Throat gone in 300Wby - 338Win Mag out of Storage

[bullet]

Well, as GB300wn knows my 300Wby has given up the ghost. The throat is gone and accuracy has gone out the window. That left me with out a back up rifle for my Arizona hunt.

So I decided to take my Ruger Mk II 338Win Mag out of storage (it was in a friends business safe that was climate controlled) to use as a back up for my hunt. It has had 15 factory rounds through it before I put it in storage. I was so busy at that time with my Weatherby's like my 257-300Wby that I did not have time to play with it.

I do not have time to work up loads but I will purchase some ammo loaded with the 200gr AccuBond so I can really reach out there if I need to in a certain open area, that is if we hunt that area. But if my 358Win get damaged I will have the 338Win Mag as a back up.

Any recommendations on 338Win Mag ammo that you all have tried that you really like? I am open for suggestions since I don't really buy ammo for hunting because for years I have rolled my own.

 

[JD338]

Bullet,

All you need to get the 338 Win Mag rolling is RL 19 or IMR4350 with the 210 gr PT and you will be set in no time with a black bear load.

JD338

 

[bullet]

JD, just bullets, brass and die will cost $119.47 because the only brass I can find is Nosler or Norma for the 338Win.

 

[blacktailhunter]

I would probably look for some Federal Premium with the Nosler Partition bullet. I have shot that ammo in several calibers for comparison to handloads, and it seems to be very consistent.

 

[SJB358]

My Father used my 338 with Federal 225gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claws for his brown bear. They shoot really well and really penetrate well on heavy, tough game. Still have a few boxes floating around. Scotty

 

[TBASTIAN]

I handload the Barnes TSX 225 grain and have sub MOA groups consistantly. For production ammo I've also had good results with Nosler 210 Partition in their Custom Ammo. It isn't too much more expensive than Federal's loading, and is definitely worth the difference.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

For loaded factory ammo, I've had good luck with the 225 gr Hornady Heavy Magnum load in my .338. Shoots inch groups.

 

[Divernhunter]

+1 for the 210PAR and Imr4350 or RL19 OR in a factory loading. Worked on moose and deer just fine.
If you need some brass to do your own I could loan/sell/??? some to you.

 

[bullet]

+1 for the 210PAR and Imr4350 or RL19 OR in a factory loading. Worked on moose and deer just fine.
If you need some brass to do your own I could loan/sell/??? some to you.

That is very kind of you to offer Divernhunter, but I have 11 rounds of 225gr Remington Core-Lokt ammo and I will use six to sight in and the other five to hunt with only using the 338Win as an emergency back up to my 358Win that is ready to go. I am to tired at the moment to rush through load development on an other cartridge with so much to do before I leave to hunt. On top of that I have spent enough on the 358Win getting it ready and my trip odds and ends.

Maybe when I get back from the hunt which I will be leaving for Sept. 24th and coming back Oct. 10th, (wish me luck, it will be needed) I will develop some loads for the 338Win Mag.

Really bums me out about my 300Wby, but that is how it goes. Who knows, I might get back and really like the 338Win mag. GB300win has encouraged me saying the 338Win Mag is easy to develop loads for, so that is a plus.

Thanks again for all the advice and direction. This is really a good forum to be on if you are a gun nut, load developing addict, dedicated hunter and driven shooter. :grin: :grin:

 

[SJB358]

You can't hardly pick a bad load for the 338 in factory loads. I would think the Remingtons would be excellent for Black Bear and such. Scotty

 

[bullet]

You can't hardly pick a bad load for the 338 in factory loads. I would think the Remingtons would be excellent for Black Bear and such. Scotty

I think when I get back from the hunt that I will explore the 338Win mag. It is one of only a few major cartridges I have not explored through load development and hunting game.

 

[JD338]

You can't hardly pick a bad load for the 338 in factory loads. I would think the Remingtons would be excellent for Black Bear and such. Scotty

I think when I get back from the hunt that I will explore the 338Win mag. It is one of only a few major cartridges I have not explored through load development and hunting game.

The 338 Win Mag is one of the easiest to load for. Start with RL 19 and IF it doesn't shoot, try IMR 4350. The 210 gr PT will cover anything from mice to moose. It don't get much better than that.

BTW, I used a 210 gr PT in my 338 RUM at 3200 fps and shot my last bear at 30 feet. In the shoulder and out the back of the rib cage with an exit the size of a 50 cent piece. Dropped him in his tracks.

JD338

 

[jmad_81]

My 338 WM is the one gun that will never leave me. It is my go to gun for everything. I'm currently working up some loads for the 200gr. ET with RL-19. I've shot everything from 185 XLCs, 225 TSX, 225 AB, 210 PT, 180 BT, and a few factory winchester 225 power points. JD set you on the right path with the IMR 4350 and the RL-19, if it won't shoot with one of those then its not looking good for that bullet.

Brass lasts a long time, I just threw out a bag of 50 that I have had for over seven years, and put over 10 firings on it.

you'll have fun exploring the 338 WM.

 

[bullet]

Thanks JD338 & Jmad 81, Yeah GB300wm told me it was easy to load for and I will first try the 210 Partition.

Here is the 338Winny with the scope off the 30-06 a VX-III 2.5-8x40mm.

 

[JD338]

bullet,

Nice looking hammer for sure. You will be very pleased with how it performs on game. The 338 Win Mag hits hard!

JD338

 

[SJB358]

That is a great looking rifle and the 338 Win Mag speaks for itself. It is the cartridge by which the other medium bores are measured against. I kinda think the 338WM is about as ideal as an all around rifle there is. I know it is overkill for some, but it really shoots flat with the lighter bullets and penetrates like no tomorrow. I cannot wait until I get to try out the 225gr Accubonds this year, if only against deer. Scotty

 

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Went to the range to fire a fouling round then a three group so as to save what few rounds of Remington Factory 225gr Core-Lokt ammo I have, hoping that my bore sighting was good and I would not have to fire a second three shot group.

Well my bore sighting was exceptional this time and you will see where the bore sighted fouling shot is taped on the target. Then I made an adjustment with my Leupold because I felt I really shot that round well not moving the cross hairs.

The group minus bore is 1 3/4" and good enough for being an emergency back up for my 358Win to hunt with. After firing this three shot group I made a very small adjustment on windage to the left and adjusted the elevation where it was at 2.5" high. Average velocities with the Rem ammo was 2771fps.

Here is the target:

Here is the average velocity chrony reading:

 

[bullet]

Got to digging around in some old boxes in the back of my shooting room and found another full box of 338Win mag 225gr Core-Lokt just like the ones I used to sight in with so my back up is good to go. I thought I had bought two boxes when I bought this rifle.

I had better lighting today and here are some better pictures of my 338Win.

 

[Big Squeeze]

Bullet......................How many rounds (estimated) did you put through your 300 Wby before the throat took a dump???

 

[bullet]

This is the first 300Wby I had ware out like this and it was not a Weatherby barrel, it was a Shilen I had put on a German Mark V. One of my 3 other 300Wby's I owned through the years had at least 1500 round or a little more when I sold it and it was still shooting good.

It was a bummer to have my throat gone in my 300Wby. It happened between 800-900 rounds. As I said, it was not a Weatherby Krieger barrel, it was a Shilen barrel that was put on an old German Mark V receiver.

It always was a rough barrel and fouled easy, I never really did like the barrel because I had to clean it to often to maintain accuracy. Now it shot great but had to keep it clean. I Will have a Krieger or LiLja barrel put on it some time next year.