Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 200gr Ballistic tip in 338 win mag

I posted in the reloading section, and remember reading that JB liked this particular combo.
Anyone have load/velocity data for this combo? Opinions?
I have R-19 and IMR-4350.
Thanks

I loaded 70.5 grains of IMR 4350 for 2925fps in my 338WM. Those were in Federal cases. I'd wager Winchester or Remington cases would require a tad more powder to get the same velocity. Accuracy was pretty good.

I really like those 200 grain Ballistic Tips, it is too bad they discontinued them. I doubt the 200 grain Accubonds are any better.

With either one, you can over stress them. I have a friend with a 338/378 Weatherby and he had problems with bullets surface blowing on wild hogs. He gave the rest of the BT's to me and they work wonders on hogs when started out at 3000 fps.

I used a little more IMR 4350 than the previous poster, and used W-W cases. But I can get 3000 fps in my .338 Winchester Mag and they are just great on hogs. These are the only 200 grain bullets I would trust on elk with the .338 Win Mag. I have seen too many 200 grain Hornady bullets blow up on small CA deer. (not in my gun, but a friends)

I have seen articles where they sectioned that 200 grain BT and fully half the bullet weight was the jacket. It is VERY thick in the rear.

They still make them for Winchester.

Expat

I can get them locally as Combined Technology Ballistic Silver Tip.
Thanks for the replies fellas.
Anyone tried R-19 with them?

Yep, the 200-grain Ballistic Silvertip is the same bullet in different colors.

I field-tested the fist batch of 200-grain Ballistic Tips on Quebec caribou in 1993. The load used 77 grains of IMR4350 for a little over 2900 fps in the 22" barrel of my custom FN, and shot OK but there wasn't a lot of time to experiment before the trip.

The bull I got didn't have super antlers, but was the biggest-bodied I've ever killed, weighing well over 400 pounds. The shot was at about 200 yards, and the shot in the crease of the near shoulder with the bull broadside. The bullet went through both the chest and the shoulder on the far side, leaving about a 3/4" exit hole, and the bull dropped straight down with his legs folded up, already posed for the trophy shot.

A few years later I experimented with other powders. RL-19 also shot OK but was slow. Not enough powder could be stuffed in the case to quite get 2900 fps. Finally I noticed RL-15 among the powders in Nosler's manual, and tried 65 grains. It shot VERY accurately at about 2950 fps, and that's all I've used since. The load groups 3 shots into 1/2" to 3/4" in my rifle.

Many people think that since the .338 is a belted magnum that slow-burning powders are required, but in reality the bore-capacity ratio is about like the .30-06, so it makes sense that somewhat faster powders would work with lighter bullets. I've suspected that Ramshot Big Game would also work great with 200's, but have just started fooling with it.

The bullet itself has worked great on a bunch of game from around 100 pounds to 500 or so. I shot my first gemsbok with the load in 1999, as he quartered toward me at 150-175 yards. It hit the near shoulder, then went through the spine (which dips low between the shoulders in gemsbok), ending up under the hide of the rump on the opposite side, retaining around 60% of its weight. In tests on various media the 200 BT doesn't penetrate quite as deeply as the 210 Partition, but it comes close, and knocks the snot out of animals.

I loaded for a gent that used the 200gr Ballistic Tip in his 338, he made very short work of a number of elk and never recovered a single bullet. Great combo IMO.

I'd be interested in your results with Ramshot Big Game. I recently got back into the 338 Win Mag game and am building loads around 200-210gr bullets exclusively. If I need 250's I've got a 9.3x62

Rob,

I'll let you know how it goes with Big Game.

One thing that might bear mentioning here is that a few years ago Nosler started making their 180-grain .30 caliber Ballistic Tip with the same thick jacket as the 200-grain .338.

Thanks John, my foray back to the 338 is entirely impractical and driven solely by the fact that I found a rifle at a price too low to avoid. I'll have to check out those 180BT's, might have me switching to an all BT lineup: 50gr, 22; 120gr, 7mm; 180gr, .30; 200gr, .338 and 250gr, 9.3mm.

That 250-grain 9.3 was a great bullet too, but it really is discontinued. However, the 250-grain AccuBond is maybe even better!

+1

Worked up to 74 gr today, no pressure signs, but no moa group either.
Any ideas?

JB's RL-15 load was a fantastic shooter in my Beretta Mato. I never killed anything with it before I sold the rifle, though. I just decided that since I had a couple .30-06s and a .375 H&H, the niche didn't really need filling.

That's rifle-loony heresy! There's ALWAYS a cartridge niche, even in it's tighter than the rear end of a meadow mouse.

Glad to hear the RL-15 worked well. A few other people have reported the same.

For what it's worth, by FAR the best powder with 225 grainers in my 358 Norma is Big Game. Should be very similar to the 338/200 combo.

I've found great success with both IMR 4350 and RL 19. Couldn't agree more with MD, they hammer the snot out of stuff.

I have a pound of R-15. Where do I start/end?
My hornady manual doesn't list R-15 in the 338 win mag section.
Help.

Nosler lists 65.5 grains as max with 200/210 grain bullets. You might start with 63-64, and seeing where you end up.

RL-15 can vary in burning rate between lots (as any powder can). With the lot I used for years 65 grains was the ideal charge in my rifle, but my present lot is slower. I've bumped the load up to 67 grains to get 2900+ fps.

Thanks Mule Deer. I hope that the r-15 works, I am about ready to send this rifle down the road if I can't make it shoot.