hunting round 338 edge

[bubba41]

this has probably been here before. what is a good hunting round for 338 edge. berger or what? please help

 

[Sendero_Man]

300 smk

 

[big mike 2121]

Match Kings??????? thought that was a target round, NOT intended for hunting?

 

[liltank]

Match Kings??????? thought that was a target round, NOT intended for hunting?

Works for both applications. The Berger 300 will work just fine also.

Tank

 

[big mike 2121]

Tank,

so Fed GMM 175's will work good as a hunting round?

 

[liltank]

Tank,

so Fed GMM 175's will work good as a hunting round?

Weeeeell, I've been debating that. And here is my thoughts. The 175 is developed and used by the military. Though they claim it is not designed to expand (which in most hunting scenarios it does not) some people still use them. The expansion of a 175SMK is unreliable in its ability to expand. Some people have used them with good effect and others have not. I know one instance where the smith that does some of my work used 168SMK's in his 300WM for Whitetail. He said they had problems with reliable expansion. So they changed over to 168 Hornady BTHP's and the expansion issue went away. My cousin using a .308 experienced the same problem shooting groundhogs. He changed to Nosler custom comps which has a very uniform open tip, and... well lets just say he held up a groundhog and saw sunlight through its chest.

But, the 338SMK is proving to be a different animal. It seems to have a very reliable following and expansion on game. As to what the difference is, I can't say. My speculation is the amount of air space ahead of the lead core may allow for greater use of hydraulic pressure from blood and tissue to assist in its ability to open. Without cutting one in half to compare to the 175, I couldn't tell you. This is all my opinion. But the fact remains that the 300SMK has been a very usable bullet for hunting. There may be other variables such as speed and toughness of game. It's a big bullet so it is going to do a lot of damage as it passes through the body of an animal.

So in short those are my idea's. Right, wrong, or indifferent that is all I have to base my answer. Sierra does list a warning against using SMK's has a hunting projectile. But they do shoot good. Hope this helps you a little.

Tank

 

[big mike 2121]

OK so, what about the A-Max? for 308 of course. Im looking for accurate, HUNTING bullets to reload. my rifle has a 1:11.25 twist and prefers heavier bullets. plan on copying the GMM load with either 175, 178, or 180 grain pills,

 

[SBruce]

The 300 SMK does the job.

This buck was taken last fall by a friend at 625 yds with an Edge and 300 SMK.
He was using H1000 powder I believe. His first season using the rifle.

The buck was taken in nearly the exact position it's posed in for the picture, laying down with the right shoulder towards us. That is the only shot and only view we had. The bullet hit exactly where he intended it to. The buck simply dropped dead right there, almost like he just instantly decided to lay his head down to take a nap.

Internal damage wasn't extremely massive, but the heart and a lung were done in for sure.

 

[liltank]

According Michele Eichle (308 guru), he prefers the a-max bullet. I hit a groundhog with one at 165yards in 168grn and did some pretty good damage to its chest. I would say that any of the a-max will do what you ask of it. I switched to 175 custom comps. They are going to wreak havoc when I get them dialed in. Just got them today and hoping they shoot as well as the SMK. From the reviews on Midway, they should do just fine.

Tank

 

[liltank]

To be very honest, I was going to use the 178 Hornady BTHP, but they are very hard to find now. So that is why I went back to the 175's.

Tank

 

[sp6x6]

Look at what your shooting, I have taken 1/2 dozen antelope out to 600 w/87 berger, no problems. I am for sure not worried about a 300 grainer. You should see the rocks fly apart at 1200, and Im not shooting and Edge. The smks are proven and the bergers will to, there just too new.

 

[bubba41]

thanks guys i'll try smk's and the bergers i've had good luck with bergers before

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Depends on the yardage you plan on shooting and the type rifle and scope set up you have. If your hunting is under a half mile or so you may want to go lighter with the bullet for a flatter trajectory. The 300 grainers shine if your going over 1000 yards. I am trying some cutting edge 225 grain bullets with a .64 bc for this year. There are several others. The 225 Accubond has been used quite a bit since it came out. 338's off the RUM case do well with several different bullets depending on your style of hunting. The 300 grainers will knock the living crap out of you unless you have a heavy rifle.

You can run the ballistics and see what suits you best. The RUM case shoots the 300's from 2750-2850 fps most of the time. It will shoot the 225 grain bullets 3250-3325 fps. Check the ballistics at the ranges you plan on hunting and see what is best for you considering recoil, length of your loaded cartridge for your magazine to make it a repeater, etc. I rarely use the 300 grainers unless I am doing specialty shooting/hunting going out to definitely shoot over 1000 yards. And when I do I use one of my big 338's that will push the 300 grainers over 3000 fps so I can get there with authority and less windage. For all average hunting I use lighter bullets because I rarely shoot over a half mile. If I have to make a 1000 yard shot they will easily do that also.

 

[Sendero_Man]

Have a good friend that uses the 250 Scenars as well.

Incredible accurate, lower recoil and DRT on game. Run better than the 300 SMK's out to about a 1000. After that the 300 wins I think.