Really 338wm 1500ft/lbs out to 950 yards?

[straightshooter]

Can someone out there with a better ballistic program than mine check these numbers out for me, I'm having a hard time swallowing my numbers. From what I understand the 388 caliber 300gr sierra matchkings have a ballistic coeff. of .760. If I can get a 338 winchester mag. to push this bullet at 2430 ft/sec, it would still have 1500ft/lbs of energy at 950 yards, with about the same drift as a 7mm remington mag, and the trajectory about the same as a 308 shooting 175gr bullets. Really?

 

[J E Custom]

Can someone out there with a better ballistic program than mine check these numbers out for me, I'm having a hard time swallowing my numbers. From what I understand the 388 caliber 300gr sierra matchkings have a ballistic coeff. of .760. If I can get a 338 winchester mag. to push this bullet at 2430 ft/sec, it would still have 1500ft/lbs of energy at 950 yards, with about the same drift as a 7mm remington mag, and the trajectory about the same as a 308 shooting 175gr bullets. Really?

Assuming you can get 2430 ft/sec using a 300gr bullet out of a 338 win mag, My numbers
show you will have 1523 ft/lbs of energy @ 900 yrds and 255" of drop. But velocity will be
1512 ft/sec far below the minimum of most bullets performance velocity of 1800ft/sec.

I would recommend that you limit the shots on ELK to 600 yrds with this combination.

Just My 2 cents worth
J E CUSTOM

 

[straightshooter]

Thanks J E for the input. I didn't take the velocity into consideration and that is an excellent point. I am at the stage of considering my next step up the ladder. I have a savage 10fp 308 that shoots lights out right out of the box. First rifle in my life, I would not have tinkered with if I was doing the general hunting thing. This is a big statement from me, I love buying a rifle and trying to improve it. Once I am finished playing, I loose interest and seem to sell it so I can buy another. I am torn between the 300 winchester mag and the 338 winchester mag for my next rifle. I am working my way up to a 338 edge. Probably a Remington action this time, but maybe another Savage. Any input on caliber action combo for this next stage. I have a Ruger Hawkeye stainless 308 with 250 rounds down the tube that I would consider trading for a Remington or savage magnum face action rifle.

 

[Topshot]

Hi Straightshooter,

I just got back from a goat cull in outback Australia. Shot 99 goats with a mix of bullets and calibres.

In .338 Cal I tried 300 grain SMK, 250 grain Hornady BTHP Match and 225 Hornady SST.

I shot 8 goats with my 338WM Sako and 300grain SMK's at a M/V of 2433fps. Although they killed the goats I had better expansion from my load with the 250 grain Hornady BTHP Match bullet at 2735 fps.

This is the projectile that I am now using for my long range load in my 338WM. It shoots a lot flatter than the 300 SMK, hits hard and expands very well.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

The 338 win mag is a great cartridge and probably the best 338 you can shoot without a muzzle brake. I made my longest moose shot at near 1100 yards with one so they will reach out there. I agree with JE the 300's are not the best choice for it. On top of the velocity/trajectory problem you have a lot of bullet taking up case capacity in that little shortenned magnum case. I shoot the 225 accubonds in mine with a .550 BC at 2950 fps. Mine weighs 7.3 pounds ready to hunt and I use it for a light carry gun that will easily reach out to 600 yards on elk and stop a griz if I surprise one. Here in Wyoming the grizzly problem is pretty bad and most of my areas you see quite a few. Had several attacks this year during hunting season. The 338 winchester will stop a big animal quicker than the 300 magnums. And don't anybody start quoting ballistics on here about the 300 mags. I'm talking about what it will do and not what the paper shows. Lots of difference!

 

[J E Custom]

The 338 win mag is a great cartridge and probably the best 338 you can shoot without a muzzle brake. I made my longest moose shot at near 1100 yards with one so they will reach out there. I agree with JE the 300's are not the best choice for it. On top of the velocity/trajectory problem you have a lot of bullet taking up case capacity in that little shortenned magnum case. I shoot the 225 accubonds in mine with a .550 BC at 2950 fps. Mine weighs 7.3 pounds ready to hunt and I use it for a light carry gun that will easily reach out to 600 yards on elk and stop a griz if I surprise one. Here in Wyoming the grizzly problem is pretty bad and most of my areas you see quite a few. Had several attacks this year during hunting season. The 338 winchester will stop a big animal quicker than the 300 magnums. And don't anybody start quoting ballistics on here about the 300 mags. I'm talking about what it will do and not what the paper shows. Lots of difference!

Plus = 1 "what he said"

I shoot the 225 and the 250gr accubond in my 338 RUM and I am very happy with performance
both accuracy and wound channel at all distances.

My max distance for ELK is 1100 yrds (1504 ft/lbs energy ) but the max distance for velocity is
950 yrds for a velocity of 1811 ft/sec to keep the bullet in it's performance range.So I limited
my shots to 900 yrds for elk. ( That's still a long way ).

Note ; It's not that much more than the 338 win with the same bullets.

J E CUSTOM

 

[straightshooter]

Thanks guys for consistently being there to help! I would love to give the 338wm a try since I have already owned a 300wm. Something new.

 

[Topshot]

Just run the numbers on the 338WM on Exbal, comparing 300 grain SMK to 250 grain Hornady BTHP

At 950 yards they both hit with much the same energy at just over 1500ft/lbs
The 250 grain Hornady is doing 1600 fps compared to 1500 fps for the 300 grain SMK.

A big difference is the drop.... In my area I get a drop of 26.25 MOA for the Hornady, compared to 32.75 for the 300 grain SMK.

Hope this helps.