338 Win Mag for plains game

[24on48hunting]

225 grain ttsx is the best one out of the rifle. It’s sub moa at 100 and under 2 at 250 yards. Now that I know what it can do it’s time to get my reps in while shooting off of sticks.
Thanks to those of you who offered insight.

 

[Schüler Jumbo]

The .338 Winchester Magnum is an excellent choice. I recommend a 250 grain bullet for your application. In fact, I prefer a 300 grain pill.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

7MM REM MAG takes care of everything on your list…

Barnes TSX 160 Grain.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

225 grain ttsx is the best one out of the rifle. It’s sub moa at 100 and under 2 at 250 yards. Now that I know what it can do it’s time to get my reps in while shooting off of sticks.
Thanks to those of you who offered insight.

The Barnes TTSX 225g was the best in my 338wm also and is my #1 go-to. Chrono recorded SD's in the single digits for every string fired with the Barnes ammo. Usually in the high 2's or low 3's. That is outstanding consistency from mass produced factory ammo. I cannot reload that well using my best methods. It is in part what makes the Barnes product so good. At least in the lot that I fired in my rifle, I also got MV's above the box rated velocity. That was unusual. Makes it a super flat shooter as well, on par with the 200g ammo from Federal loaded with the TB-tip ammo. Those were my #2 go-to. What is cool is that the 225g TTSX and the 200g TBT ammo both shoot to the same POI at all distances out to 300y. I have little reason to shoot further for most all situations.

For sticks, may I suggest practicing with a 22lr off of sticks every day for the month leading up to your hunt. I like to set up a 1/2" tgt at about 35y and shoot five in a row every day. The ballistics of the 22lr at 200y is like that of the 308 or 30-06 at about 1000y. The process is the same for mounting the sticks and sending the shot. If you can hit the little 1/2" at 35y it is like hitting a 3" KZ at about 200y with your centerfire rifle. I use DumDum lollipops for this.

 

[375Ruger416]

225 grain ttsx is the best one out of the rifle. It’s sub moa at 100 and under 2 at 250 yards. Now that I know what it can do it’s time to get my reps in while shooting off of sticks.
Thanks to those of you who offered insight.

Great choice. What muzzle velocity are you getting? I can’t think of anything a 338 WM is appropriate for that a 225 gr TTSX isn’t. I see you mentioned it as a ‘forever load’ for this rifle. Again, great choice and it’s availability is very good too which is a consideration.

 

[24on48hunting]

7MM REM MAG takes care of everything on your list…

Barnes TSX 160 Grain.

It would do just fine I’m sure and I have a 7 mm Mag in my safe. This was a great reason to buy a rifle that I’ve always wanted.

Great choice. What muzzle velocity are you getting? I can’t think of anything a 338 WM is appropriate for that a 225 gr TTSX isn’t. I see you mentioned it as a ‘forever load’ for this rifle. Again, great choice and its availability is very good too which is a consideration.

Thank you! I have not put them through a chronograph just yet.

 

[BFaucett]

It would do just fine I’m sure and I have a 7 mm Mag in my safe. This was a great reason to buy a rifle that I’ve always wanted.

I thought you might find this article (attached as a pdf file) to be of interest.

Cheers! Bob F.


"Think Thirty-Three Calibre"
by Gregor Woods
manMAGNUM Magazine | OCTOBER 2000
(4 pages)

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

I took many PG from Impala to Eland with a 7MM REM MAG. I think a Steenbok too. Maybe it was a Duiker…

Elk, mule deer, blacktail, pigs, antelope with 7RM… Great all around caliber.

 

[DLSJR]

I’ve had fantastic results using 225 grain Barnes TTSX’s and Trophy Bonded Bearclaws in my 338. It’s a great cartridge for any & all plains game, as well as lion or leopard.

Don’t overthink it. Just shoot quality bullets and enjoy an incredible hunt wry your 338.

