Nosler 265 grain Accubond's in a .338 Win Mag

[20VarTarg]

Ok, so I'm thinking about buying a 338 Win Mag for a dedicated big game rifle. I have zero experience with this caliber but was searching through available bullets and noticed the 265 grain Accubond has a G1 of .732. On paper this is very very impressive. Does anyone have any experience with this bullet in this caliber?? I'm looking at a 600 yd hunting rifle and banging steel out past 1,000. What are the pro's and con's of the 338 Win Mag. I've been reading about them all day but wanted all of your opinions if you own one.

 

[fourpower]

I have a ruger in 338 win mag that I got when they first came out and it is a great elk gun. I have always used sierra 250 gr bullets in it and have taken a lot of elk with it. I tried some accubonds in it but they shoot like a shotgun! I have a lot of guns I reload for but all of them hate accubonds!!!

 

[Gb300wm]

I think it’s the thick jacket on the accubonds. Some rifles like them, some don’t. I have a 338 winnie that loves the 210 barnes ttsx and it just flat kills. I like the velocity advantage of the lighter bullet and it won’t shed any weight. I could never get good velocity with the 250’s and I felt that handicapped me with the longer shots. The 265 will probably be even slower. My thoughts are the winnie is too small for that heavy of a bullet...

 

[284winner]

Ok, so I'm thinking about buying a 338 Win Mag for a dedicated big game rifle. I have zero experience with this caliber but was searching through available bullets and noticed the 265 grain Accubond has a G1 of .732. On paper this is very very impressive. Does anyone have any experience with this bullet in this caliber?? I'm looking at a 600 yd hunting rifle and banging steel out past 1,000. What are the pro's and con's of the 338 Win Mag. I've been reading about them all day but wanted all of your opinions if you own one.

I own a 338 win mag. I used it for elk hunts 30 years ago. Great elk gun. Never shot it past 300 yards. I think the 338 win mag does the best with mid weight bullets simply because powder capacity dictates it. Also most factory barrels have twists that require shorter lighter bullets. Also at ranges out to 500 yards. For your requirements I'd say it will fit. 600 yard hunting, 1000 yard targets. If you have one built, make it a 10 twist or faster and you'll be fine with the 265 and heavier. Personally I'd go with a 300 mag or PRC. You can run the heavier 30 caliber high bc bullets(230 Berger/Sierra) that will outperform the mid range 338 bullets.

 

[LeoHuhta]

Accubonds shoot very well in my 7mm, 7-08 & 06.
Play with some different powders and you will be surprised.

 

[20VarTarg]

The rifle I'm looking to buy is shooting the Swift A-Frame 250's lights out. I figured 15 more grains wouldn't hurt the accuracy at all and the higher BC of the Accubond would come in handy. I"m gonna give them a shot if I end up buying the rifle. I shoot the Accubond out of a 250-3000 AI and it shoots unbelievable. I'm one of the believers that if you play around with a load enough it'll shoot no matter what. Change powders, change primers, change seating depth. Each rifle will like something different. That's why I'm addicted to rifles and gave up handguns long ago. I like the challenge in finding what each individual rifle likes.

 

[284winner]

Not sure what your barrel is bit more than likely it's a 10 twist. Should do fine with the 265s. I'm guessing you'll see maybe 2650 fps with RE19 maybe 2700 depending on barrel length. Ever consider the 250 accunonds ? I suppose you'd have to do the ballistic calculating on which is best on paper. I think I shot 225s the best in my gun at around 2900+ fps. They didn't make any of the long slippery 338 bullets at the time I was shooting mine. Your Accuracy at ranges beyond 600 yards will dictate which bullet you'll use. May be mid range or may be the heavier bullets. At 600 yards you'll only be giving up 100+ ft lbs energy using a 230 eld vs the 265 Accubond LR. Your velocity will be higher with the 230s and drop will be less. BC is .616 with the Hornady. Not sure I'd believe the published number that Nosler shows. Look up Brian Litz ballistic numbers for the LR accunonds. He did tests. The numbers were way off. Good luck.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

The rifle I'm looking to buy is shooting the Swift A-Frame 250's lights out. I figured 15 more grains wouldn't hurt the accuracy at all and the higher BC of the Accubond would come in handy. I"m gonna give them a shot if I end up buying the rifle. I shoot the Accubond out of a 250-3000 AI and it shoots unbelievable. I'm one of the believers that if you play around with a load enough it'll shoot no matter what. Change powders, change primers, change seating depth. Each rifle will like something different. That's why I'm addicted to rifles and gave up handguns long ago. I like the challenge in finding what each individual rifle likes.

Don't change anything except powder. It's always the powder.

 

[20VarTarg]

Not sure what your barrel is bit more than likely it's a 10 twist. Should do fine with the 265s. I'm guessing you'll see maybe 2650 fps with RE19 maybe 2700 depending on barrel length. Ever consider the 250 accunonds ? I suppose you'd have to do the ballistic calculating on which is best on paper. I think I shot 225s the best in my gun at around 2900+ fps. They didn't make any of the long slippery 338 bullets at the time I was shooting mine. Your Accuracy at ranges beyond 600 yards will dictate which bullet you'll use. May be mid range or may be the heavier bullets. At 600 yards you'll only be giving up 100+ ft lbs energy using a 230 eld vs the 265 Accubond LR. Your velocity will be higher with the 230s and drop will be less. BC is .616 with the Hornady. Not sure I'd believe the published number that Nosler shows. Look up Brian Litz ballistic numbers for the LR accunonds. He did tests. The numbers were way off. Good luck.

This is very awesome information and I will definitely look up that article. When I was looking for .338 Bullets and what was out there before making a move on this rifle I did not see a 250 Accubond. I'm a small caliber shooter at heart. Love the .17's and .20's and would like one do it all rifle for anything big. I was thinking of 165's for deer size game and 250's up for the big stuff. I do have the 250-3000 AI that is just an all around sweet gun and it will never leave my safe, so it can get anything deer size but the 338 Win Mag I'm suspecting can get out there a bit further with ethical kills. I'm gonna do what I always do when I get a new rifle and empty my pocket book on different bullets and see what's best.....I just really like the accubonds. Thanks for the info.

 

[284winner]

This is very awesome information and I will definitely look up that article. When I was looking for .338 Bullets and what was out there before making a move on this rifle I did not see a 250 Accubond. I'm a small caliber shooter at heart. Love the .17's and .20's and would like one do it all rifle for anything big. I was thinking of 165's for deer size game and 250's up for the big stuff. I do have the 250-3000 AI that is just an all around sweet gun and it will never leave my safe, so it can get anything deer size but the 338 Win Mag I'm suspecting can get out there a bit further with ethical kills. I'm gonna do what I always do when I get a new rifle and empty my pocket book on different bullets and see what's best.....I just really like the accubonds. Thanks for the info.

The 250s do not have the real high bc of the 265s as they are not the LR version. The 230 ELDs have a higher bc than the Accubond 250s. Performance would be better with the 230s.