Need opinions on 338 Bullets

[jsmitt6]

I just got done fire-forming the brass for my 338 MEGA, a 1-10" twist... I have Hornady 270 GR. ELD-X bullets on hand but want to know real world opinions and experiences from other 338 shooters. I have shot one animal with a 338, being with a Berger 250 EH. Without going into it, I am not a fan of Bergers. What do you other 338 shooters shoot? I am eyeing Hammers, Barnes 250 LRX and really wanting to find some Nosler 250 Accubonds. Let me know what you shoot!

 

[Bghunter338]

I don't know if this will help you you or not but growing up with my 338WM I hunted deer and antelope with the 160gr x-bullet. Taken many deer and a few antelope all one shot kills. Later I hunted elk with the 210 Partitions. Never got an opportunity on an elk but killed a couple whitetail bucks with that load. Finally the last critter was a bull moose a couple years ago with the 225gr accubond. And that was a one shot drop to. Moving forward I now have a 338am that I'm going to be playing with the 275gr SBD2s.

 

[jsmitt6]

Thanks for the real world experience. I do want this to be capable for longer shots, reliable expansion at 1,000 yards. I hunt a ranch in CO that tends to require 500-700 yard shots for Mulies and elk due to thick buck brush and how the elevation changes. I think I need to stay in the 230-250 weight range to get the required BCs but am open to anything at this point.

I've shot the 270 ELDX to look where I am getting pressure, and with H100V, I'm at 2650-2675 when I hit pressure.

 

[Bghunter338]

I think I would go with the 230gr. The eldx is actually not a bad bullet and I don't know why they get a bad wrap. I dropped a mule deer at 310 yards with the 175gr out of a 7mm stw. And I have a buddy that killed a bull elk at around 560 with the 162gr out of a 7mag.

 

[jsmitt6]

I think I would go with the 230gr. The eldx is actually not a bad bullet and I don't know why they get a bad wrap. I dropped a mule deer at 310 yards with the 175gr out of a 7mm stw. And I have a buddy that killed a bull elk at around 560 with the 162gr out of a 7mag.

I've had buddies shoot the ELDX with great success, all perform exactly as advertised. I do not have any first hand experience with them and am not ruling them out as of yet. I'd really like to be at 2700 FPS with them without any pressure signs and I'd be happy. But I think it's just too heavy of a bullet to get that quick in this cartridge at my 21" barrel.

 

[Bret GRAVELINE Graveline]

Im not familiar with the 338 mega, Ive been shooting a 338 win since 75, and a 338 Lapua improved since 95, I've taken and used the Win in Alaska Africa Siberia and all across the western us, in the Win I've used and harvested animals with the 160 185 and 225 gr Barnes, as well as Nosler 200 gr BT the 210 and 250 gr partitions and the 250 gr sierra, in the bigger lapua I started with the 225 gr accubond but I didn't care for the way they came apart at the higher velocity (3360 Fps)under 200 yards, so I switched to the 185 and 225 gr Barnes x, both weights shoot to the same point of impact at 100 yds in my rifle anything bigger than deer I use the 225 gr, if I had to give one up, it would be the Lapua, even though I built it for long range hunting I find the 26in barrel and heavier weight of this rifle is not well suited to timber hunting, with my style of hunting I'm just as likely to encounter a animal at 50 yards or less than I am finding one over 500, my Win with its 21 inch barrel and its 2'5x8 leupood tip the scale at just over 6lbs, I know the popular trend these days is with the heavier bullets, however I've never felt I couldn't get the job done on anything when using a 225 or 250 gr bullet, the longest shot I ever made was a shot I had no business taking, but I let the poor judgement of youth get in the way of common sense, A single 250 gr Nosler partition through the pocket on a Colorado rag horn did its job, the bull tried following the herd but only made it about 50 yards before expiring, I know the win round is not considered a long range round, however a 250 gr slug in the right place will get the job done and has never let me down,

 

[jsmitt6]

