Looking for better load in my 338/06. Using 61 grs H4350 and 225 Nosler Part. at 2550 fps. Primer pockets opening up (2 reloads per case only) Going to try RL 19 to see if pressures less but same speed. Any other ideas out there?

If it were mine I would drop back to the 210 part. I think it is better suited to the 06 case. Also speed up your powder selection. I have a very much improved 338-280 and have gotten best results with powders like RL15, 4320,4064 and 4895.

I have just started load development for my new 338-06. The first loads were Speer 225 gr. BT's & H414. The best group I got with this is about 1.750" at 100 yds. The second load I shot this past Saturday, a Nosler 180 gr. BT & Varget. The best group I got with this combination was 1.100" at 100 yards. I believe this combination maybe better than that. I plan to try it again. I have some Sierra 215 gr. BT's & RE15 loaded to try the next time I get to the range as well. I plan to purchase some IMR 4320 to try as well. Keep us posted on how your load development progresses.

C-ROY

My vote goes for 4064 amd rl-15. I shoot the improved version and I see best results when I use 4064 with bullet wieghts of 225-275 grs. and rl-15 180-225 grs.

-Catter

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Shoot the largest caliber you can shoot well, and practice , practice, practice.

My best load is 57 gr IMR 4320, REM 9 1/2 STANDARD PRIMER, Hornady 225 any commercial case. My Rem 700 Shilen is long throated, 26" and gets 2700 fps and quarter size 5 short groups. Drop 2 grains for Nosler 210 Partition and 2 for Nosler 225 Partitions, longer bearing surface and harder bullet. Rl-15 works good for 180 - 200 Nosler BT's, higher velocity, 1 1/2- 2" 5/groups. I have the bullets loaded as far out as I can, 3.60" for the Rem magazine, which puts the base of the bullet even with the base of the neck. The 210's have a 0.300" or more jump and the 225 about 0.250".

DROP THE IMR4320 AT LEAST 5 GRAINS FOR 225 GR BULLETS BECAUSE MY RIFLE NEEDS 2 - 3 EXTRA GR JUST TO EQUAL NORMAL PRESSURE AND VELOCITY BECAUSE OF THE LONG THROAT, 0.600", AND WORK UP...........CAREFULLY!!!!!!!!!!

I've had good luck with 4895, 4320, 4064, 4350,(any brand) H414, RL-15 and 19 and W760 but IMR4320 was the most accurate at <3/4" while all the others went 1 1/2 to 3"

I have a rifle in now getting rebarreled to 338-06 and am slowly gathering everything I need..The dies are ordered and I have a good supply of bullets and powder to get started..

The only thing I need now is brass and I was wondering what would be better..35 Whelan necked down or 30-06 necked up ?

I will watch and see what you guys are using before I buy a bunch...

Thanks

Fireform Reington nickel or Winchester bulk 30-06 brass. I use 14 grs. Bullseye to do this but mine is the improved version. If you are not moving the shoulder the use 7 grs. and work up untill you get what you need. I buy alot of the Win. brass. It is 8.00 per hundred here in Austin. The Rem. nickel cases are pretty slick and they don't need to tumbled often because they don't discolor or tarnish.

Hope that helps,

-Catter

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Shoot the largest caliber you can shoot well, and practice , practice, practice.

I would go with the 30-06 Lapua. Necking down the 35 Whelan would be easier but, in my opinion the quality of the Lapua makes it the way to go.

I am currently using necked down .35 whelen RP cases. I will not be using these any more. I am personally, just not a fan of the Remington brass. I receicvied 50 pcs. of the formed RP brass w/the rifle and that is the only reason I have been using it. I had plan to do what ramrod mentioned and go with the Laupa 30-06 brass but I got a deal on some new Winchester brass so I plan to use that next. I would recommend using which ever brand you normally load with.

