338 Win Mag with cast

[pworley1]

What load are you using for white tails with the 338 Win Mag?

[Mr Peabody]

I didn't hunt Deer. I did shoot the RCBS 200gr gcfp they offered and it was a dandy. If I was to hunt Deer I'd go back to that design and try a load with Reloader 7

[waksupi]

I hunted with one for years. It may seem counter productive, but I found the 250 gr. Sierra the be best for deer. They don't have time to expand much, and leave pretty much the same wound channel as a cast bullet. Eat the hole. Lighter bullets were too destructive.

[quilbilly]

I am using two boolits in my 338 WM, the Lee 220 and an NOE 235. With either our local blacktail deer or your whitetails, a terminal velocity of anything over 1000 fps (or probably slightly lower) will do just fine with cast lead that isn't too hard. In my rifle's case, an old TCR single shot, it wouldn't stabilize the Lee 220 at any muzzle velocity under 1650 fps. The NOE boolit, however, is stable at a muzzle velocity as low as 1450 fps. At these CB velocities, the light weight rifle is very pleasant to shoot and accurate to well over 400 yards with the high BC of these projectiles. Several powders will get you there including RE-7, 5744, 3031, and 4198.

[missionary5155]

Will you be popping those deer across long open fields ?
But from what I have seen a flat nose 50-50 (cast of WW- range scrap) 200-250 grain striking said critter at over 1100 fps is going to do that corn cruncher in. Hit same deer at 1350 fps and you with have a nice exit channel.
They just do not need alot to get turned inside out. But ya have to have the slug in the right place and still doing at least 1100 fps.

[clintsfolly]

Never loaded the 338 but did some work with a 300 win mag with cast. The only thing that may help you from my experience is mag primers and AA5744.

[stubshaft]

I have pretty much settled on Lyman 338889 (249gr) ahead of 17.0 Unique, it comes out at about 1430 from my Ruger #1 and has not failed to drop a hog or goat up to 150 yds. with one shot. (the difference in the groups was due to two different primers).280226

[rockrat]

If I hunted deer with my 338wm, it would be using an Accurate boolit of 240gr gr I had Tom make for a 338ME. Loaded over 4759, gave me a three shot group a little under 1/2" @100yds

[pworley1]

Thanks for all your replies.

[KWJohnston]

Thanks for the info. I've noticed very few guys load cast for any of the various 338's. The 338 Win Mag is a really great cartridge, just not one that's high on the popular list at the moment.

I have a 338 Win mag that's being put together as an Elk rifle (if I can draw a tag). I fully intend to work up a cast bullet load for use on Whitetails. Seems like a good way to become comfortable with the rifle and get more use out of it. The information on this thread will come in handy!

[Three44s]

I have a 338 win Mag barrel for Savage bolt guns that I have not tried yet. I have run my 338/06 Savage barrel with cast and it did well.

Also, the Lyman cast boolit manual lists their .338 win Mag they used for testing as one of the most consistent cartridges they tested.

Three44s

[waksupi]

I recall BruceB did quite a bit with the .338 WM. You might try doing a search for him, and on his profile look for topics started by him on the chambering.

Found this one;

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?8789-LEE-338-220-some-success-today

[winelover]

I had Tom at accurate moulds clone the RCBS 200 grain FP for me.

280588

I believe he added it to his catalog.

I use SR 4759 powder in my SS Model 70 Classic .338 Winchester Magnum rifle. My whitetail hunting load is 27.2 grains of SR 4759, CCI SR primer, air cooled COWW, lubed with Carnuba Red...............for just under 1900 fps, with the aforementioned bullet. No fillers required.

280589

I have gotten decent results with AA5744 in the mid twenties range.

Winelover

[richhodg66]

I had Tom at accurate moulds clone the RCBS 200 grain FP for me.

280588

I believe he added it to his catalog.

I use SR 4759 powder in my SS Model 70 Classic .338 Winchester Magnum rifle. My whitetail hunting load is 27.2 grains of SR 4759, CCI SR primer, air cooled COWW, lubed with Carnuba Red...............for just under 1900 fps, with the aforementioned bullet. No fillers required.

280589

I have gotten decent results with AA5744 in the mid twenties range.

Winelover

That sounds like a perfect woods deer load to me.

Someone mentioned AA5744 and I was considering getting a .338 to try just that. I have quite a bit of it, it worked pretty well with jacketed loads in the 7 mag, but how boring is that? Lately been using it in my .458 and it works pretty well with 500 grain bullets. I get a few kernels of unburnt powder but not bad. The smoke signature is rather impressive.

[dverna]

I hunted with one for years. It may seem counter productive, but I found the 250 gr. Sierra the be best for deer. They don't have time to expand much, and leave pretty much the same wound channel as a cast bullet. Eat the hole. Lighter bullets were too destructive.

Well wash my shorts!!! I had to reread your post. Never thought I would see you recommend a jacketed bullet. LOL.

[waksupi]

Well wash my shorts!!! I had to reread your post. Never thought I would see you recommend a jacketed bullet. LOL.

