800 fps. meat damage can be a factor, even at 200 yds plus.

Here is an example. POI on this 125 lb. Aoudad ewe was about 270 yds. The entry of the bullet is just left and below point of right shoulder


entry


exit.

Ya' pays yo' money and takes yo' chances.



Best

GWB

PS: Ballistic calculations did not account for elevation, barometric pressure, humidity,wind, temperature, nor the fact that it was 4:30 AM when I typed this. Results in your back yard may vary.

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One other practicality, the 225 grainer may kick the shit out of you a little more than the 200 grainer will kick the shit out of you, unless your rifle has a muzzle brake. At the bench, shit kicking tends to be much more noticeable than in the field. JMHO

G-W,

Gotta luv those RUMs - you need to do more middle-of-the-night posting, had a great laugh!



Good Doe photo; sorta adds a whole (pun=intended) new perspective to anal retentive .....

Get some 225 or 240 grain Northforks and shoot them with no worries whatsoever. The are available and accurate and will perform better than anything you have ever shot. They cost a little more but are worth it. Good shooting.

For whitetails there will be no difference. Use whatever is most accurate in your particular rifle.

When I had my 338RUM I shot cup and core 250 and 225 grain bullets. The 250 ran about 2860 ft/sec and the 225 ran 3200+, but the 250 grain were more accurate. I don't think a bullet less than 225 would work very well unless it was a mono-metal such as Barnes. JMO

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Originally posted by Luckyducker:
When I had my 338RUM I shot cup and core 250 and 225 grain bullets. The 250 ran about 2860 ft/sec and the 225 ran 3200+, but the 250 grain were more accurate. I don't think a bullet less than 225 would work very well unless it was a mono-metal such as Barnes. JMO

Opinions vary!

180's and 200 will shoot minute of white-tail in my Sendero to 300 yds. No problem.

Longest shot to date with 180 gr. ballistic tips, 590 yds.

Best

GWB

Before I sold my ultra mag I used 180 accubonds with nosler load data chrono'd at 3497fps brass held up well and the bullet killed deer like lightning. Elk load was 225 accubond and rolled elk out to 468yds with no prob. Gun was amazingly accurate, something I was told it would not be. So I would go with whatever shot the best and not look back. Lynn

The RUM is about the same as the 340 Wby. Use a 250 grain bullet, you'll like the results.

Ken....

225gr accubond @ 3140fps out of my 338 RUM was both accurate and effective on game. Did very well on a bull moose at just over 250 yards. This was before they made the 250 accubond and I would probably run that bullet now. My buddy shoots them out of this 338 win mag and they have worked with boring regularity since he has been shooting them.

This is off the topics, but as an African hunter I am always amazed at how fat much of the game hunted elsewhere is. I'm referring to GWB's pictures.

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Originally posted by AFRICAN LEADWOOD:
This is off the topics, but as an African hunter I am always amazed at how fat much of the game hunted elsewhere is. I'm referring to GWB's pictures.

If you think the game is fat, you should see some of the hunters!

Finally got a chance to get out and shoot the big RUM. Went with 7828 and RL22 with 200 grain CT B-Tips and 225 grain Hornady Interbonds. The rifle was built by Truman Wilson from a 700 action and a Lilja barrel bedded into a Laminated stock and WOW! Worked up to the Nosler book max with both powders and bullets which were still quite comfortable in this gun with no signs of pressure. The 200s with 93.0 grains of RL22 shot one big hole that was .71 inches edge to edge or .372 center to center. The 225s were .65 with 92.0 grains of 7828. These were all loaded to OA cartridge length - 3.60 for the 200s and 3.70 for the 225s. The brass was first run - full length sized Remington brass and Fed 215s. I can't wait to kill something with this gun.

Back to the range with the cool and cloudy weather. Verified what Gdubya said. The 225s zeroed at 200 with the Leupold B&C reticle are close to dead on at 300 on the second stadia and 2-3 inches low at 400 on the 3rd stadia and easily accurate enough for adult prairie dogs. I did shorten the oacl to 3.60 for use in the magazine and accuracy actually improved a touch. The recoil is an 'attention getter', but it would seem my retinas are still attached.

After getting my Remington Model 700 Sendero in 338RUM, I tried the factory 250gr Swift A-Frames. I wasn't a handloader back then so it was all that was available back iirc. These worked very well on everything I shot with it (whitetails, pigs, and the occasional groundhog).

Since I started handloading for it, I have stuck with the 225gr Barnes TTSX. This bullet has performed about the same as the A-Frame, but I was able to get a bit more accuracy than the factory loads provided and the trajectory of the Barnes was better.

I never really felt the need to step down to the lighter bullets in the 338RUM because I have a 300 Weatherby as well and, if I want to throw lighter bullets, it seems to make more sense doing it out of that cartridge. I just prefer the heavier bullets loaded in the big 338.

I'm shooting 225gr A-Frames in my 338RUM and 250gr A-Frames in my 338-378Wby. I plan to try the Barnes TSX's in both when I get around to it.

If it's velocity you want shoot the Barnes TSX or Tipper TSX. I believe Connie Brooks shot most everything with a 185 grain in a 338 Win. except when she went to Alaska, she used a 225. I like the 210's. That aside, I thought the purpose of the 338 Rum was to push heavy bullets as fast as the other guys shoot lighter ones? Just my humble opinion nothing more.

In N America what could possibly cause a soul to need/want more than 225 grains from a .338 bullet from a game killing perspective? Is there a beast that could survive a vital hit with a 225 that would succumb to the extra 25 grains of a 250?