Sighting in my rebore 338-06

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sage5907

sage5907

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I recently posted about getting a pre 64 Model 70 featherweight rebored to 338-06 by JES and I was excited to go about getting it sighted in. This is my 2nd 338 so I have a lot of experience with these rifle. I have been going through the process of breaking in the barrel and at the same time getting it sighted in at 200 meters which is 218 yards. I do all of my shooting sitting on my rear on the ground using only a shooting stick because this is the way I hunt. I grab the stick and lay the rifle over my wrist. I have been shooting like this for about 20 years and it really works for me.

I am using Lapua brass, Federal 210M primers, Nosler Accubond 180 bullets and 55 grains of Reloader 15. Previously I brushed the barrel and fired 3 rounds, brushed again, fired 3 more rounds and brushed, and then fired 4 more rounds and brushed and by this time I was on the paper at 200 meters. So when I started yesterday the rifle had 10 rounds through the new barrel. The attached target shows the next 3 rounds to see where the bullets were hitting, the scope was then adjusted right and down and I then fired 6 more times. My intent was to only fire 5 but a guy shooting next to me fired a 303 British as I was finishing my trigger squeeze and it caused my rifle to go off before I was ready. Thus 6 shots near the bull and I adjusted the scope one click to the right after I finished shooting. Velocity is over 2800 fps. JES does really good work and this rifle really shoots good. I thought this would be interesting to others interested in the 338-06. IMG_4466.JPG IMG_4467.JPG
 
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sage5907 said:
I recently posted about getting a pre 64 Model 70 featherweight rebored to 338-06 by JES and I was excited to go about getting it sighted in. This is my 2nd 338 so I have a lot of experience with these rifle. I have been going through the process of breaking in the barrel and at the same time getting it sighted in at 200 meters which is 218 yards. I do all of my shooting sitting on my rear on the ground using only a shooting stick because this is the way I hunt. I grab the stick and lay the rifle over my wrist. I have been shooting like this for about 20 years and it really works for me.

I am using Lapua brass, Federal 210M primers, Nosler Accubond 180 bullets and 55 grains of Reloader 15. Previously I brushed the barrel and fired 3 rounds, brushed again, fired 3 more rounds and brushed, and then fired 4 more rounds and brushed and by this time I was on the paper at 200 meters. So when I started yesterday the rifle had 10 rounds through the new barrel. The attached target shows the next 3 rounds to see where the bullets were hitting, the scope was then adjusted right and down and I then fired 6 more times. My intent was to only fire 5 but a guy shooting next to me fired a 303 British as I was finishing my trigger squeeze and it caused my rifle to go off before I was ready. Thus 6 shots near the bull and I adjusted the scope one click to the right after I finished shooting. Velocity is over 2800 fps. JES does really good work and this rifle really shoots good. I thought this would be interesting to others interested in the 338-06. View attachment 971661 View attachment 971662
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I like to shoot 200 grain bullets in my 338-06 Encore with 26"barrel. I get close to 2800FPS using IMR 4320, and my groups at 200 yards are about 1.75" from the bench. Love the 338-06. Not much behind the 338 win mag, but with less recoil, and using less powder.
 
Fyrstyk said:
I like to shoot 200 grain bullets in my 338-06 Encore with 26"barrel. I get close to 2800FPS using IMR 4320, and my groups at 200 yards are about 1.75" from the bench. Love the 338-06. Not much behind the 338 win mag, but with less recoil, and using less powder.
Click to expand...

Just FYI, IMR 4320 has been discontinued...

OP, them 338s sure look big in those '06 cases! Good looking rifle too!
 
Lovely rifle sage
Pretty good numbers coming out of it with those Noslers. I have yet to try anything lighter than 200gr in the Mauser. Thats getting up close to 300 mag territory with about 20gr less of powder. 338-06 is what i personally consider one of the best all around calibers for North America. Isn't too much it doesn't do well. O'Neal, Keith, and Hopkins were on to something when they first started stuffing. 333 Jeffery bullets into 30-06 cases back in the 1940s
 
My .338/06 liked RL15 with 180-225gr bullets. I got 2,775gr with 210gr Noslers duplicating the factory loads with 60gr of H414. Profoundly destructive on smallish deer.

However, best results came with the 180’s (BallisticTips! I cleaned out Ga Arms inventory when I heard they were discontinued), and BLC2. Got 3,000fps and MOA (3shots, couldn’t waste them shooting groups...).
I converted it back to ‘06 due to Sentimentality; gun was one I killed My first deer with 45yrs ago. (Interarms MkX). Still have everything to convert a M98 to .338/06. And, dies, components, even loaded ammo! May one day run across a clean used MkX at a good price.
Nah, I now want one in .280 AI...!
 
