Elmer said it, Finn Aagard said it and so did Ross Seyfried and lots of other renowned riflemen. " use heavy for caliber bullet when hunting big game".And then over and over again, the 338 win. seems to be at it�s "best" with the light for caliber 210 gr. How come ??

Is it the flat trajectory obsession, or am I missing something here ??

I load my 338 win with 250 gr. Nosler for moose, ant had always belived that that was the optimum load ( more or less ).

Newer to old for learning though, I�m courious ???

Arild

I don't know why. Speed I guess. In my 338 Win Mag I use Nosler 210's in front of 76 gr RL19. Gets me 2990 fps and litle-bitty groups. For the heavier bullets I go to the 340 Wby and 338 Lapua. Yeah, it must be a speed thing. - Dan

Arild,

With "premium" ie deep expanding bullets, one can achieve the same penetration as heavier cup/core bullets. This is something most folks ignore when saying why should they use a "premium". So, if one goes to a lighter bullet, has the same penetration, the added velocity will make for more tissue disruption, and flatter trajectory.

I'd also add my thought that once one achieves consistant exits in a given caliber, the only way to increase terminal balistics is to increase both bullet weight and diameter.

The 210 grain bullet in the .338 has slightly more sectional density than the 130 grainer .270 and slightly less B.C. than that 130 grainer. The .270 was designed around the 130 grain bullet.

Arild: I have only used 230-grain FS and 250-grain NOS Partition bullets on moose in Alaska. Since I hunt in bear country, I feel a little better using slow expanding bullets such as Barnes-X and the FS. I have heard from lots of hunters-who have used the 210 grainers-how well it works for elk and other large game.

Last year I killed a moose with a Federal HE/250-grain NOS with outstanding results. I have killed moose with FS bullets as close as 100 yards, and as far as 300, and all but one zipped right through even after breaking bone. The 300-yard one was my first moose ever; nowadays I get as close as possible.

The moose I killed last year was 250 yards away, broadside to me, and the 250-grain NOS bullet went right through leaving behind a very dead moose. I have recovered only one bullet from moose, a 230-grain FS that killed it on a quartering away shot. My hunting partner found it lodged on the hide at the far side. Before it got there, the bullet broke a rib and almost cut through the next, went through the lungs/heart, broke the far shoulder bone, and stopped on the hide.

I bet the 275-grain Swift and the 300-grain Wooldleigh work just as well on moose. Their speed will be slower, but the ballistics will be pretty close to that of the .375 H&H.

Elmer, Finn, and Ross lived and hunted in a different era. I am speaking of the technology in bullet making only. Bullet quality & selection today is so much better than it was 40 to 50 years ago. Many of today's bullets will expand and still retain most if not all of their weight whether they are light, or heavy for caliber. For example, the "X", Grand Slam, and Fail Safe to name a few. In my opinion, the heavy for caliber bullet theory was because most bullets in those day's shed a lot of their weight. The heavier bullet's simply held more of their weight, and as such, out penetrated the lighter for caliber bullet's.

At least that is my my opinion on the subject.

Mark

I have used all the weights and all the bullets made for the 338 and I just have a couple of favorites..

The 210 seems to penitrate as well as the 250 for some reason and shoots flat as a string,

Don't be mistaken here because I dearly love that 250 Nosler...I also really like the 300gr. Woodleigh for Buffalo, big bear and elk in the timber...

I don't much care for the 225,230 for they are neither fish nor fowl in my opinnion, others believe they are the answer and that may be correct...

If I was restricted to one bullet for everything then it would be the 210 Nosler or one of the new lighter weight Northforks...I do know that a 210 Nosler will shoot lenthwise through an elk and a 2500 lb. Eland and thats no light praise....

The 210 Nosler will shoot as flat as a 300 magnum when it leaves the barrel at 3005 FPS. At least for all practical purposes.

"And thats the truth"

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Ray, regale me with tales of the .300gr Woodleighs in your Winnie. I really want to try them in my Ultra Mag. Any failures to speak of?

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God Bless and Shoot Straight

Thank you Gentleman. As always on this site, the knowledge are in deed plentyfull.
Guess I have to try the 210 gr. Nosler in my trusty Ruger when the shooting range thaw out.
Regards Arild

Gundog,

Not to be contentious, but of the 3 names mentioned only Elmer Keith "lived and hunted in a different era."

Finn Aagard died but a couple of years ago, and he wrote more than once of modern bullets, Barnes-X to Nosler Partiton.

Ross Seyfried is still hunting & writing.

Premium bullet construction can help make up for lighter bullet weight to some degree; I have used 125 grain Barnes-X bullets on whitetails with complete satisfaction. On really big critters, though, I'd prefer heavier bullets no matter what the construction.

Writer Ed Matunas also used to be fond of the 210 Nosler Partition on the .338 Winnie. It worked well much of the time. But, he saw enough cases where it DIDN't penetrate sufficiently on really large animals that he switched to the 250 Partition exclusively. He has many days in the African bush under his belt.

Regards,
BigIron