I was mad about the price of ammo....Until I tooled up to reload a new caliber! # .338 Win Mag

[Deepfork]

I decided I wanted a new rifle for my next plains game hunt in August so I headed to a gun show to see what jumped out at me. I ended up with a beautiful Ruger M77 in .338 Win Mag. It was made in 1979 and was new in the box! I have to admit I am totally infatuated with this Rifle.

So its time to gather components to load a new cartridge. Dies and other tools I needed were easy. But brass, powder and Large rifle magnum primers seem to be unobtainium! Bullets are just a little easier.

So....After spending enough to buy a plane ticket from Oklahoma to South Africa I have gathered up - H4831SC and H4350 Powder (If anyone has a extra can of Alliant Reloder 19 sitting around I would be more than happy to pay way to much for it). 300 Remington Large Rifle Magnum primers. Bullets so far 180gr Nosler Accubonds, 250gr Speer Grand Slams and 225 grain Hornady CX. Have not found any brass but I did buy five boxes of factory ammo, Winchester Expedition 225gr AccubondCT. So I'll just burn through that and I'll have 100 once fired brass cases that cost me almost $5.00 each!

I'd love to hear about any favorite loads in .338 Win Mag any of you have, hopefully with what I have on hand. Include Reloader 19 ... I WILL have it in my inventory!

 

[Spartan5]

@Nuggie338Winmag might have some reloading data on this that he would be happy to share.

 

[Deepfork]

@Nuggie338Winmag might have some reloading data on this that he would be happy to share.

Thank you!

 

[sierraone]

Contact @Bullthrower338 . Haven't talked to him in awhile. But .338 WinMag was his favorite caliber, and he reloaded about everything.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

225 gr Swift A Frame over 67.5 gr of H4350 gave excellent results in my Ruger. I used this rifle and load on an Alaskan moose last September.

 

[AimSmall]

Those Winchester/Accubonds are great!

 

[Deepfork]

225 gr Swift A Frame over 67.5 gr of H4350 gave excellent results in my Ruger. I used this rifle and load on an Alaskan moose last September.

View attachment 531723

Thanks! Load #4.....Nice!

 

[Nevada Mike]

I think, if I were you, that I'd shoot maybe 1 box of your Win ammo, pull the Accubonds from the rest, process the brass and do load development with the bullets you have, including the 'recycled' Accubands.

 

[baxterb]

225 gr Swift A Frame over 67.5 gr of H4350 gave excellent results in my Ruger. I used this rifle and load on an Alaskan moose last September.

View attachment 531723

Good stuff.

my 225 TTSX load is 67.5 of IMR 4350 for +- 2750. It’s a ridiculously accurate load in my model 70.

 

[Jonathan Kashouty]

I have a .338 Jarrett so the load data won't match. I love the Barnes 225 grain TTSX out of mine. Killed all my PG on three trips to Africa with one shot.
Headed to Alaska late summer with it for Brown Bear.

 

[JimP]

Just as a FYI if you can't find the Barnes 225 grain TTSX locally their on line store has them in stock.

Shop all Tipped TSX - Barnes Bullets

www.barnesbullets.com

And while it isn't a 338 Winchester my .340 Weatherby loves the Barnes 225 grain TTSX and that is all I shoot out of it.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Some $3-$4 per round options available

.338 Win Mag Ammo rifle 225 grains

In-stock best prices for 338 Win Mag Ammo rifle 225 grains | Best 338 Win Mag Ammunition rifle 225 grains - AmmoSeek.com

ammoseek.com

 

[Joker12]

I decided I wanted a new rifle for my next plains game hunt in August so I headed to a gun show to see what jumped out at me. I ended up with a beautiful Ruger M77 in .338 Win Mag. It was made in 1979 and was new in the box! I have to admit I am totally infatuated with this Rifle.

So its time to gather components to load a new cartridge. Dies and other tools I needed were easy. But brass, powder and Large rifle magnum primers seem to be unobtainium! Bullets are just a little easier.

So....After spending enough to buy a plane ticket from Oklahoma to South Africa I have gathered up - H4831SC and H4350 Powder (If anyone has a extra can of Alliant Reloder 19 sitting around I would be more than happy to pay way to much for it). 300 Remington Large Rifle Magnum primers. Bullets so far 180gr Nosler Accubonds, 250gr Speer Grand Slams and 225 grain Hornady CX. Have not found any brass but I did buy five boxes of factory ammo, Winchester Expedition 225gr AccubondCT. So I'll just burn through that and I'll have 100 once fired brass cases that cost me almost $5.00 each!

I'd love to hear about any favorite loads in .338 Win Mag any of you have, hopefully with what I have on hand. Include Reloader 19 ... I WILL have it in my inventory!

