Going next spring to Canada Black Bear hunting. Guide said possible 500lb plus bear are not uncommon. Taking a 338 Win Mag. Any load recommendations? I Know its more gun than needed.

I think your choice of rifle caliber is fine, it's what I use on just about everything but dangerous game. I have an A-Bolt that rally groups the 230 gr Win Failsafes well, so that's what I use. Personally, I'd take whatever bullet shot best in the gun, wether it be a 210, 225, 230, or 250 grains.

Good luck - hope you get a good one!

Two of my friends like the 250gr Noslers in .338 for black bears. Not sure about the load specifics.

That is what is cool about a 338, there is almost no bad bullet choices out there.

Maybe a hot loaded 200 grain Flat Point, but beyond that... Everything is good.

If you don't want to spend the money for the Noslers or another premium bullet, the Hornady 225s and 250s ( I like the Round Noses) work just great in my 338/06.

And Snake, that A Bolt in 338. I have one, and since I got a 338/06 I really don't have a need for it anymore.... but how do you get rid of a gun that just doesn't know how to shoot anything but one hole groups? Have ordered a laminated stock for it out of Boyds. Don't need it, but won't ever let it go. Accurate rifles have a place at my house, whether I need the caliber or not.

210 Nosler Partition would be good but the 225 would be about perfect. Don't overlook the 225 Swift bonded partition. "Z"

Good Hunting.

I'd take either 210 or 225 gr. Nosler Partitions, whichever your rifle shoots best. Either one will provide plenty of penetration. Most .338 Win. Mags. produce about 2900 fps. with 210s, and 2800 fps. with 225s. So both bullets shoot with about the same trajectory out to 250 yds. The real advantage with the 210s is less recoil.

I don't believe that 250s offer any worthwhile advantage on blackbears.

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It just so happens that I killed a 485# black bear in canada a few years ago with my 338win mag.
225 grain Hornady spire point. the beast dropped, and never got up.
Another hunter in camp used a 338 to kill a 200# bear, with the same results.
good caliber choice.

Seafire - Ain't life terrible when you find a gun that shoots so well, but can never be used enough Do you get those fine results with or w/o the BOSS?

Bought my rifle early 1994 with the BOSS on thinking it would be my elk rifle. Unfortunately I've only drawn 1 elk tag in the last 8 years and then my buddy won the coin flip and took the only shot that trip

I'd give those new Nosler Accubond's a try. My 338 Win. Mag. loves those with 72g, 75g, 76g and 77g of RL-22.

That's my hunting setup this year, just need to find the animals this fall.

nicktr

Welcome to accurate reloading!
I would recomend a premium bullet that will exit the bear from most any angle.
The large bears a good guide can put you on can carry a lot of fat. Fat quickly seals the blood flow on an entrance wound making tracking difficult. Black bears are relativly easy to kill no matter what the size.
Blackies that are 500 lbs and over are pretty rare. Most decent bears are in the 300 pound class.

Good luck!
Jamie

Nicktr: Great choice of caliber. I've really become a fan of the 225gr Swift A Frame. I loaded some up for my father in law and he absolutely flattened a 250 ish black bear. Email me and I'll send you the load. good luck! jorge

If I were to use my .338 Win Mag for bears of that size I guess I would take my favorite load for the 225 Nosler Partition. This consists of Winchester cases primed with Federal 215M primers and burning 71 grains of H 4350. This load consistantly shoots well under an inch and gives a velocity approaching 2900 fps in my 24 inch barrel.

But, I have to admit I am some times tempted to go back to my old favorite of Winchester cases, CCI 250 primers, 70 grains of IMR 4350, and the Sierra 250 grain boat tail. I shot a fair amount of game with that from mule deer to wild hogs to elk and it did a heck of job. This load gives about 2750 fps and shoots superb groups.

I watched while my dad shot a bear that would not make 500 pounds, but was surely way over 400 with a 250 Sierra and that bear went about 10 or 15 yards and folded up.

Good Luck, R F

My favorite 338 load is r19 and 210 grain nosler partitions. several elk and mule deer are unavailable for comment.

Unless you're hunting the coastal areas of B.C., then if your guide is telling you about 500 lb bears, then he is telling you what he thinks you want to hear, not what he knows is out there. Spring bears are perhaps two-thirds their fall weight, with practically no fat after the long winter "hibernation".

At any rate, practically any load in a .338 will serve you well. I used a 200 grain Ballistic Tip in a .338 on my hunt in Alberta a few years ago, but any of the Nosler Partitions (the lighter the better), or conventional Speer, Hornady, or 215 Sierras will do fine. I would shy away from the Barnes monometal bullets because they usually don't shoot well and are likely to zip through a smaller bear without adequate upset, leaving you with a dead bear far away. For the same reasons, I wouldn't be as confident in the Nosler-inspired but generally less consistent Swift A-Frame.

Good Luck!

[ 07-03-2003, 00:46: Message edited by: Stonecreek ]

I like the 210 Nosler at 3005 FPS for black bear, they seldom take a step...but they all work on bear.

Every bullet from 210 to 300 grs will dispatch this animal very well from a 338 WM. To cover the very worst shot conditions, I think the 250 gr is the best choice, and a RN beats a spitzer for bad angles and brush. The best RN is made by Hawk Bullets, and it still has a high BC for long shots. Order a .030 jacket and it will expand to 1 inch with 90% weight retention.

I've had great success with the 250gr Hornady but probably other lighter bullets such as the Noslers would do as well.

The only big game I hunt just happens to be Canadian Black bears and my weapon of choice is a .338 WMag. To me this (and calibers in the same class) is a perfect bear rifle, usually guarenteeing an exit wound that as stated above is a big help when one of these guys has any fat on him. I load either 225gr X Bullets over 67.8gr of H4350 or 225gr A- Frames with 68.5gr of H4350. Funny thing is I have shot a 130lb. bear with an X bullet and yes it did "Zip" through, but also made lung soup and heart jelly of the insides. As for the A- Frames, different angle but same results on a 140lb bear. The inside pretty much "hosed out". So they still work on small bears too. This spring I shot a boar that went a bit over 200lb and one 225gr X bullet crushed both shoulders spitting bone fragments out the 1.5" exit wound.

The 250gr Hornady round nose is also another well built bullet if you want something more conventional. In that case 73gr of Rel22 works for me.

As for 500+ bears, yes we've seen them. No they're not as common like 2-300lb but everyone on this board always goes elk hunting prepared for a 6x6 Boone & Crocket bull so why can't we watch out for the monsters. Just so you know, a friend of mine who runs a lodge I guide for here in N.B. shot a 500+ boar a couple of years ago. I can't remember exactly but it was something like 534lb. I can give you the web site if you want.