High velocity is not a problem in the 338-06 using the 180 grain AccuBond and Reloader 15. The Nosler Load Data shows 2888 in a 24 inch barrel with 55 grains and that is what I am loading. Nosler lists a velocity of 2960 with 57 grains and I know of another user that loads 58 grains which should be close to 3000 fps. My rifle only weighs 8 pounds 6 ounces with scope and sling and I had to develop a load that I can use comfortably. As it is, when I shoot targets I place my fingers on the grip so that they are below the rear of the trigger guard because the trigger guard really comes back when the gun fires. I handle recoil well and trigger guard slap is my only discomfort in using the rifle. I don't pay any attention to the problem when I am hunting.
 
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I dont really throttle mine up that high.
225 Hornadys at around 2600 with VV150.
The thumbhole stock i have it in makes it a real comfortable shooter
 
I started shooting a 338-06 in the 70's when I had Ackley rebore a Ruger 77 30-06 for me. I was getting started hunting brown bear, and was looking for what "I" thought would be the perfect cartridge for that purpose.

Anyway, I ended up with a Douglas bbl. on an 700 Rem. action and put a lot of meat in my freezer with that rifle, and of course it was my brown bear rifle too.

standard.jpg

Hunting bigger big game, I learned of the two best bullets for that purpose, 250NP's and 275 Speers... I just wasn't happy with many of the bullets I tried so I settled on those two.

Here's a moose I shot with 250 gran slams, and although both bullets came apart, I did find the moose dead in the grass....eventually,

standard.jpg

Anyway, it's waaaay more cartridge than anyone needs for deer sized game, so about any bullet works well in the ,338-06 for them.

DM
 
DM~ said:
Anyway, I ended up with a Douglas bbl. on an 700 Rem. action and put a lot of meat in my freezer with that rifle, and of course it was my brown bear rifle too. DM
Click to expand...

I appreciate your comments on the 338-06 and I wish I would have had the rifles back in the 70's and 80's when I was doing a lot of hunting in Colorado. I have been hunting with my 1st 338-06 for about 3 years and it has been a really good deer rifle using the 180 grain bullets. I have used it on big whitetail and mule deer. When Graf was getting rid of their Speer bullets I bought several boxes of 200 grain HotCor really cheap and plan to use them for shooting steel. The velocity is supposed to be about 2750 with 55 grains of Reloader 15. My two rifles weigh 8 pounds 7 ounces and 8 pounds 6 ounces with scope and sling and the heaviest bullet I plan on using is the 210 partition. Heavier bullets would probably have too much recoil in my featherweight rifles and I don't need them for deer hunting.
 
I've taken quite a few head of big game with the .338-06, I do like the cartridge, I just don't use mine any longer because it's not needed for the deer hunting I do more of, today.

Here's a nice caribou I shot, using 250 Sierra's, that bullet came apart too. lol

standard.jpg

I shot it to get some camp meat on a brown bear hunt, at fairly long range. (for me)

DM
 
bigpower491 said:
Lovely rifle sage
Pretty good numbers coming out of it with those Noslers. I have yet to try anything lighter than 200gr in the Mauser. Thats getting up close to 300 mag territory with about 20gr less of powder. 338-06 is what i personally consider one of the best all around calibers for North America. Isn't too much it doesn't do well. O'Neal, Keith, and Hopkins were on to something when they first started stuffing. 333 Jeffery bullets into 30-06 cases back in the 1940s
Click to expand...

Early in my hunting career I was a avid Jack O'Connor fan and I followed his every word on the 270 Winchester. Later as I got more hunting experience I switched to a 30-06 and eventually to the 338-06. Jack O'Connor and Elmer Keith had a running fight about light fast bullets vs. big bullets at moderate speed and old Elmer turned out to be right. I have taken deer with 25, 27, 30 and 33 caliber bullets all traveling at about 2900 fps and I came to realize that the larger the bullet the quicker they kill. Every time I switched to a new favorite rifle it had a larger diameter bullet.
 
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sage5907 said:
Jack O'Connor and Elmer Keith had a running fight about light fast bullets vs. big bullets at moderate speed and old Elmer turned out to be right.
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I can't say that has been MY experience.

IF the faster bullet holds together and gives good penetration, (read NP's) it kills faster for me and I've seen that over and over.

