Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Thoughts on the 338 210 grain Nosler Partition

So have a Remington Classic in 338 Win Mag coming from an auction, also got two boxes of the 210 grain partitions coming from the auction, so what is the consensus on this weight of bullet in the 338 Mag, and how about what powder is good to try?

I have a 300 win mag and a 375 H&H so figured the 210 might be a good weight in the 338.

The 210 is fine. Run them around 3,000 and they will be a hammer. IMR4350. Just how I'd roll that one.

I have a 338 and have taken big game with bullets from 210 to 230 grains. The 225 and 230 grain bullets seem to be a better match for the rifle, but for some animals the 250 grain bullets should do well on bear and moose.
In Africa I shot 230 grain premium bullets and all game up to and including Eland were one shot kills.

A few of us were just yacking about them the other day. I started out with 250 PT's at around 2750 for awhile, then I went to the 210's at 3000-3050 and loved them even more than the 250's. Shot a bit flatter (before I dialed) and seemed to just stun the hell outta elk. My current favorite is the 210 Swift at 2950 and it is another stellar performer. BC ain't awesome on them, but for a 0-500 yard killer they're not too bad.

I have used RL19, RL17, and 4350. RL17 is what I am currently using with no plans to change. There isn't anything I'd worry about hunting just about anywhere with a good shooting 338 and the 210 PT's. Someone mentioned they blew up on a front leg which I believe as nothing is infallible, but I haven't seen any inkling of them not being one of the better penetrating bullets out there.

I"m a big fan of that bullet out of the 338 Win Mag. Has worked for me on everything from doe pronghorn to bull elk and cow bison. I used a load I picked up from Mule Deer; 65gr RL15. Gives up a few fps, but kicks noticeably less than the 4350 loads I was using previously.

There's no flies on the old 338 Winnie. In my younger days I went through a stage where I subscribed to the philosophy "shoot the biggest thing you can shoot well". I shot coyotes, mule deer, at least 4 or 5 elk, and a moose with it. The 210 Partition was my bullet of choice. It always worked well driven at 2900+ fps. I don't recall my powder choice but I did not find the 338 fussy to load for. Fine cartridge and a fine bullet. Congrats on your purchase, Partsman!

I planned to use the 210 PT in my .338-06 for a moose hunt last year, but couldn't get the new batch of bullets that I bought to group with my previous load. Ended up going with the 185 TTSX, which worked perfectly.

Same here. Had used the 210's for years, but did go with the 250 on grizzly. Had a lightweight rifle built and it was spec'd for 225 partitions. They all shoot well. 4350 or RL-19 is what I use.

Great choice! Hard to beat a .338 Win Mag for any hunting in N.A. and much of the world. I've owned a bunch and handloaded for all. That 210gr Partition is an excellent all-around choice at ~ 3000 fps. Overall, I found RL-19 best in velocity and accuracy. But there are several others that work well, including IMR's 4350 and 4831. (Today my mediums are my third .35 Whelen and a 9.3 x 62.)

Have fun, and go get 'em!

Bob
www.bigbores.ca

Have used the 210 NPt out of my 338-06's with much success. Mostly running between 2700-2800 fps. Never a problem, and they will not disappoint IMO.

Use the 210 Partition with great success out of my 338-06. I settled on the 225 Accubond out of my 338 Winnie for a little flatter trajectory. Hits elk like a hammer. IMR 4350 is what I use for powder.

200 grain Ballistic Tips and 210 Partitions are the most accurate bullets I have tested in my 338-06 Imp. 210's give me 2825 fps out of a 23" Lilja barreled Model 70 Classic. Have settled on Varget for both bullets.

Well still waiting on bullets to arrive, but picked up a box of 180 grain accubonds to also try.
Will be interesting to see how they will work.

I’m the odd ball here, I’m running IMR4064 with 210 partition out of my .338 WM. It was my best load until I tried Accurate 4350 and 210 Barnes TTSX, but still an inch or better at 100 yards.

