Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 300gr bullets in 338 Win Mag

I have a friend (bigfish9685) who seems to think you cannot load 300gr bullets in a 338 Win Mag due to available throat space.

I've been able to find two sources that provide reloading information for this bullet / cartridge combo. One of them is provided from Berger itself. So, my question 24hourcampfire, is:

Can 300gr bullets be loaded in a 338 Win Mag cartridge and safely fired?

Secondly, what kind of performace can I expect from this round? It's obviously not a 338 Lapua, but I'm sure it can still kick some butt with a high BC round. Thoughts?

(BTW - Thanks to Bigfish9685 and our friends for buying me a sweet, awesome 338 Win Mag for my wedding present! I have amazing friends!)

Sources:

http://www.bergerbullets.com/reloading-data/338-winchester-magnum/

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

I've fired quite a few 300-grain Bergers from my .338 Winchester Magnum, though the loaded rounds are too long to fit in the magazine. Also,one of the original factory loads for the .338 was a 300-grain round-nose, and it did work through standard length magazines.

Your friend is full of something, but knowledge ain't it.

When, I bought my first .338WM. in January, 1968, aged 21, I received a few boxes of factory ammo with it.

The rifle was one of a few "NIB" guns left over when a local dealer in my hometown closed his gunstore to go into the TV-radio-"stereo" business, far more lucrative in those times as now.

It was an unfired, tagged P-64 Mod. 70 Alaskan, perhaps the nicest Q-sawn wood I have ever seen on a P-64-70 and one of the 2-3 smoothest actions in that model I have ever tried.

So, a buddy and I went out Kootenay Lake to a deserted beach and I loaded the rifle with some trepidation, with the 300 gr. WW ammo I had been given. I lined up at about 50 yards on a knot in a snag on the edge of the bush and fired, KABOOM! Hey, this is NOT bad, so, I fired and fired, allowing a cooling period every few shots.....I WAS HOOKED and am still a huge .338WM fan!

I sold that rifle for college funds, managed to buy it back 20 years later almost to the day and now, 25 years after that, it is in one of my safes and as "J'0C" used to say, ...will be buried with me....

I was then and am now impressed by the relatively LOW level of "kick" in this superb round and I found the 300s VERY pleasant to shoot, just in that bare rifle at about 8 lbs.

That said, I load 250 NPs, at 2800-mv, have for 25+ years and can't see any reason to change...too damn old and ornery, anyway!

I much prefer a 338's recoil to most 7mm and 300 mags.

Alaska brown bear outfitter Dick Gunlogson required his guides to use .338s with 300 gr Winchester Power Points. When he heard they were going to stop making them he bought up all he could get and probably has a lot left. Never had a functioning problem that I heard of. That was before factory ammo was available with "premium" bullets.

I met Dick a number of years ago when he had a booth across from one I was in at hunting show in Reno. He was still looking for any 300-grain Winchester factory ammo he could find!

If I were bound and determined to use 300 grs. in a 338WM, I'd go WW-760 ball powder and a nice come-apart bullet like the berger.

Gunner

Sounds about right. That's my boy.

I have used and recommend to 300gn Woodleighs for anyone who likes that bullet weight. Also tried the 300gn Sierra HPBT when it was released about 20 years back or so. It opened up nicely on feral game from my .338-378 before it was a factory chambering.
John

My question to the OP would be, what are you hunting that a 300 gr. bullet is needed? Here in North America I would be comfortable with either a 225 or 250 gr. bullet.

My .338 with 225 Partitions hits moose with authority. Here in Ontario we don't have big bears but even with them a move up to 250 grainers would seem sufficient. I know the increase in recoil between these two weights is noticeable.

Jim

I don't know WHY you would go this route, but, each to his own. I will say that I have considerable experience with the .338WM., having owned 13 rifles so chambered since my first, above and I have loaded for/shot several others.

The WW-760-300 gr. bullet combo. is also one I have used and in my .375 H&H rifles, where it gives outstanding velocities, good, not "4350" level accuracy and seems ideally suited to THAT cartridge with heavier bullets.

It is NOT optimum in the .338WM., with 300s, RE-22 or even RE-25 will work better and IMR-7828 is not too shabby, but, seems to be "dirty". The .338WM does BEST, overall, with somewhat slower powders than one might imagine and certainly with slower ones than work best in the old "ouch and ouch".

No way Kute, I use 250/275 gr. Swift A Frames, if OP is determined to use 300 gr. I'd pick one that would expand at the relative low velocities at extended hunting ranges, don't believe a Swift or Partition would expand any at all at 1600 fps.

Gunner

The reason for recommending 760 is of course it's a ball powder, a man may be able to get enough of it in the case to achieve somewhat high velocities and still be able seat the loonngggg 300 gr. bullets to fit the magazine.

Gunner

I dunno, maybe MD might have tried it, but, while I see your point here concerning loading densities, my RE-22 is almost as finely grained and it DOES perform with these heavier bullets better than any "faster" powders, IME.

I was actually quite surprised, in 1990ish, when I was told of this and tried my first RE-22 loads with the 250 NPs, both the "new" style and older semi-pointed ones, including some old, originals from the '60s, with that relief groove.

I had, VERY carefully, worked up warmish and accurate loads using IMR-4350 in my original P-64 .338 and got very good groups with the 250 NP at 2725 fps. The now well-known WW case, CCI-250 or Fed. 215, RE-22-76 grs, 250 NP gave me 2800, superb groups, quite a few an honest .5" @100Yds. and NO "pressure signs".

I know all about Re-22 and it's supposed "sensitivity" to temps. and so on, but, I hunt in BC, in temps. from about 80*F down to 0*F and there is not enough variance here to make any REAL difference under these conditions.

So, I am in favour of these "slower" powders and still have about 2 lbs. left of the 1980's W-760 I used in my first two .375s, as I now prefer H-4350 in them.

The only "downside" I notice with these "slower" powders under heavy bullets is a definite increase in "muzzle blast" and I am very sensitive to this while recoil does not bother me much until the .400s are reached.

I would expect 2500 fps. from the old WW Powerpoints over RE-22 and/or RE-25 and I doubt that a "faster" powder will do that, but, I have been wrong before!

@OntarioJim -

I'm not using it for hunting, necessarily. I'm a reloading nut and like to experiment with all bullets & powder combos available for a specific caliber. The 300 grain would be more of a long range target experiment than anything else.

When I take it out hunting for elk I'll be using 200 or 250gr NP's

Thanks for all the advice!

CORRECTION (for the record):

bigfish9684 did not say it wasn't impossible, he just said I would run into throat and magazine loading issues. He knows way more about reloading than I ever hope to imagine and in no way attempted to throw him under the bus.

/steps off platform.

JTHurr270,

Thanks for the explanation, I thought it might have had something to do with target shooting but I don't think this was pointed out in the beginning.

Jim

I will 2nd Kutenay and RL22 with the 250 PT and 275 Speer's. It'll push the 275 to 2650 outta my Alaskan and 2800 pretty easily with the PT's. I messed around a little with the 275 Speer's, just so I had a workable load. They came around pretty quick. 250 PT's did about the same as well. I run RL19 for the 210's and 225's, but RL22 seems to work real well with the 250 and heavier class bullet.

I'd love to try some 300's sometime, but I can't imagine I'd ever need more than what the 250 PT's give me in trajectory and penetration. Pretty awesome bullet.

This is one of the groups I shot during the load work at 200 yards with the 275 Speer. Pretty happy with that sorta accuracy from that old SS.



These were the 250's