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

The 210gr TTSX in the 338WM is an incredible hammer.

Ah, somebody finally told him what he's been wanting to hear all along. The name of this thread should have been "Please tell me that I need a 416".

No matter the caliber/cartridge it's still shot placement and bullet performance.

79S, I agree, in an earlier post I suggested 225 gr or 250 gr Swift A-Frames, but the OP asked specifically for a larger caliber, so I suggested that a measurable increase over the 338 Win magnum would be a 416 Rem magnum.

Well I have zero experience with a 338 Winchester, I have shot a lot of Sierra 150s in a thirty-ought-six and I can tell you it is a very soft bullet.

I was going to rec the 225 TTSX and enough H-4350 to drive it 2900 fps, but seems the OP wants a big bore, that load from my old 338 was an ass stomper!

It's amazing at the number of men that seem to love being a jackass .

To the original post: a sampling of three (3) bears does not necessarily a conclusion make. Lots of people have alluded to proper bullets. Got to agree with that. Does the OP need a larger caliber? Can't say. Sounds like he shoots passably at game. Sometimes game does things we don't expect them to. Who knows, maybe the next one goes down on the spot and all will be right again. I'd start with a 250 NP loaded within its optimal velocity window for expected range and go from there.

I remember reading many articles in the 80s and 90s where people would ask gun-writers what bullet to use on brown bear. One of their choices was the Nosler BT. It was the most accurate so writer said to use that instead of a Partition or other tough bullet. This made no sense to me since I had trouble getting them (although in lighter calibers) to exit deer and antelope on broadside shots. Friends who use them on elk in bigger caliber said they lacked penetration their too at the time. The accuracy difference wasn't great either, something like 1/2 inch. But by God use the more accurate one. I have not used a Sierra on bears or in that caliber so take it for what little of what I say on the subject is worth, but again I found they lack penetration. They were very accurate though.

This was years ago before Nosler toughened the BT up.

Damned if I know why one would use bullets made for deer hunting on a brown bear hunt. What kinda closet you been living in? Seems like most people understand that while Sierra's are very accurate ,they sure come apart easy. No offense intended. MB

I know he wanted a larger caliber, but why not a 338 RUM, and some sort of ttsx, partition, a frame, etc ?

I've shot a train car load of big game with 338 WM and 225 gr Nosler Partitions it was the only gun I owned for 12 years....hunted all over North America with it....only remember a 1400 lb. moose and a bison that got a second shot but they were not really needed....

My uncle and his best friend there only rifles are Winchester 70 were shooting 225 gr. Nosler Partitions....

Now we all shoot Cutting Edge Bullets 200 gr. Raptor at 2850 fps.....just more internal damage than a Partition.....

https://cuttingedgebullets.com/338-200gr-esp-raptor

I've never killed bear, but I have owned many rifles in 338WM, RUM and 340Wby. The bigger ones were 375 H&H, 375 Wby, .404 Jeffery, 416 Taylor, 416 Remington , (shot a 416Wby, ouch, and Rigby, 458WM and Lott. Even rattled my teeth fillings with a hot loaded Marlin 45-70 430gr load! They were all accurate. Use what you have confidence in...and have a ball dude!

You don't need a bigger gun, you need to use a better bullet. Think NPt or TSX.

A 458WM with a soft bullet will net the same results as a 338WM with, well, a Sierra...........

I too had a 300 Sierra .375 make a mess of a medium sized cow elk. I'm too "spooked" to use them anymore, ha. But those big humped back bears have got to bite pretty dang hard...so be careful!

here is the answer you need to hear > you lost the bear for two reasons: poor shot placement and you used a poor bullet too. the 338 Win Mag is an excellent cartridge in the hands of a hunter on any bear ,but always use good bullets like Barnes, Nosler Partitions, or some others. sorry but sugar coating your shot placement mistake won`t bring that bear back,better luck next time. practice practice practice/ load better bullets in your bear hunting ammo,it might save your life. Pete53

Already been asked and not answered.

But he obviously wants to be done with the 338 Win Mag.

I'm currently using a 9.3x62 almost exclusively and think that would be a nifty bear hammer. Then, I only 286 NPs. No need for anything else.

first time i saw this i thought it said “lost a beer” ... that would indeed be a tragedy. bear, not as big a deal. keep on rockin

Good choice! I can tell you the 9.3 with that bullet wrecks big brown bears as well as any .375