Production .338-06 rifles?
- Thread starter ArmedBear
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Seems a company named A-Square copyrighted the .338-06 name several years ago and charged royalties on anyone who wanted to sell arms or ammo by that name.
A-Square later went bankrupt.
I think Weather still sells rifles & ammo for it.
rc
A-Square later went bankrupt.
I think Weather still sells rifles & ammo for it.
rc
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
What is the usefulness of this cartridge other than for recoil sensitive shooters??
Check on MidwayUSA, on average ammo cost more than your regular 338 Win Mag which has significantly more power, wider bullet weight choices and a plethora of rifles chambered for it.
IMHO it will remain a niche cartridge with limited diffusion...
Check on MidwayUSA, on average ammo cost more than your regular 338 Win Mag which has significantly more power, wider bullet weight choices and a plethora of rifles chambered for it.
IMHO it will remain a niche cartridge with limited diffusion...
Velocity and trajectory a lot like a .30-06, but with heavier bullets for elk, in a mid-sized rifle that doesn't weigh too much. No belted case required.
.338 Federal is slow. .308's trajectory isn't the greatest as it is, and .338 Federal shaves another what, 200 fps off the .308.
Is there a production gun in .338 RCM other than the Hawkeye series?
Yeah, a .338 WinMag is a good option; I'm just wondering what other options there are.
ArmedBear,
35 Whelen? Reform the 30-06 and from I understand the performance of both the 35 and the 338 are fairly close in the short to medium range. The 338 does have the advantage at longer ranges. Federal and Double Tap make 35 Whelen ammo that I know of off hand. Dies are easy to come by for the 35 as well. There is also the 35 AI Whelen and the 35 Brown Whelen but those are not in priduction in any shape or form that I know of and dies are well over $100. Not trying to derail your thread but just make a polite suggestion.
35 Whelen? Reform the 30-06 and from I understand the performance of both the 35 and the 338 are fairly close in the short to medium range. The 338 does have the advantage at longer ranges. Federal and Double Tap make 35 Whelen ammo that I know of off hand. Dies are easy to come by for the 35 as well. There is also the 35 AI Whelen and the 35 Brown Whelen but those are not in priduction in any shape or form that I know of and dies are well over $100. Not trying to derail your thread but just make a polite suggestion.
ArmedBear
My Weatherby Vanguard in 338 WIn Mag weights only 7 1/2 pounds and the recoil is not that bad (much better than I expected)...a bit stiff but manageable..
How much lighter than that you want to go in a hunting rifle??!!
The drawbacks of the 338-06 compared to the 338 Win Mag (cost and availability are among them) outweigh the benefits IMHO...
Uncle Mike
Member
338-06??? *Deleted*
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rangerruck
Member
... there is a 338 federal...
ECVMatt
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I have a .338-06 and love it...
Mine was made from a Remington action, so it is not a production rifle.
I love the .338-06. It is easy to form, feeds smooth like an 06 in the action, and hits with plenty of power. You also get more rounds in the magazine if that matters and it seems to perform good in a standard bbl length.
There is also no belt which is a big plus for me. I am not into the whole magnum craze that is going on right now. Do belts go on folks who are short and fat?? No belts and the pants fall down. Not sure how all that works.
I would rather get closer with a sensible caliber, that is the kind of hunting I enjoy.
To each his own though...I know lots of folks with the Win Mag who love them.
Good luck with your search.
Matt
Mine was made from a Remington action, so it is not a production rifle.
I love the .338-06. It is easy to form, feeds smooth like an 06 in the action, and hits with plenty of power. You also get more rounds in the magazine if that matters and it seems to perform good in a standard bbl length.
There is also no belt which is a big plus for me. I am not into the whole magnum craze that is going on right now. Do belts go on folks who are short and fat?? No belts and the pants fall down. Not sure how all that works.
I would rather get closer with a sensible caliber, that is the kind of hunting I enjoy.
To each his own though...I know lots of folks with the Win Mag who love them.
Good luck with your search.
Matt
If the .338-06 were a mainstream cartridge, that wouldn't be true, though.
The .338-06 gives up maybe 100 fps to the WinMag, with a fair amount less powder, a regular case and chamber. .338 WinMag is the round that really doesn't make sense, objectively.
It sure matters where you are, in California, where if you throw your rifle in a vehicle while hunting, you can't legally have a round chambered. If you just want to be able to carry the rifle with whatever fits in the magazine, it's limiting when your magazine holds 2 rounds, 3 at best.
That matters to me. It's one reason I am not overly interested in the WSMs. Most of the WSM guns I've seen have long barrels and weigh close to the same as any other Magnum. I can't see the point of a short-action round if the rifle ends up the same size.