 

[375Ruger416]

I thought you might find this article (attached as a pdf file) to be of interest.

Cheers! Bob F.


"Think Thirty-Three Calibre"
by Gregor Woods
manMAGNUM Magazine | OCTOBER 2000
(4 pages)


View attachment 739227

Great article Bob - thanks!

Interesting that so many buffalo and elephants have been taken by the 318 WR in particular - a 33 caliber cartridge. Now we have threads about if the 9.3x62 and 375 H&H are adequate. It would seem - in a bullet with high sectional density - absolutely! OTOH, makes me want to hunt more plains game with my 375 and get a 416 for the really big stuff.

My 300 PRC with 208 gr Barnes LRX at 2850 did a good job for me on a variety of plains game in Namibia. However, while a blue wildebeest died very quickly to a frontal shot at about 100 y (pretty much dropped in its tracks) the impact on my kudu and eland was not as emphatic as I would have liked. Both died close to where they were originally shot, but I kept firing until they went down (2 shots total for the kudu, 4 for the eland - all hits to the torso and directly into or angled into the thorax from quartering away shots).

Yes, I know you can kill anything in the world with a 223 or 6.5 CM, but really showed me the utility of a medium bore for larger plains game. YMMV.

 

[24on48hunting]

I thought you might find this article (attached as a pdf file) to be of interest.

Cheers! Bob F.


"Think Thirty-Three Calibre"
by Gregor Woods
manMAGNUM Magazine | OCTOBER 2000
(4 pages)


View attachment 739227

Good read and thanks for sharing!

 

[BFaucett]

Good read and thanks for sharing!

You're very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Cheers! Bob F.

 

[Beck]

A .338 Winchester Magnum shooting 250Gr bullets is a magnificent tool for hunting plains game (and even leopard or lion over bait where legal, such as Zambia).

I’ve always had excellent results with the 250Gr Remington Core Lokt factory load. Not the most modern bullet design, but they work.

Buy Core-Lokt 338 Win Mag Ammo | 250 Grain, 2660 FPS | Remington

Shopping for the Core-Lokt, 338 Win Mag, 250 Grain, Pointed Soft Point Core Lokt, 2660 fps - Learn more about the latest Shop All Calibers and other hunting or shooting gear at Remington.

www.remington.com

I just bought a .338, and I am planning to use 250 grain bullets because I like the sectional density

 

[50Gunner]

Yesterday afternoon the wind finally laid down, had old 1965 year FN Browning Medallion 338 WM and ammo at the back door waiting all weekend, favorite load of 76gr H-1000 under 250gr Partitions in WW-Super brass sparked with FED-215's depart at 2710 fps, sent three rounds into another ragged 1/2 hole at 100 yards, +3 inches at 100 easily covers 400 yards of hunting range.

Man those Belgians put some very nice barrels on those rifles, the other heavy hitter load for that rifle is 275gr A-Frames at 2625 fps over the same powder, nothing in the US/Canada/Alaska, and all of Africa up to Cape Buffalo is off the table with these loads, they're extremely accurate and land very hard.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Yesterday afternoon the wind finally laid down, had old 1965 year FN Browning Medallion 338 WM and ammo at the back door waiting all weekend, favorite load of 76gr H-1000 under 250gr Partitions in WW-Super brass sparked with FED-215's depart at 2710 fps, sent three rounds into another ragged 1/2 hole at 100 yards, +3 inches at 100 easily covers 400 yards of hunting range.

Man those Belgians put some very nice barrels on those rifles, the other heavy hitter load for that rifle is 275gr A-Frames at 2625 fps over the same powder, nothing in the US/Canada/Alaska, and all of Africa up to Cape Buffalo is off the table with these loads, they're extremely accurate and land very hard.

