Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 338 250gr Hornady BTHP on elk?

I know some target bullets are also known to be great hunting bullets. I have a 338 wildcat on the way and remembered I have a stash of midway 2nds that I'm 99% sure are Hornady 250 hpbt. Anyone used them on game?

There are success stories and there are miserable failure stories pertaining to “targets bullets used on game! There is a reason that they are labeled “target or match”…..that was what they were designed for!

I personally don’t want to be the one with another “fail” story! There are simply too many good bullets available that are designed for hunting to gamble with a bullet designed for match use! memtb

Personally, I'd leave the paper punchers for paper and use quality hunting bullets for game animals. There are a lot of fine hunting bullets in 338.

No experience with the 250gr BTHP target bullet on game. I use hunting bullets when hunting and I leave the target bullets for target shooting. The game I hunt deserves my best efforts at an ethical kill. There’s too many good hunting bullets to try pushing the limits with target bullets and trick shots.

+1

I guess the only exception might be where you over-bore for a particular species, like using a .338 or .375 on whitetails, in which case spitballs might even work, let alone marginally frangible bullets

What are ya gonna run em in? I’d use personally, and wouldn’t think twice. But Ive killed elk with 80 gr bt’s out of a 6mm ai, and 243 with c&c deer bullets.

I have a 338T&M on the way, which (I recently learned) is a 338x8x68s, or approx a 338PRC. Prev owner states 225s just over 3000fps.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...n-338-t-m-basically-338-prc#Post17187848

To me, the whole purpose in carrying a 338 is to be guaranteed all kinds of penetration.


Target bullets tend to detract from that.

Load um up and go kill an elk they will work fine just keep it off the shoulder

Never used them but have used 300 Berger and 300gr Sierra matchkings on elk up to 1600+yds with an large 338 build. Everytime there was complete penetration and they dropped immediately.

That’s precisely the issue. I shouldn’t have to consciously remember hold off the shoulder while making my shot. My gosh, you rarely have that luxury…shot situations don’t give you much time in most cases. My bull six months ago is a great example. 310 yard shot, fading light, getting ready to run back into Colorado fifty yards away…..that shot had to be taken immediately. I had no time to think “well, if he turns jusssst a hair more I can get a broadside shot. Yeah, then I can be sure to hold it off his shoulder…come on, turn just a little…”

Why use a bullet that has those kind of “limitations “? I was glad I had my 338 with 225 grain North Forks.

I agree with the rest. Use a stout bullet so you don't have to worry about limitations.

Even the old-school Sierra match kings were reliable killers as long as you opened the met plat a little. The first people I knew who used a lot of SMKs on soft targets were folks using 77gr SMKs and 175gr SMKs in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. None of them complained about the bullets not expanding and they were using them at pretty extreme ranges against targets which were shooting back.

My own experience was that the SMKs worked reliably on game as long as you opened the met plat a little bit and as long as you ran them at lower velocities. I used them for a while without addressing the met plat, then had one pencil through (lethal wound, but the deer went about 150 yards), and after that I started opening the met plat, and then I switched over to the tipped bullets (amax/eldm/tmk)

If you are set on using those Hornadys, they will probably work well, as long as you keep the impact speeds down (338-06 speeds, not 338 RUM speeds) and keep an eye on the size of the met plat. You need a decent hollow point, most likely bigger than they come with.

The 300 SMK was the bullet I was actually thinking about when I said some target bullets have a reputation as a great hunting bullet.

Like what others stated, I am not one to use target bullets on game, on varmints I will though - such as prairie dogs.
Loosing a game animal by using a poor choice on bullets can, has and will continue to happen.

Damn, this is a funny thread. Got some guys saying they work well on elk they shot at "1,600 yards", then you have others talking about changing the fn "metplat". In all likely hood, you mess with the design and you might as well be using an interlock. Of course you have a ballistics lab in your basement, so you know changing it does nothing to the BC, but sure as heck turns it into an elk slaying sob. Come on. The most questionable bullet I'd think about using (because I've used them before), is the 250gr Sierra game king. Notice how it has "game" in the name. It was made for bigger critters, but is still borderline. You can go through a shoulder with them, but the jacket will separate from the core, guaranteed. Keep speeds down below 3 grand and you'll be alright. These big 338's are mostly a joke from what I've seen. A lot of guys can't handle them or you need ear splitting brakes on them and none of them have produced what I call excellent accuracy. A light 338-06 or 338wm is all you need when considering killing elk with a .338. Use a good bullet though. You like Hornady? Use an interlock at minimum. I don't want to get into the subject of ethical shots and distance, but from what I have seen is these guys that buy these huge .338's think they can actually take an elk at a mile with the damn things and they can't even hold moa at 100 yards, and that is off the bench. Things get a lot worse under field conditions. If the op's rifle is a "custom" build, it should be able to put 5 shots into sub moa with a hunting bullet (SGK, Interlock, A frame, TTSX, Partition, Accubond, etc. etc.).

Exactly, kinda like the expression, “if a frog had wings….it wouldn’t bump it’s ass every time it jumped”!

I don’t want a bullet that requires that all of the planets and stars align perfectly for it to work! memtb

everyone has their own style and chooses their own shot ,i personally wouldn't have taken that shot especially under those conditions if i cant put it behind the shoulder i don't shoot and the animal lives another day
but if it worked for you alls good
ive let quite a few walk over the yrs and went and found a dofferent animal to shoot because there was no way or no time to put it in the crease
but im ok with that

Why try to save pennies on bullets when the rifle and scope costs hundreds and perhaps thousands of $$$? And how much for the hunt and all other equipment?

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

why spend thousands on equipment that isn't actually needed to kill an animal ? because they can,
thats why
everyone has their own personal preference and if spending thousands on equipment or drive themselve;s nuts over a piece of copper coated lead makes them think they are a better shot then they actually are that's their buisness their money