Fine Monday morning to all, I've got an old Colton- Kimber 89 BGR that shoots 225 Barnes TTSX, 250 Swift, 250 Partitions, and 250 PP Woodlies (after a good cleaning) all just under an inch for three shots a @ 100. Will use for elk, plains game and leopard on 2nd safari. Could the experts who have shot named game please help me pick one bullet for all shooting with this rifle?.... Thanks, Jerry

Jerry,

Pick one, any of them will do the job.

BigBullet, I was kinda leaning towards the 225 TTSX for the slight traj. advantage, and dang that thing penetrates. Thanks for the input.....Jerry

I used the 250 grs Woodleigh in 338 Winmag on plains game in 2008.
Steenbuck, duiker, bushbuck x2, warthog x2, zebra, nyala, waterbuck and baboon.
One shot kills, two bullets recovered.
Very satisfied customer

Duly noted, Thank You Mr. Iversen.

I don't know what percentage of the time the monometal (Barnes) bullets fail to expand and simply "pencil" through, but it is frequent enough that many people have experienced it.

I have used the 225 Nosler Partition on elk and on African plains game ranging from springbok to kudu and zebra. It has worked flawlessly. The 250 would also work fine, but if you want a little advantage in trajectory for the longer shots (as do I), then the 225 NP is a very adequate alternative.

I've never hunted them, but leopards are very light-framed animals that are better hunted with a quick-opening bullet. The Nosler Partition should be much better in this instance than a monometal, even when the monometal performs as designed.

Stonecreek, Wouldn't a big fat woodleigh splatt pretty good on a leopard as well? Or would you give the penetration edge to the partition for the rest of the game mentioned?...Thank You,...Jerry

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:
Stonecreek, Wouldn't a big fat woodleigh splatt pretty good on a leopard as well? Or would you give the penetration edge to the partition for the rest of the game mentioned?...Thank You,...Jerry

My 250gr. woodleigh's @ approx. 2700 perfect for all!!!

I used 250 grain Nosler Partion on my plains game hunt last year. Killed 6 animals from warthog to eland with it. All one shot kills. Two bullets were recovered from a waterbuck and an eland. They shot very well from my Ruger M77 .338 WM.

Greg

quote:

Originally posted by jerry mcdonald:
Stonecreek, Wouldn't a big fat woodleigh splatt pretty good on a leopard as well? Or would you give the penetration edge to the partition for the rest of the game mentioned?...Thank You,...Jerry

Never having used a Woodleigh, I can't comment. But the rather blunt Woodleigh would be by far the poorest in trajectory and downrange retained energy if you are concerned about longer shots.

Your comment on the Barnes 225 led me to believe that you might consider longer range capability an issue. Not knowing where you are intending to hunt, I can't say how important that is. I hunted in wide-open southern Namibia where my mountain zebra was taken at 275 yards and springbok at over 300. In other hunting locations you might not be able to see for more than 125 yards. Leopards, of coure, are typically shot off of a bait or over hounds where the distance is irrelavant.

You mentioned elk hunting. Those critters can present a shot at anywhere from 400 inches to 400 yards. I like the 225 weights in a .338 for elk, having used the NP in that weight quite successfully. I've found the even slicker 225 Accubond to be equally accurate in my .338 and intend to give it a try on my next elk/African hunt.

Back in the late 1960's my father had a very good friend that must have taken 5-6 trips to Africa not to mention hunting in Alaska on a very regular basis.
He seldom hunted with anything but a model 70, 338 Win Mag with 250 nosler partitions. He had a very impressive trophy room with 7-8 cape buffalo.
He said it was plenty for anything he ever hunted. He was a good shot and always waited for a clean open shot.
I bought some HE Federal ammo in 338 a few years back both in 250 Nosler partitons and 225 TBBC's. All shot to published velocity out of my stainless Mod 70 with the barrel trimmed to 24.5". (Oehler 35) 2800 FPS with the 250's and 2900 with the 225's and they shot all under a 1" or less at 100 yards. I bought quite allot of that ammo prior to Federal ceasing to make it. What a great long range load!
One of my favorite cartridges!

