For the 338 fans...

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Because I hunted brown bears a lot, I've always been a big fan of the .338. That should make someone a nice combo for hunting bigger big game.

DM
 
About 5 years ago I got interested in the Weatherby Mark V in 338-06 A-Square so I started following the rifles on GunBroker. I quickly noticed that there were a lot of them for sale. My summation was that a powerful cartridge in a really light rifle is going to have healthy recoil and owners quickly put them on the market. I had previously owned a Weatherby 270 magnum with a very slim barrel and it quickly convinced me that I didn't need the rifle. I think there is something to be learned about how the Weatherby stock on a really light rifle doesn't handle recoil very well. I now own two 338-06 rifles built on Winchester Model 70 featherweight rifles and they are a joy to shoot. The Winchester stock design is better on a featherweight rifle. They weigh about 8 and a quarter pounds with scope and sling. Different strokes for different folks.
 
My back of the envelope guestimate puts the recoil up around 42 ft lbs. (I assumed 60 gr of powder, 2800 fps, and a about a 1.5 lbs for the optic). They must be doing something magical in the stock...The pictures do show a big muzzle brake.
 
My back of the envelope guestimate puts the recoil up around 42 ft lbs. (I assumed 60 gr of powder, 2800 fps, and a about a 1.5 lbs for the optic). They must be doing something magical in the stock...The pictures do show a big muzzle brake.
I shot a 338-378 weatherby and it had a stock break where it felt like a 30-06
 
At first glance, the Weatherby. 338 looks very similar to a Win .338 but with a related rim. Am I wrong?

Identical ballistics to a .338 WM. The difference is far more expensive and hard to find ammo and or brass for reloading. And it’ll fit in Weatherby’s $3300 + rifle. I have not been impressed with Weatherby rifles over the years, especially in the accuracy department. They are extremely finicky and I’ve seen a fair number that simply won’t group.

I like the 5 lb rifle idea for certain applications but I’ll have to say no thanks to Weatherby rifles in general.
 
Wouldn't be interested for several reasons. A 5 lb 308 is a good idea. Recoil is brisk, but a 5 lb 308 has about the same recoil as a 7 lb 30-06. Brisk, but tolerable. A 5 lb 338 magnum is just too much of a good thing.

In the real world a 33 caliber rifle offers no advantage over a comparable 30 caliber rifle, just more recoil. Just how much bigger is a 33 caliber bullet than a 30 caliber. Look at your thumbnail. The thickness of a typical fingernail is how much larger in diameter a 33 caliber bullet is. Do you really think a hole that much larger will matter? And they do make 200-220 gr 30 caliber bullets.
 
Identical ballistics to a .338 WM. The difference is far more expensive and hard to find ammo and or brass for reloading. And it’ll fit in Weatherby’s $3300 + rifle. I have not been impressed with Weatherby rifles over the years, especially in the accuracy department. They are extremely finicky and I’ve seen a fair number that simply won’t group.

I like the 5 lb rifle idea for certain applications but I’ll have to say no thanks to Weatherby rifles in general.
This is the polar opposite of my experience. But yes the ammo is pricey. My Weatherguard is amazing.
 
I'm no big fan of Weatherby, but the ones I've shot and the ones I've owned, shot pretty good for the first three shots, more than good enough for a hunting rifle.

DM
The newer ones are definitely better. But I seldom find a Weatherby that doesn’t start to vertically string after several shots. I’ve had two that my buddy has sent me recently, both chambered in 6.5-300 that were completely hopeless, erratic and both were sent back to Weatherby.

My buddy is a distributor and he gives me lots of Weatherby’s to shoot and tinker with for accuracy issues. I can usually get them to shoot okay for three rounds by properly seating the action and shims and then carefully torquing the action screws. But vertical stringing is a well known issue on Weatherby rifles.

I’d really like to try one of their new carbon barreled rifles and see how it does.
 
If I am understanding correctly, the 338 RPM is a necked up 6.5 RPM. The 6.5 RPM is a lengthened version of the 284 Winchester. The reason they did this was to get near magnum performance out of their smaller 6 lug action. This along with the most modern materials in the stocks, and barrels allows for some of the most powerful, yet lightest carrying rifles on the market.
 
Honestly I'm a little underwhelmed at the performance. I've got a .350RM in a M7 that gets 2730 with 225NPs out of a 20" barrel and it also easily gets 2800 with 200s.

Mine weighs in at a few ounces over 8lbs "all up" due to the full length laminated stock. I've got a manners on order now that will bring the weight down to just under 7lbs, which is about as light as I'd care to go.
 
Wouldn't be interested for several reasons. A 5 lb 308 is a good idea. Recoil is brisk, but a 5 lb 308 has about the same recoil as a 7 lb 30-06. Brisk, but tolerable. A 5 lb 338 magnum is just too much of a good thing.

In the real world a 33 caliber rifle offers no advantage over a comparable 30 caliber rifle, just more recoil. Just how much bigger is a 33 caliber bullet than a 30 caliber. Look at your thumbnail. The thickness of a typical fingernail is how much larger in diameter a 33 caliber bullet is. Do you really think a hole that much larger will matter? And they do make 200-220 gr 30 caliber bullets.

Then I guess a 223 should be the same as a 280 rem then. If one thumbnail doesn’t mean anything, then surely two thumbnails wouldn’t make any difference.
 
I would love one in 338 win mag, but I don’t see the advantage of a new cartridge other than having something else for weatherby to put their name on and sell $4/round ammo. Weatherby does have a long tradition of supporting their cartridges for a long time so at least brass should be availible long into the future, albeit at weatherby prices.
 
Honestly I'm a little underwhelmed at the performance. I've got a .350RM in a M7 that gets 2730 with 225NPs out of a 20" barrel and it also easily gets 2800 with 200s.

Mine weighs in at a few ounces over 8lbs "all up" due to the full length laminated stock. I've got a manners on order now that will bring the weight down to just under 7lbs, which is about as light as I'd care to go.
Well thats nothing to sneeze at.
 
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