Wow. Still getting lectures. I guess I'll have to look elsewhere for answers to my basic question. (What is the difference in the ballistics of the .338 vs. the .375 at 500 yards?) Of course it would make a difference depending on the design of the bullet! Common sense would dictate that giving an answer would posit similar bullet designs between the two calibers. Good grief.

And make no assumptions as to my skill at long range. What I don't have experience with is THESE TWO CALIBERS.

I can appreciate the interest in ethical hunting, etc., however I need NO LECTURES on that subject.

Dave

JonA,

Thanks for the complete reply on the Ci's of Barnes bullets. I don't use Barnes products due to the experiances I had with X bullets years ago. Then came their manual which has overloads in it.

I did suspect the very high ballistic coeffients as well. My hope is that some other manufacturer will make a non lead bullet that cuts like a X. I think thats our best hope of getting a decent product at good price.

I suppose they could be made with a plastic insert.

Hi Dave the enegery of the 338 at 400 yrds with a 225 gr bullet would be 2005 foot pounds and 2003 feet per second . the drop would be 24" @ a200 yrd zero. for the 375 at 400 yrds with a 270 gr bullet it would be 1747 f.p. and 1707 feet per second . the drop will be 29.4" @ a 200 yrd zero . hope this helps Bob

Dave , back to your original question.................in my opinion there is not all that much difference in the practical trajectory between the two cartridges,,,,,,,,The aforementioned 260 gr Accubond can be loaded to around 2800 fps and it should hang right in there with most .338 loads . Then there is the 250 gr Sierra boat-tail in .375 which can be driven nearly as fast as the 200 gr .338 s .

The problem with the .375 for elk hunting , in my view , is simply the wieght of factory .375 rilfes. Most of them are too dam heavy to tote around in elk country ..........

BobReed,

Thanks! That's the info I was looking for!

sdgunslinger,
Thanks. Your comment regarding rifle weight makes a lot of sense.

Thanks,
Dave

I bought a 338 with the idea that it would be the end all of long range rifles. I worked up a very accurate load pushed hard by AA3100 with the Sierra 250 grain BTSP. I shot two elk with it, one at 35 yards and the other at 450 yards. The first dropped but the second was a trougher situation. There was a 35 mile an hour crosswind, since this was Wyoming this was almost a normal day in the mountains. I held halfway up his neck and a foot in front of him as he was facing into the wind standing still. I had a solid rest as I was in prone position with a tight sling so when I squeezed off I was not surprised when he reared up an took off into the woods in the direction he was facing. This elk traveled over half a mile uphill and over the top of the ridge he was on, laid down and died. I did not know there was a stream 8 feet wide and flowin well between him and me at the shot because the snow was 16 inches or better deep. Thus the ATV was out of the fight. Temperature was 4 degrees F. Due to the snow it was easy to track him and he was leaving a blood trail. He was a heavy bodied 6 point, the bullet had hit him brhind the left shoulder about 6 inches back and exited without expanding. We quartered him and carried six heavy loads to the stream, 500 yards down a steep slick rocky hillside after topping out the ridge he went over. We used the atv to drag a tree to the stream and thru hurculean effor made a bridge out of it after we found the bull the first time when we got our feet wet and went back to camp for dry pants and socks so we could get the elk pieces acroos the creek by throwing a rope across tieing it to the elk chunks and finally letting the ATV get into the fight. If long range shooting is what your after then all I can say is get all you want.

I read a few post back that some people like certain shots over others and this is ture. I think this is where you seperate the two. I don't beleave I have heard to many people arguing too strongly that a bullet from ethier of the two rifles has enough power to get the job done at that range. It is all in what we feel comfortable doing that makes the difference. Some people are comfortable shooting running deer, some have to have them standing still. My mom can't shoot them running. My step-dad can't seem to hit them unless they are moving. A shooter can is good at what they feel comfortable in doing. Me, I would not take a 350+ shot. Don't feel comfortable doing it. There are few places where I hunt that I can even see 350 yards much less 500, And if I can there is usally a reason I can not shoot that far:road, house, trucks are parked there. I try to do as much as I can of all types of hunting and shooting situations. Moving targets, Long range, Off hand, Bad side( with the wrong eye in the scope). I got on to this guy earlier but now that I think about it, Go head man, if you can do it, DO IT! And then post us some pics so we can tell you that is one nice bull you have!

So which one are you going with Dave?

Savage99,

Maybe I was a bit hard on the Barnes bullets. Their XBT's are actually quite efficient as you can see from the above test, performing close to the Sierra SBTs. What ticks me off is those bullets have a much higher advertised BC than the Sierras--even higher than the plastic tipped bullets that completely spank everything else in the test.

And of course their flat bases are nothing special--outperformed in every weight by a regular old Partition. That's something people should keep in mind when making their bullet choices.