EZ

I had the same results with the 338 win Fed high Energy 25 gr nosler Partition load . A full 2800 plus fps .from a 22" barrel Ruger 77 mk II .. .... I myself have NEVER had an X or TSX bullet fail to expand in game .... But for leopard why not use the Woodlieghs in the RN style ..and the TSX for all else ..

Thanks for the input Men, Have got the new (pp)woodleigh's B.C. .431 shootin .750 @ 100 going 2890 fps w/ n-204. Gonna try the 225 TTSX w/ n-204 this eve. Thanks again....Jerry

I like 225 grain bullets in the .338 for just the reason you cite: speed, power and flat trajectory.

I have used X-bullets in my .338 to good effect on a variety of African game.

The 250 grainers are the 'standard' and have the .3 sectional density. I would pick the 250 grainer that shot best and was well constructed and use it. My experience with 200 grainers is less than complete penetration on heavy game. I've never used 225's and the 250's and 300's work great!

Here's another vote for the 250 NP's... I've found it to be the best all around bullet in a .338, as it will give some expansion at low velocities and in smaller animals, but still penetrates deep in bigger animials, most times exiting...

DM

I agree on the NP.s for big game men but the way the noses get buggered on the bigger bores bugs the hell out of me, the 225 TTSX.s are doing purdy good w/ the n-204, the 250 woodie pp w/a BC of .431 @2750 might be the best all around load. I could use the +3 +2 -4 -18 formula, that would cover shootin to 400 yds, save the wind dopin....3 2 4 18...the rest would be on me...Thanks men...Jerry

USED MY RUGER #1 338 WIN MAG FOR PLAINS GAME.

225 GR SWIFT A FRAME, REMINGTON SAFARI AMMO. SEVEN HEAD

OF GAME, ONE SHOT KILLS, INCLUDING 30 INCH

ELAND. CLOSEST, WARTHOG @ 30 YDS, FARTHEREST,

KUDU @ 285 YDS. TWO BULLETS RECOVERED, ONE

FROM AN ELAND, AND ONE FROM A ZEBRA. EXPANSION

AS ADVERTISED, GREAT BULLETS, GREAT AMMO.

If I were shooting a .338 I would have no problems with the NP. My .338 Lapua likes the 250 grain Barnes X and the North Fork 225 or 240 grain bullet equally well. My .340
Wby likes the 240 North Fork to the exclusion of all others. Testing will reveal the one you barrel likes best, then run with it. Good luck and good shooting.

I've shot most of the game you mention with my .338. Any of the bullets you mentioned should work well as an all around bullet although I do agree with stonecreek that the woodleigh's would give poor trjectory.

I shot several springbok and blesbok and gemsbok and it seemed I could never get them any closer than about 280 yards. They were all taken at about the 300 yd mark.

I was shooting 250 gr. game kings and they worked well. I have used the same bullet on most things in Alaska as well and I'm happy with it. I would choose somthing with a high B.C. for planes game.

Thanks Men, just a little more bench time is all thats needed, the 250gn woodie (pp) has a bc of .431, pretty flat @2764 fps. The 225 TTSX is a little faster @2882, group size will determine the rest.....Jerry

I would go with the 225 TSX, the terminal performance is unbelievable.

John

My 225gr bullet is the Accubond by Nosler And that bullet is accurate .

225 gr. Northfork!

quote:

Originally posted by Pegleg:
225 gr. Northfork!

AMEN!!!

Bear in Fairbanks

Bench time over, I'll be damned, that Swift 275 gn A-frame out-shot them all. I spect @2700 fps it outta hit hard inside 350...Thanks Men

I will be very surprised if you can get 2700fps with the 275 gn Swift A Frame out of the 338 Win Mag, I could only get just over 2500fps. I haven't tried all powders yet, but this was with Reloader 22, and it gives me the best velocities with 250gn and 300gn bullets, so I would have thought it would also be good for 275gn bullets.

Sure wish SPEER would make the .338 275gr semi spitzer again. They were fantastic for the .338 Winchester.

