338 bullet choice for Elk

[Konocti's Wigwam]

Anyone using the 225 grain Hornady CX bullets?

 

[Tommie]

Is there a .338 hunting bullet that isn’t appropriate for elk?

 

[wboggs]

Any bullet 210-225 grs that's accurate. I have some off weight Swift A-frames, 217 grs, that I love. As has been said bullet placement is key. BUT I want a premium bullet just in case.

Swift-A-frames never fail at reasonable ranges. I used the 275gr in a .338 UMag with complete penetration, even on quartering shots at 50-250 yds.

 

[DaveTooley]

Is there a .338 hunting bullet that isn’t appropriate for elk?

They made 180gr Ballistic Tips once. Still would easily kill an Elk. Might be iffy on a front quartering shot if the shoulder was involved.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I've killed elk with 7mm, 30 cal, 338wm with tipped and hp bullets, haven't had an exit wound. Have some Barnes 338 to try on the next trip.

 

[wboggs]

They made 180gr Ballistic Tips once. Still would easily kill an Elk. Might be iffy on a front quartering shot if the shoulder was involved.

Iffy is putting it mildly. My buddy shot a 180# whitetail with a lung shot close, less thn 100yds, and I found the bullet under the hide on the off lung. Naturally it killed the deer but that is not the point. They are a poor penetrating bullet.

 

[bobinpa]

I'll be using 215 gr Sierra Game Kings out of a 338 WSM this year.

 

[BobT]

My favorite .338 bullet is the 210 grain Nosler Partition, that would be followed closely by the 250 grain Swift A Frame.

 

[wboggs]

My favorite .338 bullet is the 210 grain Nosler Partition, that would be followed closely by the 250 grain Swift A Frame.

Bob
Both have worked well for me. I laoded some 210 NP for my buddies .338wm and they always work well. The Swift is the best belted bullet I have found. It is a little less accurate than some but at reasonable hunting ranges the small difference does not matter.

 

[JFrank]

Daughter has a Tikka chambered in a 338 WM in the pawn shop I’ve been thinking about, I’m just not sure if I could handle the recoil.

In all truthfulness how bad are they ?

 

[nakneker]

Daughter has a Tikka chambered in a 338 WM in the pawn shop I’ve been thinking about, I’m just not sure if I could handle the recoil.

In all truthfulness how bad are they ?

I’ve had a few 338 win mags, the recoil varied between them, I can only assume that’s because of the different stock designs. A 338 win mag loaded near max will have substantial recoil, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who hasnt had at least some experience shooting some cartridges that have decent recoil to them. My first 338 win mag was a Ruger 77 wood stocked rifle bought in 87, I didn’t even shoot a full box through that rifle and it found a new owner. My Uncle, who had a lot of experience with bigger rifles even commented on tge recoil that rifle had. My second 338 WM was a Tupperware stocked Winchester 70 push feed, the felt recoil on that rifle was considerably less, definitely different. Today I own a Ruger #1 338 WM, my go to load in the rifle is a 210 partition, it’s my Dads old rifle and the only rifle he hunted elk with, it’s killed a few. Recoil is manageable. If you hand load you can always tone it down a bit. To me, the recoil on the 338 is more of a hard push, not nearly as snappy as a 300WM, that’s just me. It’s a great cartridge, can pretty much handle anything walking North America.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

My TC venture, synthetic stock is light and a real slapper. Perfectly fine with a brake on it now. I used H380 it changed the recoil, with 200 gr accubonds it is softer than my 30/06 with 165 gr bullets. Fun to shoot now with the brake.

 

[JFrank]

That’s probably why it’s still sitting there, she’s only asking $600 for a walnut stocked rifle with I assume low miles. A brake is a great idea ‘

 

[BobT]

Daughter has a Tikka chambered in a 338 WM in the pawn shop I’ve been thinking about, I’m just not sure if I could handle the recoil.

In all truthfulness how bad are they ?

I had a Model 70 push feed and a Ruger tang safety M77 the Ruger wasn't too bad but the M70 was brutal, I would much rather shoot my Whitworth Express in .375 H&H than that Winchester. In fact, I still have the .375 the .338 is long gone.

 

[TaperPin]

I used partitions for nearly everything, but now that there’s a lot of history behind the Nosler accubond, that’s my new bullet for everything.

 

[PhilC]

I used partitions for nearly everything, but now that there’s a lot of history behind the Nosler accubond, that’s my new bullet for everything.

For elk and larger I did too.

 

[ricco1949]

Only killed one elk with 338 Win. A 200 Accubond @ 2983 fps broke both shoulders and exited a rag horn at 365 yards.

 

[DiffEQ]

Hornady 225gr Spire points (I have a bunch).
I picked up three boxes of Nosler 250gr E-Tips to try, but haven't gotten out with them yet.

 

[Beeman]

I won't say it is my favorite, as this is my first 338. This season I will be using the 200 gr Apex Afterburner out of my 338 RUM. Got it shooting right at 3200 fps out of a 23" IBI CF 9 twist with R26.

 

[Tesoro]

Is there a 22lr bullet that is more appropriate for squirrels?!