338 WM Help

[Earle]

Hi all. My x-mas gift finally arrived and it's a beaut. M70 SuperGrade 338wm. I want to start loading for it immediately but need some input. I have new Remington brass and Fusion 200g bullets. I also have manuals by Lyman, Barnes, Nosler and Hornady, but none list data for the above combo, In fact none even list Remington brass or specific Fusion bullets. My question is: should i just pick a manual and start with the minimum listed load for 200g bullets and slowly work up?
Should mention that i am not trying to find a perfect hunting load with these bullets, just some decent accuracy for the range and loading bench practice. Thanks for any thots.

 

[crs]

My Ruger 77 .338 never needed hand loading to shoot well enough for hunting in the US or Africa.
Result of a Texas Heart shot at 110+ yards - factory loads with Nosler bullets:

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Congrats on the new 338 WM, one of my favorite calibers.

If you are going to the trouble of reloading, suggest picking a better bullet than the Fusion. If you have a bunch of 200 gr Fusion bullets already, I would say pick the starting load in a manual for 200 gr bullets and work your way up slowly. Starting loads give a velocity of 2500 fps and you can probably work your way up to 2900-3000 fps with a 200 gr bullet.

FWIW, I load 225 gr Swift A-Frames with 68.0 gr H-4350 and a Federal 215 primer, using Hornady brass. All these components are hard to come by right now and crazy expensive.

 

[Earle]

Thanks for the thots. As i stated, i'm not looking for a good hunting load, just something for some range time. The Fusions were dirt cheap and one of the few choices available at this time, so i'm going to use them up. Hopefully.

 

[8x68]

Start with the minimum Hornady/Speer 200gr load listings and work up slowly from there. My 338WM loved the Nosler 210gr Partitions. The Second Edition of Modern Reloading by Richard Lee has a large cross section of loads using 200gr bullets.

 

[Earle]

Again, thanks to all. While i'm on a roll here and have your attention, one final dopey question. Any recommendations regarding a primer to use in the Remington/Federal combo?

 

[YancyW]

Congrats on finding the rifle, I have been looking for M70 Supergrade in 338 for several months.

 

[JimP]

Again, thanks to all. While i'm on a roll here and have your attention, one final dopey question. Any recommendations regarding a primer to use in the Remington/Federal combo?

Right now it is any large rifle magnum primer that you can find...

I like CCI and have used them in my .340 Weatherby with zero problems. Others like Federal 215's. But when I was building up a load for my .340 you couldn't find any Federals out there.

 

[8x68]

Again, thanks to all. While i'm on a roll here and have your attention, one final dopey question. Any recommendations regarding a primer to use in the Remington/Federal combo?

CCI 250's or Fed 215M

 

[sestoppelman]

I dont always use mag primers, mostly use standard Win LR, works fine. If using ball powders mag primers are better suited. Like above start low and work up. I like to shoot moderate velocity loads for target work, with 225 gr Speers or similar. 200gr Nosler Ballistic Tips shoot well too.
Pay attention to the manuals and have fun. Its a great round!

 

[Ray B]

Most of the manuals use Winchester or Federal brass for their loads. the main difference that I have noted in them and Remington is that Remington uses a little more brass. Since the case capacity is slightly less, usually the Remington brass will get a little higher pressure for a similar load. Generally this amounts to about 2 grains of powder. For example if your manual says 66 grains of powder and they were using WW brass, then a charge of 64 grains of the same powder would get a similar pressure in a Remington case.

 

[Earle]

Thank you. That is good info to know. I wondered why none of the manuals used Remington brass.

Most of the manuals use Winchester or Federal brass for their loads. the main difference that I have noted in them and Remington is that Remington uses a little more brass. Since the case capacity is slightly less, usually the Remington brass will get a little higher pressure for a similar load. Generally this amounts to about 2 grains of powder. For example if your manual says 66 grains of powder and they were using WW brass, then a charge of 64 grains of the same powder would get a similar pressure in a Remington case.

 

[Sable_338]

Should mention that i am not trying to find a perfect hunting load with these bullets, just some decent accuracy for the range and loading bench practice. Thanks for any thots.

Congrats a great rifle. I have used a 338 Win Mag for 20 + yrs. It is the one cartridge I will never be without and would be my choice for a 1 rifle battery!! What powders do you have on hand? That would help narrow down some recommendations. Btw I have 600 of those Fusions. Awesome bullets loaded down for deer, hogs, bear, antelope....

 

[shootist~]

It's for plinking, so primer choice is not a major concern. And a standard primer might even work better.

My V was slightly more using a standard F210 (Federal) primer and SD was lower than the recommended Remington Mag primers used in the Barnes 338 WM data I referenced.

Bullet was the 185 gr TTSX and powder was RL17, btw.

The only time I've seen different brass make a huge difference was going from thin commercial 308 Win brass to (much heavier) 7.62x51 mil brass. THAT load had to be reduced by a good 1.5 grains.

FWIW, I tend to weigh a few samples any time I get a new lot of brass.

 

[Earle]

Right now all i have is AA3100, IMR4831, H4831SC, A2700, and H100, so one should do what i want. Problem is, the stars are not aligning. Daytime temps average -15C, the ranges are all closed due to covid, i can't source the rings/bases i want, and the new Leupold scope i bought for the rifle had to go back to the warranty centre. Almost like the gun doesn't want me to use it, LOL.

 

[meigsbucks]

Congratulations on the new rifle. The .338 Win and any .338 mag for that matter are among my favorite rounds.
As others have stated, to just shoot for fun, use starting 200 gr data with the Fusions and work up. My .338 Win likes the 225 gr Barnes TTSX and the 210 Nosler Partition.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

I'd go with any manual's starting load for 200 gr bullets except Barnes as Barnes are monolith bullets and I have found in other calibers that the Barnes load data can be significantly different. Hodgson has an online reloading site that is for just about any caliber using Hodgson, IMR and Winchester powders and the appropriate bullet weights for caliber.

 

[baxterb]

I have a 6-digit m70 and shoot the. BArnes 225 TTSX crimped into the front groove over an old (they’ve increased it) max load (67.5gr) of IMR4350. I get about 2750 and it shoots .75 all day long.

 

[John Telford]

Congrats on the new 338 WM, one of my favorite calibers.

If you are going to the trouble of reloading, suggest picking a better bullet than the Fusion. If you have a bunch of 200 gr Fusion bullets already, I would say pick the starting load in a manual for 200 gr bullets and work your way up slowly. Starting loads give a velocity of 2500 fps and you can probably work your way up to 2900-3000 fps with a 200 gr bullet.

FWIW, I load 225 gr Swift A-Frames with 68.0 gr H-4350 and a Federal 215 primer, using Hornady brass. All these components are hard to come by right now and crazy expensive.

H-4350 works well in my 338wm also. I load Nosler 200g . It’s always better to start at the beginning when hand loading ammo. I use quick load after shooting a start load and then verify the data and work from there. I usually get a nice load within three trips to the range.

 

[neckdeep]

Right now all i have is AA3100, IMR4831, H4831SC, A2700, and H100, so one should do what i want. Problem is, the stars are not aligning. Daytime temps average -15C, the ranges are all closed due to covid, i can't source the rings/bases i want, and the new Leupold scope i bought for the rifle had to go back to the warranty centre. Almost like the gun doesn't want me to use it, LOL.

What kind of rings and bases are you looking for? I probably have them