That was during my conversion period, before I got this sickness at the old Shooters.com board. I am now fully recovered, and have been copper free for many years.

[Doughty]

That was during my conversion period, before I got this sickness at the old Shooters.com board. I am now fully recovered, and have been copper free for many years.

Hallelujah!!!

[LEADHOPPER]

Makes my heart feel good, that there are others trying to do the same thing with their 338 Win Mag that I'm trying to do. I've got a couple of molds that I've picked up over the years newest to me being an old Ranch Dog 200gr fn. I'm thinking it is going to give me the best results. At the moment I'm really leaning toward A5744, but did come across some load data for H335 as well. Time to load one up and see what it will do.

Winelover, is that a flat base bullet? Kinda hard to tell from the picture

[winelover]

It's a gas checked bullet, as was the original RCBS design.

Winelover

[gunther]

the Lee 225 grain bullet and 13 grains of Red Dot. Don't know the velocity, but it groups 2 inches at 100 yards. Velocity should be similar to the 32-40, which has accounted for a lot of deer.

[Duckiller]

When I first got my 338 Win. Mag I took it to a range and shot a pumpkin that another shooter had brought. When you shoot pumpkins with a 30/06 with 150-165gr projectiles they go straight through with an exit hole lager than the entrance hole. No explosion unless you fill the pumpkin with water then pieces fly all over the place. When shot with the 338 with a Rem. 225gr cor-loc the pumpkin disappeared. Decided then that I would never take that gun deer hunting. May have to rethink this but only after I have tried cast on pumpkins at a range.

[Wolfer]

My 338 win mag and the Lee boolit cast 50/50 and 24 gr of 2400 with no filler. 1800 FPS, quite accurate and very deadly on deer and coyotes. Extremely pleasant to shoot.

[dougader]

I was given a bunch of what I think is the 225 gr Lee bullet, and load them in my 338-06... a load of Blue Dot I can't recall at the moment. My rifle is a re-barreled Savage. First shot always hits high...

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-h3Ls95h/0/d8c7e561/M/i-h3Ls95h-M.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-L9hrkBp/0/3e79cd17/M/i-L9hrkBp-M.jpg

[NorthMoccasin]

The RCBS 200 gr gc with 30.0 5744 or the Lyman 250gr 33889 with 27.0gr shoots very well in my 338.

[NorthMoccasin]

I have shot deer with 210 and 250 Noslers, and meat damage was less than with 30-06 or 270.

[TCLouis]

39 grains of 3031 shot like a house afire with the Lee 220 grainer but unlike Winelover I could never get as good of groups using a 200 gr. FNGC (RCBS in my case) with 4759 or 5744 or limited testing with 3031.

More than white tail at 50 accurate, but not like the Lee 220.

Don't tell anyone, but the 39.0 grains of 3031 STACKED the Hornady 200 grain FN also.

[JLF]

In animals of the size of your white-tailed deer, antelope, axis deer, including puma and wild boar, the 250 grain tips at speeds of 2000 ft / sec, leave perfect channels, not much meat is lost, the bullet passes cleanly into the animal.

[oldblinddog]

I hunted with one for years. It may seem counter productive, but I found the 250 gr. Sierra the be best for deer. They don't have time to expand much, and leave pretty much the same wound channel as a cast bullet. Eat the hole. Lighter bullets were too destructive.

I’ve owned several .338 WM and both of the common variations of the .338-06. I like them all. With my first one I developed a load with the Speer 200 gr SP, 45.0 gr of IMR-4198 which is about 2400+/- fps. Speer says this is “deer” bullet. I wouldn’t run it at 3000 fps, as some data shows, if close shots are anticipated. The 45.0 gr of 4198 comes right out of a du Pont data sheet. I still use the load and it still kills deer in their tracks.

I’ve used the RCBS 200 gr, but my mould made bullets that had a propensity for shedding the gas checks between the muzzle and the chronograph, which was hard on the chronograph. I have the Lyman 33889 which casts and shoots great in my .338 WM which is a Mauser with a Douglas barrel that I’ve had for about 25 years. I also had Tom at Accurate scale up an 8mm mold to 34, the 34-250B, that also shoots well.
283296

[KWJohnston]

Thanks for the continued info. I've been watching this thread and making notes of load data ect. Whenever this powder shortage thing gets resolved I plan to work on a cast load for my 338 WM.

I really like the 338WM. Its my favorite of the Winchester Magnum Cartridges. Mine was built as an Elk rifle. Honestly, it would be a shame to just pick it up once in a blue moon to maybe get a shot at an Elk. I would get much more enjoyment from working up a cast boolit load to hunt Whitetails and Hogs with.

Thanks again for all the information

[Outer Rondacker]

Thanks for the continued info. I've been watching this thread and making notes of load data ect. Whenever this powder shortage thing gets resolved I plan to work on a cast load for my 338 WM.

Thanks again for all the information
I feel the same. Going to keep an eye on this thread as I have interest here.