What do you have to do, to form the .338-06 brass? Just run .30-06 brass through your sizing die and trim it, or does it take more than that?
jerkface11
Member
The best way to get one is to buy a cheap used Savage/Stevens then order an Adams and Bennet barrel for it. Yes all you do is form and trim .30-06 brass.
dubbleA
Member
You might want to look at Cooper, they offer it in their M52,which by the way is a decent rifle.
jerkface11
Member
Just run it through a sizing die. Make sure you have a good case lube though. Mine likes the 200 grain Speer bullets and a lot of Varget.
ArmedBear
Hodgdon published reloading data give between 150 and 200 fps advantage to the 338 Win Mag over the 338-06 for various 225 and 250 gr. bullets (both 24" barrels)...not an huge difference but still more than irrelevant.....granted, I'm the one that disputed in the first place the usefulness of the super-duper new 338 compared to the 338 Win Mag....
But the difference is that, at the moment, that 150-200 fps disadvantage of the 338-06 comes at an actually higher average ammo price and much less availability..the hyper 338s have an average 200-350 fps advantage (depending on the specific round, 338 Lapua, 338 RUM or 338-378) but with average ammo and rifle prices that can be as high as 3 times compared to a 338 Win Mag and much less availability as well....
The 338 WM hit just right, in price and performance.
Furthermore, no 300 grainers in 338-06 (as far as I know), which can give you much more flexibility...a 338 Win Mag with 300 gr. Woodleigh bullets has been proven to be an excellent African buffalo stopper (where legal).....
On the other side the new superboomer 338s cannot go higher (again, as far as I know) than 300 grains, like a regular 338 WM.
If i had blue eyes and be 6.5 tall I would be an Hollywood star....
Yes if it were a mainstream caliber and cost a bit less than the 338 WM with the same general availability it would be a good proposition in its own terms.
Unfortunately the situation, for various reasons, is this and this is the market we have to deal with....as it is, a 338-06 rifle, IMHO, makes very little sense unless you have very low tolerance to recoil.
Hodgdon published reloading data give between 150 and 200 fps advantage to the 338 Win Mag over the 338-06 for various 225 and 250 gr. bullets (both 24" barrels)...not an huge difference but still more than irrelevant.....granted, I'm the one that disputed in the first place the usefulness of the super-duper new 338 compared to the 338 Win Mag....
But the difference is that, at the moment, that 150-200 fps disadvantage of the 338-06 comes at an actually higher average ammo price and much less availability..the hyper 338s have an average 200-350 fps advantage (depending on the specific round, 338 Lapua, 338 RUM or 338-378) but with average ammo and rifle prices that can be as high as 3 times compared to a 338 Win Mag and much less availability as well....
The 338 WM hit just right, in price and performance.
Furthermore, no 300 grainers in 338-06 (as far as I know), which can give you much more flexibility...a 338 Win Mag with 300 gr. Woodleigh bullets has been proven to be an excellent African buffalo stopper (where legal).....
On the other side the new superboomer 338s cannot go higher (again, as far as I know) than 300 grains, like a regular 338 WM.
If i had blue eyes and be 6.5 tall I would be an Hollywood star....
Yes if it were a mainstream caliber and cost a bit less than the 338 WM with the same general availability it would be a good proposition in its own terms.
Unfortunately the situation, for various reasons, is this and this is the market we have to deal with....as it is, a 338-06 rifle, IMHO, makes very little sense unless you have very low tolerance to recoil.
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jerkface11
Member
Saturno if you shoot a .338-06 you don't buy your ammo.
True
But if you go for a hunt of a lifetime in AK the the airline loses your bag what you do???
And you still need to buy or make a rifle....
My $399 Weatherby Vanguard grouped less than 1 MOA (not in my hands...I still have to get used to the recoil
).....Many reloaders think that the belt is not that big of an issue anyway...
Ben Shepherd
Member
Armed Bear-
Buddy of mine did just that. Happy as a clam with it too. Groups run right around 1.5" @ 100. Tips elk over right nicely.
Case forming, as noted above, is straightforward and simple.
I myself decided to step up to a 35 Brown-Whelen. Bigger hole
Little bit of loss in flexibility vs. the 338-06 though.usmc1371
Member
I don't even hand load yet but I am always on the look out for a weatherby ultralight 338-06 just because I want one. My little bro shoots both 338 win mag and 338-378 so I am very fimaliar with what they will do. I just think its fun to have a rifle that not every one in deer camp has. Might even have my old ruger m77 30-06 rebarlled.
dubbleA
Member
Glad to answer the original question.
I am at a loss myself, I have a bunch of Cooper rifles and now they are worthless and can not even give them away.:banghead:
I am at a loss myself, I have a bunch of Cooper rifles and now they are worthless and can not even give them away.:banghead:
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