338 RUM, 225 or 250 Accubond

I shoot 340 wm and have always shot 225's, Im switching to 250, there is almost 200 lbs, more energy at 1000 and moa drop is within 1moa on ballistic for my rifle. My rifle is close to your balistics
 
if you have a scope that compensates for drop there is no downside to the 250. the only downside to the 225 is its not gonna hit as hard as the 250. i say 250 all the way. yould you rather be hit with a grape or a coconut?? I pick grape so shoot the elk with the coconut
 
Started using the 338 RUM in 07 with some success, taking elk, mulies and my Dall ram with the 225gr AB. Ranges 350-700 yds. In 08 I switched to the 250 gr AB and never looked back my Rem loves them. I've taken two bulls, a cow and two mulies at ranges 300-600 yds.

Last years bull in NM--374 yds w/250 AB in front of 91 grs RL-25. DRT.
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With your twist and barrel length I think I would try the 250's. Mine shows about 200 fps difference between the bullets at the muzzle. On several occasions I have seen complete bullet failure with the 225's. Nothing remaining but small pieces of lead and jacket material. I will not shoot them again. Maybe the 250 will hold together better. When I get catastrophic bullet failure I am immediately off to something else. All the BC in the world is not worth a lost animal. That is why the Barnes TSX bullets are so attractive. They never fail and retain 95+% of there weight. All three bullets completely failed on my elk this year at 740 yards with the 225 AB with a muzzle velocity of 3264 fps. This was out of a 338 ultramag.
 
LTLR. That surprizes me to hear your luck w/NAB, I shot a bull w/200 325 and hit about 3 " from shoulder blade nuckle, retrieve bullet at other side, was about 75% and blade was also big shattered hole, looked similar to partitions that I have shot. I AM also a Barnes fan, but had a buddy that shot a caribou 3 times and said they penciled. Shot my buck this year w/ barnes, but accidentaly neck shot , long follow up, but I dont think that is fair assesment. I hunt alot where the game is standing IN the alders and the Barnes shoot threw that stuff better, when it is directly in front of them, I have seen where my bullets have shoot threw, or notched the limbs, just wish Barnes where a better price
 
sp6x6, no person was more surprised than me. I expected a quality big game bullet and am responsible for many changing over to this high BC per weight bullet. Unfortunately the 225 accubond is a failure that I have known to fail on several occasions. I shot the 200 grain nosler 338 caliber ballistic tip from the time it came out until they quit making it. Most people I built guns for also shot them. I have never known of a failure with this bullet. Most of these were shot out of 338-300 ultramags and 338-378 weatherby's up to 3600 fps at the muzzle. No Failures! Then they replace this bullet with a 225 accubond that fails on a regular basis. As frequent as the smaller caliber ballistic tips with the thin jackets and softer lead. Maybe the 250 is better. The swift scirroco 210 with a .507 has good performance on game as a lightweight alternative. The barnes always hold together but not on the high end with BC. I am all ears to any lightweight alternative because most of my hunting is inside of 800 yards where there is no need for the 300 SMK. Many new 338 bullets are on the horizon and hopefully one of them will be the one.
 
LTLR, That is where Im at also, my 340 isnt one of the super mags, but it ahs worked well for me for 20 years soooo, looking at bullets too 250 gr. max. Might have to get some of those 285 Barnes :D:D:D nothing I NEED em for in this state, sounds like excuse for a hunting trip:rolleyes:
 
sp6x6, I appreciate your opinions and contributions to the site since you have been here. I love the 340 wby. It is a super magnum in my opinion. It is the first big 338 I started working with back in the mid 70's before I went to the 338-378. The newfangled 338 ultramag and 338-300 ultramag still just beat the 340 wby by 100-150 fps. I never heard an elk be able to tell me the difference between getting hit with 100-150 fps difference. And many can attest to the fact I speak really good elk language. My personal 340 wby I have shot since the mid 70's shoots the 250 sierra gameking at 3056 fps out of a 28" custom Hart barrel. My ultramag stuff gets just over 3100 fps. My longest elk kill with it was over 1100 yards. I think it is just as much a supermag as the ultramags. It is also very accurate with that bullet. But like I said 99% of my hunting is inside 800 yards where the lighter bullets (250 grains and less) do very well.
 
Give the 250gr Abs a try. I've recovered a couple from mulies, they looked just like Nosler says they will. Great performance on elk, had one give me complete penetration lenght wise at around 450 yds. DRT.
I got seveal boxes of 225 gr ABs in the summer of 08, new lot, couldn't make them shoot. This was with seveal guns, my RUM and a couple 338 Wins. Lucky I had plenty of time to sort it out before elk season.

Phil
 
LTLR

I thought the 225 gr AB was a proven performer in the big 338's. What kind of failures have you had/seen with the 225 gr AB?
I am shooting the 250 gr AB in my 338 RUM, very happy with the accuracy and performance.

JD338
 
For those who have shot both did you notice any difference in recoil? I've shot both, on paper only, and both print well for me out of my 338-378 Accumark but I do notice the 250's having noticablely more recoil.

I've always thought with the horse power of the 338-378 a 250gr bullet should be the minimum.
 
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