Howdy fellas. I recently picked up a .338-06 rifle based on a commercial FN action. The barrel is 24". I necked up some new Winchester .30-06 brass to .338 in the Redding die that came with the gun. I then proceeded to work up some loads with H4350 powder and 200 gr. Hornady Interlocks. My Hodgdon manual shows a max of 65.0 gr. and the Speer shows 63.0 gr. max. with 200 gr. bullets. At 60.5 gr. in my brass the powder is half way up the neck. There is no way I'm going to fit more than 62 gr. without using a drop tube. I decided to stop and chrono the 60.5 gr. load. I got an average of 2820 for 3 shots. Cases look good with no visible signs of excessive pressure. Based on the velocities obtained by Hodgdon and Speer I am running faster than what their max loads obtained. Should I be concerned? The only explanation I can come up with is that Hornady bullets seem to shoot faster in several of my rifles than other brands of similar weight. Any other ideas? Thanks.

Frontlander, I use IMR 4064 and 4320 in my 338/06. Try 56 to 58gr (max in my gun) of 4064 with your 200gr bullet. You don't need that slow a powder with the 338/06 and IMR 4064 and 4320 will leave room in the case for most bullets. I get 2,840 fps with a 200gr Barnes X in a 22 inch barrel with 4064

Sounds like you are lucky & have a faster bbl. I use med. burners like 53-54gr RL15 or IMR4320 under the 200-210gr bullets. H4350 & RL19 have worked well under the 250grers. You are right, 60-61gr pretty much fills the case. It sounds like you may be able to hit 2900fps switching to a bit faster powder under the lighter bullets in your bbl.

Why do Hodgdon and Speer show using 65 and 63 gr. respectively as their max loads if that amount of powder doesn't fit into the case? Are they using one of the improved versions of the .338-06?