Im not familiar with the 338 mega, Ive been shooting a 338 win since 75, and a 338 Lapua improved since 95, I've taken and used the Win in Alaska Africa Siberia and all across the western us, in the Win I've used and harvested animals with the 160 185 and 225 gr Barnes, as well as Nosler 200 gr BT the 210 and 250 gr partitions and the 250 gr sierra, in the bigger lapua I started with the 225 gr accubond but I didn't care for the way they came apart at the higher velocity (3360 Fps)under 200 yards, so I switched to the 185 and 225 gr Barnes x, both weights shoot to the same point of impact at 100 yds in my rifle anything bigger than deer I use the 225 gr, if I had to give one up, it would be the Lapua, even though I built it for long range hunting I find the 26in barrel and heavier weight of this rifle is not well suited to timber hunting, with my style of hunting I'm just as likely to encounter a animal at 50 yards or less than I am finding one over 500, my Win with its 21 inch barrel and its 2'5x8 leupood tip the scale at just over 6lbs, I know the popular trend these days is with the heavier bullets, however I've never felt I couldn't get the job done on anything when using a 225 or 250 gr bullet, the longest shot I ever made was a shot I had no business taking, but I let the poor judgement of youth get in the way of common sense, A single 250 gr Nosler partition through the pocket on a Colorado rag horn did its job, the bull tried following the herd but only made it about 50 yards before expiring, I know the win round is not considered a long range round, however a 250 gr slug in the right place will get the job done and has never let me down,

Bret- Thank you for your first hand experiences. I had quickly written off the light for caliber bullets in the 338 -- as my other hunting rifles shoot a 150 grain at 3075 FPS and a 200 grain at 3010 FPS... Initially I wanted something different enough to make me want to grab this rifle.

In another rifle, I had a 225 accubond and a 250 berger hit the same POI, so I could choose which bullet as the opportunity presented itself.. Maybe I try that with this rifle. Thanks again for your experience and advise.

 

[BEEMAN]

I'm putting together a 338 RUM. It will be my first 338 and I'm waiting for hammer to release the HHT in 338 caliber. They will be in Australia soon testing the 338 HHT. If all goes well I believe the bullets will be released shortly after they return from their trip. Personally I don't need the highest BC as most of my shots never exceed 500-600 yds. I am hoping for a HHT in the 230-250 gr range.

 

[22250imp]

225 gr barnes will work great.

 

[Aussie Hunter Steve]

Choosing the best bullet for the .338 has a lot to do with the size animal you're hunting. For animals under 600lb the 225gr range work really well, but for larger game the various 250gr bullets are more reliable. Of course the mono's are the exception and I've had great results with the Outer Edge 234gr BBT's on game going well over a 1000lb. For the really big and heavy stuff, ie, buffalo it's hard to better the 300gr range.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I ran the 250 Accubond @ 3,000 fps in my 338RUM. The load was developed for moose hunting. I shot the 250 Accubond side-by-side against the 250 Berger. The Berger was only slightly more accurate at 400yds. I decided to hunt with the Accubond

I shot a bull broadside at 315yds. He started to walk a few steps so I rushed off a second shot. The bull dropped in about 30-40yds behind a treeline. Both shots went through the lungs and they both exited. The second shot wasn't really necessary, but I didn't realize it at the time.

I shot a large bull at 54yds. Bullet impact was on the point of his shoulder. The bull literally flipped over backwards and never even twitched. DRT The bullet penetrated both shoulders and was caught in the off-side hide. Remaining weight was 145gr. IMO that's pretty darn good considering how much heavy bone that bullet plowed through.

I can't imagine any bullet providing better performance.

 

[memtb]

I just got done fire-forming the brass for my 338 MEGA, a 1-10" twist... I have Hornady 270 GR. ELD-X bullets on hand but want to know real world opinions and experiences from other 338 shooters. I have shot one animal with a 338, being with a Berger 250 EH. Without going into it, I am not a fan of Bergers. What do you other 338 shooters shoot? I am eyeing Hammers, Barnes 250 LRX and really wanting to find some Nosler 250 Accubonds. Let me know what you shoot!

Having no experience with the 250 LRX….I can't attest to it's capabilities!

I do have a question though……is there a fairly decent chance that your shot/shots could be at close range? If your answer is "yes"…..then the answer is the 250 LRX, hands down! It also has a good BC, and with your potential velocities…..it should also be a great long range bullet! It works from point blank to extended ranges…..what's not to like!

I realize that this is a "long range" forum…..but, there appears to be a complete disregard to the possibility of a very close range shot! When shots could be measured in a few yards rather than the expected long ranges…..a good mono is a great option! JMO

My opinion is based solely on the use of 225 TTSX's @ 2950 from a .338 WM! memtb

 

[MagnumManiac]

I have hunted truck loads of deer with Nosler 225g Accubonds and 250g Accubonds out of different 338WM rifles. The 250 hits hard, in fact, for moose and bear I used 250g Partitions and never saw a failure. The 225g Accubonds is outstanding and shoots quite a bit flatter out to 500 than the 250g.
Another great bullet at those speeds is the 265g ABLR.

Cheers.

 

[akmtnhnt]

I shoot the 225gr BD-2 out of my 338 max. Just obliterates a Barnes LRX with the extra range and retained velocity. The 250 can really get out there at 338 mega velocities.