@50Gunner
So you are using 12 grains more powder and more recoil to launch a 250gn bullet 10fps faster than the Whelen. Doesn't make sense in my book. No wonder the 338 needs a belt. Has to have something to hold its reputation up.
Nothing personal just can't understand the attraction of the 338.
Bob

 

[50Gunner]

LOL, Yes Bob I am, I don't worry about fuel mileage or recoil with rifles, plus, I bought these FN Browning [1965-1966 Medallions in 7mm RM, 300 WM and 338 WM, and an Olympian 375 H&H] rifles long before I'd ever heard of the 35 Whelen, and certainly before Remington commercialized it.

I'm sure you'll be happy to grant forgiveness for what I did to a rusty bored pre-64 270 Winchester I got out of Oregon, sent it back to Oregon to JES to find some brand new steel, he re-bored the barrel to 12 twist and re-chambered that rifle to a 35 Whelen, a retired Marine pilot sold me a McMillan McWoody stock cut for a pre-64 Winchester, I had a 200 dollar credit with my Gunsmith, he done a beautiful cerakote job on all steel, including the steel Talley rings and bases, then bedded the rifle front to back, top to bottom, it never moves, and is most accurate, the rifle wears a 2.5-8 matte finish Leupold scope.

It's loads are:

250gr Oryx, 2660 fps
270gr Northfork cup point solid, 2550 fps
310gr Woodleigh, 2425 fps

Now, don't you feel better?


No offense taken ; ]

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

LOL, Yes Bob I am, I don't worry about fuel mileage or recoil with rifles, plus, I bought these FN Browning [1965-1966 Medallions in 7mm RM, 300 WM and 338 WM, and an Olympian 375 H&H] rifles long before I'd ever heard of the 35 Whelen, and certainly before Remington commercialized it.

I'm sure you'll be happy to grant forgiveness for what I did to a rusty bored pre-64 270 Winchester I got out of Oregon, sent it back to Oregon to JES to find some brand new steel, he re-bored the barrel to 12 twist and re-chambered that rifle to a 35 Whelen, a retired Marine pilot sold me a McMillan McWoody stock cut for a pre-64 Winchester, I had a 200 dollar credit with my Gunsmith, he done a beautiful cerakote job on all steel, including the steel Talley rings and bases, then bedded the rifle front to back, top to bottom, it never moves, and is most accurate, the rifle wears a 2.5-8 matte finish Leupold scope.

It's loads are:

250gr Oryx, 2660 fps
270gr Northfork cup point solid, 2550 fps
310gr Woodleigh, 2425 fps

Now, don't you feel better?


No offense taken ; ]

@50Gunner
Those old Browning rifles have a class that is underappreciated. They were made when craftsmanship meant something. You chose your calibres well and have all bases covered.
As you know I do like the Whelen and love hanging crap on 338 owners especially @CoElkHunter .
It's good to see you load the Whelen to the level it deserves not those anaemic factory loads.
That 270gn load equals anything the 9.3x62 can do with a 286gn with the same sd and the 310 gn load equals the old 375 load with a better sd and nobody complains about them and on game performance but hang shit in the Whelen saying it's underpowered. Personally I can't see that 8-17 thousands of an inch with the same power levels and similar or better sectional density for the Whelen has a big difference in on game performance, but what do I know.
Go figure, you just can't educate some people.
Bob

 

[BFaucett]

@50Gunner
So you are using 12 grains more powder and more recoil to launch a 250gn bullet 10fps faster than the Whelen. Doesn't make sense in my book. No wonder the 338 needs a belt. Has to have something to hold its reputation up.
Nothing personal just can't understand the attraction of the 338.
Bob

Blah, blah, blah, blah...

 

Cheers! Bob F.

 

[hoytcanon]

225 grain ttsx is the best one out of the rifle. It’s sub moa at 100 and under 2 at 250 yards. Now that I know what it can do it’s time to get my reps in while shooting off of sticks.
Thanks to those of you who offered insight.

