Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 338-06 elk bullets

So "Greed is good".. and if ya got that much $$$ (and don't mind spending it)
premium bullets are "cheap insurance".....if you can live with some "over-penetration"
but if you don't have min.1500 ft/lb in 'knockdown power' and min..250 in SD...and are
not totting a DGR 'CRF' in case of bear attack,...it may be all cause to doubt oneself.

Not sure I'm buying your argument. On time - it's a new rifle, I need to do load development whatever bullet I choose. On money, Nosler Partition is the most expensive bullet on my list at about $1 each. The cheapest bullet is the Sierra at $0.53 each. A 3 round group cost me an extra $1.42 over the cheapest bullet. I normally figure out a load in less than a box of 50. So I'm out zero time and extra $23.51 using Partitions.

I'm pretty sure anyone working can afford the "extra" $20.

As an FYI, I bought 3 boxes of 225 Partitions off a guy for substantailly less than $1.00 per bullet. More like $0.50 each. So I'm into a 'premium' bullet for the same price as the cheapest.

Not sure I'm buying your argument. On time - it's a new rifle, I need to do load development whatever bullet I choose. On money, Nosler Partition is the most expensive bullet on my list at about $1 each. The cheapest bullet is the Sierra at $0.53 each. A 3 round group cost me an extra $1.42 over the cheapest bullet. I normally figure out a load in less than a box of 50. So I'm out zero time and extra $23.51 using Partitions.

I'm pretty sure anyone working can afford the "extra" $20.

As an FYI, I bought 3 boxes of 225 Partitions off a guy for substantailly less than $1.00 per bullet. More like $0.50 each. So I'm into a 'premium' bullet for the same price as the cheapest.

Buy what ever you want for your 338/06, but most bullets in that caliber were built for the 338 mag. I have seen many elk shot with plain cup and core 338 mags and the elk die well. Please know I am talking from experience of 30 yrs of guiding elk hunters and seeing hundreds of elk die. I have been loading for the 338 mag and 338/06 for about the same time and have shot elk with both premium and so called regular bullets .. The results in either case have been elk in the freezer. Also, I like to shoot a lot, so expensive bullets are a waste on paper. So I shoot paper and kill elk with Sierras, Hornady's, Speer's and even Remington corelocks on occasion. I load for a good friend and neighbor that has a 338 mag using 225 hornadys at about 2800 fps. He shoots an elk ever year with one shot. I think that bullet would work fine in a 338/06 at a 150 fps slower. So again you buy what you want for your 338/06, but I know from experience premium bullets are unnecessary.

An extra $20 every time you practice adds up quickly.

Listen to DLSguide.

I appreciate you guys viewpoints and don't disagree. My viewpoint is/was limited to elk killing, not practice. I tend not to practice with 'expensive' bullets. I have more than a few cup/core bullets on my bench. I also tend not to shoot larger cartridges any more than necessary to keep sharp. I do tend to shoot alot of 243-308 type cartridges for every day shooting/practice. Almost all of my rifles are Kimber or M70 so about the only difference is cartridge.

The other factor is what shoots well in my rifle. Notice I included the Sierra 225 in my list of bullets to test for elk killing. I use Sierras in cartridges than run less than 2800 because they normally hold together at those velocities and shoot very good. That said, if I can get a Partition to shoot well, I default to them for the killing part. I'm OK with spending a few extra dollars for bullets used to kill critters.

I want to see if I can duplicate the venerable .333 Jeffery (250 grain bullet at 2500 fps, nominally) in my .338-06. I've bought some Sierra 250 grain Game Kings and will be chronographing various weights of IMR4350 tomorrow. The .333 was considered a fine round for all African game short of elephant and rhino with the 250 grain bullet. It should be a fine elk round under 200 yards.

I don't think sierra makes a 225 gr bullet in .338. I believe it is 215 gr and it is very stout. They shoot very well in my guns. Sounds like you have a good plan. Good luck, but don't try to make your 338/06 into a 338 mag. Sorry, I just saw that Sierra does make a 225 gr pro hunter in .338. Should be a good bullet too.

Sierra makes a 225 grain Pro Hunter, #2620. I think they made them for Federal in their loaded ammo for a few years before releasing them to reloaders.

I haven't shot anything with them but paper, but they are supposed to be a tough bullet for a cup and core.

Here are the results from today's chronograph session:

56.0 gr. IMR-4350 2379 fps

57.0 gr. IMR-4350 2422 fps

58.0 gr IMR-4350 2469 fps

In my rifle that's about as far up as I want to go -- in fact I may back down to 57.5 grains. How the Jeffery, with its smaller case got 2500 fps isn't clear to me and I'm wondering that the actual speeds were on those old loads at 75 degrees.


Recoil with these 250s is stout -- more than a .300 Win Mag. with 180 grain loads.

Edit: Oh wait, I just checked and the case capacity of the .333 Jeffery is given variously as 84-86 grains vs the .338-06's 70 grains.

There isn't anything that walks on North America that your 250 gr SBT load wouldn't handle. I believe Jim Carmichael even shot a Cape Buffalo with the 250 gr Sierra bt out of a 338 mag With one shot. I know I killed a Shiras Moose with his same load in the 338 win mag.. 68 gr imr 4350.

What bullet?

I believe Carmichel used the Sierra 250 gr BT Game King. I remember an Outdoor Life article that he killed a big Cape Buffalo and a big bull elk with 2 shells loaded with 68 gr IMR 4350 and that bullet. I think the elk was pretty long range too. I looked last night and couldn't find the article. I always enjoyed reading his stuff.

So what is the consensus on the Sierra 215, too soft or too hard for 338/06?

It is one of 2 bullets that shoot very good in my 338/06 and am considering using them on my cow hunt this fall.

You think the 250 has too tough a jacket for 338-06 vels? I've always liked the 250 in 338s with it's high BC and SD.

I don't think the Sierra gk 215 gr is too hard for the 338/06 if you drive them hard. And I would not be afraid to try the 250's in a 338/06 either on game. Should really penetrate.

I don't think the Sierra gk 215 gr is too hard for the 338/06 if you drive them hard. And I would not be afraid to try the 250's in a 338/06 either on game. Should really penetrate, but velocity will only be 2500 fps or so.

Sierra 250 grain Spitzer Boattail.

That must have been with the .338 WM. The .338-06 won't hold that amount, in fact 58 grains is a compressed load.

I still have a copy of Steve Timm's article on Hunting with the 338-06. He indicated 58.5gn of IMR4350 with the 250 Partition.