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Thanks, Mark G

"Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." Genesis 9:3

I have a couple of friends who use premiums in a 338 and I think the Hornday works just as well. When I get a chance to go after dangerous game (brown bears) I will probably use a premium just for the comfort factor.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mark G:
One would think that even Standard bullets in this Caliber would be made slighly "tougher" than lighter weight smaller bore bullets. What is you guy's take/(experience) on this?

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I would agree with your peception. I have never recovered a single 250 grain Hornady S.P. after taking caribou, black bear or moose. All I have seen is full, sideway penetration. I do indeed use heavy for caliber Swifts for brown bear...I add that there is nothing but nothing wrong with premiums. I believe that a careful match of the projectile for the game sought is an important consideration for a successful hunt. Besides, for me, making those choices (and then doing the load developement,) is a large part of the overall enjoyment of any hunt!
best,
bhtr

Having used the 338 Mag for 20 years now, and mostly with Hornady Bullets, I must agree.

The 225 Bear Claws and X bullets are really great for Big Bear, Mose, Eland or Zebra, where greater penetration mihgt be wanted.

For the most part, I shoot 225 gr Hornadys and now have even gone to 200 gr Hornadys for open country shots.

Kudu, Wildebeest, Gemsbok, etc, are no match for it.

So far I have only ever recovered one 225 gr bullet. All the rest have passed thru.

This next trip, I plan on testing some of the new Speer 225 gr Grand Slams on plains game.

Another thing I've always been confused about is the feeling that the only bullet weight for the .338 is the 250 grain. I've never seen or heard enough real difference in the results between the 225 and the 250 grainers to give up the slightly better velocity gains and ballistics of the 225 grain loads. Penetration has always been complete from any angle on Elk, Moose, and African plains game in my experience. In fact, my next bullet to try will be the Nosler Partition 210's to see how they fly in my rifle.- Sheister

JMeier

While I have a collection of 225 gr. & 250 gr. Hornady's that I've recovered from elk, etc., that are perfectly mushroomed, I've also recovered specimens that came apart and didn't penetrate very well.

I consider the Nosler Partition and the various other premiums to be a better bet in the .338 Winchester if your primary emphasis is true all-around use or for more specialized stuff like elk, moose, and the big bears - the very animals that the .338 Winchester was created to deal with in the first place. These are big, tough (and sometimes dangerous) animals and often expensive to hunt, so why "step-over-a-dollar-to-pick-up-a-dime" and worry about bullet expense when it comes to actual hunting?

Now if you want to come up with a practice load for range use and for deer hunting, that's something else again.......

AD

Keep in mind that .33 bullets are used with slower .33's such as the .338-06, all the way up to the .338-378. If I was using a fast .338 to hunt bears at the average "bear range," I would select a bullet that would hold together when fired at close range, and still be capable of expanding reliably out to 300+ yards. A FS or Barnes-X bullet has a better chance of holding together at close range, and so a heavy-for-caliber bullet since the extra weight will slow it down.

I also believe that .33 bullets have thicker jackets than smaller caliber bullets, and I wonder if that's why so many elk hunters use 210-grain NOS bullets and such.

My .338 has a fast barrel, so way before I approach the maximum powder charges listed in Hodgdon's #26, a 250-grain NOS bullet is already traveling past 2,717+ fps at the muzzle.

Good Luck!