I know this has been discussed many times, but thought I'd bring it up again. This fall I'm headed to CO for my third elk hunt. Also have a buck tag this fall. Been reloading for almost 2 years now and need to come up with a good load for my 338 win mag (Model 70 w/BOSS).
Think the 225 grain Nosler to be the ideal choice, but still considering the 250 grain. I shot a 4x5 buck with Factory 250 grain High Energy Nosler Partitions 2 years ago at close range with excelent results. I know with that shot, neither the bullet or caliber was needed, but I do have a 30" mount on the wall now. With the boss, the rifle shot 10 different factory loads well under 1" groups. Haven't handloaded much for this caliber, but the 225 hornady's I loaded all seemed to shoot great, including several 1/2" groups @ 100 yards.
Suggestions?

While any 338 bullet should be good for deer, I personally prefer 250s for Elk hunting in my 338 WM. I got a load with H4831 that shot speer 250 GS at almost the exact same velocity as the 250 gr Rem factory loads out of my M77 (right at 2660 fps chronographed). Any of the premium 250s should work, so whichever shoots best in your rifle. I would get my best Elk load, as that is much more critical than a deer load in my opinion. I got the 338 WM after reading an article by John Wooters where he convinced me that the 338WM w/250 gr spitzers was "the perfect Elk rifle" (his words).

Good luck and have fun....

Bill

I shoot 250 gr hornadays from my 338s they seem to work just fine. If I was shooting a real hot 338 I would go with a tougher bullet. I shoot a 338 o6 and a 338 winmag.

I certainly can't knock the 250 Nosler, but I don't know of anything that if will do to an elk that the 225 won't do as well (for that matter, even the 210 performs just as well on elk). The advantage of the 225, of course, is a little flatter trajectory, making longer range shots easier.

I'd prefer the 225 by a slight margin, especially if it had already proven to shoot well in my gun.

My 338 shoots the 300 gr. Woodleigh roundnose spot on at 100 yds. with that setting it shoots the 250 Nosler 2" high and the 210 Nosler 2.5" high...I never monkey with this one...

I have shot a lot of game with all three bullets and I would use the 210 for anything in the US, it just flat works, it is a wonder bullet...

I like the 250 and 300 for shooting in the dark timber of Idaho or in the low veld bush where I take whatever shot is presented, but I have shot through elk and Eland lenthwise with the 210 gr. Nosler (no exit but plenty of penitration) but it normally blew the front section off and that kinda bothers me even though the results were just fine.

the 250 Nosler will slice through smaller deer and antelope without much damage unless you hit the shoulder bone, and they tend to run about 100 yds...It works fine on elk and the larger animals.

Ray,

As usual your post makes a LOT of sense!

I'd bet those 210 and 250 Noslers hit pretty close to the same POI at 200 and 300 yards, too.

I haven't tried any 300 grainers, but experimented a little with the Speer 275RN, and shot one Speer 275 AGS into wet newspaper (too expensive to shoot the whole box of 25, and I bet they are about a "collector's item" now).

My choice in the 250 Grand Slam was strictly to ensure enough penetration, by using a tough, heavy bullet. I can live with an inch and a half more drop at 400 yards, and that bullet hits hard. I've only used it once on Elk, not on deer. I've used the 200 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip on several deer (devastating!), but I didn't want to trust it on my Elk hunt.

Stonecreek, The 225 should work fine, and you're right in that if you know it shoots good in that gun - no reason not to use it. I just wanted to point out that, in my opinion, the difference between 225/250 in trajectory is negligible.

Respectfully,

Bill

I tried many bullets before going with the 225gr North Fork. They seem to be the most accurate in my rifle. I have only punched paper so far but I have heard great "terminal" feed back on this forum.

Being the cheapskate that I am, I've used the 225 Hornadies for elk for years and never been disappointed. Shot 2 of them lengthwise and those bullets are probably still going.
Never tried them on deer, but they are soft enough that they should open just fine on the thinner skin of deer.
If you're looking for something a bit different, I used the 225 Aframes in Africa on everything from steenbok to Kudu and Zebra and they worked perfectly every time. Accuracy was on parr with my Hornadies also, almost the exact same POI. This makes it really nice to practice with the cheap stuff and then hunt with the "good stuff". Good luck on your hunt.- Sheister

I like 225's in the 338, though most of the game I've taken have been with 210 Partitions... like Ray said, they are a sort of "Wonder Bullet." Actually, that shouldn't be too surprising... they've got about the same SD and BC of a 165 gr. .308" pill and go at (or better) the same speed as the 165 in the 30-06. They tend to go right through elk and put them down "right now." I generally don't shoot 250's as I don't think they're necessary for elkand the added recoil is unecessary... I like the 225 Partition best of all.

My $.02

Brad

I am probably in the minority here but I favor a 250 gr Barnes X bullet. Why? ... because I like the performance and penetration. It hits like a much heavier bullet and expands very well.
I have heard all the propaganda about copper fouling...hey, you have to clean the barrel anyway. Works well for me. swede

Brad,
My god, Amundson is Norweigan. I have so many jokes to tell you about Sven and Ole.

Back to the topic. I use the 250 Grain Nosler partition in my .338 because it shoots so well and I want to put a bullet in an elk that weights him down. I like hitting them with something heavy and have no other logical reasons for it. I used a load from Ken Waters Pet Loads book Vol II. He used 74 grains of MRP and got a muzzle vel of 2831 fps. I got a similar velocity (2800 fps) but my load that shot well was 72 grains of MRP and later the same weight of RL22 and it gave me 2750 fps out of a Ruger #1 (26" barrel). A load of 70 grains of 4350 gave me a muzzle velocity of 2855 fps (Waters got 2782 with the same load) but it did not shoot as accurately. Or specifically as accurately as the MRP or RL22. Check out the data in Vol. II page 395 and 396. He has some good loads also for the 210 partition. 71.1 grains of IMR 4350 = 2856 fps; 73.5 grains of IMR 4350 = 2938 fps; 73.0 grains of IMR 4831 = 2909 and 75 grains of H4831 = 2785 fps. His test rifle had a 25" barrel.

Chic Worthing

Chic, my two favorite Norwegian's are Sven and Ole! Maybe we should start a S&O thread...

I haven't loaded anything in my latest 338 so I'm not sure what it'll do with what bullets... if it doesn't shoot SOMETHING well from the Partition line, it'll go to PacNor for a rebarrel that matches the factory contour. I've got a Rimrock stock coming for it and my 270 next week.

None of my 338's have shot 250's well... go figure. I've also never been able to safely break the 2,700 fps barier. Course' I do use a 22" barrel, though a Ruger with a 24" bbl. wouldn't do it either. One bullet that has always been very accurate is the 225 Hornady.

Brad