fave .338 loads

[Ak Steve]

what are you fave .338 win mag loads for
1) Ranger hero
2) 300 yd shot
3) bears

I just put some togehter with IMR 4350 and screwed up all the cases. They all bulged once i got to the compressed loads and i can't chamber them. Guess I need to find a new 300 yd shot load!

 

[RayfromAK]

Any factory load, including the anemic ones at 2,660 fps can be 300-yard ammo. For example, take the Federal factory load with 250-grain NOS Partition loaded at 2660 fps. Sight your .338WM so the a group prints +2" (2" high) at 100 yards, and this is what results from that:

200 yards = 0 (your rifle is sighted so it hits the 200-yard mark in the center)
300 yards = -8.8"

So at 300 yards shoot the moose through the center of the lungs, or hold-over just a tiny bit. You can also sight your rifle higher at 100 yards so that the bullet hits the 300-yard mark in the center, but since most moose and bears are shot within 150 yards, a 200-yard zero is ideal.

I use RL-19, RL-22, and RL-25, and have never had to compress the powder charge to the point of bulging the cases. There is something wrong with the way you are reloading, and that's why I mentioned using factory ammo for the time being. What bullet are you using, and what's the powder charge of your loads?

 

[mauserboy]

"Fave" loads

"Fave" loads

Arggh! Are you shaking smokeless into your cereal in the mornings? My friend, you have to take reloading seriously. Yes, it is a very enjoyable past time, but if you don't follow proper procedures, you can blow out in a big and deadly way. The man is right. You have to rethink or think your loading techniques. God Bless and good luck.

 

[Murphy]

Loading the 338 Win Mag....

Loading the 338 Win Mag....

Steve,

What are you using for reference? And why do you think you need to compress powder? A full case of powder means the bullet sits on the charge.

Range Hero Load; (did you get that from me? )Cheap and low recoil.
Speer 200 grain spitzer H4350 74.0 grs max vel. 2900 fps, CCI-250, W-W brass.

300 yard shot. Any good accurate 250 grain bullet, H4831 70.0 grs vel. 2710 fps, CCI-250 and W-W brass. This is a max load it is not compressed. I agree with the +2" at 100, but hold on the furry part, uppermost furry part. (don't shoot at the air)

Bears(!) Use the 300 yard load with Swift A-frame and sight in at 100 yards. Don't get nervous, marksmanship is everything.

Are you sure you didn't bulge your cases with the crimp ring in the seater die?

Good shootin'.

Murphy

 

[AK Bearcat]

338 loads

338 loads

It has been a while since I played around with different loas in our 338's We found some loads that work well for us, so just shoot them. We sight our 338's to rpint 2.5 to 3.0 high at 100 yards. With this load we can hold just a little high at the longer ranges but still hold on at the closer ranges. We only have a 100 yard shooting range so that is the reason we use 100yards.
Here are the loads that we use: We use all WW brass and CCI primers.
175 Barnes X, 65.5 grs IMR 4895
200 Barnes X, 71.0 grs H4350
225 Barnes X, 67.5 grs IMR 4831
215 Sierra, 72.1 GRS H4350
We have some 250 FMJ's that we loaded several years ago for close up bear issues but have not had to use them.
Some of these loads were a real pain to work up to but once they started working they turned out good.

 

[Ak Steve]

Lyman manual

Lyman manual

It's the same lyman manual i have been using for nearly 15 years. max load is show as 74 grains of IMR 4350 behind a 225 gr bullet, I have already shot though the starting load, and got to 70 grains (max is 74) and had trouble.

It's the same Lee dies i've used for years, set up the same way, and the cases don't seem any fuller than usual at 70 grains. At 74 there is no way a bullet would fit in case. There is note in the manual that is a compressed charge load, but I've loaded them from time to time over the years and never encounterted this problem.

I haven't reloaded for the .338 very much, but the bullet seating process didn't seem unusal vs. the thousands and thousands of other rounds I've put together.

