.338 WinMag

[jvspopeye]

338 Win Mag is an excellent deer rifle. With 250 grain bullets and proper shot placement I get minimum bloodshot meat and 100% no tracking required. In the dense woods when there is sometimes no snow in early November it makes life easy.

Thank you ...good to know...so 250 gr bullet...is that because a 250 gr bullet makes less meat damage than a lesser grain bullet? Thoughts anyone?

 

[HARPERC]

Changes the question a bit. Check Midway, and find one that suits your price range. As I said early really no bad .338 loads for what you want.

 

[ScottB338]

I've tried both, 225 and 250. Picked the 225 because it shoots a little flatter and hits plenty hard for what I need.

 

[ScottB338]

Felt recoil was noticeably different, also. 250 hits you harder too.

 

[257Tony]

Shot this buck at 400 yards with my .338, 250 Sierra Gameking. Right behind the shoulder, 2" exit. Never seen a Deer drop faster from a non spine shot. No excessive meat damage.

 

[jvspopeye]

Shot this buck at 400 yards with my .338, 250 Sierra Gameking. Right behind the shoulder, 2" exit. Never seen a Deer drop faster from a non spine shot. No excessive meat damage. View attachment 182714

Thank you and congrats on that beautiful deer!

 

[memtb]

Thank you ...good to know...so 250 gr bullet...is that because a 250 gr bullet makes less meat damage than a lesser grain bullet? Thoughts anyone?

To answer you question, if the bullet is adequately constructed (not one of the "loved" frangible Bullets) , the heavier, slower moving bullet, will "generally" produce "less" damage and bloodshot meat! memtb

 

[montana west]

the 338 is a hoss. I l my neighbor uses his with a 215 serria game king good velocity good range and the elk drop . I shoot a 338/06 AI and loose a little range say 100 yards less but it is all I need in the Mountains.. I also shoot the 215 GK and another neighbor shoots the 338/08 and he shoots the 215 gk we live in griz country. but we are well equipped for a charge . one of my neighbors had just that and Dead griz..

 

[Mike Matteson]

Thank you and yes I use only factory loads , so having said this , what factory load bullet would you recommend on whitetail in a .338 win mag?

Sorry I hand load everything I can. Haven't purchase factory for a long gun for over 40 years. Only 22 and .17 SWM rounds Some 22TMC, but going to hand load there too.

SSS
Mile

 

[Palix-Dog]

I shot a mule deer behind the shoulder at 100 yds using Hornady 250 gn interbond. Lots of velocity at that range. 4 in exit hole. The deer did a 100 yard death run leaving a huge blood trail in the snow. After that I switched to the 225 gn accubond. I believe the hornady expanded to fast. The 338 wm is a great all around caliber for any animal in north America.

 

[moosekiller99]

I believe Federal has 338 loads with Nosler Partitions. 210 or 250 grain. You will never need another bullet for anything that lives in North America.

 

[Gone Ballistic]

I'm a big fan of the. 338 Win Mag. My favorite hunting load is with a 180gr Nosler Accubond. I have taken everything from Whitetail deer, elk (723 yards) and the Shiris moose you see in my inset, all one shot kills. The Moose was at 347 yards. The speed of the load exceeds 3300fps and is sub MOA. The 723 yard elk kill caused little expansion of the Accubond but it penetrated from the right side into the left shoulder socket and bent about 30 degrees. I wouldn't take another shot at any elk at that distance again but up to 500 yards it performs well. Still take this rifle along with me on hunting trips as a backup. Also load up some 250gr bullets for the long range shots. The. 338 Win Mag, I was told, was the first caliber used in long range competition shooting.

 

[RCMSTER]

Quite honestly, I know very little about factory ammo. I haven't bought any for so long that I couldn't make any recommendations, I couldn't shoot as much as I do without reloading, and sure couldn't tailor my loads to what I think would do the best job without reloading. Knowing that you don't reload, I would suggest to you to consider diving in. You can get started with a low amount of investment if you start with buying a used press and dies and basic tools, and the money you save will more than pay for the amount you invest.

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

one of my very favorite close range alder elk/ rifles was a M77 tang saftey 338 win mag wearing a 2.5-8 vxIII leupold shooting 225 gr accubonds .. i called it "meat maker" because whatever was in the scope was going home to the meat pole!!