Tropghy Bonded Bearclaws.

[hunter338]

Just a Quick Question for thos of you who shoot the 338 RUM.

I have been thinking of useing the TBBC bullets in my 338 RUM. Perticulary the 210 gr. I would like to get the opinions of outher shooters on this Perticular bullet, and thought that you might have a quick start for a recipe for this round.

Thanks
Leroy.

[oldelkhunter]

Much better choices out there that will probably shoot better..very hard bullet and not compatible with a lot of barrels.

[hunter338]

oldelkhunter.
I was under the understanding that the Bearclaws are one of the better prem. bullets on the market.

I cant say that they are because I have never tried them for myself.
What is it about them that you have found that you dont like about this prticular bullet.

I load alot of the Horn. bullets in almost all of my rifles becouse of the way that they group and handle the game that I hunt. I guess that you can say that I am a very big Horn. fan .

I was just thinking of trying this pert. bullet to see what it is made of.
I have never been a big Nos. fan becouse I find that their group is not all that for the hype. I am by NO means downgrading these bullets. They are what every bullet maker tries to set their standard by. I just find that they are not for me.

I am interested in what you have to say about the bearclaw bullets though. Might save me a little money in the long run.

Thank you for your imput.
Leroy.

[Vapodog]

IMO the .338 RUM is an enormous amount of power and should only be used with premium bullets that can withstand the hits at the higher velocities.

IMO that means Nosler's Partician, Nosler's accubonds, Hornady's Interbonds, Swift A-Frames or Scirocco, Northforks, Barnes X, Winchester Failsafes, TBBC or other recognized premium bullet.

Many of these are so new that lots of field reports are still on the light side but so far all have been positive. Particians however have been doing it for all my lifetime and are still widely used by a heck of a lot of shooters. I doubt that TBBC's would be a poor choice however and I certainly wouldn't hesitate using them any time with that much gun.

[handloader1]

I cannot afford to use Trophy Bonded Bear Claws, but if I could I would. I use Barnes X for hunting, and they have never failed me. Good luck.

[bigbulls]

I don't have a .338 RUM but I have used the TBBC and IMO they are, along with the Swift A-Frame, the absolute best bullet for terminal performance made today, including Barnes. They are not as stream lined as some of the others so they bleed off velocity a little faster than an accubond style bullet but their performance on game is outstanding.

What more could you ask for in a bullet? A bonded core bullet with a thick tapered jacked for excelent expansion over a wide range of velocity. A solid rear section for very high weight retention that also limits over expansion thus promoting penetration.

I recovered one under the off side skin of a cow elk and the mushroom was literally picture perfect, aside from the bone fragments and blood.

The TBBC and A-Frame are like a Nosler Partition on stearoids that keeps its front lead core in tact instead of shedding it at high impact velocity like a partition can do. The only down side is the price.

[oldelkhunter]

My number one complaint is grouping and they didn't shoot anywhere near other premium bullets at least in 7mm and 30 caliber rifles I have owned and with a combination of standard and magnum calibers. They shoot terribly I will tolerate 1 1/2 groups but not 3-4 inch groups and that was the result I was getting with trophy bonded bullets..incidentally they were factory ammo Federal and Federal HE that I used. I have only started handloading in the last 5 years or so previous to that prior to hunting season I would buy 20 boxes of ammo..10 of premium and 10 of practice ammo in the same bullet weight. I would shoot the 10 boxes of practice ammo and shoot the premium ammo until i was down to 3-4 boxes and then go hunting. I used all popular brands except Remington core-lockt. I found that factory loads that didn't include TB bullets were very accurate in all my guns ..Hornady's, Noslers, Combined Technology all shot great . Now if they shoot better then 1 1/2 in your gun stay with them I won't waste my money on them again and there are better bullets out there.

[oldelkhunter]

Hunter338..you know the 210 grain partition is one of the really good bullets out there and does great loaded into a 338 win. Why are you not considering that bullet?

My complaint is grouping is never great with TBBC. COL is all important and has a dramatic effect on groups. Also builds pressure quick. Fouls a barrel like nobodies business. Way too expensive.

There are better performers out there. Barnes Triple X has been my solution to alot of the above problems. I got them to group well, fouls less than most bullets I have seen (unlike the barnes X bullet). I get decent speeds out of them despite the fact you can't push them as hard as a Partition or hornady. And not that expensive. Nobody can argue about penetration or terminal performance. Another thought is coated failsafe. Not much different from the TBBC and cheaper.

[oldelkhunter]

BC good point about the FAilsafe and Triple shock. Failsafe has to be one of the best hunting bullets ever made and hardly anyone mentions it at all, I have shot them in factory ammo and they shoot great. I would like to see Barnes XLC coat their Triple shock ..