DM
 
I'm just thrilled to hear of others using this caliber.
I pretty much built mine because I wanted something different. I hunted 300 Winchester for yrs, and I was looking for something that could get me near that performance with less recoil.
My 200 grain load in the 300 clocks in at just under 2900.....the 200 grain load in the 338 clocks in at just under 2800. With a lot less felt recoil.
The 225 Hornady bullets seem to fly the best out that old Douglas barrel, and when I switched to that VhitaVouri powder, it really tightened the groups. The soft point Interlock at 2600fps, didn't cause half the bloodshot the 300 with 180s around 3000 did. Couple that with the deer dropping like a rock right there. It just seemed like with that magnum they'd always run a bit after a mach 3 pass thru. The heavy bullet/ moderate velocity is like a hammer.
 
bigpower491 said:
I'm just thrilled to hear of others using this caliber. The 225 grain Hornady bullets seem to fly the best out that old Douglas barrel, and when I switched to that VhitaVouri powder, it really tightened the groups. The soft point Interlock at 2600fps, didn't cause half the bloodshot the 300 with 180s around 3000 did. Couple that with the deer dropping like a rock right there. It just seemed like with that magnum they'd always run a bit after a mach 3 pass thru. The heavy bullet/ moderate velocity is like a hammer.
Click to expand...

For about 20 years my primary deer cartridge was the 30-06 with a 165 grain bullet and 57 grains of IMR 4350. When Reloader 17 came along it upped the velocity by about 50 fps and reduced the size of the groups. When I started using the 338-06 I noticed a big boost in killing power and it has the characteristics of a 30-06 but it hits a whole lot harder. With my rifle sighted in at 200 yards I can make hits out to 300 yards just by aiming at the upper 1/3 of the deer's body. At my age one of the best things I can do is to share the positive things so that others can enjoy the good life. Just like you, "I'm just thrilled to hear of others using this caliber."
 
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sage5907 said:
For about 20 years my primary deer cartridge was the 30-06 with a 165 grain bullet and 57 grains of IMR 4350. When Reloader 17 came along it upped the velocity by about 50 fps and reduced the size of the groups. When I started using the 338-06 I noticed a big boost in killing power and it has the characteristics of a 30-06 but it hits a whole lot harder.
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I honestly believe the 06 case is that much more efficient with that extra .020 of diameter in the neck.
We could never get those numbers with those weights out of the 30. Well, not without a huge risk of explodo
Load it up, load it down, in between, probably 20 different propellants give more than acceptable results with several different weights and styles...all around caliber is somewhat of an understatement.
Sadly it was Weatherby that made factory rifles and loaded most of the available factory ammo. Premium price for the rifle and about as darn much for 20 rds or Weatherby brand ammo.. If Winchester, Remington, or Ruger chambered it, it may have picked up more of a following.
Oh well, us that have em know its merits, and if there truly was a candidate for 1 rifle for deer sized and up game in North America, im of the opinion that the 338-06 would be high on the list of candidates.
I'll take a few pics of the ole Mauser tonight
 
I noticed that the Nosler Load Data recommends Vith N150 as the most accurate powder in their 338-06 test rifle with 180 grain bullets. I have never used their powder but I will give it a try when powder supplies come back.
 
sage5907 said:
I noticed that the Nosler Load Data recommends Vith N150 as the most accurate powder in their 338-06 test rifle with 180 grain bullets. I have never used their powder but I will give it a try when powder supplies come back.
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Hornady does too, and thats what prompted me to buy it. I've got a few pounds of it, but it is a bit pricey compared to Reloder or anything else.
But it does give outstanding results
 
DM~ said:
IF the faster bullet holds together and gives good penetration, (read NP's) it kills faster for me and I've seen that over and over. DM
Click to expand...

I have some friends that do long range PRS shooting and they are mostly using Berger bullets. I did some shooting on their range with my hunting rifles out to 500 yards and with my 30-06 I used Berger 168 Classic Hunter bullets. They were really accurate but then I tried them for deer hunting. That was a big mistake because the dang things came apart like a shotgun blast. I shot most of them at steel targets just to git rid of them. I can't say enough about bullets that stay together and quickly went back to the old school using Partition bullets. For me a standard cup & core bullet like the Speer boattail and Sierra GameKing are better, and especially the Nosler partition. The 180 grain AccuBond gives complete penetration on deer in the 338-06 and stays together but I prefer the 165 grain partition in my 30-06..
 
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Comparing Nosler Accubond to their Partition, when MAX penetration is needed, the NP's will out penetrate Accubonds...

Of course, on deer sized game, any decent bullet will work, especially if you pick your shots.

DM
 
Here's a typical group from my pet load. 225 Hornady interlock, 55.3gr VV N150
399872_315905465109866_876401019_n.jpg
 

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