338WM - mostly Hornady's

[lanman]

I shot 5 bullets from my New 338 into the jugs a few days ago. I was in a hurry and didn't get every detail that I would have liked to, but here is a summary.

I shot:
225 Hornady interlock @ 2660
225 Hornady SST @ estimated 2660
225 Hornady interBond @ estimated 2660
180 Nosler AccuBond @ Estimated 3000fps
250 Hornady match HPBT @ estimated 2600

First, the 250 Hornady HPBT was not recovered. It completely obliterated 4 jugs but did not penetrate the 5th. ?? but shrapnel was found all over the table.
All the others were recovered in the 5th jug except the interlock.. It made it into the 6th jug.

#1 = 180 AccuBond - recovered weight 125.9 70% weight retained, found in the 5th jug
#2 = 225 SST - recovered weight 133.4 59% weight retained, found in the 5th jug
#3 = 225 InterBond - recovered weight 189.7 84.3% weight retained, found in the 5th jug
#4 = 225 interlock - recovered weight 149.6 66.5 % weight retained, Found in the 6th jug

SST was the only one with core separation

Dan-O

 

[SJB358]

Very nice Dan. Those all look danged good. That 225 Interbond and 180AB look really good. Great shooting. It'll be cool to see them ramped up to full steam and put in the jugs too.

Rifle looks great!

 

[lanman]

Thanx Scotty.. She is pretty sexy..
The interbond was the most impressive to me..
The AccuBond did just as every other one I have ever recovered. perfect.
The interbond held a lot of weight and made a wide mushroom. impressive.

 

[FOTIS]

So much for using match bullets on game.

 

[DrMike]

All save the match performed quite well. Great post, Dan. Appreciate your work on this.

 

[JD338]

Nice results.

JD338

 

[gerry]

Pretty impressive results, the AccuBond and Interbond predictably hold up very well. It is interesting that the standard Interlock hung together well and out penetrated all others. I would be happy to use any of those three.

 

[Guy Miner]

If I'm buying and shooting a .338, .375, or some other medium bore, it's intended for good size game. Elk, moose, gemsok, bear, etc... Where penetration and expansion are both important, so I'd absolutely go with one of the controlled expansion bullets.

Most of yours look good enough for the job to me. Which one is most accurate? Had you considered trying one of the heavier Accubonds? Or a Nosler Partition?

Guy

 

[Oldtrader3]

I have mostly shot 210 gr and 225 gr Partitions in my various .338's. Presently, I am shooting 210 Partitions in the .338 Federal, Sako 85.

 

[lanman]

If I'm buying and shooting a .338, .375, or some other medium bore, it's intended for good size game. Elk, moose, gemsok, bear, etc... Where penetration and expansion are both important, so I'd absolutely go with one of the controlled expansion bullets.

Most of yours look good enough for the job to me. Which one is most accurate? Had you considered trying one of the heavier Accubonds? Or a Nosler Partition?

Guy

Guy, I bought my 338 for whitetails and the occasional boar hog. When/IF I get a chance to elk hunt out west I may take it. I hunt over a lot of large fields and I figured a 180 AB would take care of anything I plan to shoot with my 338 until I get to take it west. I have not had the gun long enough to answer "which is the most accurate".. So far, the 180's are only ok.. I do not have them consistently under MOA.. I have not had the opportunity to play with seating depth at all. If they do not shoot to my liking, I also have 200AB's, 210PT's, 225 grain SST's, interlock's and interbonds. All of them are overkill for my intended target...Just like I like it.

 

[DrMike]

It is impossible to kill our game too dead. Sometimes the big guns are just what is needed. I dropped a nice whitetail with a 250 grain AB launched from my 9.3X64 last year. It was comforting to see him drop as smartly as he did.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I had many failures of Hornady Cup and Core bullets in my 7mm Rem Mag. As a result, I never used them in either my .300 magnums or my .338 magnums. No point in having all the Sturm und Drang of a .338 Mag or .340 Mag with a bullet that won't do the job and will come apart on larger animals. Just my $.02.

 

[Vince]

While most are concerned about the bullet not being tough enough for larger tougher game like elk I'm concerned that the bullet I chose may be too much for my most hunted species, coues deer.
I'm shooting the Barnes 210 grain TSX BT in my .338 Win Mag because it's what I could get to shoot the best. It seemed to offer the best all around potential of all the bullet weights offered when I was doing my research.
In talking to Barnes I learned that they favor, and recommend, the shoulder shot for all calibers, when using their bullets, and that runs counter intuitive to my thinking. I hate the thought of running meat but do like the idea of planting them where they stand.
More to ponder as I'll be shooting, most likely, at distances over 300 Yards.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[bobnob]

Good test Lanman. Thanks for posting it.