I have 3 of them and load for them all, great cartridge. I like 250gr bullets and mine all prefer either IMR4350 , IMR4831 , or R22. One thing that I have discovered is that Nosler partitions and Hornady interlocks of the same weight will shoot to the same point and safely digest the same powder charges. I use the Hornadys to work up a load and then switch to the Noslers for tough game. I have had no trouble getting accurate loads to 2800fps with those powders in Winchester cases with magnum primers. For what its worth I tried R19 and got much better results with the others mentioned. Good luck with yours!

 

[Deepfork]

I have 3 of them and load for them all, great cartridge. I like 250gr bullets and mine all prefer either IMR4350 , IMR4831 , or R22. One thing that I have discovered is that Nosler partitions and Hornady interlocks of the same weight will shoot to the same point and safely digest the same powder charges. I use the Hornadys to work up a load and then switch to the Noslers for tough game. I have had no trouble getting accurate loads to 2800fps with those powders in Winchester cases with magnum primers. For what its worth I tried R19 and got much better results with the others mentioned. Good luck with yours!

Great info...thanks! Exactly the type of insight I was looking for.

 

[Inline6]

@Mark Biggerstaff had some 338WM ammo in stock yesterday. I picked up 3 boxes from him. They are 230ELDX, I have hunted with the 285s out of my 338LM and the results were great. Have no issues trying the 230s out of the WM.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

The 250Gr Nosler Partition factory load is an exceptional choice for even the largest of plains game. Unfortunately, Nosler never seems to have them in stock these days.

Winchester used to manufacture a 300Gr Power Point factory load from 1958 to 1980 or so. King Mahindra of Nepal used to be an avid admirer of this cartridge for hunting tigers in the Terai region. His rifle of choice was a Mannlicher Schoenauer in .338 Winchester Magnum.

 

[Joker12]

The 250Gr Nosler Partition factory load is an exceptional choice for even the largest of plains game. Unfortunately, Nosler never seems to have them in stock these days.

Winchester used to manufacture a 300Gr Power Point factory load from 1958 to 1980 or so. King Mahindra of Nepal used to be an avid admirer of this cartridge for hunting tigers in the Terai region. His rifle of choice was a Mannlicher Schoenauer in .338 Winchester Magnum.

They not only don't have them but they are really expensive! Last summer I took one of mine out the shoot a few rounds just to check the sight in. When I got home I was wondering what that session had cost me. YIKES, at about $2 just for the bullet those will be the last partitions that I will shoot into a dirt bank! You are right though they are exceptionally effective.

 

[jlb1036]

Just remember if run into 7 m rem mag brass you can use it for the 338 win mag just lubricate the inside neck of the 7mm rem with graphite or care lube and run it through your resizing die now you got a 338 win mag brass

 

[C.W. Richter]

I'd leave the 180s at home for the .338. 225-250 is where it's at, ballistically for high SD terminal performance on thicker-skinned African game. 180 is more of a deer/antelope bullet in .338. Many Africans prefer 220 gr bullets in 3006, so 250 is actually best in .338, though the 225s may be better for longer shots. 210+ for elk/blk bear and "African" big boy bullets for moose and big bear. 'Got into reloading as a teen as the .300 WM ammo was too expensive (and some not very accurate). Best decision ever made...

 

[krish]

I decided I wanted a new rifle for my next plains game hunt in August so I headed to a gun show to see what jumped out at me. I ended up with a beautiful Ruger M77 in .338 Win Mag. It was made in 1979 and was new in the box! I have to admit I am totally infatuated with this Rifle.

So its time to gather components to load a new cartridge. Dies and other tools I needed were easy. But brass, powder and Large rifle magnum primers seem to be unobtainium! Bullets are just a little easier.

So....After spending enough to buy a plane ticket from Oklahoma to South Africa I have gathered up - H4831SC and H4350 Powder (If anyone has a extra can of Alliant Reloder 19 sitting around I would be more than happy to pay way to much for it). 300 Remington Large Rifle Magnum primers. Bullets so far 180gr Nosler Accubonds, 250gr Speer Grand Slams and 225 grain Hornady CX. Have not found any brass but I did buy five boxes of factory ammo, Winchester Expedition 225gr AccubondCT. So I'll just burn through that and I'll have 100 once fired brass cases that cost me almost $5.00 each!

I'd love to hear about any favorite loads in .338 Win Mag any of you have, hopefully with what I have on hand. Include Reloader 19 ... I WILL have it in my inventory!

I may be able to help you with the brass. How many do you you need. I may have one can of 19 but due to hazmat regulations cant ship that.
PM me if you need any more information. Your 338 I think is thumb safety. They are nice rifles.
Krish