C-ROY

Cliff, in my dinking I found H4350 to be the best all-around powder in the 338-06. I've tried RL19... H4350 did better in the velocity department. If you're only getting 2,550 with 225's and H4350 (with high pressure), I think I have the sorry job of reporting you have a "slow barrel". I achieved just at 2,700 fps with H4350 and 225's in my 22" bbl'd 338-06.

Brad

Sounds like good advice all...I pretty much just use winchester brass, so will try that in 35 Whelan first..

I am building on a pre 64 Winchester action with a Donnelly 25 inch barrel..This will be my "first" Wildcat,custom type rifle..
I sold my 338 winchester classic to fund this project...I liked the 338 mag alright,except for I could never see what happened when I pulled the trigger....The recoil would pull my scope enough off target that by the time I got it back everything was over...

I figure that with the 338-06 things will go down just as hard,but maybe I will get see it for a change.. Besides, I always wanted a custom rifle and that was as good excuse as I could think of...

With a 24" barrel , 225 partitions, 60.5 of H4350, WLR primer and FC brass I average right at 2600 fps. Thats from four, four shot tests.
Same components but 61.5 grains and I'm at 2645 fps average, thats from three , 4 shot groups.

IMR4350 or H4350 seems to be THE powder for the 225's up to 250 grain bullets. At least in my rifle anyway.

I have used the above 2650 fps load to take a mature bull elk at 280 yds. In the left front, demolish lungs, exit, then reenter rt shoulder, breaking shoulder and found the slug under the hide on the outside of the shoulder. I truly don't think that 100 less fps will be a noticeable difference in performance. And if your big game ranges run on the short side you probably don't need much more than 2450 or so, at least my opinion anyway.

I used 250's at a mere 2440 fps avg in Africa and killed everything with one shot. No problems.

You may just have a "slow" barrel, which will limit you a bit. If you want more velocity then try the 210 partitions, they should work fine. Keep us posted, this is interesting to the .338-06 afficianados in the group.

FN

C-Roy,

I have used Federal .30-06 brass and have had zero problems. The FC brass is very consistent, forms easily, and with 4-6 rounds with some loads it is apparently holding up well. I use Redding dies, and lube the inside of the necks with dry lube.

Norma or Lapua brass is nice.....but so expensive that I can see no real reason to use it over FC,RP or WW brass. I haven't had any problems with WW brass either in the .338-06 or fireforming it for my .280 Ackley.

Trust me, try either IMR4350 or H4350 Extreme with 225's or 250's , it should be about right.

FN

[This message has been edited by Frank Nowakowski (edited 02-20-2002).]

I actually built this rifle myself a couple of years ago for and African trip I went on. Rem 700 trued action with a (I know, I know) Douglas barrel that I contoured, chambered and threaded in my own shop at home. No I'm not a machinest or gunsmith. Just someone who has played around with machiery all my life. I could not get any good accuracy except with Nosler 225 part. bullets. Most 3 shot groups are 7/8 to 1 1/4", a couple at 1/2". BTW, 21" barrel/ .545 dia at muzzle.
I use new WW 30/06 cases and just one pass opens them up to the right size. I don't pay any attention to case neck thickness just case length which I turn .010 under.
I am going to try Tubb's fire lapping system next to see if it will change speed or cleaning requirments. Some of my "slow" speed is undoubtably due to the barrel length.
I used this in Africa on 14 plains game and it does a splendid job. 2000# eland at 120 yds and I found it went thru both shoulders and the bullet lodged under the skin on the far side. I use Nosler Partitions exclusively after that trip. They worked great on eveything I shot. Could never get any Barnes bullets to shoot accurately.

Samtian: When you get a chance, try keeping both eyes open when looking through the scope (one eye looking through it, and the other eye open). It takes a great deal of time learning how to do it, but you will be surprised how much that helps your eyes maintain contact with the game you have shot. At the beginning it is awkward, but sooner or later you won't even think about it.