For the sake of conversation ..... What will the 210gr in the 338WM do that a 200 in a 300WM won't?

Due to caliber, the 210 makes a bigger hole. 20% more frontal area.
The 200 makes a deeper hole, due to its greater sectional density.

All of which depends on the Kinetic Energy it is delivered with upon impact.

I wouldn't think too much in that comparison, but having a 338 gives you the option of heavier bullets that the 300WM can't match for other hunts. Versatility? Match the bullet to the game? IDK, it's all fun.

210 GR. Nosler Partition is an excellent bullet for elk and deer always.

I like the Nosler 225gr Accubond with IMR-4350
MV is at 2900fps+ and my rifle will put 5 shots into one ragged hole at 100yds

Agree, those 225 ABs are accurate as hell. 338-06 and H4350.

That..^^

I prefer 225s but I wouldn't hesitate to use 210s if I had them. Partitions dig a deep hole and expand a bunch. Hard not to like.

For powder, I start with RL 19 and H4350. Likely if neither of those shoot well, the gun has a problem and you're not going to win. Others to try, though, would be H414 with lighter bullets, H4831 with heavier. Nothing wrong with the IMR versions, I just have gotten along better with the Hodgdon powders once I started using them. I think I used IMR 4064 with some 180s at one time.

I like .338.

I load the 160 Barnes for pigs and puny deer we have here. A partition is a fine choice anytime. If I had to get down to one bullet for every rifle, that be my choice.

I have a good friend that is a 338 nut. He has a 338 Federal, two 338-06’s, a 338 Win mag, a 340 Bee and a 338 Ultramag. One of his favorites is the 210 Partition. He’s taken everything in North America with it and a slew of game in Australia and Africa with it. Never a complaint. His other go to is the 275gr A frames. Again...never a complaint.
Have fun and good luck!

I used .338 210 gr Patitions for several years after getting a .338. I tried several powders and found REL-19 to have the best accuracy. I ended up using 74 grains of REL-19 for my load.

They work very well and penetrate nearly as well as 225 grain NPT's.

I did move to using 225 grains for most purposes after a few years. Not for any fault of the 210 NPT but to find a practice and deer load with a less expensive bullet that shot very close to my Nosler loads
out to 300 yards. Differing BC's notwithstanding It ended up being the Hornady I/L.

I have used the 210 in my .338 also in my .340. Bob Hagel loved this bullet, but 225 Part. were not available then.

I tried to get the 210 partitions to shoot in my .338wm but the best they would do is around 1.5” which for this rifle is terrible. There are too many great bullets that shoot good for me to waste time trying to get the partitions to equal other factory loads. In the win mag the 225 A-frames and 225 TBBC as well as the 210TTSX are sub 1” loads that don’t leave me wanting more. Good luck guys. 👍

I’ve been shooting 210 Partitions out of a 338 and a 340Wby for decades. I’ve taken coyotes, antelope, whitetails, mule deer, dozens of elk, and a Shiras moose. Performance has always been dead reliable, even at ranges that were probably too far. I used IMR4350 and RL19 with good success. Velocity was over 3000+fps.

All of this has been very interesting, but my experience is the 200-grain .30 Partition from .300 magnums kills just as well, and penetrates deeper. Oh, and due to a higher BC, shoots flatter and drifts less in the wind than the 210.

Have measured the diameter of the "mushroom" of recovered .308 and .338 Partitions and haven't found any difference--despite the often-claimed greater frontal area. Have also shot both into various kinds of test-media and found the same thing.

Which is why during my decade+ of hunting a LOT with the .338 Winchester Magnum, from Montana to Alaska to Africa, I eventually tended to prefer the 200-grain Partition from .300 Magnums to the 210 in the .338, especially on heavier game. But whatever....

Minutia...

In general yes, but that's what rifle loonies tend to thrive on.

But in my experience the difference in penetration between the 200-grain .308 and 210-grain .338 Partitions is definitely not minutiae. And the big advantage of the .338 WM has always supposedly been deeper penetration.

