I had a difficult time trying to find a good load for the 180 and 200 Ballistic Tips in my .338. Finally tried 66.0gr of IMR4064 and accuracy has been outstanding along with velocity of about 3000 for the 200 and 3100 for the 180. Great combination for anything less than Elk with a .338.

I'm shooting a "baby" .338 compared to yours but have had great luck with the 180gr NBT's. Mine is a 14" Contender .338JDJ#2 that uses 52gr RL-15 to push the 180gr bullet just under 2500fps. Makes a SUPER deer load from a pistol!

Just tried a load of 76 gr RL 19 with 180 BT - 3 shots - one ragged hole - close to 3100 fps. Not hot.

72.2 grains of IMR 4831 with 200 grain ballistic tips shoot a 4 shot clover leaf (well, almost) from my Howa Lightning 1500 at 100 yards. Don't know how fast they go but the felt recoil is...felt but not bad!

[ 08-22-2002, 04:41: Message edited by: Elk_Man ]

my particular rifle, a Sako, would not shoot the 180 grain bt's accurately with any of the medium to slow burning powder I have tried in the 4350 to 4831 range.
was about to give up when I tried norma 202 and now get .75 to 1.0 inch groups at 3,140 fos.
just my 2 cents.
regards, montero

Based upon my own experience and what I am hearing from others shooting the 180 and 200 BTs in .338, rifles can be extremely touchy about what load they like with these bullets. However, once the magic combination is found accuracy can be terrific. Now if they just hold up on game.

I shoot a little heavier bullet through mine. I like the 225g Nosler Partition in front of 77.5g Reloader 22. I get just a tad under 3,000 fps and groups around 1/2 inch on a good day. (we all have our bad days) I've used this combination on a variety or game and it will give good penetration on Elk sized critters and still not destroy much valuable meat on deer sized critters. It's a good one shot killing combination on game from 150 lbs to 900 lbs.

My 200gr BT load consists of 60 gr. of AA 2520 and a CCI mag primer. Velocities run 2850 with a single digit SD, and 1/2 to 3/4" groups. Great blacktail load.

For the big stuff, I load 225 gr. partitions over 74 gr. of AA4350. Velocities are 3050, and SD is 30. Groups run under an inch.

I have two 200gr BT loads for my 338Win Mag Weatherby Vanguard 2. First is 77gr of Re22 at 3076fps 3/4" @100yds and 64grs of Re15 2902fps 0.2" @ 50yds. I also have a big bullet load with the old Speer 275gr Semi-spitzer. It is 72gr of Re22 2563fps and 0.55" @50yds (this load turned a 4X Nikon into a paper weight). There was no sign of high pressure in my gun but that is my gun. These loads might lock a bolt or blow a primer in another gun. Start low and work up.