Description
Between the two Barnes loads Weatherby offers in the 338 RPM, this is the one built for animals that fight back. The Weatherby 338 WBY RPM 225gr Barnes TTSX gives up 300 feet per second at the muzzle and gets most of it back by 400 yards.
- Why the Heavier Copper Bullet Wins Downrange
- Weatherby 338 WBY RPM 225gr Barnes TTSX Specifications
- Honest Notes on This Load
Why the Heavier Copper Bullet Wins Downrange
Run the two Barnes loads side by side and the crossover is easy to see. The 185 grain leaves at 3100 feet per second with 3947 foot-pounds; the Weatherby 338 WBY RPM 225gr Barnes TTSX leaves at 2800 with 3917. Essentially identical energy at the muzzle. By 300 yards the heavier bullet is carrying 3007 foot-pounds against the lighter bullet 2913, and by 500 the gap has grown to 1961 against 1778.
The reason is the ballistic coefficient: 0.514 against 0.432. A longer, heavier copper bullet at the same caliber simply holds velocity better, and in a 33 caliber cartridge meant for large animals at real distance that is the property worth paying for.
The cost is trajectory and recoil. The heavier load drops noticeably more past 300 yards, and in a lightweight Backcountry rifle the extra 40 grains of bullet is felt. Neither is disqualifying, but both are real.
Weatherby 338 WBY RPM 225gr Barnes TTSX Specifications
The Barnes TTSX is machined from solid copper with a polymer tip. On impact the tip drives back and the nose splits into four petals that fold outward while the shank continues at full diameter. There is no lead core to separate and no jacket to shed, so weight retention typically runs close to 100 percent and penetration is exceptional for the bullet weight.
That construction is precisely why the Weatherby 338 WBY RPM 225gr Barnes TTSX suits elk, moose and bear. A 225 grain copper bullet arriving at 2453 feet per second at 200 yards will go through heavy shoulder bone and keep going, which is the scenario where lighter or more frangible bullets fail.
Being lead free, this load is legal wherever non-toxic ammunition is required. Expansion needs roughly 1900 to 2000 feet per second, which this load maintains past 400 yards, so the practical hunting envelope is not limited by the bullet.
- Cartridge: 338 WBY RPM, Rebated Precision Magnum
- Bullet weight: 225 grain
- Bullet type: Barnes TTSX monolithic copper boat tail, polymer tip
- Muzzle velocity: 2800 feet per second
- Muzzle energy: 3917 foot-pounds
- G1 ballistic coefficient: 0.514
- Lead free: yes
- Case: brass, boxer primed, reloadable
- Series: Weatherby Select Plus
- Rounds per box: 20
- Manufacturer part number: B338225TTSX
- UPC: 747115450671
Honest Notes on This Load
Buy the Weatherby 338 WBY RPM 225gr Barnes TTSX if you hunt elk, moose or big bear and want the deepest penetration the cartridge offers. This is the load for a shoulder shot on a large animal, and the one to carry when the shot you get is not the shot you wanted.
Choose the 185 grain TTSX instead if your country is open, your shots are long, and the animals are on the smaller end. The lighter bullet shoots meaningfully flatter inside 400 yards.
Two practical points. Copper monolithics almost always shoot to a different point of impact than lead-core loads, so re-zero rather than assuming. And 338 RPM is a proprietary Weatherby cartridge with limited factory ammunition, so buy enough for the season when you find it in stock.
Flatter option in the same cartridge: the 338 WBY RPM 185gr Barnes TTSX, or the lead-core 338 WBY RPM 225gr Hornady InterLock. The Weatherby 307 Adventure SD in 338 RPM is a rifle built around it. Weatherby publishes complete Select Plus ballistics charts on its own site.
MAG5 Firearms stocks Weatherby Select Plus ammunition and the rifles chambered for the RPM cartridges. Tell us what you are hunting and we can narrow the bullet weight for you.
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