Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game What's Your Favorite 338 Winnie Bullet?

I run a #4 weight 26" barrel, works fine for me. If I was to do it again I would probably go with a 24"

FWIW I don't find a significant "handiness" difference between 22", 24", and 26" barrels. If anything the shorter barrels don't seem to point as well for me.

While I have chosen AFrames I can't swear that they work better than a Nosler Partition. From my experience the AFrame seems to retain more weight which I hypothesize would help it penetrate better - but I cannot say if this is true or not.

FWIW I don't view the price difference as significant so I buy the Swifts cause I think they are better, however if all I had were NP's I think I'd still be able to kill critters about as well.

Happy hunting...

I like the 210 TTSX at 2900 or so

I have developed a few loads for a couple of 338's, they all did real well with RL19, from 200 grain AB's up to the 250 PT's. Currently, if I was going to run 250 PT's, I'd use RL22 as it runs right at 2800 from my Pre 64 Alaskan.

I do agree, the 210 PT over RL19 is just awesome. Runs around 3000 pretty easily from WW cases, and CCI250's. It is flat out a great bullet in my rifle, although it was a little fussier to find accuracy with, again, in my rifle.

This spiker couldn't hold onto one of them..







Last year I hunted with what is probably my favorite bullet so far, the 225 BBC..





With RL17 at 2900, it shoots to the same POI as the 225 PT, so I load about 10 BBC's and 25 225 PT's for hunting.

No elk from last year, but hopefully I can get a field test done on one or two shortly. I am assured they will work well. Looking at the recovered bullets from the jugs, I am inclined to believe them..

I know some folks really like the 250's and I do as well, but for general purpose sorta stuff, up to moose (minus the big bears), its pretty hard to beat what a bonded 200 grain bullet does. Penetrates very well, retains some good frontal area and shoots relatively like a 300 magnum.

200 AB



[img]http://i723.photobucket.com/al...0bullets/IMG_08311_zps94a8ff7a.jpg[/img]


Here is a Hornady 225 that was put into the jugs at about 2900 as well. Seems okay from this bullet, but the first one I shot actually tore up much worse and wasn't anything but jacket and lead pieces..

[img]http://i723.photobucket.com/al...-A879-9523C6FBD6CE_zpso7qinnhs.jpg[/img]

I will through out one not yet mentioned. 250 gr Berger elite hunter. My browning abolt has a really long throat so by using 375 h&h magazines I can seat bullets .23 over cartridge max length. Using reloaded 17 I am getting 2780fps.
I only have two kills with this load(any 338 for that matter) but it has impressed the hell out of me. Both bulls hit the ground at the shot and neither was a central nervous system hit. I've killed a few elk and seen quite a few more and have only seen one bull hit the ground (neck shot). Both bullets exited and we're not recovered.

Fred

This thread is interesting and about to die because it is one of the very few, where everyone is right for their own use.

Being a "heavier" game cartridge, it offers flexibility from deer to big bears and with a flat trajectory familiar to most riflemen.

All bullets work, some perhaps a little better than others where a little more penetration is apt but in end, it is likely only the big bears that require any consideration at all.

I have always had a lot of .338 caliber bullets on the shelf and the .338 and .340 keep appearing in my rack. This and the .458's, and perhaps the 7x57 and maybe the .30/06 are the constants that always work. Guess that is why they are getting older and still delivering the goods.

I like 250 Grand Slams over IMR 4831 or RL 22. Bear, moose, elk, assort African game. I figure if I'm using a 338 I might as well go with the big bullet. So far so good.