Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Lost a bear with .338 wm.

In 2019 I shot 3 bears.
First was a spring black bear (350lb.)I shot 3 times from 80 yards. First shot was shoulder/lung, second was lung/lung, third was lung/heart. He still had about 45 seconds of fight in him after the third shot.
Second bear was a brown bear from 150 yards. Hit him twice. First shot was shoulder into chest. He ran uphill and I sent a quartering shot just behind his ribs into his chest cavity. I waited 45min and followed him. Blood everywhere, after 1/2 mile I found bone fragments from his shoulder. I followed him through a burned area of forest for 4.5 miles and lost him when he crossed a river.
Third was a brown bear a few weeks later in late fall. First shot was double lung from 100 yards. Watched him run across a creek and onto a hillside. Second shot was lung/gut from about 400 yards. 9 foot bear. I found one bullet. It had great expansion, penetrated about 2 feet and was intact.
Im shooting a Tikka T3 lite .338wm with my favorite reloads. 225 sp's (its what my rifle likes). Ive had problems not dropping caribou also. Its not a matter of accuracy. Im just tired of chasing [bleep]. Especially when its big game a long ways from the boat. Does anyone have moose/brown bear experience with .375 ultra mag .416 ruger, or .416 rem mag? Specifically have you had multiple well placed shots and watched them keep running?

What 225 bullet are you using?

Sierra 225 gr sbt

Well, there’s maybe the problem. I’ve found sierras softer than I like with deer, I’d never use them on a brown bear, especially on any sort of angle requiring much penetration. Use a good bullet for good results.

I'd change loads before I gave up on the .338 for Bear. More isn't necessarily better when you already have enough.

Ive never heard that about sierra. I went through 6-7 different bullets trying to get the best accuracy. Hornady, berger, sierra, nosler, ect. From 200-250 grain. Thats what I found for the best accuracy.

210 Or 225 Nosler Partition, or Barnes 210 TTSX. Whichever shoots better. I swore off Sierra billets for big game over 30 years ago. The .338 is a dandy bear cartridge.

Oh bears are really easy to kill...😂😂😂

Curious as to how you know the impacts and exits when you didn't recover the animals?
Doesn't nosler make a .338 partition?

I only lost one of the bears. He was wet and 100 yards away when shot. I could see where it hit him. I didnt say I could see exits.

I think, if I read right, he recovered 2 out of the 3? I've hesrd the same about Sierra bullets from the old timers in deer camp who also used to shoot black bears. Never used them firsthand, though.

I don’t have experience with 338 or bears. But my barnes ttsx slices through elk and haven’t recovered one bullet yet. Even through shoulder I haven’t recovered one.
Only bullet I recovered was shooting a bull behind the skull when he was still alive when I walked up to him. Dug it out and it lost a pedal on a rock. Other wise I think it would have stayed On.
Can’t say that about lot of bullets.

I predict you will catch hell before this thread is over... I will not add to that, I will say this is a lesson in choosing the proper bullet for the job.

After a poor performance with a Sierra 225gr. on whitetail I have gone to Hornady 200gr. Inter-lok for deer. If I were hunting larger game a 250gr. Inter-lok would be my choice. Game I've shot with Hornady Inter-lok bullets show massive amounts of hydrostatic shock, most have exited resulting in a bang flop. Only recovered one bullet from a raking shot, it was perfectly mushroomed and retained 66% of its original weight.

Marty, hello from interior AK. I've found with the Medium bores, they penetrate better when velocity is lower and the bullets be heavy for caliber. It's a life insurance policy for odd angles like quartering away. Light for caliber boat tails tumble occasionally and penetrate less than long, flat based bullets.

Accuracy would be the last of my concerns. I usually point at a single bullet type and powder. Reload it and sight it in.

Generally, medium bores aren't finnicky. Might have some fouling from all your different bullets, powders and testing.

I use a 375 bore snake through 338 bore to clear bad fouling. Using lots kg 2 bore polish. 20-30 passes. Confirm with bore scope. Might need more passes.

You have plenty of powder capacity for a 275 grain A-Frame. 1.4 inch long bullet. Break the front end out and you'll eat right up to the bullet hole. Clean kills:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/101055835?pid=316680

It's your back, your knees your ankles. Packing meat over tussocks is hell on knees and back. This double lung bullsht is for guys handicapped by 3000 fps gopher bullets. It's a 338. Break bone.

I have had a Hornady 225gr interlock in a 338 mag. not penetrate a medium size mule deer broadside at 200yds... think Nosler partition, BarnesX etc.....

Im starting to see that... The thing is, I just started reloading last year. Ive been shooting that rifle in Alaska for 10+ years. 90% of that time its been with factory ammo in all varieties. Ive only droped (stone dead) two moose and a handful of caribou. Most animals run alot further than I would think. Now, 375 rum, 416 rug, 416 rem anyone?

More horsepower won't solve your problem.. hell it may make it worse.... again think bullets, use a better bullet

Get a good 45-70 and shoot 480 to 500 grain hardcast flatnosed bullets at 1350 fps and you will be happy. After one of those goes through and through from any angle and exits, they don't go very far.

250 accubonds, or 250 partition/A-frame would be my choice if I ever took my 338 after larger bears.