338 Barrel length??

[darrindlh]

Is a 27 or 28 inch barrel to long which makes it ineffective for my 338 win mag?
I would love your opinions
Thanks

 

[royinidaho]

Is a 27 or 28 inch barrel to long which makes it ineffective for my 338 win mag?
I would love your opinions
Thanks

Pokey, eh? Too bad...... 1B

Nope, those lengths won't make your 338 Win ineffective. I'm assuming you are not considering a carry rifle but more of a dedicated LRH rifle. I noticed no problem going from a 24 to 26" carry rifle. Attempting to carry a 30" + brake LRH rife proved a bit of a challenge. For the first while I was banging the brake on every tree that I passed.

24" is good. 26" is better. above 26" I'd begin considering a heavier contour than the standard sporter barrel to make it even more effective. Most probably at least a Sendero contour.

But if you're already adding a barrel to an action why not go at least w/a RUM That would make things more effective all the way around. Or give some thought to an Edge and get bit more effectiveness.

 

[liltank]

I want to follow this thread. From what I have read on the Lilja website, longer barrels make for better 338's in the velocity realm.

Tank

 

[Joel Russo]

I want to follow this thread. From what I have read on the Lilja website, longer barrels make for better 338's in the velocity realm.

Tank

Not necessarily true!

In a standard Win Mag, a 26" barrel will suffice.
In the bigger cases, such as the .408, there's no need to go any longer than 33".

 

[liltank]

Not necessarily true!

In a standard Win Mag, a 26" barrel will suffice.
In the bigger cases, such as the .408, there's no need to go any longer than 33".

There is a trade off at some point of length. Dan Lilja did a study starting with a 46" barrel and cut it down 1" for a series of tests. He was using the 338-378 and found that the big 338's enjoy a length of 30 to 36or 38" if memory serves correctly. I know it is not a 338WM, but it still has some viable information.

Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels - Articles: Barrel Lenghts and Velocities in the 338/378 Weatherby Magnum

Food for thought.

 

[Ernie]

Barrel length is more a MV determiner than anything else.
I understand that as you get longer you may want to beef up the contour, but that aside it comes down to what MV you are content with, with that given cartridge.
This is an interesting caliber discussion wise for me, as I am going to have a short-barreled gun in a big 338 soon.
Mine will be sub-20"

 

[J E Custom]

A 24 ''to 26'' barrel is perfect for the 338 Win Mag and very manageable.

If you decide on a larger 338 (Like the RUM or the Lapua) 26'' would be the minimum
for good performance.

If you get a standard blank (28'') it can be crowned to 27&1/4" for a good all round length
for the bigger 338s.

A 30'' is optimum barrel length in all but the very largest 338s and becomes awkward for a
carry rifle

A medium Palma contour would be my minimum recommendation for the 338s and the longer
you make the barrel the heaver it should be.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Joel Russo]

In the bigger cases, such as the .408, there's no need to go any longer than 33".

We have found that these particular calibers are most accurate at a specific velocity.
Therefore, they are optimum in the length of barrel I stated.

 

[darrindlh]

Roy, man I get so much crap for living in pocy! Just kiddin!!
That is my delima. I want an edge but do not have the funds right now. Hopefully one day,
And with the rum the remington brass is the only brass avaliable. And from what I have hurd it does not last.
Yes sir you are right it will be my long range rig. I was reading in the nosler mannual that they used 24 inch barrels
For test barrels. Just a thought here but I think l that I can get 30 more fps per inch over 24.
So that would mean that I could get about 120 fps more with a 28 in barrel. Theroleticly With h4831 I potentially could get
Get 2900 fps with a nosler 250 . Am I wishing ?
Thank you for all of your replys! JE custom and Joel russo I would put a heavy sportter on my rifle is that the same contur as the sendero?
If I had a 338 rum weighing 11 - 13 lbs would I still need a breake?
Thanks a bunch!!
Darrin

P.s sorry for my spelling I know it sucks

 

[D.Camilleri]

I think you are wishing a little too hard to think of getting 2900 with a 250 grn out of a 338 win mag. My averages for a 250 partition from my 338 rum are 2950 to 3000. 2750 is a better number for the 338 win. If you want more, why not simply rechamber to 340 wby or 338 rum. Federal also makes brass for the 338 rum, but it is too early to tell how the primer pockets will hold up, as I am on my first loading.

 

[4xforfun]

A little off topic, but......If one was to go with a B I G 338 (338 AM or Bruce Baer's big 33) , building it on a BAT MOD "L" 10 inch by 2 inch ...non bbl blocked 50 LB HG, would I go with a strait 1.45" for the entire 36-38 inches? Or could I get by with a tapered bbl...say 1.45 to 1.25 strait taper? It's going to double as my "cabin gun" for sorta long shots on deer.

Sorry to hijack.....but it seemed the perfect place to ask.

 

[J E Custom]

Roy, man I get so much crap for living in pocy! Just kiddin!!
That is my delima. I want an edge but do not have the funds right now. Hopefully one day,
And with the rum the remington brass is the only brass avaliable. And from what I have hurd it does not last.
Yes sir you are right it will be my long range rig. I was reading in the nosler mannual that they used 24 inch barrels
For test barrels. Just a thought here but I think l that I can get 30 more fps per inch over 24.
So that would mean that I could get about 120 fps more with a 28 in barrel. Theroleticly With h4831 I potentially could get
Get 2900 fps with a nosler 250 . Am I wishing ?
Thank you for all of your replys! JE custom and Joel russo I would put a heavy sportter on my rifle is that the same contur as the sendero?
If I had a 338 rum weighing 11 - 13 lbs would I still need a breake?
Thanks a bunch!!
Darrin

P.s sorry for my spelling I know it sucks

Darrin.

The muzzle break issue is a personal requirement depending on how recoil sensitive you are.

With a #7 tapered barrel 26'' to 28'' you don't have to install a break unless you are recoil sensitive . (It's not a macho thing it's just some peoples nervous system will handel more than
others) I don't have much of a nervous system apparently because I shoot my 416 Buff without
one but the fun goes out of it after around 50 rounds with over 80 ft/lbs of recoil.

A break does help spotting the hit but it also increase the noise.

The sendero contour is about the same as a 5.5 shilen or a # 6 Lilja Most barrel makers build
a barrel in a sendero taper and all you have to do is ask them.

3000 ft/sec is possible with a RUM size case capacity but not with the Win Mag with out over
pressure loads.

I use a lot of the Remington brass and good luck with it because I don't over pressure it.

Lapua brass seems to be the best but it is not available in for the RUM.

I hope this helped.

J E CUSTOM

 

[darrindlh]

You know I do not know if I am sensetive to recoil or not. When I had my 300 wm never bothered me. Shooting my uncles 45-70 I don't have a problem don't know about the 338 rum.
I know that you guys are right. I need to step up and rechamber that baby. Is is easy to do or really expensive? Would it be more cost effective to rechamber to a 338 edge? And I
And I thought I was done making decisions! Thanks a lot guys!!! Just kiddin

Darrin

 

[D.Camilleri]

A 338 rum can be shot without a break without much issue, I shot mine that way for several years, but you better be hanging on and after five shots in a row, my shoulder would be bruised. A break makes it a lot easier to shoot for long range.