.338 Bullets for light bodied deer

[Brian]

Does Nosler make a bullet for the .338 Win Mag that would work for Blacktail deer?

Now, I've got a wonderful .270 (pre-64 Model 70 Featherweight) that is ideal in every way, but I hesitate to hunt with it on rainy days because I'm afraid of it rusting. So on rainy days, I'd prefer to use my Ruger M77 in .338 (Stainless Steel, Synthetic Stock) rather than the .270.

Both the 200 gr. Ballistic tip and the 210 gr. Partition shoot well in the Ruger. Which of these would be the better? Or should I sacrifice a little accuracy and drop down to the 180 gr BT (I don't anticipate shooting beyond 200 yards, and in the area I hunt, I'd be much more likely to get a shot at well under 100 yards, so minute of angle accuracy isn't a deal killer).

I guess what I'm asking is this: are the .338 bullets too tough to expand well if I were to place a bullet through the chest of a deer without hitting any major bone? Is any one of them better than the other two for what I want?

Thanks

Brian

 

[NOSLER]

I would personally go to the 180gr BT.

Great deer bullet and for blacktail is perfect medicine. Now saying that, if the 180gr doesn't shoot as well, the 200gr which already shoots in your gun would be just fine.

The 210gr is more of an elk bullet.

 

[JD338]

I would personally go to the 180gr BT.

Great deer bullet and for blacktail is perfect medicine. Now saying that, if the 180gr doesn't shoot as well, the 200gr which already shoots in your gun would be just fine.

The 210gr is more of an elk bullet.

Nosler,

I shoot a 338RUM and shot an Elk and 2 Mule Deer using the 210 gr PT.
I experienced excessive terminal damage in all three cases. The Elk was taken throug the shoulders at 350 yds, the Mule Deer were hit behind the shoulders at 140 yds and 30 yds, brusing on the enterence wounds about the size of a soccar ball. All 3 animals dropped in their tracks.

Last year I tried out my 250 gr PT "Moose Load" on a MI UP WT Deer,
wanting to see how it would perform on a smaller animal.
I took a 200 lb 9 pt at 40 yds behind the shoulder, dropping him in his tracks. I had a .75" exit hole without excessive meat damage.

My point is that PT's are designed for tough shots but will open up light game.

Thanks,

JD338

 

[Cariboo]

I shot a 250 pound mule deer last week using the 200 grain Ballistic Tip fired out of my .338-06. The 200 BT was loaded to 2850 fps muzzle velocity so the impact velocity would have been around 2400 fps.

The hit on the deer was a broadside through & through taking out both lungs. The entry hole was calibre sized with very little meat damage and the exit was the diameter of a silver dollar again with very minimal blood-shot around the wound.

 

[madman]

I like the 180bt. It's extremely effective on Mulies and Black Tail.