Loading for the .338

firsttimeelkhunter · 05-04-2003, 10:39 AM

I' m looking for a favorite load for the .338 for elk. I am fairly new to rifle reloading, but have done significant shotshell reloading. I have the set-up with dies press, hand primer, and everything but the case trimmer. I like Hogdgen powders for their clean burning quailties in the shotgun shells, and dislike allient for the same reasons. I am open to all suggestions and have no preconcieved notions about rifle and handgun powders ( sound like a countradiction to me as well

). Thanks for the help.

P.S. Plan to hunt Elk in South Western Colorado.

Vapodog · 05-04-2003, 09:54 PM

The .338 is truly a lot of muscle.....I' m a fan of the premium bullets for big game....(that' s not deer)...I' d be looking for a swift A-frame or a trophy bonded bear claw of about 225 grains and H-4350 powder at about 71 grains.

handloader1 · 05-04-2003, 10:23 PM

My cousin owns a .338 Win. Mag. in a Browning A-Bolt. I made up this load for him and, he has killed 5 Oryx with it they were all one shot kills.

225 gr. Barnes XFB; RL-22; Min. 73.0 grs. @ 2782 f/s; Max. 78.0 grs. @ 2919 f/s. Good luck.

BigBob .30-06 · 05-09-2003, 03:29 PM

firsttimeelkhunter,
I had good results with the Nosler 210 grain Partition bullet, Win. cases, 70.5 grains of H-4350 and CCI #250 primers. Five shot group measured .738" . Velocity taken at 10' was 2869 fps. This is a hot load and should be worked up from below. Good luck.[&:]

firsttimeelkhunter · 05-11-2003, 09:04 PM

Thanks for the info. I' m going to order some brass and bullets from Midway soon. As another post says, there is only 159 days til Elk season