I recently had my Savage 116FSS in 338WM cut back from 24" to 22 1/2" I was wondering how much velocity lose I can expect,I don't have access to a chrony to check it out myself.
The rifle seems "handier" but thats probably just an illusion.
Does anyone have a 338 with a 22"-23" barrel or any experiance with one,if so what are your opinions of it. rws2

I cut my .338 Win. from 25 back to 23ins. Average loss was 31ft. per inch with handloads of either IMR4831 or IMR4350 and 225gr. bullets.
Pete

I've got a Savage 116 FLSAK in 338 Win Mag and because of the length of the muzzlebreak (2") it is essentially a 22" gun. My handloads have no problem getting as much velocity as I can stand with 225 grain bullets, I've settled on 2800 fps for accuracy and still have 4 more grains of Rel 22 I could pour into the case. Each gun is different but I'd be suprised if yours didn't do anything you needed it to do with plenty of omph left.

Thanks for the info.rws2

I wouldn't worry about the small differences you may get, the 338-06 is an excelent round and you will still best its velocity. You may notice that your heavier loads (250gr. ) will lose less velocity than your lighter ones (180-210gr.).

rws, I'm the "22" BBL'D 338 WM GUY" around here as I've had three with 22" bbl's. It's no trick to get 2,850 fps with 225's and 2,950 (+) with 210's. RL22 or H4350 are my prefered powders. I generally don't shoot 250's in my rifles so can't comment there, though the few times I tried them, 2,650 (+) was the norm.

When I chopped my first some years ago to 22", I reasoned that the 338WM, with its bore volume/case capacity nearly identical to the 30-06's, should work fine... it did. Later I found other's prefer the 22" length as well... Finn Aagaard, John Barsness, Dave Petzal and Bob Bell to name a few... guess I wasn't such a dunder-head after all, despite many disbelieving looks that a "magnum" should never have a barrel so short!

Congratulations, you now own one of the most practical, dead-serious hunting cartridges chambered in nearly the "best" length barrel... (ok, 22.5" or 23" ain't bad either!).

Brad

Gents,

Just today I chopped my M70 Classic 338 down to 22 inches.

When I first got the rifle, it was 26 inches with a muzzle brake. I didn't care for the brake, and ordered the tools from Brownells for recrowning barrels.

Here's a link with pictures of the job...

Barrel Surgery Link

After that, it was 24.750 inches, but I cut it again, like I mentioned, to 22 inches.

Now I call the rifle 'stubby'.

I prefer a 26" barrel, never felt the extra 4"'s had much to do with anything, my pocket knife is longer than that....and I pick up a better offhand shooting rifle with the longer barrel. better sight picture with iron sights and about 150 FPS give or take 25 FPS. I have hunted the outback of Austrailia, Africa and the NA continent in bush, mountains and greasewood flats and never was distrubed by a long barrel. Perhaps this is mostly in the mind of the user..why cut one off unless you hunt horseback then I suggest 20" barrels and the 9.3x63 or 338-06...I use a 308 Sav. M-99F for hunting horseback.

The .338 Winchester is one of the few belted magnums that can usually be counted upon to deliver full velocity out of a 22" barrel, and if you want a really light .338, that's probably a good way to go. The down side is that it's not as steady off-hand (Ray's point), and you'll have to contend with more muzzle blast.

So I've decided that the best compromise for my own use is a .338 Win. Mag. with a 24" barrel. I own one like that with a #4 contour Hart barrel built on a pre-64 Model 70 action, and I've got another one on order that'll wear a 24" Kreiger.

Winchester's original (1958) Model 70 "Alaskan" came standard with a 25" barrel thru 1963.

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