Long ago I though I had lost a moose I had fired on. After the .338's recoil, I had no idea where it had gone. I was very happy when I found the moose close to where I had shot it; it was on its side in a large depression in the tundra. My hunting partners always remind me to keep both eyes open.

Hey Frank,
I agree with you on the brass. I am a big fan of Federal brass. I always weigh my cases and so far the FC stamped cases have been the most consistent. It is a personal bias I'm sure, but I do like those Federal cases. I have gotten great results and consistency with WW cases in my .257 Roberts, as well.

I have yet to really experiment with 225-gr. bullets in my 338-06. I plan to mainly use the 180-210 gr. bullets, if the rifle prefers those weight of bullets. I do have a couple boxes of 225-gr. bullets and some IMR 4350 so I may give that combo a try. I'm going on a hog hunt this weekend and I'm taking the 338-06 on its first hunt. I have some 180-gr. Nosler BT's loaded on top of 59.0 grs. of Varget. This shoots right around 1" at 100yds. in my rifle. John Barsness swears that the BT�S 8mm and up have a heavier jacket so hopefully I will get a chance to validate or disprove those claims. I'll let you know how the hunt goes.

C-ROY

C Roy,

You can take whatever John Barsness states to the bank. He takes his writing very seriously and is one of the few writers out here who IMHO is not a whore to the gun companies. If John states the new larger caliber BT's are tough enough for large game you can believe him.

I have met John and his lovely wife several times as we have some mutual friends, plus MT though very large is in reality a small place as you seem to run into people all the time. I have enjoyed my conversations with John, he is VERY knowledgeable when it comes to relaoding, hunting and firearms in general. But I think I most enjoy his common sense outlook on subjects.

I still think the .338-06 should be used with 225's or better yet 250's but DO keep us informed of those BT's and the pig hunt.

Frank N.

Frank, I totally agree with you about John Barsness... probably the best in the business today. He strikes me as having a very creative mind, yet he's darn practical. Dave Gentry has told me he's a very good amateur smith and stockmaker to boot. I like the fact that he never seems to rehash a load of tripe from dead gunwriters, but tinkers, experiments and applies "the scientific method" to see if things are so.

Funny story, summer before last I was out in Maine where my dad lives. It's a fairly obscure fishing village waaay "Down East." I was down at the town dock with my son fishing for Makerell and struck up a conversation with another guy doing the same. He asked me where I was from, and I told him "Montana." He said, "ever heard of John Barsness?" I said, "yeah, he's a local guy in our neck of the woods, and my favorite gunwriter to boot." He said, "My name's Michael Clarke, I'm John's brother-in-law."

Small world.

Brad Amundson

Here's an article on the .338-06 that appeared in Petersen's Hunting magazine.

The .338-06 Rises
By Wayne van Zwoll
http://www.huntingmag.com/dynamic.asp?intSectionID=325&intArticleID=2462

Some load data is given in the article.
-Bob F.

Do doubt about it guys, John is the best thing going. I'm a young fellow (33) and have only been reloading for 2 yrs now. I always learn something from John's articles. I got his book "Optics for the Hunter" (???) for Christmas and I enjoyed it very much and picked up a ton of knowledge. I enjoy the classic writers but for my generation, I sure am glad we have John out there telling it like it is.

C-ROY

Cliff.
Get your hands on a copy of Nosler #4 or Wildcat I and II by Wolfe publishing you will be good to go. IMI brass has worked for me but have tried no others. Nosler BT in 180 and 200 as well as sierra 250 have worked well for me. Look to IMR 4064 in heavier weight bullets and RL 15 in lighter bullets.

I love my 338-06, 24" barrel. I'm getting 2900 from IMR4064 with the 200 BT groups 11/2-2" at 200.In my rifle the 180 BT seems to Like RL 15 best group 5/8" at 100. I've posted this before and have collected alot of data from you guys. E-mail me for the spread sheet.
Good Shooting

Thanks for all the help guys. This forum is tops. I haven't tried 4064 yet but I will.