Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 338 win mag with 225 nosler partion

As I noted above, there is no universal �best� elk cartridge. That said, I thought I would add that I have a .338 Win Mag being assembled from parts � a Ruger �boat paddle� semi-skeletonized stock, a stainless MKII action and a factory 22� barrel with iron sights that has been fluted. I also have a Ruger laminate stock for it. It should be ready in late May and I plan to hunt elk with it this fall.

The load I intend to use is a 225g AccuBond with a claimed BC of .550. Using MPBR zeros for a target 6� in diameter and comparing to the 2882fps stated in Nosler�s �Reloading Guide 6�, I have been unable to find any load that shoots significantly flatter. In fact, the �flattest� load I can find is from Hornady�s 8th Edition, a 3000fps 200g SST with a claimed BC of .455. While it is 1-1/4� flatter at 500-600 yards when using a MPBR zero for a 6� target, it falls behind at 700 yards. Moreover, the lighter Hornady 200g SST load loses the velocity race inside 350 yards, at which range the 225g AccuBond delivers an extra 300fpe.

Granted, there is a slight price to pay in recoil � with an 8.3 pound rifle and scope combination the 225g AccuBond load has a calculated 37.0 foot-pounds of recoil versus 35.3 foot-pounds for the lighter 200g SST load. Don�t think I can get too excited about that...

All the above calculations are just that � calculations. With a little luck, this fall I�ll get to see just how well the 225g AccuBonds perform.

Best? I doubt it's the "best"......but it's a good one,no doubt.There are others just as "good".

Like others on here,I don't think there's a "best".

Just thinking out loud here, but if most of my shots were under 200 yards, I'd have a handy little .308 win. But that's just me.

There is one gun which comes up in every discussion of elk calibers that I have seen. Hope I get this right... The best elk gun and caliber is the one you have in your hand standing over the elk pulling out your cleaning tools.

Someone just about always ends up saying this.

For me it was the .338 winmag using 225 gr nosler partitions.

I do get a kick out of some of the famous old time Elk hunters like Jack Atcheson Jr and there sayings on Elk cartridges....

Jack says that other calibers put 'em down but the .338 Win Mag numbs them...And he has shot more than a few...

Gotta love it.

Jayco

My last elk was a cow, knocked over with a 300 wby mag 180 grain nolser ballistic tip.

I wonder how many elk have been killed with a leveraction rifle in 32-20 or even a savage 99.

Friends of mine out there used to kill them with 30-30 lever actions when they were kids. They all pack 300 ultra mags today.

...now you have gone and opened a can of worms. We all know ballistic tips don't kill elk, they blow up on the hide. I know, I have killed a dozen or so with ballistic tips, but don't tell anyone. ;D

Jon, sectional density is a stupid number to base anything off of. You can have a long bullet with great sectional density, but it blows apart on impact. Yup, good thing it had good sectional density.

The reason your heavy partitions don't kill so well, is because they don't disrupt tissue like the lighter bullets. ie; they don't expand well due to low velocity. They simply plow through. But, I am sure in all your infinite experience, you know this ;o) Flinch

....................Whew! Glad I`m in the 1% minority!

x2! That's a big 1%. I know a whole bunch that can shoot .338's and ultras well. Conversely, I know of a whole bunch more that can't shoot any damn gun well be it an '06, .30-30, .270, .22lr, .22short, you get the picture.

Two guys at the range Saturday had some of the worst cases of magnum eyebrow I have ever seen. Both their noses were swollen up with a MAJOR cut right between their eyes. Blood streaming down their faces. They are good for their 600+ yard elk depredation hunt next weekend with their .338's and ultras. They had 14" groups at 100 yards, but are "sited in and good to go."

I watch 50 guys a day try and shoot the big mags. right before elk season. Seldom is there one of them that can even put a bullet in the 14" black circle at 200 yards off a rest. These are the guys that actually "site in" their rifles before the hunts. Kind of funny, but oh well. Yet they all brag about their 1/2" shooting rifles. Flinch

I'd consider moving for safety reasons.

Your range sounds scary. I would find a different one.

janesvillejohn,

Actually, the 200-grain Ballistic Tip and AccuBond have better BC's than listed by Nosler--and even the Nosler guys have admitted that to me.

In actual field-testing, the 200-grain .338 BT shoots just about as flat as the 200-grain .30 Partition, with both started at the same muzzle velocity. I know this because I have done it.

I have also killed a number of big game animals of various species with both bullets. In fact have taken elk with the .30-06, .300 Winchester and .300 Weatherby with the 200 Partition. There is a noticeable difference between how the two bullets kill, and it's in favor of the 200 .338 Ballistic Tip.

Just curious: How many animals have you shot with various 200-210 grain .338 bullets to come to your conclusion?

John, have you tested the 200 and 225 NAB head to head? How much b.c. do you feel the 200 is giving up?

I haven't tested those two bullets head-to-head. In fact the idea has never occurred to me.

Just curious about your thoughts on the b.c. being higher than the published .414. I haven't given them too much experimentation due to the b.c. but may in the future. On a similar note, the b.c. of the 185ttsx seems higher than what Barnes has pegged it at. Any experience with that one?

I've never been able to get any of the really light .338 TSX bullets to shoot very well in the .338 Winchester, so dunno. They always seemed like more of an option for the .338 Federal than anything else.

A lot of the BC's published by various bullet manufacturers (especially hunting bullets) are computer-generated rather than from actual testing, and tend to vary due to different rifles, velocities and conditions anyway.