Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Factory brown bear load for a .338 Win Mag

My elk hunting buddy Jerry is leaving for Alaska in a few weeks for a brown bear hunt. He is bringing his .338 Win Mag. This is a rifle he shoots well and has owned for many years, so we can skip the whole part about how that's too much gun and he'll be scared of it, etc!

He asked me what load to use. He doesn't reload. I was kind of thinking that a 250-gn Partition would be hard to beat? Or perhaps a TSX... 225 grains maybe?

I have no idea though, those are just WAG's. I'll step out of this thread now and once it gets some answers, I'll forward him a link to the thread.

Thanks!!

-jeff

I'd tell him to use the Federal Premium 225gr TSX. I'd also consider the 210gr TSX if it was me.

I'm headed to Alaska in 2 weeks to hunt Grizzly, and will use either a 225gr Nolser, or the 185gr TSX. I don't have time to fiddle with the 210gr TSX. The Noslers are super accurate out of my 338 and a known quantity, but I'd like to try the 185gr TSX to see how they work. I'll be at the range Tuesday, I'm going up .5 grains over the load I usually use.

You are certainly giving your buddy good advice if you suggest he uses the Nosler Partition or Barnes TSX. Both are outstanding bullets and will work well on a bear.

He needs to get some of each and see what his rifle prefers. I have been working up loads for a bunch of rifles with the Barnes TSX this year and have sure seen mixed results in regard to accuracy. Some rifles shoot them quite well with little load development while others will frustrate the hell out of you before you can get them to shoot.

remington 225 grain swift a frames....
i have not used on br bear, but on an eland, one shot at about 225yds, entered on a broadside shot, found perfectly mushroomed just under hide on other side, PH guestimated weight, 2,000lbs, a fairly large bull.
i love the 338wm, and loaded with the rem 225 a frames,a killer combo...but as you suggested, a 250 grain nosler partition is excellent as well...
fwiw, the 250 partitions and the 225 a frames print almost identical from my rifle, i use the 225 for fairly open areas, and if it's thick, the 250 get the nod.
just my $.02

I was in the Speer reloading manual tonight in the reading room. I read the .338 data because I was thinking of getting a .338 - 06 and was comparing the two. Speer says it's a good caliber for big bears. They start with a 200 grain bullet and say that they recommend the heavier bullets just because their jacket construction is better. All the manuals say .338's are good for big bears. I'm sure it's not a "marginal" cartridge and all the cartridges with 200+ grain bullets are good choices. From my own life experiences I like Speer Grand Slams, and would look for them or Swift A Frames or similar bullets in your loads. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on the fire, and I'm sure they'll give some good specifics as they have already.

There are...factories...that make ammunition? Whoa...

Federal loads TSX's, Partitions and Bear Claws. Hard to go wrong. TSX would be my choice, were I shooting a .338 Win Mag, which is not likely. But that's your friend's issue, not mine.

Factories that make ammo...hmmm... .

Dennis

Some of us have lives....

I would use the Swift A Frame. They are more likely to dump the bear quickly.

More likely than what?

Why would that be?

And what would that be based on?

-Federal 225-grain TSX
-Handloads with 250-grain A-Frame at around 2600 fps
-Factory loads with 250-grain Partition Gold (don't know if these are loaded by Federal).
-Otherwise, handloads with 250-grain Barnes TSX. Will be a little slower, but excellent for close shots.

[quote=Ray
-Factory loads with 250-grain Partition Gold (don't know if these are loaded by Federal).
[/quote]

no sir ...these are loaded by winchester...

since i do not roll my own, i pay a bit more attention to the factory loadings...LOL

MD: Never hunted browns, but who knows what the future holds.

If I did would probably use my .300WM, but a .338WM purchase would be thought about. Why not? Not enough or not necessary? Interested in observed-first or second hand- vs internet opinions.

Thanks,

Battue

Addition: I think that any reasonable bullet/caliber placed right will work. However, I tend to like a buffer when hunting.

