Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 338 win mag reloading question ?

I am getting ready to start working with this one. I was looking at the 200 grain SST or the 200 Combine Technology's . Has anyone loaded either of them? Thanks Colo280

I've loaded the 200 CT's. Smoked two elk with them, and they worked fine. I was using R15. Those bullets don't require a slow powder. Mag confines trumped hitting the lands in my rifle.

The 200 CTBS is the old ballistic tip with black oxide coating. It is not the newer bonded version. RL15 will give you pretty good velocities with much less recoil. There are several powders that will give you 50 fps or so more but the charges are much higher and the increase in recoil is obvious. Use RL15.

Never found CT bullets my rifles "liked".

Of the two, I think you will better off with the 200 grain CT bullet. We thought the Hornady SST bullets were pretty cool when we tried them on deer size game but found them to be pretty poor when shooting wild hogs. (This was in smaller calibers, not .338)

The CT 200 grain is just a coated 200 grain Ballitic Tip, which is now discontinued. I fortunately have a good stash of the old bullets because they are hog killing bullets to be sure. The 200 grain Ballistic Tip and therefore the CT bullets have a hell for stout jacket. They do not come apart. Well, unless you shoot them at 3500 out of a .338-378 Weatherby, then they are stressed to much and do surface blow. But at .338 Win Mag velocities they work wonderfully.

I just loaded them up with IMR 4831 and got great groups and near 3000 fps velocities. I am telling you wild hogs go down on the spot!

I would just go with 200 Ballistic Tips. You can push them up to 3,000 fps, but it's not necessary. I run them at about 2,900 in my .338 Win Mags and I had to look at my notes to see how many bulls I had taken with them over the years (11). All were one-shot kills and none went more than about 40-50 yards after the shot. All of those that weren't jumped and shot running fell more or less right where they stood.

Another option (albeit a little more costly) are the Swift 210 grain Scirocco's. I tried these after the supply of 200 grn. Ballistic tips dried up. They are quite accurate in my winny and have served well in dispatching any of the game I've hit with them. I have yet to recover one.

I too have a stash of loaded Ballistic tip and CT 200 rounds. Both shoot well with RL 15 or RL 19. Accuracy is good to better. They have proved decisive in many bouts with Moose, Caribou, Deer and quite alot of black bear.

Only use 200 grain Bitterroots with 76 grs of IMR 4831. They chrono at 2960 avg. Never had anything walk away after impact.

Really, the only purposes that justify any .338 magnum are the high Ballistic Coefficient bullets and greater bullet weights.

The .338win enables super-high BC VLD bullets like the 285gr Hornady and 300gr Sierra by its shorter case body. Try the 250gr Sierra Gameking as a cheap high-BC bullet and maximize your effective range, increase the energy delivered on target, and see better performance in the wind.

Barrel life is also consideration, burn less powder; 65gr versus 75, and your throat might last couple hundred more rounds.

If gonna shoot 200gr bullets, or 180s, not really much advantage using .338win over the 30-06. .30-06 AI will just about out-perform the .338win with those bullets... After all, if you think the diameter matters, you're gonna be shooting a much heavier bullet.

Yep. Shot my 22" 700SS again yesterday. It groups really well with the only load I've tried, which is the 200 CT just in the lands over 65gr of RL15. Speed is 2,850 and I will likely work up to 2,950 or so.

I routinely load them both along with the Nosler BT and Accubond.

The Combine Technology Nosler BT and Accubond all shoot to the same point of impact.

The 200g bullet is just fine


Snake

Really the Only purposes that justify any .338 magnum...

Really

I think not

Snake