opinions wanted

[earl39]

gun)I am thinking about building a 338-06 for hunting and/or long range target shooting. As i have never had dealings with this caliber what would be the pros and cons? It would NOT be a carry gun strictly target and/or stand hunting. Was thinking about a 28 or maybe even a 30 inch heavy barrel.

Gary

 

[3fingervic]

What is the distance you want to shoot this gun? I ask because, I think there are a lot of .338's that will perform better. My vote would be for a .338 rum or edge. With a heavy gun and a break, it shouldn't beat you up too much.

 

[Wookie316]

338/06 is a very capable accurate cartridge that would be fine. Drop tables are your best friend.

Plus I'm a sucker for any 338 cartridge.

Dare to be different.

 

[earl39]

Vic on the base i shoot at i am restricted to 30-06 capacity or less with no caliber restriction. would target shoot to 1000 yards (currently shooting 308 in f/tr class) Hunting would max out at about 550 yards. I looked at the 338 federal but not enough umph at 1000 yards to make the cut.

 

[J E Custom]

Vic on the base i shoot at i am restricted to 30-06 capacity or less with no caliber restriction. would target shoot to 1000 yards (currently shooting 308 in f/tr class) Hunting would max out at about 550 yards. I looked at the 338 federal but not enough umph at 1000 yards to make the cut.

For what you want and the restrictions placed on you Had you thought about the 30/06 .It
probably own'es more records at 1000 yards than any other caliber.

It makes a fine hunting and target rifle and there are more bullet choices for the 30 cal than
anything else.

It would be my Choice even though I like the 338s.

J E CUSTOM

 

[elkaholic]

If you want to stick to an '06 case, but want a couple 100 more feet per second, I have a reamer that will do it. It has the same case capacity as the WSM. I have a 6.5 in that case and can get up to 3200" with a 140. With a 30 cal I'm sure you could reach 3000' with a 180.

 

[liltank]

You could consider the 30-06 Ackley Improved. You can get dies through RCBS.

Tank

 

[earl39]

ok guys let me try this again. case capacity CANNOT be more than standard 30-06 which will happen with an ackley and if you increase case capacity to that of the WSM that also defeats the purpose. i have an 06 just wanted to try something different so i picked the 338-06. just wanted the pro's and cons of it. in case someone else wants me to change caliber i also have a couple of different 6mm's and 2 8mm's to go along with the numerous 30 cals. not trying to flame anyone just looking for info on barrel life and accuracy also expected recoil using 250 to 300 grain bullets. would a muzzle break be needed or at least recomended?

 

[liltank]

Depending on how recoil shy you are, I personally would put a muzzle break on the rifle. A bullet that heavy will have a ton of recoil.

Pro's: You will have a big bullet to put down most anything you are going to hunt for on post. Not sure what post you are on, but on Ft. Riley we had wild elk herds that roamed the training grounds. High BC bullets will retain velocity better and more energy.

Con's: You are not going to have a lot of velocity with that cartridge and weight bullet. I would assume you are going to be somewhere in the 2300 to 2400 fps range. Any long shots are going to be more like artillery than a rifle over 300yds.

Sorry for my ignorance on your question. I hope this helps a little better. My brother had an 8mm-06. The barrel was shot out on the rifle so we never really did see its potential. Oh well!!!

 

[angus-5024]

Pros
recoil wont be too bad with anything on the 06 case.
Big bullets are sweet, high b.c bullets available
cases are cheap
effecient cartrige
smooth feeding
Cons
SLOW, limiting your ability to push high B.C bullets at a decent speed

 

[JPRITT]

I'm willing to bet you will find the same results from the 338 FED. As you would with a 338-06 with heavy bullets. The 30-06 case inst all that much bigger than the 308 case and once you stick a heavy 338 bullet in there it would pretty much cancel out any advantage the 06 case had. I have seen a 338-06 at my range and it is a sweet handling elk brush gun, and thats what the guy made it for. IMHO for long range potential this one would be a terd.

 

[JPRITT]

Upon further research I saw some load data in my Nosler #6 loading manuel. the 338-06 A square is published to have approximately 2570fps with a 225 grn accubond and approximately 2420fps with the 250 partition. the test barrel was a 24'' lilja. hope this helps.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

If you want to get the best hunting range and good target shooting capability out of your .06 case, IMO, a 7mm-06 is the way to go with a 30' Sendero contour barrel. You could get some good velocities with 160 AB's and/or 162 Amax's and/or 168/180 Bergers. I personally would not use the Amax's or Bergers for short to mid range hunting, but that's me. I think this would be easily a 1K target rifle and maybe a 1K hunting rifle. I have heard that RL17 has seen some good results in the 06 case.

-MR