It also shines a light on the importance of actually practicing at these ranges. Sometimes ballistics charts are right on. Sometimes they are not. Actual shooting is the only way to determine actual drop at a given range.

RickT brings up another good point--is the bullet going to expand at that range? A bullet designed to kill Cape Buffalo at 50 yds might not. If I was looking for a LR 375 elk load, the 260 AccuBond is the obvious choice. I don't have experience with it, but I do the 200 30 and 225 338 and they have shown to my satisfaction they'll open up quickly at low velocity and minimal resistance. I personally don't trust the X's to do the same.

In this test:



The "low velocity impact" X bullet on the left barely started expansion by the time it was stopped and left a very small wound channel. The Scirocco and AccuBond, however, opened up quickly.

500 yard shots are possible with each round, but
the question is what does it arrive with when it gets there?

Shooting that range is nothing but practice.
I probably burn 500+ rounds a year at ranges over 400+yds.
I regularly shoot out to 800yds.
I have no problem with someone taking long shots so long as they have practiced and have equipment capable of making such shots with regularity.

I have killed whitetail at 400 with my .375 and the round exited, BUT a white tail is NOT an elk. Have taken several caribou at well over 400yds with the rounds completely penetrating, but they too are not elk.

Would say it could be done, but definitely NOT a shot for even the above average hunter/shooter. Would say it would take someone who is a SERIOUS shooter to make a clean kill.

I sure can't see any major difference in a 250 grain .338 at 2750 and a 270 grain .375 at 2750. If you hit an elk properly with either he will die, with either you'll be lucky or extremely good to place a shot right expecially on a windy day. I don't have a .338, but if I did I'd use my .375 as it's one of those rifles I shoot well in the field and I have a lot of confidence in it.

Mark,
All of the sudden you have taken the position of Sheriff of this forum and anytime anyone mentions ethics of hunting you come unglued just like you did at me on another thread...

so why don't you take a couple of aspirin and a nap and get over it, ethics are a very important part of the hunting scene in many folks minds and they have every right to condem a 500 yard shot on a fine game animal like an elk...

One hell of a lot of elk are wounded at that range and the bad thing is that happens only with good shots as the bad shots will miss them completely but a good shot will always hit one somewhere, usually in the front legs and I have been around long enough to see this happen too many times by bragadocious rifle shots.....where do you sit in this equasion.

All I'm saying is let everyone have their say, you included, and then do whatever the hell you want..

Well i don't want to add anything more to this bucket of s#!t. But i do agree with some. 1) A man MUST KNOW HIS LIMITATIONS! 2) I hold elk with the UTMOST RESPECT so i will always try to get as CLOSE as i can! 3) Hunt HARD and SMART!!
I've seen some incredible shots over the years. My cousin, god bless his sole, shot a 5 point bull one day at about 500 yards in the head with a 22/250. Would i try this, NOWAY! He was the best instinctive shooter i've ever seen. Never practiced and everything he shot at died. Lucky maybe? I do beleive that their are some you can pull off the LONG shots and some that can't. I do think that all the new SUPER DUPER ULTRA MAGS are makeing the average hunter think he is SUPER SHOOTER tho!!! And that is WRONG! I practice out to 5 and 600 yard so i can shoot comfortably at 400 if i need too. And thats all i got to say about this

Dave T

It can be very frustrating when posting a question on these forums and never get an answer until a few months later because the thread tends to go way off the subject, especially when people try to put their hunting ethics on you.

a great site which I find is very useful for long range hunting is called just that...Long Range Hunting. you won't get any arguments there. would be nice if people were just helpful rather than condescending. can't believe it took 3 pages of posts to get a good answer to the original question. hope you are still around.

I once posted a question on using fiberglass to build a bow on a selfbow website. got the same thing. it got so bad I never went back. it is not the site that is bad, just some of the people who hover over them. I always thought these sites were to exchange information that is needed and appreciated. this just makes people not turn to these sites for good info and just go off on their own and make mistakes or use poor judgement. if we can't work together, what is the use of these sites anyway.

there will always be a sore subject to talk about. restraint should be used in order to answer the question properly. my thoughts...

I live in north western oregon,i hunt the coast range for both deer and elk. i use a 340 wby. on elk,270 wsm. on everything else. Shots very from one extreme to the next. so i practice shoot for those extreme shots, all year round,time and weather, permitting. I use a laser range finder each time before i take that shot. Back to your question,i use 225 gr. hornadys on elk. iv'e never used the 375 on game but the 338 wby. hits very hard at 500 yrds. with 2000 ft. lbs of energy left. It shoots as flat as a 7mm. but with the felt recoil of a 375,i'm just giving you this info, because thats the 338 i use. The 338 win. will be down from this but still a very strong med mag. I shot my bull this year at 538 yd. You do have more bullet choices in the 338. no matter what you prefer bullet placment is the most important, especally in elk since they don't suffer the hydro shock like other game. good luck on your choice..