338User, my old kimber is a colton oregon 89 bgr with alot of freebore, col is 3.550. ejecton port is 3.410 so i cut the ejector back as to eject a round w/ a col of 3.550, the swift is 15 thousanths off the lands. the load is 75.5 gns of rl-22 with out massive compression for 2705 fps. w/ a fed-215 primer in win. brass (neck sized) fired from a 24" tube. Good Luck to You...This load should be a real hammer on leopard and all plains game.

I've taken about 15 head of large game with the 250 nosler partition, elk,kudu,zebra,black bear,moose,etc. Rifle is an older ruger .338 Win mag with a 21" barrel. Killing power is very impressive. On my only African safari the pro hunter nicknamed this rifle Mighty Mouse. Ten head of game with 11 shots. I just plain missed a Steenbuck at about 150 yards while standing on my tip toes in order to shoot over an ant hill. Had to shoot twice at him. Not the rifles fault.

Thanks Jerry, That makes sense. I had my Ruger M77 modified (magazine lengthened), so I can seat to a COAL of 3.450 inches. My max load was 74.5gn of Re22 for 2505 fps. I was about 20 thou off the lands. I got pressure signs at 2560 fps so I backed of to the 0.5gn before. The extra 0.1 COAL would give you a bit more case capacity so you will be able to get more out of your rig, the rest of the difference is probably accounted for in barrel differences between the two rifles. At 2705fps that will be an excellent load. I think this would not be possible in a standard rifle though, which is why I made the comment.

How about the 225gr GS Custom?

www.gscustom.co.za.

kiwiwildcat, I checked the GS site, Damn those slugs are kinda pricey, How do they shoot? whats there record on game performance?

Anybody use 225 gr. Hornady Interlocks? For what ever reason, all I can get is high 2700s fps. with 76.5 gr. of RL-22 in a 24" barreled Tikka T-3.

quote:

Originally posted by Rae59:
Anybody use 225 gr. Hornady Interlocks? For what ever reason, all I can get is high 2700s fps. with 76.5 gr. of RL-22 in a 24" barreled Tikka T-3.

I use interlocks for practice. You are right about max with interlocks. Interlocks are good for light skinned game, for elk and boar, I would go with the interbonds or better yet, the Barnes TSX.

John

With 225gn bullets, Hornady SST and Spire points (both Interlocks), Hornady Interbonds, Nosler Accubonds, or the Speer BTSP I can get around 2780 to 2820 fps. The Barnes TSX and TTSX do around 2730 to 2750fps. Any more and I find that the loads are too hot. Reloader 19, AR2209 (H4350) and IMR4350 are the best powders I have used. Win 785 used to be great, but is no longer made, and I have heard the Norma MRP is excellent, but I can't get that in Australia, so I haven't been able to try it.

quote:

Originally posted by ldkier:
Sure wish SPEER would make the .338 275gr semi spitzer again. They were fantastic for the .338 Winchester.

Yes they were a GREAT bullet in a .338... That is the bullet i chose to keep in my .338 when doing "follow up's" on big brown bears. Expecially in the heavy alders and tall grass of Kodiak and the Alaska Peninsula, back when i was doing that kind of thing all the time.

I've had no problem shooting corner to corner on big bears, with the bullet exiting, and they gave good expansion going through too...

The 225 and 250 grain Hornandys i used, would NOT penetrate deeply enopugh for me, coming apart, same with the 250 Sierra's... 250 Gran Slams were only a little better, and i quit using them too...

So, it was 275 Speers, or 250 NP's for me...

DM

To 338User - I tried, AA-4350, IMR 4831, and RL-19, none of which would give me any accuracy and except for the RL-19 none of the other would give me any velocity to speak of. This particular rifle seems to only like RL-22 with 225 gr. bullets. It shoots 225 gr. Horn. I-locks and Nosler Accubonds pretty well. I intend to shoot some Remington UltraBonds (I believe they are called) through it and see how they group.

Like the .30-06, it is hard to find a .338 bullet that won't work. That said I like a 210 TSX for about 90% of the game you use a .338 for.

A-Square Dead Tough in pretty much any weight you want and any load you want is very much worth a look. Fine QC, good SD, A-Square technology.

Not inexpensive, though, and avaiability can be spotty. Midway, Cabela's (maybe), A-Square itself.

Have a fine time with this!