Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting bullet weight for .338 win mag

Worked for me on elk as well. And, so has the 210 TSX. If I had a 338, I would definitely be working up the 200gr. Accubond with RL15. That combo with the old 200gr. Ballistic Tip knocked over several elk for a gent I used to reload for.

I should try those 250-SBT's for practice if nothing else.

225-NAB's are killin' me at $39/box!

You should jeff, I keep tellin you . I think you'll like them.

I appear to be in the minority, but I switched from the 250NP to the 225 TSX when they first came out and have never looked back

I have been shooting the .338 Winchester at big game since the mid-1980's, and have tried a lot of bullets. Over a decade ago I came to the conclusion that it kills quickest, kicks least, and shoots flattest with bullets in the 200-grain range, no matter what the make.

I picked up a box of 210 TTSX to try with some IMR 4350 I stockpiled for the .30-06, and if that doesn't work I'll try the R19. I drank the kool-aid and now shoot only copper in the field (to keep lead fragments out of the meat and gutpiles) but once I have a good hunting load I'm going to look for an inexpensive lead core bullet that mimics the ballistics of the Barnes, to use as a practice load.

This rifle came fitted with a Hogue stock and Timney trigger and is scoped with a Leupold 2.5x8. The only thing I plan to change is that it came with a fixed muzzle brake. I'm hoping my gunsmith can make it removable and set me up with a thread protector for hunting, to keep the barrel at the original 24". If not I'll have him cut the barrel behind the brake and leave it at 23". We've been having some poor shooting weather here but I'm looking forward to test firing it soon using 200 gr Winchester powerpoints that came with the deal, then working up hunting loads this spring. Thanks everyone for the feedback!

I have done the same. The flat based 225gr. TSX is a thing of beauty and it out penetrates the 250gr. NP, with less recoil, higher velocities and flatter trajectories.

Remember heavy bullets only ever existed because they fell apart on impact. The latest premium bullets will replicate those long wound chanels and shoot flatter and recoil less, as JB stated above.

John

225 TTSX in mine. I'm shooting Barnes VOR-TX loaded ammo. Rifle loves it.

Ditto what Mark said. 200 grain Nosler Ballistic tip and 4350 rock! AWESOME elk load! Flinch

I tried 210 NPs at 2900, and 250 NP's at 2600 (thats all I could get out of my 24 inch Ruger) then tried the 225 NP's when they first came out about 20 years ago. 1/2 inch moa at 2830 fps over 72.5 gr. of H4350. I loaded 40 bullets and ran out of them after 10 years and 5 elk. Best damn cartridge I've ever built. I haven't reloaded since my last move, but if I did I'd load these in a heartbeat. I'm too slow to jump on the new equipment bandwagon, but a couple of friends swear by the Nosler Accubond.

Just my opinion but 200 grainers or less work better out of a 30 cal, 225s on up is were the .338 benefits.

I carried a .338 for years and used it on everything from rabbits to Brown bear and most every bullet. The 210 Nosler partition was by far the quickest killer and seemed to penetrate as well as the heavies.

IMR 4831 and R19 could touch 3000 if I leaned on it a bit.


Lefty C

Not just your opinion. If a guy wants to launch a 200 gr. bullet they need to invest in a 300 magnum. The 338 loves the heavies.

225 TTSX and H-4350 w/a fed. 215

Gunner

Yep, the 210 NPT and the .338 WM go together like PB&J. In addition to a nice Arizona bull, I've shot moose, caribou, and black bear with the 210 gr bullet. Move up to 250 gr NPT, and I have a brown bear and a B&C grizzly. Full disclosure----I shoot and like Barnes TTSX bullets. I even have 2 unopened boxes of the 210 gr TTSXs, and I'm sure they'd work just fine. I just have a groove goin' with the PT.

Do they sell them at BiMart? I've noticed .33-cal Sierra there but didn't look closely... What's your load for them?

I do think a whole lotta goodness converges on the 225-gn Accubond. Accurate as hell, and a great BC that stretches the .338's legs nicely, and a solid bullet that I wouldn't sweat a 30-yard shot into heavy bone with.

I've bought them at Bi-mart, wal-mart, sportmans/wholesale sports. They are $20.99/100. My load:

67 gr. (I've had some rifles love 70 gr.) IMR 4350
CCI 250
Rem case

67gr or IMR 4350 is a good starting point and you could use any case you like with any magnum primer and just work up until you find the sweet spot.

What kinds of speeds you see with that, BSA?

2600