Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Partitions and A-Frames Pressure w/ 338wm, 250gr

I wouldn't call the 340 obsolete as it is one of the few that does what is both claimed and rumored.

When I handload, I commonly go overboard meaning instead of selecting a few bullets to cover most needs, I tend to load for everything on the shelf which usually means a dozen or more bullets in varying weight and nearly that sometimes, in powders.

It takes a long time and an awful lot of chronographing before I am done, then I repeat it all again when the next rifle in like chambering comes along.

I have far more commonly found the medium/slow powders more reliable and uniform in performance than the slow powders.

Coming from the "sunburned country", I never experienced the temperature issues others have and when I try to replicate them, fail, which is why they still appear in my recommendations.

Whether .25/06, 7x57, .30/06, .338 or .375, I like the mediums and find they work best at peak pressures as the velocites and groups indicate.

I used a lot of AR 2213 in Oz as it worked very well in the magnums but in the US with the current version marketed by Hodgdon, I don't get the same results others do to the point I will likely drop it when my stocks dwindle.

I enjoy reading others experiences but am amazed at how many are different to mine which are commonly learned in a variety of rifles which as I stated, are replicated in the next rifle that comes along.

All in all, I am enjoying this thread.
John

Whoa, no lawyering here, old construction supt here and want nothing to do with lawyering. 30+ years with buildings, no real injuries, happy owners, architects, tradesman, anything I blow up, I blowup. Right now I'm OK with what's going on and the 338, but working on cutting down the varibles, bedding, bore coating is getting better, and things are starting to smooth out. Might cram another gram or two with H4831 or stick with the RL22, as our weather is pretty stable, rare hot days here and don't worry too much with hots and colds. 2650 to 2700 is fine. But all the info is still good.

It's actually nice to see so much sane banter regarding a cartridge which obviously works so well within the parameters of its design. It almost seems, sometimes, as if the good old 338 is leaned on harder than so many others in order to make it become another great cartridge of the same bore size, the 340. But, no surprise, a 250 started off at 2700 or so is just as effective as the same basic pellet at the same speed in the 358 Norma. And while some will advocate for another 150 or so, it has never seemed like a winning pursuit to take a dangerous game suited cartridge, and push it to potential bolt-binding pressures. But what do I know?…….(other than that I haven't had my kneecaps gnawed off by the local bruins yet.)