 

[Murphy]

338 Loads

338 Loads

Steve,

OK. 74 grains of IMR 4350 is not a hot load but likely maximum for the 225 grain bullet. Here is the deal. Many handloaders and loading manuals refer to compressed loads. The extruded powder such as the IMR series, has the compressability of gravel. It is hard. Hard like a rock. In reality it does not compress. What we can do is tap the case as we pour in the powder and settle the powder as much as possible. You can use a drop tube funnel. That's a funnel with a long (6"-10") tube on it. This extra fall (gravity) makes the kernals of powder settle into a smaller space. I don't use IMR powder (for this and a couple other reasons) I use the H4350 it is much smaller kernals and is much more"compressable". Very consistant burn rate, too.

Yes you have bulged the case with the rock hard powder. There is a die called a body die which can be used to size the case back to normal.(I mean without pulling the bullets) or you can pull the loads apart and resize the cases with the normal technique then load less powder.

You should:
1. Buy a new loading manual.
2. Not try for the highest velocity.
3. Use only W-W brass. (it's thinner and holds more powder.)
4. Use H4350 powder with your 225 grain bullets.

Just a few suggestions. Good shootin'.

Murphy

 

[Bukshot]

A few years ago, I was able to pick up a fair quantity of the discontinued Speer 275 gr. semi-spitzer bullets. This was Elmer Keith's favorite bullet for the .338 Win Mag. Have been working up loads using IMR 7828 powder, but have not shot enough rounds yet to finalize on a powder charge. Recoil is not that bad. I don't plan on taking long shots and use a low power scope for good eye relief. I like the .338 Win Mag ( except for the useless cosmetic belt ). If the belt-less versions ( Dakota ) were as common in Alaska, I'd switch. See reloading articles by Waters.

 

[BigTex]

4831 sc

4831 sc

Mine`likes`74`gr.`4831sc, 225 NP or hornady with a Winchester mag primer. My 700 BDL shoots 3/4" and the NP knocks the you know what out of game. But they are not all th same.

 

[beretzs]

I did the same thing, I was able to get about 200 of the 275gr Speers. I used RL22 worked up to 72gr's and got 2650FPS on the chrono with them. They were very accurate. After I checked how they shot at further ranges, I have since gone to 225gr Hornady SST's. I am at 76gr's of RL19 and getting 2890 out of them, with excellent accuracy. I figure I will use the 275's one of these for something big and heavy. They shot through 9 water filled milk jugs and retained about 150 or the original 275grs. They can shed a bit and still penetrate really well. Those are my two loads for the 338 Win Mag.

Here is my 76gr 225gr SST load.

Here is the recovered 275gr Speer. It was shot at 50 yards into the jugs. Looks pretty nice to me.

Here is a 200 yard group with the 275gr Speer

Here is a 300 yard group.

I haven't shot the Hornady further than 100 yards yet, but I suspect it will be fine for a general purpose elk/deer bullet. I will step up to the 275gr Speer for anything larger I ever get to hunt. Scotty

 

[Armymark]

Swift A-Frame in 275 Grains

Swift A-Frame in 275 Grains

Has anyone ever tried these? I am waiting on delivery of my "new to me", No. 1 chambered in .338 and might give these a shot. The 275 grain Swift A-Frame.

http://www.swiftbullets.com/store/338-caliber-275-grain.html

 

[beretzs]

I haven't tried the Swifts in 275, but I cannot imagine they would be anything less than awesome in the 338WM. With the right combo you should get great speed, and since they have a decent BC and unreal SD they should really penetrate. I am tempted to buy a box of them in order to develop a load. I was surprised how well the 275's shot at longer ranges. I would feel pretty comfortable taking a shot at 400 with my rifle the way it shoots the Speers. Scotty

 

[AlpineEarl]

I like the .338 Win Mag ( except for the useless cosmetic belt ). If the belt-less versions ( Dakota ) were as common in Alaska, I'd switch. See reloading articles by Waters.

The belt is not useless nor cosmetic, the 338wm is supposed to headspace off the belt. You can set up dies to headspace off the shoulder, but you need to have a guage to properly measure this. If you are just full length resizing without guaging shoulder bump and backing off your die accordingly, then you are headspacing off the belt.

AK Steve, Murphy is right. A compressed load does not mean a load that is compressed by cramming a bullet on top of case overstuffed with powder. Get a new manual too.