So I'm loading 210 TSXs in a 338 Win Mag guide gun. 20" barrel. My instinct tells me faster powder, Viht. N-530, IMR 4064 and IMR 4320, all seem about the same rate.
Any experience or thoughts?

210 ttsx 73 gr h4350 2900 fps from a 22" barrelled 338 win mag

My 338 Win Mag has a 21" barrel, I shoot 225 grain Sierra's at 2848 fps with 70.5 grains of IMR 4350, CCI 250, FC or WW brass.
This combo routinely shoots sub 1" groups.
Took it to RSA last June for plains game and it was a real hammer.

Do you want the faster burning powders to reduce muzzle blast? You may have some luck with that.

If its about velocity, the fastest load in a long barrel will the fastest load in a short barrel. It might be a little extra obnoxious though.

The old stuff about using fast burning powder in short barrels went out with the invention of an affordable chronograph...IMR-4831 gave me the fastest velocity in the one .338 carbine I owned...but 4 more inches of barrel works much much better for me, and that's about the length of my pocket knife so I don't find a 24 inch barrel detrimental to any hunting I do.

quote:

Originally posted by Snellstrom:
My 338 Win Mag has a 21" barrel, I shoot 225 grain Sierra's at 2848 fps with 70.5 grains of IMR 4350, CCI 250, FC or WW brass.
This combo routinely shoots sub 1" groups.
Took it to RSA last June for plains game and it was a real hammer.

Thank you sir!

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:
Do you want the faster burning powders to reduce muzzle blast? You may have some luck with that.

If its about velocity, the fastest load in a long barrel will the fastest load in a short barrel. It might be a little extra obnoxious though.

+1. Accurate and very well said.

Following this thread because my Sako 75 Stainless Synthetic 338 Win has a 25" barrel as well as a sound suppressor.
While it is wonderful to shoot, it is really cumbersome to carry and I wonder if lopping off 2.5" or barrel would do to its handling.
We do not get your range of powders, however, here in SA.

I can only think of one instance wherein 2.5 inches would be of any value but I won't go there..My pocket knife is longer than that, it won't change anything but your velocity..barrel length is all a mental thing that makes some folks happy as hell in which case have at it. The idea that a short tube is wonderful in the thick stuff is just not so, as you have no control over where a intervening bush or limb might be!

quote:

Originally posted by Karoo:
Following this thread because my Sako 75 Stainless Synthetic 338 Win has a 25" barrel as well as a sound suppressor.
While it is wonderful to shoot, it is really cumbersome to carry and I wonder if lopping off 2.5" or barrel would do to its handling.
We do not get your range of powders, however, here in SA.

It has a sound suppressor? I would leave that rifle alone, and buy another rifle that has a shorter barrel. A coworker of mine bought a Ruger Hawkeye (the Safari version), but it does not have the muzzle brake the newer Hawkeye has. The barrel is around 20 inches. Good looking .338WM rifle, but in Alaska I prefer synthetic stocks to walnut.

Your "instinct" is wrong... use the same powder for a longer barrel. The idea of a "fast" powder in a short barrel is an old one and has long ago been disproved as fiction.

My 338's mostly wore 22" barrels, H4350 being my favorite powder. RL17 is a good one as well.

I mostly shot 210's...

quote:

Originally posted by Brad:
Your "instinct" is wrong... use the same powder for a longer barrel. The idea of a "fast" powder in a short barrel is an old one and has long ago been disproved as fiction.

My 338's mostly wore 22" barrels, H4350 being my favorite powder. RL17 is a good one as well.

I mostly shot 210's...

Thank you sir! I'm working on procuring some N-550 or N-160.

Yay! Enroute is 3.5 Kgs of Vihtavouri N-160 and 1 Kg of 550! I'll update with velocities as they happen.

MY Favorite load goes right along with everyone else. 70 grains of H4350 Fed. Mag Match Primer W W brass and a 210 grain TSX for 2900 fps. It works on everything I've shot with it. That being deer and elk.