On my last trip, I brought a .375 WSM with 235 TSX, which is roughly equivalent to your set-up... it did a great job on everything from Steenbok to Wildebeest, Zebra and Kudu... I think you have made an excellent decision for your hunt.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

For what it is worth, the 225g Barnes TTSX ammo is some of the most accurate, most consistent ammo I have ever tried in my 338wm. It chronos an average MV of 2925fps with SD's in the single digits. I cannot reload that precisely. I have not tried the 200g Barnes ammo but have some of the Federal Trophy Bonded Tip ammo in 200g and while it is marginally faster at the muzzle at 2977 fps (verified chrono data), the higher BC of the heavier load results in faster velocity and more energy at 400 and 500y than the lighter bullet. The drop is nearly the same for both.

All that said, for my money, I would choose the 225g loads unless the lighter bullet just shoots better for you by a big margin. After all, you will not be taking 400y shots on anything except maybe Zebra since they seem to be able to sense when you are hunting them and will keep their distance. In all of my African hunting, I have never taken a shot past 314y. Not because I can't, but only because it was never necessary and in Limpopo, it was never longer than 280ish yards. I love to obsess about bullets and ammo for my hunts but it is more for my personal entertainment. Have fun!

Some say the 338wm is excessive for African PG. The same people claim that if you take a 375HH that it is all you need for anything from Duiker to Cape Buffalo. You 338 is perfect if you like it. They will let you bring two guns so, take something smaller as a back up. When I hunt, I almost always use my smaller weapon for 2/3rds of my shots on game.

Here is some first hand real world recent experience using the 338wm on large tough antelope. This past week, my son and I along with two other hunting buddies went on a Texas Nilgai hunt. Me, my son and one of the other hunters all chose to use our 338 win mags for this hunt and the 4th hunter in our group used the 300wm with 200g TTSX ammo. The 338's used 225g TTSX at 2925fps MV and my son chose the Nosler AB 225g factory load which is running only 2750fps. I chose the faster Barnes load because it shot best in my rifle.

Nilgai are known to be tough. Built like 600-700lb tanks, I would put them in the same toughness class as Blue Wildebeest. My last Blue WB took three rounds of 375HH to put him down from 160-180y distance. The 300g TSX expanded to over 2x diam and did the job well.

In Texas ALL three hunters using the 338wm dropped their Nilgai in their tracks! Guides said that rarely happens. Ranges varied from 155y to 237y and none were shot in the central nervous system. My son's and mine were hit square in the hearts which burst in two from the impacts. We were quite impressed with the results. The one Nilgai in our group shot with the 300wm with 200g TTSX ran 150y and had to be tracked and finished later. Still a successful hunt but not nearly as impressive performance. That hunter is a very experienced marksman and placed his shot well (dbl lung).

I am planning to use the same load and ammo for Canadian Moose this fall and likely will also take it to Namibia for PG hunting next year. Unless, I were hunting a very large, very tough critter that required more than 24" penetration, I would consider the 338wm to be the killing power equivalent to the 375HH in every way and better for longer range shots past 250y. I would consider the 338 to be a ballistic sweet spot for killing larger PG animals. Yes, it kicks a bit but you never feel it in the field and yes a 30-06 or 308 will do nearly as well in 90% of all PG hunting cases.

On that last note: On my first Safari, I took a brace of two old 60's era FN Browning rifles. A Medallion Grade in 308 and a Safari Grade in 375HH. They both performed magnificently but I ended up using the 308 on all of my plains game up to a Gemsbok at the guidance of my PH who said the 308 was all I needed. That little ultra light rifle killed five animals all with one shot kills using Fusion 180g ammo. Testament to the fact that you do not need a big assed magnum to hunt PG in Africa. Use good ammo and shoot well and the 308 is more than adequate. This year, I took a 7mm/08 which one would expect to be little different but for whatever reason, the 7mm performance did drop off somewhat from that of the 308. I killed four PG animals with it but all required extra shots. It may have been the ammo? All copper monos. I had some Fusions but did not get the chance to try them on game. My FN's are on display below.