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338 Winchester Magnum Ballistics and Cartridge Guide

July 26, 2021 By Joshua Gillem

338 winchester magnum ballistics

338 Winchester Magnum Info

Officially introduced to the public in 1958 by Winchester, the .338 Win Mag is an excellent, flat shooting, accurate, hard recoiling rifle cartridge capable of taking any sized game in North America to include polar and grizzly bear.

Hunters looking to take bigger animals like elk at longer distances will favor the most popular bullet weight, which is the 225 grain bullet. It offers good ballistic profiles by many bullet manufacturers with a high energy retention at 500 yards making it suitable for any North American game.

Hunters will want to maximize the cartridge’s performance with a longer barrel of 26 inches in length with a heavy profile. The extra weight associated with the longer bull barrel will help mitigate felt recoil a bit.

The 338 Winchester Magnum is an accurate round, and many 225 grain bullets are launched at 2,800 feet per second and still deliver over one ton of energy at 500 yards. This rifle/cartridge combo is not for the best choice for a recoil sensitive shooter.

338 Winchester Magnum Ballistics Charts:

This 338 Win Mag ballistics chart shows 200 grain Hornady Superformance SST fired from a 24″ barrel:

Velocity (FPS)Energy (FT/LB)Drop (Inches)
Muzzle30304076/
100 YDS28303531+1.4
200 YDS261930470
300 YDS24282617-6.5
400 YDS22442236-18.9
500 YDS20681899-38.3

This 338 Win Mag ballistics chart shows 225 grain Hornady GMX fired from a 26″ barrel:

Velocity (FPS)Energy (FT/LB)Drop (Inches)
Muzzle28003917/
100 YDS26073395+1.8
200 YDS242229310
300 YDS22452518-7.8
400 YDS20752151-22.4
500 YDS19131828-45.2

This 338 Winchester Magnum ballistics table shows 250 grain Federal Premium Nosler Partition:

Velocity (FPS)Energy (FT/LB)Drop (Inches)
Muzzle26603927/
100 YDS24743396+2.1
200 YDS229529230
300 YDS21242503-8.8
400 YDS19602131-25.1
500 YDS18031805-50.5

338 Winchester Magnum Barrel Specifications

Common Barrel Twist Rate – 1 in 10″.
Bore Groove Diameter – .338″.

338 Win Mag Cartridge Case Dimensions

Neck Diameter – .369″.
Shoulder Diameter – .491″.
Base Diameter – .513″.
Rim Diameter – .532″.

338 Winchester Magnum Reloading Specifications

Bullet Diameter – .338″.
Maximum Case Length – 2.500″.
Trimmed Case Length – 2.490″.
Primer Size – Large Rifle, Type – Magnum.
Maximum Cartridge Overall Length – 3.340″.

338 Win Mag Loading Data Hints

The 338 Winchester Magnum with a 26 inch barrel length will come to life with the slow burning powders like IMR4350 and IMR4831 when using 225 grain weight bullets the full devastating power potential of this cartridge can and will be realized.

Make sure you look at our in depth rifle ballistics chart with many more calibers on it.

Filed Under: Ballistics, Hunting Tagged With: 338, 338 win mag, ballistics, winchester magnum

About Joshua Gillem

Josh is a lifelong practitioner and student of the gun. He grew up shooting/hunting with his dad, and was given his first gun, a 12 gauge shotgun, when just a small boy. After high school, he joined the Marines where his love for firearms blossomed as he qualified with an M16A2, an M9, and a 240G. Josh has been writing about firearms and tactics for several years, is a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, and believes that each individual person has the right to self-defense by any means necessary. Currently residing in gun-friendly North Carolina, he carries a concealed gun on a daily basis, even in his own house.

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