Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Best Bullet for 340 weatherby mag

Just bought 340 Accumark and set up for 225 barnes triple shock.
I am going brown bear hunting this spring and concerned that
the bullet will not transfer enough energy. Now I have had two
or three people tell me this was an issue with this bullet. I am
not much for hearsay or gossip, but maybe someone on here has experince with the barnes bullet or could recomend a better bullet
thanks
map

Your fist impression was correct.
Disregard completely, get some Rel 22 and enjoy the hunt. You have arrived.

JW

I agree that the 225 TSX is plenty of bullet for brown bear, in fact, it would be one of my top choices.

After your hunt is over, please post of photo of your bear and any recovered 225 TSX that you find in him........

AD

I've never hunted brown bear but if I did I wouldn't hesitate one second to use 225 gr TSX's in my 338 win mag. TSX's work well but they especialy work well in large, heavy muscled, thick skined animals like elk, moose, bison and brown bears. One of the best large big game bullets IMO.

If a 225-grain TSX works so well with a .338WM, how about a 250-grain TSX out of the .340? Also, how about a 275-grain A-Frame out of the .340?

Just curious.

+1. Hard not to lke the 225 TSX at 3000 fps (unless you are the bear).

I would not go with a heavier bullet in that chambering. Probably the only way to get "more deader" bear is to shoot a larger bore, like the 375s or 416s.

But the 340 + 225 TSX = Dead bear.

BMT

I don't have a 340 Weatherby,but my friend does and I've seen it at work on big bull elk; I can't imagine that combo with a 225 TSX won't kill a brown bear dead......pronto!

Good luck on your hunt!

The .340 Weatherby is one of the unsung ballistic hero's of all time. It is just like a larger scaled up .270 in that, it gives more velocity, more caliber, more bullet weight for those inclined and also provides flexibility with its trajectory and manageability which is quite easy to shoot in the Weatherby Mark V rifle and even easier with considerable reduction in muzzle lift if you have it magnaported.

With its genuine 4800 FPE capability and MOA and better accuracy potential, it will kill everything in this world with the right bullets but is a superb choice for a serious rifleman who would hunt much of the worlds game and leave aside the very few 3 or 4 of Africa's largest or dangerous game to a second rifle.

From deer on up, it is always competent. I could never sell mine, even if I never used it. It is always useful and is the right choice for anything in the continental US.

JW

Good choice. I purchased a 338-378 bee/ Accumark and haven't worked any loads up other than the 250 SMK so can't help but what works in the 340 will work for me also. TSX is probably a good choice from other fellas recommendations. You don't want bullet failure on them critters that fight back.

I have had good luck using RL25 with the 225 grain TSX in my 340 Accumark.
Sub MOA and 3050fps using FED215M primers.

I would also think the 225-gr TSX is an excellent choice. R22 also works very well in my 340 with the TSXs. Mule Deer has mentioned that R22 can be temp sensitive dropping vel thus changing point of impact in cold weather. I just took a CO bull elk in -25 wind chill and my shot was dead on so am concluding in this case anyway, the temp had no effect.

I also would add that I got fully 40-some inches of penetration out of the 210-gr TSX so would expect full penetration perhaps with the 225-gr TSX on your bear should you not hit bone.

Were I you and I would like to be I would consider the same combination for bear except that I've got two boxes of 275-gr SAFs on by bench just waiting for a chance.

Good Hunting,
Gdv

I don't know if "best" is the correct title, but they are good. The pre TSX 225 XFB was my 340 bullet for ten years or so, until I had a long distance problem with it. And since my 340 is the rifle I generally choose when longer distances are anticipated, I've decided to try other things for awhile. Regardless, bear hunting is not a long range type of hunting anyway, so use it with confidence.

I've tried a lot of stuff in mine and a 225 Barnes will surely do the job. IF you want to play with it, the only other thing I would try would be the 275 Swift or some 240 Northforks if you could find any.