Of course, the .338 also originated, thanks primarily to Elmer Keith, back when the only readily available controlled-expansion bullet was the Nosler Partition--and heavy-for-caliber, cup-and-core bullets were the normal "solution" to hunting bigger game. Which is exactly why one of the original Winchester .338 factory loads was a 300-grain roundnose at a listed 2400 fps--which apparently worked well.

But Elmer also apparently never did really "get" the Partition, at least according to his writings. He insisted, for instance, that the 250-grain .338 Partition should have weighed 300 grains.

He went on his first African safari in 1958 with a .333 OKH as his "light" rifle, using Kynoch 300-grain soft-points that often failed to exit 50-pound Thomson's gazelles. Consequently he started shooting 300-grain Kynoch solids on plains game--which of course penetrated, but didn't kill very well. (This is partly where the myth of African plains game being super-tough originated.)

He would have gotten far better results with a .30-06 and 180-grain Partitions--which had been around since 1947. But that was not Elmer's "style". He wanted to prove something--and did, but not what he wanted....

Today we have bullets which penetrate deeply on bigger game, and kill well, despite being far lighter and smaller in diameter than any common .338 bullet. I know this not through theory, but seeing around 1000 big game animals killed by various hunters using a wide variety of cartridges and bullets.

Glad I asked, always good to get people thinking.
I shoot two magnums, one is a Ruger in 300 win mag and a 375 H&H Sako, just thought it would be nice to try a 338, so shall see what it is like when my eyes are good, did also buy some Barnes bullets to go along with accubonds and the Nosler.

I’m with MD on this one, if I had to choose, I’m running 200 gr. AB or Partitions in a .300 vs. 210’s in a .338.

Considering how well the 210’s penetrate and considering that I’ve failed to catch a single 210TTSX shot into elk, deer and bear I’m not sure how much more penetration I need.

If there was a way to measure the given energy of the bullet after it’s completely penetrated the animal then we could argue over what’s better but until then it’s mental masturbation for rifle loonies.

It seems odd to me that the 200 .308 and the 210 .338 expand to approximately the same diameter. The jacket on the 210 is much thicker and should hold a wider mushroom.

The jacket over the front of the 210 .338 is thicker than the 200 .30?

I didn't get the 210 Partition to shoot all that great in my old Sako 338. I didn't really press the matter however. Right out of the gate it shot very well with the 250 grain Game Kings and Partitions. I was using IMR4350 and H4350. It has been a while though, the H4350 was the original one made in Scotland.

Sure looks like it to me.

Sectioned Partitions

My first trip out using my LaBounty 338-06 Rem 700 rebore and the 210 gr Partition. A number of years ago.

For me, the only reason I found to use a 338 WM over a 300 Mag is the 338's ability to work well in a 22" barrel vs. the 300's 24" bbl. Otherwise, I'd always take the 300 (make mine a WSM).

While what you've cited above is undoubtedly correct, the SD of the 210 gr, 338 bullet is considerably lower than the 220 gr 30 caliber bullet at around .263 to .301, so one would expect somewhat better penetration with similarly constructed bullets from the 30 at optimal velocities.

But that equation & performance comparison is very likely to change with the 250 gr, 338 with a sectional density of .313...................I've never killed anything with a 200 gr, 30 cal bullet but I have killed a number of animals with both the 210 & the 250 gr Partitions from a 338 & have never had either fail or lacking in performance.................but maybe I haven't killed enough yet for one to fail.

MM

Have killed a bunch of big game in both North America and Africa with the .338, and several of my hunting companions have used it as well, with a variety of bullets. The 250-grain Partition penetrates with the best of 'em.

Have also killed a bunch of big game with the 200-grain .308 Partition, the cartridges including the .30-06, .300 Winchester Magnum and .300 Weatherby Magnum. My experience started with the lathe-turned 200s in the mid-1970s for timber elk hunting, when Nosler called them either "blunt-nosed" or "semi-spitzers." The 200 Partition also penetrates very well--in fact I've never recovered one, though one did stay inside a bull elk killed with one of Elmer Keith's "raking shots" at around 375 yards, fired from a .300 Weatherby Magnum. The bullet's path was traced from the pelvis to inside the chest cavity, but despite three people searching the innard-pile, we never found it.

