338 EDGE loads- What do you use ?

[Down Under Hunter]

Howdy all,

Just interested in getting some insight on what all the 338 edge users are loading for their pet load. H1000 93 grns 300 smk 2850 ish 30 " barrel?? Just interested to see what powders your using and what velocities and accuracy its giving ?

Cheers

 

[davewilson]

i shot the 300's last year but i'm gonna go with the 250's this season. reasons are 2 fold. they have less hang time out to 1k. i'm shooting 3125 as compared to 2770 last year. secondly, i'm leary of the terminal performance on our medium sized whitetails. with the extra speed comes more RPM's as well as higher impact velocities. shot into 5 milk jugs full of water with magazines in between each at 1k and 500 last weekend. accuracy seems just as good with the 250SMK's. i've heard from several with a lot of long range hunting experience say the 250 works better out to 1k. haven't settled on a load yet but 100 gr of retumbo or 92 gr of re22 with 215 primers is about where i'll probably end up.

 

[Down Under Hunter]

i shot the 300's last year but i'm gonna go with the 250's this season. reasons are 2 fold. they have less hang time out to 1k. i'm shooting 3125 as compared to 2770 last year. secondly, i'm leary of the terminal performance on our medium sized whitetails. with the extra speed comes more RPM's as well as higher impact velocities. shot into 5 milk jugs full of water with magazines in between each at 1k and 500 last weekend. accuracy seems just as good with the 250SMK's. i've heard from several with a lot of long range hunting experience say the 250 works better out to 1k. haven't settled on a load yet but 100 gr of retumbo or 92 gr of re22 with 215 primers is about where i'll probably end up.

Dave,

Thats interesting about the 250s. I will almost exclusively be using my rifle on 600 lbs deer. Basically a shorter, fatter elk ? I am going to try the 265 rbbt wildcat at OAL of 3.980. We can get them to feed from the edge ext mag box and have the troat cut accordingly. I have never loaded for this cal before so I am soaking up the great knowledge on the site. Its nice to have so many great guys willing to share their vast knowledge to help others. Thats community spirit !! I guess I'll see how the first load goes and look towards something else if I feel its not up to it. I'm sure any of them will work just fine though, put in the right spot.

Cheers

 

[davewilson]

if you have Richards al tipped bullets, i'm sure they will work great on almost any animal size. Norma powders are also a good choice, you might try mrp or mrp-2. i mentioned retumbo because i can get a 100 % load. even a compressed load if i want to. it's probably a bit slow but if i can get lower spreads with it, i'm going with it. 869 would be a great choice,but i've just given up on trying to get ahold of some.

 

[Down Under Hunter]

I have heard from Shawn Carlock that he has found the H 1000 the most consistent with temp changes. Apparently not the absolute fastest out there but the smallest ES between shots. H 1000 should be cool with the 265 ??

 

[davewilson]

with the 300's, 1000 seems to be the ticket. my spreads are higher with the 250's using 1000. that's why i'm playing with other powders.don't know if i'm making any progress, but it's fun shooting and i need the practice.

 

[Down Under Hunter]

Dave,

What would you suggest with the 265 weight bullet ?

 

[davewilson]

something that's just a tad quicker than 1000. GG uses re22 with the 225 accubond but suddenly the reloader powders are loosing their consistency. the bench crowd is jumping on the norma stuff. mrp is about like re22 and they have mrp-2 which is about like re25. pricey but very good stuff. i'm trying retumbo even though it's a little slow, i like the fact that i can get 100% load density. i'll let you know when i know something. do you have the 265's yet? reason i ask is it sounded like they were gonna end up a 250 according to Kirby. just wondering, wouldn't make any difference powder wise.

 

[Down Under Hunter]

Dave,

I just got around 100 for R and D purposes. My rifle is a work in progress with Shawn Carlock and he plans to work a load up for me with this projectile. The chamber and throat on my rifle are being cut to suit the wildcat bullet. Richard is such a great guy. He couldn't do enough for me !! In talking with him yesterday, I believe he will offer both 250 and 265, and he firmly believes the 265 is where I need to go on the game I will be using it on. I think he is still refining the projectiles so there still may be improvements to come yet !! I can get reloader powders here, so we might try it ?

 

[gyesko]

has anyone tried h896 for the 300's?

 

[davewilson]

no, but quite a few have tried H869?