338 win mag bear bullet

[Old Rooster]

Has anyone used Woodleigh bullets?
I watched a gentleman shook a fair bull elk at a little over 100 yards.
The elk was trotting lightly with his head high when the bullet struck him and he went down quickly.
As he was field dressed I asked if the bullet exited and the gentleman said Woodleigh's
always exit.It made a wound channel that was as big as my fist!
With an answer to the O P I use SST's on deer and have seen them used on elk but for big bears I would stay with bonded bullets and I've killed my share of Elk with Nosler Partitions or Accubonds.

 

[James L Holzhauer]

I took a brown bear in Alaska with one shot of my .338 Win Mag and a 225 grain A-frame. No telling, but I am going to guess it was shot placement. My shot broke both shoulders.

 

[James L Holzhauer]

Oh, I have both the .375 H&H and .375 Ruger. I think the Ruger is quite superior, and the Ruger Alaskan is a wonderful rifle.

 

[coyotl]

I've been shooting a 338 for several years almost exclusively. A friend used to shoot a 225 Hornady interlocks at 2950 fps and after years of watching him slam everything from grizzlies, moose, elk, and deer I finally converted from the 7 Mag and bought one myself. I have been shooting a Barnes TTSX 210 at 3000 fps with very good results. I've killed, elk, moose, deer and eland, sable, gemsbok, waterbuck, and some smaller plains game. A friend with me on my first African hunt shot an impala broadside in the shoulder with the 338 and a 225 grain Hornady SST at 80 yards and it didn't even exit! Not a tough enough bullet for grizzlies that's for sure. I've had good luck with Barnes bullets but you need good starting velocity to make them work in my experience.

 

[Harvey Durham]

A .338 is gu

I reload all my ammo.

But in Factory loads I'd be looking for shells containing 1) Swift A-Frame, 2) Trophy Bonded (Speer), 3) Nosler Partition, and 4) Nosler Accubond - in that preferential order. Those are the ones I believe are loaded in Factory ammo, that I can think of at the moment.

Behind those 4 bullets, I'd consider a Barnes TTSX or TSX. The Barnes will penetrate deeper, but likely with less immediate shock effect. Still a good bullet, all in all, in those larger calibers.

It's not the .338 it's enough for anything on the planet with the proper bullets. It's the Bullets that he was using or the placement or both, no exceptions on this. He should have been using a 300 grain bullet. A 300 grain burger would have crushed that bear with proper placement. Pretty much all of the companies have Bullets that would do the trick.

 

[406SBC]

I live in Bristol Bay and hunt brown bears every spring and fall.

After having seen dozens of brown bears killed, there are few combinations that will not work perfectly on bears, given appropriate placement. Having said that, I prefer medium to heavy weight (225 or 250 in the .338 WM for instance) Partitions in most cartridges for brown bears. I've killed mature bears with TSXs and A-Frames and they work. However their wound channels are measurably smaller in diameter than Partitions and since a Partition will more than penetrate the vital area of large brown bear, I prefer the larger diameter wound channel. I know that this runs against the grain here, and while I've not the experience of some brown bear hunters, I prefer cup & core bullets to TSXs or A-Frames for bears. I've used the 225 Hornady SP and the 250 Hornady with absolute perfect satisfaction on mature bears and would do so again. I've seen "light" cartridges perform perfectly on big bears and have seen hunters completely muff chip shots with boomers. This only proves to me that bears, like other animals, cannot live with wounds through their heart or both lungs and the cartridge/bullet that is used to produce those wounds aren't as critical as most armchair bear hunters suppose...

 

[Harvey Durham]

Last year I got the opportunity to help guide in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska for brown bear. It was a great experience and it's about all I think about now. Headed back in August 19. Our first client we had was shooting a 338 win mag and I thought nothing of it. Well after poor performance on a brown bear at 100+/- yards, tracking it into an alder patch and having to finish her with a 375 Ruger mag. Skip ahead a couple days to bear number two. Shot at about the same distance, bear takes off into the alders never to be seen again, ending the hunt for the client, costing him a trophy fee and really upsetting me. I don't like to leave a wounded animal in the field. It got me thinking is 338wm enough gun? It wasn't till the next day we flew out of camp I saw his bullet selection, 200 grain sst....I'm guessing here is our problem. Caliber is discussed with the client but never bullet selection. No, as a helper/assistant and now apprentice working towards my guide license its not my place to suggest what bullet to use. With the clients we have, alot of them have little hunting experience, they go buy a fancy gun in a large caliber and the first box of bullets they see and go for it.