Perhaps the best example of how well the 200 Partition penetrates was an average 6x6 bull elk I shot at around 75 yards in thick cover as it quartered toward me. The cartridge was the .300 Winchester Magnum, with a handload getting just about 3000 fps. The most visible aiming point was the big shoulder joint of the near (left) shoulder, and at the shot the bull ran forward about 30-35 yards, into thin enough brush that I could see the blood from the entrance hole as the bull stood pretty much broadside. He was obviously feeling faint, but I put another bullet broadside through the lungs, and he went down.

But it wasn't necessary. The first one had centered the big shoulder joint, traversed both lungs, and exited at the left rear of the ribcage.

Have yet to have a 210, 225 or 250-grain Nosler Partition "fail" on big game up to 1500 pounds or so, but have seen both 210s and 225s recovered--one of the 210s from a whitetail buck that didn't weigh more than 180 pounds.

I have the exact same rifle, and use the 210gr Noslers over H4350. They shoot really nice groups.

I actually prefer my Remington 700 .338WM over my Remington 700 .300WM. I think it is less sharp in the recoil department for some reason. Typically I shoot 180gr in the .300WM, and it is short and sharp when I touch it off.

Hope you enjoy your .338WM as much as I do.

I have been using the wonderful .338 Winny since about 1976 and had a custom Mod. 70 "Classic Stainless" made up in the early 90's.

At about 8 pounds loaded it is a easy carrying hard hitting rifle/caliber combo that is good for up close big brown bear or a 500 yard moose shot. That up close and long range punch covered any scenario this old Alaskan hunter has ran into.

It is a very consistently accurate rifle with about any Barnes X bullet and the Barnes X bullet of some flavor is the only type of bullet that has ever been down the barrel.

For several years I have been using the 225 grain Barnes TTSX bullets with good results and doubt I will use any thing else. Norma brass, Hunter powder and Federal 215 Match Primers shoot tiny five shot 100 yard groups every year when checking the scopes zero.

Before I switched to the Barnes X bullet I used the 250 grain Nosler Partition for about 15 years. Other then a few of our little Sitka Island deer and caribou taken with the 30-06, I have only used a .338 on our big game since about 1976.

Dear old Elmer Keith cast a spell on me years ago when I was a wee little whipper snapper. Do I need a .338 and heavy bullets for Alaska's game, not most of the time. My 30-06 or 6.5 Creedmoor and a Barnes X bullet of some flavor will kill any thing in Alaska if I do my part.

Yup, significantly thicker, hence less mushrooming unless pushed really hard
Learn something new every day here if you pay attention.

I always thought the 210 NP was more suited to the 338 Fed, or 338’06 velocity range.
Now I’m not so sure, if the 225 NP, or BT isn’t more suited.

In any case, the .308 180 or 200 NPs both do the job well with their thinner jacketed expansion

Might also add that one of the more interesting comparisons of "killing powder" appeared in THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN in 1958. It was written by one of my wildlife biology professors at the U. of Montana in Missoula, Phil Wright, who was a VERY avid big game hunter--and a member of the measuring committee of the Boone and Crockett Club for many years. Aside from being a very avid elk hunter in Montana, Phil became so fascinated with the variations in caribou antlers that he actually built a house with enough "upper room" to display all his caribou (and elk) heads.

But the article he published was about going along with a very experienced hunter/shooter who was culling elk on the National Bison Range, about an hour's drive north of Missoula. This had to be done periodically, because the elk population increased faster than the bison population, and bison were the reason the range was established.

This was back in the day when bullets were more "primitive" than now, and Nosler Partitions were only available to handloaders. The two rifles used were pre-'64 Winchester Model 70s in .30-06 and .375 H&H, and the ammo Winchester Silvertip factory ammo with 220-grain bullets in the .30-06 and 300s in the .375.

