338 edge deer loads

[CHARLIEDUECE65]

I have a 338 edge that I had built this spring. I would like to be able to use it deer hunting with light bullets. What I'm thinking is from 215-225 gr bullets. I dont want to destroy the deer so what loads have any of you put together? I've seen the game kings and accubonds and am interested. What velocities should I stay under and how do the lighter bullets like the 10 twist barrels? Im also hoping to reduce recoil using the lighter bullets and make it a more comfortable gun to shoot as I have the Vais muzzle break installed. It still kicks like a mule with the 300 smk.

 

[thebbc]

for deer -vs- 338 edge, I would use the largest bullets possible to slow down the impact velocity and lower the chance of the bullet expanding. At Edge velocities with 338 bullets, the ending result will be a very bloody deal.

 

[HARPERC]

for deer -vs- 338 edge, I would use the largest bullets possible to slow down the impact velocity and lower the chance of the bullet expanding. At Edge velocities with 338 bullets, the ending result will be a very bloody deal.

This has been my experience also. I think the Swift A-Frame 275 has been the best at keeping meat destruction to as good as your going to get with this class of cartridge on deer size game.

 

[D.ID]

I shot a nice 3x4 buck @345yrds this year with my edge using the 300smk and it did Great! just throw it threw the lungs and watch him rolling down the hill. Worked exactly the same on a 4x5 bull elk @489yrds.............No reason to worry, just shoot it. It will do the job beautifully. Good luck....................Duke P.S. No meat damage on either one.

 

[D.ID]

How heavy is your rifle? If you move to the large baffle type brakes you will see dramatic improvements over the vais brake........Mine weighs 13lbs has a Ross Schuler brake and kicks less than a 22-250 in fact I think it pulls the rifle a little bit.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

You could probably use a 180gr bullet to minimize recoil. Shots to the heart/lung area may result in significant damage but who eats deer ribs any way?

You could also use a light Barnes or similar mono-metal bullet to avoid over expansion. Just don't shoot them on the shoulder.

 

[HARPERC]

You could probably use a 180gr bullet to minimize recoil. Shots to the heart/lung area may result in significant damage but who eats deer ribs any way?

I have some issues with my neck and shoot the 180 Accubonds to keep recoil down. They work great for that, but at 3500 fps from a 338 RUM, on small deer or antelope the destruction is unbelievable at close range. I've seen shots to the chest as described above pop the gut, and the blood shot meat for several inches around the bullet hole, take out a substantial portion of the shoulders. I'm not a meat hunter but neither do I care to clean up such a mess again. Seriously the heavier bullets leave a lot less mess.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Amazing that an Accubond could cause that much damage on a chest shot. Sounds more like a V-Max.

Maybe a load could be found that didn't have such a high muzzle velocity.

 

[J E Custom]

Amazing that an Accubond could cause that much damage on a chest shot. Sounds more like a V-Max.

Maybe a load could be found that didn't have such a high muzzle velocity.

+1

There is no reason to load a full house load for dear sized game.

If you lower the velocity to a reasonable amount that will still achieve bullet expansion
at impact it will reduce tissue damage and recoil.

I find that most bullets perform well in the 2900 ft/sec to 3100 ft/sec range (Muzzle velocity)
on deer size game no matter what their weight,and often load down for better results.

I have killed dear with 416s, 458s and other large bores and found that tissue damage was
minimal because of velocity and knock down was unbelievable because of the size/dia. of the
bullet.

So if you dont want excessive tissue damage ,slow the bullet down unless you will be making
extremely long shots.(This is where velocity has its benefits).

Just my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

 

[HARPERC]

Lowering the velocity certainly would help, in the case of last years Pronghorn, being of a long range focus I figured the distance will slow the bullet down enough. Then a buck comes in at 100 yards.
Yes, it looked like what you see from some of the V max bullets on varmints, on a larger scale.
I'm in complete agreement with JE Custom on big bores damaging less meat, lower velocities, tougher bullets work well on smaller game. If you circle back a bit you'll see I suggested the Swift 275 A-Frame. My intent was to discourage the 180's, and offer my mistake as a bad example.

 

[CHARLIEDUECE65]

Wow this thread is over two years old. Anyways, I went with the 225 Hornady Interbond bullet shooting at 3200 fps. This combo shoots very well. If you shoot deer size game in the rib area (lungs, heart,etc.) I really doubt there would be any waste of "good" meat. The only loss would occur if you hit shoulder or hind quarters.

 

[HARPERC]

Two years in calendar time we're on internet time here! LOL, actually there was a thread recently asking the same thing, guy sold his guns to pay sisters wedding expenses and was down to his Edge for deer. I thought we were continuing that. Thanks for the update as well, now that I've got brass for my RUM again, I'll have to look into the Interbonds.

 

[big mike 2121]

I KNOW im gonna get hammered here....but, here goes. If its under 500 yards, WHY, WHY, WHY, does a guy have to use a cannon. Why not just shoot a NORMAL deer sized caliber, in .308 or smaller? I know its a longrangehunting forum. But JEEEEZ.......Ive killed deer cleanly at up to 300 yards with a 25-06. Just sayin......
let the hammering begin!!

 

[D.ID]

Good Point and very true...... since I mentioned some of my close range stuff this year I better chime in......I was carrying my cannon in case my shot was a thousand yards but when they appeared @345 and @489 I thought about running the other way to make it a long shot or going home to get my other gun but thought what the heck......... worked out good.