.338-06

[Shawnee]

The .338-06 was mentioned on another thread and it is one of the more interesting wildcat cartridges. So...

Who has one or has shot one ?

What are the velocity, energy and bullet data ?

How 'bout some pics of your .338-06 rifles and of groups shot with them ?

What game have you harvested with it ?

Speak to me

 

[skinewmexico]

I've got one I built on a Savage. I don't have any load data, I've only bought Nosler Custom ammo for it. My nilgai hunt got cancelled, and I didn't see any elk, so I haven't killed anything with it. So much more enjoyable to shoot than my 300 Winmag. I don't like Weatherby ammo, because I got some that was overpressured, and it torched my bolt face. Weatherby told me to go butt a stump. I left the Weaver K4 that it had on it (at the pawnshop) because I was surprised at how clear it was. Sent it back to El Paso and had it rebuilt. I should mention that is not a 5 shot group on the target, I was moving the scope around. The top 3 were a group though.

 

[MMCSRET]

The 338-06 is no longer a wildcat, it has been standardized and brass and ammo are being produced. I built mine on a Winchester M70 with a douglas barrel in 1993. I load it with a hornady 200 gr. spire point over H-414 in a 24" barrel. it will consistantly shoot at 100 fps below a 338 win mag with 200 gr. in same barrel length with less powder and less recoil. Takes deer and elk just like any other rifle you use to put the bullet where it needs to be.

 

[skinewmexico]

My $99 A&B barrel has a gorgeous bluing job, I should really move that barrel to a new receiver. With the scope and new stock, I have $400 in it. I'll put it back in the old stock as soon as I get it refinished.

 

[ECVMatt]

I have one and love it...

Mine is built on a Remington 700. It shoots great and is easier for me to handle than all of the super mags that seem to be out there these days.

I really makes sense to me. It is easy to reload, powerful for most things in NA, and has a great bullet selection. You also add at least one extra round in your mag if that is important to you. I wish Rem/Ruger/Win/whoever would start producing rifles from the factory. I bet they would sell more than they .338 RUM or 8.59 Titans.

Mine runs about 4/5th of a .338 win mag. You can find reloading data on the net. I think Hogdon has some good info. I also bought a single round loading data book for it, but it also included the .358 as well.


Hope that helps,

Matt

 

[dennis53]

I have one made from a Mauser 98 with an older Kimber barrel (24"). It's in a Richard's Microfit stock, bedded with Pachmeyer pad. It will shoot 1.5" groups with 225 gr Sierras fbsp. The Hornady book says they should be doing 2500 fps, but I have not put it over a screen.
I think it is a great chambering: Easy to neck up 30-06 brass, good selection of bullets; and tolerable recoil for some very good ballistics.

Have Fun,

Dennis53

 

[ArmedBear]

It's the absolute minimum acceptable round for deer past 50 yards.

 

[Shawnee]

Well for cryin' out loud, Guys !

Is "Ski..." the only one who has shot a target with his .338/06 ???

C'mon, Gents - where are the target and rifle pics ?


"It's the absolute minimum acceptable round for deer past 50 yards."

LOL !

Uh.... you aren't there at the house all by yourself, are Ya, Armed Bear?

 

[ArmedBear]

Really, a .30-378 Weatherby Magnum is recommended if you want to stretch it out to 250 yards or go after a larger buck at shorter ranges.

Just look around this forum.

Also, .300 Win Mag is in a completely different category from a .30-06. God knows the average hunter will really notice 10% more velocity on something other than his shoulder.

That's the problem with a .338-06 as a wildcat. Since the .30-06 is a hopelessly inadequate cartridge that can't push even a .30 caliber bullet anywhere near fast enough for any practical application, a .338-06 would be damn near useless.

Again, just look around the forum. You can find out all this information, and more.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My "heavy" rifle is a custom '03 Springfield in .35 Brown-Whelen. This is the most radical form of the Whelen, with all the taper removed, and the shoulder moved forward and sharpened.

The .35 Whelen works on the principle of expansion ratios -- because the .35 caliber barrel has more volume, the gas must expand more to push a bullet a given distance than it would in the original .30 caliber barrel. When the gas expands, the pressure drops. So you can burn more powder, and hence generate more energy.

The flaw in the .35 Whelen is that the case is too small for the bore. There are two "fixes" -- make the case larger (as with the Brown-Whelen) or the bore smaller. The .338-06 is in almost perfect balance, making it a fine round for larger game.

In addition, of course, there are now plenty of good .338 bullets available, which makes the .338-06 a good choice.

 

[Shawnee]

Of course there are always the .358 Winchester and the .350 Remington Magnum if those little .338 bullets bounce off the deer.

 

[ArmedBear]

Seriously, though, the .338-06 sounds like it could be a great elk cartridge, and maybe even a good round on meese.

Makes more sense to me than putting oversized bullets in a .30-06.

I'm intrigued.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Seriously, though, the .338-06 sounds like it could be a great elk cartridge, and maybe even a good round on meese.

The .338-06 was originally known as the .333 OKH, and loaded with .333 diameter British bullets (there being no .338 bullets in those days.) It had an impressive record on elk, moose and griz.

 

[Shawnee]

Even though the .300 Win. Mag. is an awesome beast, is actually fun to shoot (in modest doses), and can be much more accurate than many people realize - I think the .338/06 (or calibers like the 358 Win. and .350 Rem. Mag.) make more sense for hunters. I'm talking the big ungulates and bears, mind you.

 

[RonE]

I cannot imagine any animal in the world that hasn't been killed (harvested) by a 30-06. It is hard to imagine a more complete selection of bullet shape, weights and sizes than is available in .30 cal.

Who knows, perhaps tomorrow I might NEED a .338-06 as a compliment to my .30-338 Win mag.

I know a little (admittadly not very much) about ballistic coefficients and a little less about cross sectional density but I do know that a .30 cal 180 gr bullet traveling at or above 3,000 fps will kill almost anything unless you just shoot them in the toe.

 

[skinewmexico]

True, but it's just so..............ordinary.........

 

[Shawnee]

" True, but it's just so..............ordinary........."

Oh come now, Ski... Remember all those bullet choices !!!

Why just last season I shot a deer with a 30/06. Started off shootin' him with the 168gr match bullet - then shot him with the 110gr varminter - then shot him with a 150gr spitzer and a 150gr ballistic tip. Then I shot him with one of the 220gr round-nose bullets and followed that up with a 200gr. Core-Lokt and a 180gr BTHP., and then finished him off with a 165gr. soft point and a custom 230gr. Silvertip.
Yep - that 30/06 is a deer-killin' machine !

 

[Colt46]

Ever see one in a remington 760?

I remember reading an article years ago about a project to turn a woodsmaster into a heavy hitting dangerous game rifle. The project always interested me.
I suppose that the few 760's offered in .35 Whelen make my dream rifle kind of moot.