A bunch of elk were shot, and the shot placement noted--in fact the article featured small illustrations showing where the bullets landed--along with comments on the wound channel, how far the elk went before falling, and whether the bullet exited.

In the end there was NO significant difference in how far elk went after the shot, given the same placement. The ONLY difference noted was that the .375's exited more frequently, which would provide a blood trail--if it was needed.

There have been a bunch of other systematic studies about this sort of thing, including one in Sweden where "elk" (moose) hunters were asked to report how far moose went after being shot. The ranges tended to be very similar, since in Sweden (and Norway and Finland) much if not most big game hunting is done with drives, where the animals are pushed by hunters on stands, sometimes with dogs--often Norwegian "elkhounds." (I know this partly due to hunting both in Norway and Finland--though also hope to hunt in Sweden someday.)

Anyway, over 8000 moose reports were included in the Swedish study. Basically, there was very little difference in how far moose/elk ran after being lung-shot with various cartridges from the 6.5x55 to the .375 H&H, as long as the bullet penetrated both lungs.

The late Finn Aagaard also noticed the same sort of thing on elk-sized blue wildebeest, which are considered by most hunters (both amateur and professional) among the "toughest" plains-game animals. Finn not only grew up hunting big game as a child, but was a PH for many years before moving to the U.S., after Kenya closed big game hunting in 1977. You can read all about it in his book HUNTING RIFLES AND CARTRIDGES, which is still so highly regarded that used copies sell for as much as $300.

In my Ruger M77 my best load with the 210 Nosler Partitions. My OAL was 3.290, 215M primer Win cases. I got 3041 FPS SD was 8.4 . Load was very accurate.

Second best load was using RL16 at 2971 FPS. After that I ran out of bullets.

If I had more bullets I would have tried RL26 It usually gives you another 25 to 50 FPS. And is more temperature stable. The MRP is usually slightly more accurate in my rifle.

My classic 700 is certainly not the most accurate rifle I own. However, when it’s pointed at anything that breathes, (elk,deer,moose,bear) it has always delivered. I have tried 210s but 225s have always shot better.

I prefer 230 grain bullets in my .338 for big game (Nilgai, elk, and such.)
Deer and Pronghorns fall to a lesser caliber rifle.

Nice bullet for 338-06. I'm almost at the end of the blems I traded 250's for that were turned on a screw machine. Cardboard is falling away....

Here is, my two cents: This was/is a good read. It would be nice if all our Forums were like this.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.
If you love you parents if they are still alive, give them a call, tell them you love them. Heck, give them a big hug.

Take care friends.

I agree. It's a good thread and how it's supposed to be on here. Thanks to MD for sharing his experience and putting up with us.

Hope you all have a great holiday.

A friend of mine (using hot hand loads) made some pretty impressive kills with them, 30+ years ago. They are a good cartridge/bullet combo.

That said, as a handloader, I prefer a little different combination! memtb

I have a question for Mule Deer. John, in the past you have written that you preferred 200 grain bullets (especially BT's) in the .338 WM, as you thought they produced quicker kills than heavier bullets.

In this thread you seem to be saying that you think 200 grain .308 bullets from a a .300 magnum perform better than 210 grainers in the .338. Does the same logic apply to 200 grain bullets in the .338?

If this logic also applies to 200 grain .338 bullets, does this mean you have concluded that 200 grain .308 bullets work at least as well and perhaps better than anything out of a .338? Seems like a possible conclusion based on the above, but maybe I'm misinterpreting or overstating something.

Thanks for your input on this.

I have a Rifles Inc. Strata in 338WM. I load the 225 gr. TTSX as I believe this to be one of the best overall loads for this cartridge. It shoots amazingly well and is extremely effective on elk.

I like the 210 grain Partition in my 338-06 and the 200 grain AB in my 338 FED. Since getting the 338 FED I haven't shot the 338-06 enough to justify the time required to put a different pet load together for it.

