Hi all, I own a Ruger Hawkeye in .338 WinMag. I've only put about 40 rounds through her so far trying to find the most accurate factory load. The two types I have tried are the Hornady Heavy Mag 225gr SP and the Winchester Supreme Silvertip 200gr. The Winchester grouped slightly better than the Hornady but I am still looking for the most accurate factory load possible. Any recommendations? Thanks

1895gs,
i've owned several 338's over the years and my advice is to try the regular old green box remington express. they shoot fine, the core lokt bullets work fine and you'll save yourself a heap of $$. generally speaking, you'll need 1 in 10" rifling to stabilize the heavier bullets in a 338. i do not know the specs on a ruger hawkeye in that regard
by the way, i never shoot anything lighter than 250 gr. bullets in a 338, thinking that if i don't need the power, i just use my 270.

You might check out this thread and also do a search on the 338 Win mag. This has been discussed a bunch here over the years.

http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=44344

I just ordered me a new Weatherby Vanguard in 338 Win mag. I have been loading for my hunting buddy who has the same rifle. His all around load is a 210 gr Nosler Partition bullet with 76 gr of H4831. This gives us 2930 fps out of the 24 inch barrel with 1 in 10 twist. Since this is slightly over max according to Hodgon, I will back off a couple of grains and work the load up in my new rifle. Hopefully it will shoot the same in mine so I will only have one load to work with. I plan on elk hunting with mine this year.

Don't over look the 210 grain TSX a great bullet for the 338 Win.. I have been shooting the 225 grain TSX in my 338 Win and I may go to the 210 next time. Although on a Buffalo last year my 338 with the 225 TSX pentrated slightly farther than a 300 grain TBC out of a 375 H&H on the same animal. The 300 grain TBC 375 bullet was found under the skin on the off side and the 225 TSX out of the 338 Win was found poking through the hide and that is the shot that collapsed him...

1895gs,
i've owned several 338's over the years and my advice is to try the regular old green box remington express. they shoot fine, the core lokt bullets work fine and you'll save yourself a heap of $$. generally speaking, you'll need 1 in 10" rifling to stabilize the heavier bullets in a 338. i do not know the specs on a ruger hawkeye in that regard
by the way, i never shoot anything lighter than 250 gr. bullets in a 338, thinking that if i don't need the power, i just use my 270.

The Ruger has a 24" barrel with 1 in 10" right hand rifling. I havent tried Remington yet, but I have shot their .45-70 and .30-06 loads and have to agree that they perform well. The next load I might try will be Nosler's Custom 210gr Partition load. Im still toying with the lighter rounds, but if I dont have much luck I will venture into the 250-300gr range. Just gotta find my baby's sweet spot;)

1895gs,
yes 1 in 10" is normal. thats because the cartridge was designed with heavy bullets in mind, bridge the gap between 30-06 and 375H&H.
remington offers a 225 and 250 gr load. they're usually 50 to 75 cents cheaper per cartridge than 'premium' ammo.
you know, i don't quible much about ammo costs for hunting. even though i load my own, i still use identical ammo for practice and hunting.
using factory ammo, that would amount to hundreds savings each year.
i've never felt the need for anything lighter than 250's, probably would if it was the only one in the rack.