I've used both the 210 nosler and 250 noslers over the years. Seems to me the 250's perform better. 250's seem to get better retained weight if they don't pass through which is fine by me.

Just got back from a brown bear hunt. The outfitter and most of the guides used 338 Win Mag as their back up rifles, mostly with factory loads. The outfitter uses 210 Partitions (Federal's load, I think) while my guide uses the 250 grain Partition in the Federal load. No backup shots required as I used the Hawkeye Alaskan 375 Ruger with a handloaded Barnes 300 grain TSX at 2550 MV - enough medicine.

Lots of people have successfully hunted brown bears with .300 mags, and .30-'06's. I don't hunt bears, but when I carried a rifle on the job for bear protection, it was my .35 Whelen with 250-gr bullets. That was a situation where I would only be shooting at biting range, so heavier is better.

I would never advise anyone to pass up a plausible reason to buy another rifle, so I think you really do need a .338 Mag . I am biased toward medium bores for bigger animals, whether they bite or not, so I think rifles from about .325 WSM/.338 RCM up through .375 Ruger make good choices. Even my 8-lb .375 Ruger Hawkeye African is very shootable to anyone with experience, and the .35 Whelen/9.3x62 are, IMHO, easier to shoot than a .300 win Mag.

Roundabout way of getting to one of my signature lines. Breaking important body parts is the crux of bear shooting, and bigger better bullets break body parts more reliably.

Buy a new rifle -- you have lots of great medium-bore choices these days .

Dennis

We backward Alaskans do not usually have a big gun with a guide next to us, so we tend toward the big guns ourselves. Nonresidents will be guided or at least have kin with them so two high power rifles are better than one. I have had great results with both the first generation Xs and A-Frames (factory and handloads). Some very wise guides do not allow their sports to shoot handloads anyway, as always a cool head and the bolt knob worn shiney will go a long way toward "a harmonious outcome"

MD: Thanks.

Not sure if I would ever hunt browns. Just seems like you AK guys have enough extra hanging around that I may think about it. Kind of pricey for us outsiders tho. but I keep finding reasons to spend some time in Alaska. place.

That being said I have good .308W and .300WM rifles along with the .338Fed I've been messing with. I was thinking I should do something with the .06 and 35Whelen was starting to interest me. I really don't have much need for the .338WM just interested in your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Battue

Need is such a harsh word.....

Al

Who'da thunk???

Been meaning to try out some 270 grain banded solids in the 3/8" bore.

I have used the .338 since its inseption, I got one the first year of production and have hunted in about 70 countries with it..I have shot everything from rock chucks to Cape Buffalo with it..It is truely a grand caliber..

I personally have 3 loads but they are all handloads..I shoot the 210 Nosler at 3005 FPS, the 250 Nosler at 2700 FPS and the 300 gr. Woodleighs at 2400 FPS give or take a tad in my 24 inch barreled Mauser rifle...

These are my favorite bullets..I tried the Swifts on several Safaris, shot some 40 or so animals with them and frankly did not particularly care for them...They do expand into these nice but very smooth perfect mushrooms, and look great on the desk top or in your trophy room, but the fact is the Nosler and Woodleighs have those ragged ugly wings splaying outward and they cut and tear up a lot more tissue than the smooth round Swifts that remind me of a muzzle loader ball with a base. The Noslers sometimes spew the lead out but the remainder of the bullet looks much like a Barnes X and does the same thing. If you have a problem with the lead coming out of the frontal portion then use a heavier Nosler and it won't happen..

I also like the GS Customs monolithic bullets for the 338...I don't care much for the 225 gr. bullets in any make as I see them as neither fish nor fowl or perhaps I am an extremeist..

At any rate I think you need to look over the Federal ammunition as they have quite a bit on their plate to choose from...

The above is only my opinnion based on my experiences and I respectfully know that others may have had different experiences.