Winchester brass, Nosler partition 225 gr., IMR 4350 72.5 gr. OAL from base to ogive 3.730" (magazine restriction in M70). Velocity from my Pact Chrony 2920. Shoots overlapping holes at 100yds.

Killed 2 cow elk, and 1 Mule deer with this load in AZ. Now if I can just get another Bull (elk, not bullsh*t,lol) tag!

What type of rifle and equipment were you using?? I have a stock 700BDL SS I had it Magna-Ported and have had trouble getting a group ever since...

BigBores:

I am posting this not to suggest that there is anything at all wrong with your published 338 Win Mag load. Only to suggest that others work up to it carefully.

You say you are using 72.5 grains of IMR 4350 behind a 225 Nosler Partition. The latest version of the Nosler Reloading Manual suggests that 71.5 grains is maximum.

I am sure that your load is perfectly safe in your gun and it sounds like the performance is great!

However, my personal .338 Win Mag, which is a Remington 700 Classic will not digest much more that 71 grains of IMR 4350 when shooting 225 grain Nosler Partitions.

I think a lot of the reason you can shoot such heavy loads is the long throat in your Winchester rifle. You suggest a much longer OAL than I use. I load 225 Nosler Partitions to an OAL of 3.39 inches. This is about 0.010" off the lands.

My own .338 Win Mag give great groups with any number of loads. The maximums that I can shoot with NO evidence of high pressures even at 100 degree temperatures are:

71 grains IMR 4350 / 2826 fps
72 grains IMR 4831 / 2798 fps
76 grains RL 22 / 2834 fps

Or my current favorite which is 71.5 grains of H 4350 for a velocity of 2881 fps.

R Flowers

To all,

You are absolutely right R, this is a max load in my rifle, and I do have a longer throat. That will give me a little more charge room. I would never suggest that anyone start out with this load, work up to it. It just happens to work well in my gun, each rifle has it's own characteristics and should be treated accordingly. BTW that OAL is the longest that will feed from my magazine, it's actually a little further still to the lands.

I am still new to this posting thing, and I will try to do a better job of posting cautions and stuff, so as not to lead anyone down the path to destruction. Thanks for the response.

Wader,
When I get home I will better answer your questions, I want my notebook in front of me so as not to speak from my rectum.LOL. It sounds like something was disturbed when your brake was done. Did the smith take the barreled action out of the stock? Did you check the action screw tension? Maybe the bedding was damaged? I assume it grouped well before the porting job?

Wader,
My rifle is a box stock M70 win factory 24" bbl. The only thing I have had done is a bedding job. The trigger is stock, a little heavy, but smooth and shootable. I have owned this rifle for 5 years now, and it has never had a factory round down the barrel.

My equipment is a Dillon 450 press. I use a dillon beam scale and zero (level) it before each session. I am using Redding dies for this caliber, and I always full length size my big game bullets for smoother feeding. I also hand measure each powder charge when I'm loading a max load like this. I am using a Stoney point bullet comparitor and OAL guage set to measure bullet seating on all my loads. I also do not load very many at one sitting so that my attention span does not get to wandering even a little bit. I use a Chrony alpha chronograph to clock my loads. And of course the standard dial caliper and micrometer, as needed. Oh, I also have an RCBS case trimmer.

As stated above this is a load you may or may not be able to duplicate in your particular rifle. I don't own a Rem 700, but I do load for one in my group (my dad's 308). I have done all my hunting parties loads for them since getting out of service and moving back to Phoenix, lucky me.

I don't know if the throat in yours will allow you that much OAL, and consiquently you may not be able to use that much powder. Work up to it.

Lyman's #47 lists 74.0 grs of IMR 4350 as max for the 225 gr bullet, but I know my rifle wouldn't be able to get there. I would say that I did work up to my load and didn't jump straight to it. If my accuracy wasn't there, the first thing I would do is to back down the charge until I found it.

This is my hunting load, I have other loads, too, including a plinking round that is lower in pressure for higher usage in that rifle.

I have a Lothar Walther barrel 25" on a Rem 700 action,

For 200 gr Hornady or Speer bullets I like 76 gr of Rel 19 with CCI 250 primers.

For 200 Barnes X(non-coated) I like 74 gr Rel 19.

For Barnes 210 XBT I use 76 gr Rel 22.

For 225 gr Hornady's I like 72 gr Rel 19.

For 250 gr Hornady, use 72 gr Rel 22

------------------
May I be half the man my dog thinks I am.

I use a Weatherby Mark V Sporter with 24" barrel in .338 Win Mag. A safe load in this rifle is

Hornady 225 SP
76.0 RL-19
WLR primer
Hornady brass
OAL 3.315 (ogive)
MV 2850 fps
Accuracy avg 0.86" (3 shots @ 100 yards)

This Weatherby rifle has enormous free-bore, however, and this apparently reduces the pressures. The load works fine in all weather, including the African sun.

When someone tells me they just bought a .338 win mag, and ask's me for loads, the first thing I tell them is to buy two powder's, RE-19 and IMR-4350. I tell them they will never need another powder.

I personaly load 72 grn's of 4350 behind a 225 grn A-frame for 2830 fps to 2850 fps. This is a devestateing load for , IMOHO , is the most versatile and lethal rounds on the planet. I like a lot of standard rounds as well, actually I love an awful lot of standard rounds. But I find myself hunting with the .338 more and more.

I pretty much stick with 4350 but I have had great results with RE-19 also. I use IMR 4350 for so many different loads it just makes sense for me to buy the big cans of it and use it often. Its a great powder for my '06 "Match" bullet loads.

The 180, and 200 grn, B-tips are fun to shoot in the .338 also. Im sorely tempted to load the 180's for my deer and 'lope hunt this fall.

Now thats versatile !....good shooting.......10

In my old Ruger 77 338 the most accurate has always been 72 grs IMR 4350 under the Sierra 250 SBT. That was until I tried some H4831SC .A max load of 75 grs with the 250 Sierra is giving me 1 in groups @ 200yds.This old rifle has never shot this well.

10point-

I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing some of your 200gr. BT loads with IMR4350 in the .338?? I just picked up some Ballistic Silvertips to try and was looking for a starting place.

1 I oly loaded a small amount of , both 180, and 200 grn B-tips just to see if my rifle liked them. With the 200's I never even got above 70grn's IMR-4350, so actual load developement for these bullets is still on my "to do" list.

And due to surgery I dont think I'll be doing any shooting until spring, and then I'll be concentrateing on the 180's more then the 200's.

Lets keep in touch on this, sorry I couldnt be more help..........10

Thanks for the prompt reply!!! Hope everything goes well with the surgery. I am gonna load a few test rounds today. I will probably start at 68gr and work up from there. I'll keep you posted. I have shot some of the factory Ballistic Silvertips out of my gun and it liked them fairly well. Figured that it would make good deer/black bear medicine.