The single most accurate bullet I have ever tested in mine that ISN'T a Match bullet is the 225 Hornady. I wouldn't recommend this bullet for dangerous game however!

The rage with 340 Wby and the similar 338 RUM is to use 250 and 300 grain Match kings for 1000 yd hunting. That tells you the kind of power you are dealing with here.

Good luck.

You might want to try 250 grain Nosler Partition.

I use IMR 7828 in my 340 Wby and get 2925 fps with a 250 NP and it will handle anything short of dangerous game.

If your friends are referring to the 'lack of energy transfer' because they think it may blow through without enough transfer, not to worry. You are using a heck of a powerful chambering (have one myself) but a brown bear is unlike any animal most people hunt. The bone and muscle density and volume is something to behold. Remember, these bears can go 1500 lbs!
I hunt black bear with my .338 Win. I've had 250 gr partitions @ 2700 fps fail to exit on a 350 lb blackie.
Not to worry, those bullets, tough as they are, will not penetrate without putting a whole lot of energy(damage) to the bear's vitals.

??? "short of dangerous game"?

I'm curious about that comment. Technology advances; that doesn't mean previously very adequate technology has declined. I would venture that the 250 .338 Partition is equal to or better than the 260 .375 Partition and that both have successfully been used on many big bears. It seems to me they have proven their worth on dangerous game many times over.



I've had the 225-X stopped by even small and certainly lighter caribou that run less than 300 pounds. I'm not sure either incident proves anything. Any bear over 1000 pounds is a very large specimen and certainly well above average or typical. IOW, the majority of hunters coming to Alaska to hunt bears would go away disappointed if breaking 1000 pounds were a criteria. Fortunately, very few bears get weighed.

I meant Thicked-Skinned Dangerous Game;Cape Buffalo,Elephant etc.

now I know guys won,t want to hear this but IVE been reasonably pleased with the standard HORNADY 250 grain bullets performance on ELK for 30 plus years, It may not be the latest and best design but those ELK are just to lazy to protest, and fall over after being hit correctly each and every time
I load them over a 215 federal primer and a stiff load of IMR 4831 (the most accurate/consistant combo in all MY 340wby rifles)it lumbers along at a miserably slow 2850 fps or so, but it just seems to work in spite of the absurdly low velocity

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=000033335


yeah, no glitz and no super double secret constuction, just a plain old fashion bullet that KILLS ELK if you do your part and place it correctly on the anatomy, against all odds it seems that getting into about 300 yards or closer (much closer most of the time) and placing your shot exactly where you want it seems to have an effect most guys don,t understand, THE ELK DROP DEAD within seconds of bullet impact in spite of it being a 30 plus year old design, if you destroy those arteries above the heart with your first shot, the results are remarkably and borringly consistant

358, Gotcha. I'm with you on that.



I like that bullet in my 340 and trust it on moose beyond 200 yards when it has had a chance to shed some of its vigor. I am sure it would kill any bear most of the time when used well. I would be concerned however with using it at the high velocities one would surely encounter when using it on a bear hunt since ranges tend to be quite a bit less than 200 yards. I do think it is pretty easy to justify a better bullet when using a cartridge of the power that the 340 delivers and especially when the quarry is inclined not to give up as easily as an ungulate and may even fight back. Even though I would use them again on moose, I have had a 250 Interlocked come apart on a moose and it wasn't very confidence inspiring.

One year, when I was guiding for elk in Hell's Canyon, I just had to have a .340 Weatherby. The Weatherby rifle ended up being too ungainly for horse use (personal opinion only), but I killed a few elk with it that year.

The 210-grain Nolser Partion did a splendid job of simply knocking previously-wounded elk right off the ridge. I also killed our two elk with the rifle and it did dandy. If memory serves, every bullet gave total penetration and it was strictly bang-flops all season long with the .340.

The next year, I went back to my old .30-'06 with 150-grain Hornady Spire Points. It was easier on the horse, easier on me and easier on the elk. Still bang-flops, but gentle bang-flops.

Steve