Recomended bullet weight for ELK
- Thread starter casilva43
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bailey1474
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I'd go up in weight, not down. I'd shoot the 300 gr SMK. You'll gain some arc, true but you'll also lose alot of wind drift. That bullet will absolutely smash an elk out of that cartridge.
royinidaho
Well-Known Member
You'll get all kinds of feed back on this one. It could even turn into a banter....
So here goes. All of this is personal opinion from having burned lots of powder and bullets through the 338 RUM but having killed nothing so far. Maybe this year.......
The most important thing is to hit where you are shooting regardless of conditions. After that any bullet of 225 gr class on up to 300 gr would be well.
Yep, I'd shoot a ballistic tip bullet but after my pig penetration test I'd go with the 224 Accubond. It did all the hard stuff and performed perfectly.
Try the 225 accubond and 7828SSC and a good primer and see what she'll do.
Also, if you're goin' long range I'd put a brake on it.
So here goes. All of this is personal opinion from having burned lots of powder and bullets through the 338 RUM but having killed nothing so far. Maybe this year.......
The most important thing is to hit where you are shooting regardless of conditions. After that any bullet of 225 gr class on up to 300 gr would be well.
Yep, I'd shoot a ballistic tip bullet but after my pig penetration test I'd go with the 224 Accubond. It did all the hard stuff and performed perfectly.
Try the 225 accubond and 7828SSC and a good primer and see what she'll do.
Also, if you're goin' long range I'd put a brake on it.
What do you consider long range? I have shot the 225 Accubond out of my 338 RUM out to 600 yds with excellent accuracy and it bucks the wind fairly well. I don't think you will see a great deal of difference in the 225 AB with its BC of .550 vs the 300 gr SMK with its BC of a little over .7 out to 500 or 600 yds. Out past that, I think the higher BC 300 gr SMK would have a lot less wind drift and retain energy better. Nosler just introduced the 250 gr AB with a BC of .575 so there is another choice. I laid the smack down on a bull last year with the 225 AB and it performed well. I have read many posts regarding performance of the 300 SMK and it seems to work very well also.
Sam
Sam
RockyMtnMT
Official LRH Sponsor
Maybe some one on here will run the #'s, and tell you at what point down range the 225 will be surpassed in wind drift, elevation, and compare energy between the 225AB and the 300SMK. I would find that very interesting as well. I think it will all come down to how far you are willing to harvest game at.
Steve
Steve
bailey1474
<strong>SPONSOR</strong>
What velocity are you pushing the 225s??
With a barometric pressure of 29.95 and a temperature of 30 degress and and a RH of 59, the 255 AccuBond will have 21 inches of wind drift in a 10 MPH cross wind at 600 yards with a muzzle velocity of 3300 FPS.
The 300 Grain SMK under the same conditions will drift 14.3 inches with a muzzle velocity odf 2791 FPS, which is my muzzle velocity
I ran the 250 SMK to 3197 FPS and the 300 SMK hits noticable harder at all ranges, no contest IMHO. The 255s will kill Elk for sure, but I am going with the 300 SMK in my Lapua for sure and certain
The 300 Grain SMK under the same conditions will drift 14.3 inches with a muzzle velocity odf 2791 FPS, which is my muzzle velocity
I ran the 250 SMK to 3197 FPS and the 300 SMK hits noticable harder at all ranges, no contest IMHO. The 255s will kill Elk for sure, but I am going with the 300 SMK in my Lapua for sure and certain
Varminator 911
Well-Known Member
Compared 225 AB to 300 SMK at 500 and 1000 yds for drop, windage, and energy. Starting the 225 at 3200fps and 5130ftlb vs 300 at 2750fps and 5050ftlb. 100yd zero.
At 500 yds the 300 had:
12 inches more drop, 48vs36
1.7 inches less drift, 9.8vs11.5
and 360ftlb more energy,3418vs3050
At 1000yds the 300 SMK had:
50 inches more drop, 266vs216
9 inches less drift, 44vs53
and 522ftlb more energy, 2222vs1700
At 500 yds the 300 had:
12 inches more drop, 48vs36
1.7 inches less drift, 9.8vs11.5
and 360ftlb more energy,3418vs3050
At 1000yds the 300 SMK had:
50 inches more drop, 266vs216
9 inches less drift, 44vs53
and 522ftlb more energy, 2222vs1700
Last edited:
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
I have just gone to the 250gr Accubond and was very suprised how well they
shot. ( Best group .212'') but the 225gr accubond performs great (Best group
.239" at 100yrds) .
The 225 AB has a good track record on ELK at long range and If you want to
go lighter It would be my choice.
As every one said the 300SMK is the best at extreme long ranges (1000yrds +)
but below that my preference would be the 225 or the 250 AB.
The accubonds have an expansion rate between the ballistic tip and the partition.
J E CUSTOM
338 bruce
Well-Known Member
I have killed A lot of elk with cal 338. My 338 win mag with 200 balistic tip at 3200 fps from 50 to 500 yds . A very good bullet. My 338 rum 700 yds w/250 game king , 300, 645, 685, 700 yds w/250 fb horady very accurate and cheap, 300,325 w/ 225 barnes triple shock(A lot of wind drift), 200, 325,500 w/275 a-frame, all one shot kills. I have just loaded 250 accubond to test. I shot seven elk with 300 mk and they do hit where you aim, but I had to hit the backbone before I could A bullet to expand at ranges from 100 to 600 yds. I will never shoot A game animal with one again.
Kalashnikov
Well-Known Member
I use the same approach. For me, the 250's shoot flatter than the 300's under 1000 yards, and really, that's pretty much my self-imposed limit for field work, so the 250's do it all for me. I haven't considered the 225's, but if I felt I needed somewhat flatter trajectory, I would go to my 300 RUM and 180 accudbonds (very flat @ 3300 fps out ot 800). For me, the beauty of the 338 is the big slugs (250+) and distances over 800 yards.
Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
You wanted to know about the ballistic tips. I have seen numerous caribou, elk, moose, mule deer, etc. shot with the 200 grain ballistic tip out of big 338's. The bullet always performs perfectly. One of the best bullets I have ever seen. If long range to you is out to about 600 yards it would be a very good choice in your rifle. Beyond that I would go with a higher BC bullet. Your gun should max out with best accuracy with this bullet in the 3300's.
I have been shooting the 338 Lapua or a variant of that cartridge for almost 20 years and have tried several bullets. I personally like the 250SMK for feral hogs and use the 300 SMK for competition occasionally (bag manners really suck with this in a LV class rifle) when the wind is brutal and gusty. In fact, am going on an elk hunt in a few weeks and will be fire forming the brass and then working up the loads this weekend with the 250 SMK--the only bullet I will work with for hunting.