So going forth in preparation for the bear hunts we are now wanting to suggest bullets for the clients to use for a given caliber. 338 and 375 are by far the most used. I was thinking Nosler partition? but after that I don't really know. Thought about Barnes, but will they expand at close range? Would like some more input on 338 win mag, 375 hh and 375 Ruger. Factory ammo, I doubt any of these guys reload.

Hope you made it through my long/short story and don't bash on me......I'm far from a writer!

I'd like to talk to you about a brown bear hunt in the future. A .338 is an awesome guy with the proper bullet, it's virtually unbeatable!! In the right hunters hands.

 

[Harvey Durham]

I'd like to talk to you about a brown bear hunt in the future. A .338 is an awesome guy with the proper bullet, it's virtually unbeatable!! In the right hunters hands.

. It actually gives you more energy than a .375.

 

[Pdvdh]

Different experiences, different opinions. I know a guy that shot a Boone & Crockett 11 footer on the Alaskan Peninsula with a 416 Remington Magnum and 350gr Barnes X bullets about 7yrs ago Drilled the boar twice thru the chest/vitals, both shots within 100yds. 4 1/2 hours later, the boar was crouched in its bed in the alders and came after him. Good thing he waited 4 1/2 hours. He about stumbled into its lap. Bear was slowed enough he had time to react and kill it. 2 hrs earlier and a good chance the bear woulda killed him.

No ghost story here, and no rookie hunter. This local Alaskan shoots and hunts more than most. Believe it or not...

 

[FIGJAM]

Different experiences, different opinions. I know a guy that shot a Boone & Crockett 11 footer on the Alaskan Peninsula with a 416 Remington Magnum and Barnes X bullets about 7yrs ago Drilled the boar twice thru the chest/vitals, both shots within 100yds. 4 1/2 hours later, the boar was crouched in its bed in the alders and came after him. Good thing he waited 4 1/2 hours. He about stumbled into its lap. Bear was slowed enough he had time to react and kill it. 2 hrs earlier and a good chance the bear woulda killed him.

No ghost story here, and no rookie hunter. This local Alaskan shoots and hunts more than most. Believe it or not...

2 Shots to the vitals with a 416 Rem mag and it lived for 4.5 hours? Is that common when you shoot a brown bear in the vitals? How long should you wait after you shoot a bear? Seems like a shot to the vitals like that would kill it a little quicker, but I don't have any experience with big bears.

 

[Pdvdh]

Wouldn't call it common. On the other hand, it happened. And once is too often, if you're the victim.

 

[bigngreen]

So I won't comment on hunting brown bears and bullets in 338 win mag but as an avid 338 win mag shooter who loads 200gr SST over H4895 for great results on cervids I would dispute the "no good for elk" comment . A 200gr SST easily pushed at 2850 to 2900 fps is a very accurate combo that has great expansion . I can't see an elk going anywhere far hit in the vitals with that combo.

Per other posters and as a reloader my question on a brown bear hunt would be to ask the guide and work up a load from there .Have had great accuracy success with 225 and 250 and have anchored several deer with both with shoulder shots

Over expansion is the enemy of a 200 gr 338 bullet penetrating, I've watch bull elk hopping around while getting straffed by a guy with a 338 Win, we counted seven 338 bullet holes and one 270 which was mine after his gun jambed on the last round from his second mag full. I watched two guys LOAD down an elk with light bullets in a 340 WBY, both did a full mag dump with most rounds in the front half. I've seen a lot of elk lost or shot to pieces using light, frangible tipped bullets!!

 

[MagnumManiac]

I have found 3 150gr Ballistic Tips in the shoulder of a very large Sambar stag here that had hit the shoulder blade and travelled no further. The clump of cartiledge that had grown around them was visible prior to shooting it. The grouping was impressive, under an inch in fact.
Also found a 1/4 of an arrow in another stag that was in BOTH LUNGS. Stag was healthy and looked to be totally fine.

Real world stuff happens that often beggars belief.

Cheers.

 

[Aivanomj]

I am probably jumping in on this thread a little late but living and hunting in AK for almost 2 decades I thought I should weigh in. The 338 WM is a great round for all around hunting in AK and its my go to rifle for most of my hunting trips. Loaded with a 250gr Partition or TSX I am very confident in what will happen as long as I do my part.
Having experience with both brown and black bears, I have to say they are tricky critters. Sometimes they fall right over and other times it seems like you need to pump a whole box of bullets into them.
There is nothing more frighting than climbing thru thick alders after a bear you just shot not knowing it's condition or where it is at. Been there and done that.........