Thinking about building a 338wsm.

[Bob L.]

I have a rem factory 270wsm that needs a barrel. I was thinking a 338wsm would make an awesome packing elk rifle. I like the selection of 338 bullets and it seems like they are always coming out with new ones compared to a 325wsm.
Thinking 338 barrel in #4 or #3 contour finished around 25" and possibly with a brake. I currently have a B&C Alaskan stock that I like alot and is fairly light.
I bet a 225 accubond, sst, tsx would make a nice elk round.
Anyone ever make one? what velocity might I expect from a 25" barrel and 225 grain bullets. Any opinions.
Thanks

 

[AJ Peacock]

Although I haven't shot them, I know of 2 of them that are (to quote the owners) "the best elk rifle I own"

AJ

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Consider the 225 grain cutting edge bullet at .64 bc. It would do well in that cartridge and make a great elk pack rifle.

 

[Bob L.]

Thank you LTLR, what kind of reports have you been hearing on elk kills with that cutting edge bullet? What powder would you try?
Thanks
Bob

 

[J E Custom]

Look at the 338 RCM. It is just a 338wsn and does not require a custom reamer and die set.

Hornady and Ruger teamed up to build a WSM that uses the .338 bullets instead of the .323
(8 mm) bullets of the 325 wsm.

The Hornady Superformance ammo is loaded near max and produces 2950 ft/sec from a
200 grain and 3864 ft/lbs energy. they also load a 225 that is slightly slower.

The RCM stands for Ruger Compact Magnum.

At least someone was listening, the wildcaters have been opening the 325 wsm up to .338
and they just made it a standard cartrige.

Ammo is about $42.00 compared to $60.00+ for the 325wsm.

I have built one for myself and another is in the works. Both are built on the Rem Mod 7 .
Do a search on 338 RCM and there is a thread talking about it.

Hornady makes the dies and PT&G made the reamer.

This is a powerful little round and is considered an equal to the 338 Win Mag.

Just a thought.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Me and friends have taken several animals this year with the cutting edge with excellent results so far. Good enough that I have retooled everything to that bullet. I got as high as .65's bc out of my 338-378 wby by pushing it to over 3500 fps. Windage was within 1" at 1200 yards of the 300 smk loads I was shooting according to jbm. In other words I can't shoot good enough at 1200 yards to tell the difference in windage but the trajectory is way better allowing my clicks and ballistic reticles to cover far greater distances. Recoil is way more pleasant since I shoot light hunting rifles. I think this bullet and the 252 grain .72 bc will help make these size 338's shine and ad a new bullet to the big 338's for people who do most all their shooting inside 1200 yards. The 252 grain bullet is good as far as a guy wants to shoot. Specialty bullets are pricey but not as costly as missed opportunities on hunts.

The first powder I would try would be H-414. In many tests the past two years with smaller capacity 338 caliber cases H-414 performed the best.

 

[liltank]

My brother-in-law a couple years ago put a Mullie to sleep in its bed at 1400yds with one shot using the 252grn Cutting Edge bullet. Didn't even twitch.

Tank

 

[LongBomber]

The only issue I have is that the bullets 250gr and up eat up lots of space in the case. I have 338 wsm in a M70 classic stainless, the rifle was chambered to reach the lands with an accubond bullet and seating to fit in the mag. If you don't care about feeding from the mag, you could have the rifle chambered to have the bullets seated way out and you equal the 338 win mag. I haven't had a chance to chrony mine yet, just developed a few loads for it and went hunting. I think the 325wsm is a better fit in a short action, but the 338 has plenty of performance. I have a thing for the wsm, have the 7, 300, 325 and a 338, now to go smaller...

Here is a pic to show you what I mean. The bullet on the left is a 8mm 200gr accubond, the two bullets on the right are 338, 250gr accubond and 225gr ttsx. Loaded 338wsm in the center.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Another cartridge you might want to look at is the 338 SIN. It is the same length as the 338 winchester but within less than 100 fps of the 338 RUM. I have had good success with it testing that cartridge.

 

[Bob L.]

Thank you for posting the pic Longbomber. I planned on installing a wyatt mag box and wanted it setup and chambered with a throat that would allow the 338's to be seated like the 325 you have pictured. Do you have any idea what the OAL length would be with that 225tsx seated like the 325wsm 200grain accubond in the pic? Thank you for everyone's help. It would be nice to know the oal for the reamer and gunsmith and also the proper size mag box.
To bad you don't have any chrono numbers on your 338wsm. How was your accuracy? Did PTG do your reamer and what did you come up with for dies? What contour snd length barrel did you go with on your 338wsm?
Thanks
Bob

 

[AZShooter]

No reason to go to the 338 RCM if you are using a rifle setup for the WSM. 338 RCM handloads cannot compete with 338 WSM handloads, the case is smaller. No way is the 338 RCM equal to the 338 win mag which is even larger.

I would certainly get the Wyatt's box, you need as much magazine room as possible. Once you get your OAL with the bullet you want to use order the reamer and spec out the freebore to suit your needs.

As for using the 252 gr Cutting Edge bullet, It sounds like a great bullet but none of them would fit the WSM in a SA. Shortest designed bullet copied from their website: "COAL will be the brass trimmed to trim length + .999� bullet projection for preferred Seal Tite Band position. " Now if someone wanted to build a LA with the WSM and use a cutting edge bullet it would fit.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

The 225 grain .64 bc cutting edge bullet is the one to shoot in that size chambering. No sense in shooting a 252 grain .72 bc CE bullet designed for a mile in a cartidge designed for a half mile. You can seat the CE bullet deeper with good results. Like any other bullet you just seat it in and out until you hit the sweet spot. I have many times to fit the magazine. The website just shows recomended starting points.

 

[AZShooter]

Long time long Ranger: Missed you mentioning the 225 in the first post. Only saw you talking at length about the 252 gr bullet in a later post. oops..

 

[Bob L.]

Well I pulled the trigger on this build. Ordered a #4 Broughton barrel, PTG is making the reamer, and rcbs is making the dies. Hopefully can update this thread in a couple months. Really thinking hard about trying the 210 Scirocco's out of this.