white tail recipe for .338 win mag

[mr. frog]

I realize the prevention of meat damage is mainly from shot placement, and i've heard enough from my dad on the line of "you don't need all that gun for whitetail, boy!".
My question would be, should i opt for bigger grain projectile/lower velocity, vica versa.. ?
i would imagine hollowpoint rather than ballistic tip or spitzer?
So far my loaded rounds are 70gr imr4350 w/200gr nos b.t., 2817 1/sec 3525 1/lb.
some of the rounds i inhereted are compressed loads, most of them are somewhere in the middle with various powders and bullet wieghts. most are 250 grain spitzers and a few 300 grains.
i've bought some barnes tsx 185gr. and am limited to IMR 4350, 4831, and 4320.
I plan on pulling all of the inhereted rounds for safety reasons. i was once told, never shoot another mans reloads.

 

[Emperor]

I don't re-load, but I kill deer! And crap loads of them.

I would concur that shot placement is paramount to avoid meat damage, so why even take the chance? Any bullet is going to rip meat if it hits resistance. If you are confident with your accuracy, shoot them in the neck. If you hit them anywhere in that neck bone, they are going to drop like a bag of bricks. Quick and humane! And no meat damage! Head shots are pretty effective too. If it's far out shots, well; you're going to have to decide if you think you are good enough to go big or go home!

If a shot for me is more than 100 yds (they usually are not even close to that far), I go for behind the shoulder like most too. The biggest reason I try to avoid a body shot is I hate a busted gut bag. There is nothing easier than cleaning an in tact gut bag as opposed to some of the nightmares I've seen from the cannons people think they need to kill these animals. But, to each his own.

As for your load, I have used all types of factory bullets over the years, but I kind of like Federal's Fusion line, and Hornady's premium lines. And I like 180 gr. bullets.

All of the major manufacturers have massive ballistics libraries now, so you can match your loading with some of their factory specs if you so choose.

 

[Win1917]

I don't shoot a 338 Win but for deer hunting I'd think bullets in the 180-210gr range would be you're best bet vs the tougher built heavy bullets. Noslers online data shows H4831 w/ 180gr Accubond at 2800-2900fps on the low end and that's comparable to a 338-06 (and 35 Whelen). I have an older Speer manual that has data for IMR 3031 and 4064 with 200gr bullets that clock 2500-2650fps for low-mid range loads. If you could up with a minute of deer load with one of those powders you'd basically have a 338 Federal. So it looks like you've got a few options to down load it into more of a deer rifle.

 

[mr. frog]

thanks for the replies. I figured it couldn't do much more damage than my eddystone. i normally use 180-200 grain with that one.
i supposed the velocity and energy and type of bullet was my worry. fear of too much fragmentation upon impact.
i reckon i aughta set up some phone books and make some test runs with what i got. the season's creeping up fast.

 

[Win1917]

If you're shooting a Barnes TSX, fragmenting on impact isn't going to be a problem. That's one of the primary benefits of a monolithic bullet, there isn't jacket and core to separate like a conventional bullet.

 

[mr. frog]

So far it looks like 68.5 gr of IMR 4350@3.290oal is the recipe my gun likes. Dime size groups now =D , ive never had any load shoot that well. Does quickload tell you velocity and m.e.?