I think the 210 Partition would make for a great leopard load...IF you can get it to shoot in your rifle. I agree with MD, the 200 30 caliber is a better choice, then of course there's the 210 TTSX a MUCH better option, if your rifle likes them. For the 338, I've settled on the 225s.

I shot a south bound eland (follow up shot) with a 200 grain Nosler Partition from a 300mag. The bullet exited underneath the elands chin……that’s almost 4ft of penetration on a big animal. I’ve also shot a lot of plains game and big bull elk with the .338win mag…..and from my experience the .338 really thumps them. I like my 300 mags with 200 grain bullets, but for the bigger (>500#s) animals I’ll choose the .338 every time.

I also can’t tell much difference in the recoil levels of a 300mag vs a 338. I had Duane Wiebe build me a light weight 338 on a g33/40 action (small ring) with a steel butt plate and it isn’t unpleasant at all.

Twenty two years ago I tracked this bull for four hours in sub zero temps and shot him standing in his bed at forty yards in thick timber. The only shot I had was his butt. The 210 NP penetrated deep, breaking bone. He made it twenty yards and piled up. I put the finisher in when I got to him. Not a shot I'd take today, but it certainly worked. 338 WM / 22" bbl.

I owned a 700 Classic 338 for a time and liked it a lot. The size and dimensions seemed to go well with a cartridge that size. My brother owns it now. These days, the best Partitions are the ones you can find! Bob Hagel wrote good things about the 210 NP. I still have a Finn Aagard article “Rifles for Alaska”, or something like that. He ended up with a 338, though IIRC he preferred 250’s. There must be HUGE overlap between the 300 and the 338. The ballistics just aren’t that different. Enjoy your rifle.

I used that bullets quite a lot in my 338-06. It was simply excellent for all the game I ever shot with it.

Good story. Good bull. I own that exact sweater, so, good taste.

I have fired my .338-06 AI twice at elk, and both were one shot kills. The 185 TTSX was like dynamite.

I was rereading some of the excellent posts about 200g partitions and recalled that in his bullet box testing, Bob Hagel reported the 7mm 175g partitions penetrated deeper than anything else. If so, it got me thinking about the relative lethality of the 210s vs the 200 vs the the 175s. Quick killing is a combination of quick expansion, projectile diameter, velocity and penetration. Does anyone have experience with the 175s and 200s to compare them when driven at 3000fps? I’m wondering at what point diameter begins to matter if it doesn’t manifest between.338 and .308 bullets at comparable velocity.

Not a ton of samples but a few elk with the 175 PTs started at 3050 from the Mashburn and 210 PTs at 3050 from my 338 Win. The 210 from the 338 tends to make a bigger observable difference than the 175 but that’s about all I’ve seen. None have moved far enough from POI to matter. The 210 penetrates way above what it should as well. While not high BC, it’s an elk nightmare in my opinion.

Brad, great bull and great story. Regarding not taking that shot today. I hear where you are coming from, but in that situation and hunting that way, that’s the reality and I think you absolutely did the right thing. And it was very affective obviously.

I agree wholeheartedly on the 210s being a nightmare for elk after using on dozens. I haven’t used the 175 partitions in my STW, but I have used the 160 Accubonds at 3350+. They killed quickly enough, but the elk did not appear to have been rocked like a 210 at 3250 does. One 160 Accubond exited, and one did not. I can only recall one 210 that did not exit and this was on a big bull shot quartering away at a little over 400yds.

Thank you PF. Yes, I struggle with the ethics of these kinds of shots, and it's the only of its kind I've ever taken. That placement can absolutely be lethal, and obviously it worked well. As you say, hunting this way, sometimes it's all you're going to get. The truth is, any standard cartridge like the 270 or 308 would have handled that same shot with a good quality bullet. Certainly a 338 WM isn't needed, but at all those years back it gave me the confidence to take the shot. Stainless Model 70 of course

Of course. :-)