I am interested in trying the 250-grain Barnes-X bullets in my .338 Winchester magnum. What has been your experince with this combination, and what loads have or have not worked for you?

Dave

I worked up a load for a buddies .338 with the 250 grain Barnes X that has gotten him several Elk over the years. My own experience has been with a .338 Lapua and a .340 Wby. My Lapua likes the 250 grain X bullet extremely well, along with a 240 grain North fork. My .340 likes the 240 grain North Fork best with the 225 grain Barnes XLC a close second. The Barnes bullets are temperamental but a little tweaking makes them very good hunting bullets and in toughness they are equaled only by the North Forks. Good luck and good shooting.

I have not used the X bullet in my 338 Win but have used 250 X loads (Sako) in my 9.3x62, they performed very well, penetrated like hell and gave very inpressive results, I can only think the 338 Barnes will do the same

Cheers

Flip

I got the best results with the 225gr version. No real load development, barnes manual top load was safe so shot it for one group. Came in at just over an inch, good for me. Shot a black bear that spring and broke both shoulders with it before the bullet exited. very tough.

I just worked up a new load for my Browning .338 Win Mag a couple months ago. I've tried the 225 and 250 grain X-bullets and the 225 and 250 grain Nosler Partitions. My rifle has a distint preference for 225 grain bullets.

My rifle has a 26 inch barrel and for the last eight years I used RL22 and RL19 with the 225 grain bullets seated ten thousandths from the lands...contrary to Barnes recomendation. I ran out of powder and thought I'd experiment with some different ones and play with the bullet seating depth to see if I could shoot tighter groups. I picked up the latest Barnes manual and followed the guidance by Ken Kempa in his "Quick and Easy Hunting Loads" article. I also experimented with the bullet seating depth in ten thousandths of an inch increments. I started ten thousandths of an inch from the lands all the way out to seventy thousandths. I could hardly believe the difference. My previous pet loads would shoot around one MOA sometimes as good as 1/2 MOA. With 67.5 grains IMR4350 and the 225 grain X bullets seated fifty thousandths from the lands my rifle is consistently shooting 1/4-1/2 MOA three shot groups at 100 yards. I am one happy camper.

I have lived and hunted in Alaska for 12 years and I've taken Deer, Goat, Caribou, Moose, and Brown Bears with the 225 grain X-Bullet. I would use the 250 grain X if my rifle liked it but accuracy is horrible in comparison to the 225 grain. Some folks frown on the 225 grain vs the 250 but I have had outstanding performance with it. Complete penetration on all the aforementioned animals except two.

The first on a moose at an honest 300 yard broadside shot and the second on a stem to stern finishing shot on a brownie. I would not expect any bullet to have completely penetrated those animals under those conditions. So I am quite content with the 225 grain and believe whichever weight your barrel prefers should serve you well. Good Hunting.

I think the tripple shock versions of the X bullet are easier to work with. I have used them in 251 .284 and .308.
I wan.t to try the 225gr in my .338.
...tj3006

Thanks for the replies, I am playing with a Ruger No. 1 S in .338, and the apparent difference in velocity between the 225 and the 250 grain bullets is little enough that if I can get them to shoot in the gun, I would like to standardize on a load around the 250's.

The X did well in my Tikka 338wm. I loaded with 68,5grs Vihtavuori N-160 and the groupings was good.

250grs is the weight that is best in my rifle so i guess the twist 1:10 is counting for that.

The cheap Hornady 250 grs SP is excellent training bullets with the same precision as the X.

225grs never worked well for me.

The 250gr. X has performed very well in my Sako m75 Deluxe in .340 Wby. In fact the heavy X groups better than ANY other bullet I've tried (including Ballistic Tips and Sierras !!!). It doesn't seem to like any of the 185, 200, or 225's and only shoots marginally well with 250gr. Partitions and Swifts.

I shot 8 plains game animals from jackal to kudu last year in Namibia with the 250gr. X. All performed extremely well at all angles. Only 4 were recovered. Three of the four weighed 100% and one had lost one petal.

I'm itching to try the Triple Shock 250gr. bullets when they produce them (I haven't heard they are planning on it, I'm only assuming).

Kyler