anyone care to compare/contrast these rounds?

here's the situation:

gun is t/c encore (i.e. ~6 pounds) w/23"-24" barrell

use would be game up to elk/moose in NA ... possibly african game (kudu/gemsbok)

i do reload, so availability of factory ammo not a consideration

not sure how easy it would be to even get the 9.3 in an encore (VV guns & bullberry don't list it).

I'm not familiar with the Encore, I'm a Rem 700/M70 sort of guy. I do have a M70 in .338-06 and hunt with a buddy who has an aged M70 in .35 Whelen. After seeing maybe twenty plus animals taken with the two ; I feel its sort of a .270 with 140's versus a .280 with 150's....... no real discernible difference. BOTH are fine cartridges for the takiing of all but the largest of game.

There is a good article on the .338 vs .35 Wh in Handloader #184, Dec/Jan 1997. Plus another in Rifle #105 the May/June 1986 issue.

I don't think that with equal bullets there's really a HUGE difference. Though I prefer the .338-06 as its different from my buddies .35 Whelen, and he and I like to obsess and argue over minute details regarding, guns, ammo, hunting,etc.

FN in MT

hmm, all mediums based off the 3006 case? only the 9,3 is legal in zim. ... other than that, what's the question? the 338 and 35w are the same thing, other then SD, and the 35 and 9,3 are fratunal twins.

In an all out race, the 338 would be a better deer rifle assuming longish shots, the 9,3 for a light african gun, and 35 whelen (or 358 in my case) a great all around woods gun.

jeffe

The .338-06 would have an edge if you were after longer range. Would work great with the 210 and 225 gr partition and 180 and 200 gr B-Tips.

The .35 Whelen is the most versitile. You can get LOTS of practice if you use cast boolits or pistol bullets. Great to teach a younger person or spouse how to shoot a big game rifle. Lots of great bullets to choose from.

If you are a handloader, I'd look at the 375 Whelen as a better alternative to the 9.3x62. Similar ballistics, but better bullets here in the US of A. The 9.3 mm 286 gr partition is a good one, but you have two partitions (260 & 300 gr) in 375 caliber.

I'm a big .338-06 fan, but there really isn't much difference between the three except when you get to the really big game. For an all around I'ld stay w/ my .338-06. If I hunted moose & maybe bigger bears, eland, etc. then I would go 9.3.

I've owned all three. Trying to pick one over the other two for ballistic reasons is a merry-go-round. If one gains SD, it loses impact area. If one gains velocity, it loses bullet weight. There is probably more variation between guns built for these rounds than in the rounds themselves. It's like deciding between the 270, 280 and the 30-06.

On to practical matters:
1. Nosler makes Partitions and Ballistic Tips for all three diameters. The .338" 210 gr. Partition stands out even among other superb 338 bullets. It may be THE reason to pick the 338-06, especially for a handgun.

2. Speer makes a 275 gr. 338 bullet, but none of the majors makes a .358 bullet heavier than 250 grs. Custom shops make heavier bullets for all three diameters. Assess cost and lead times before you do something based on availability of small-shop bullets.

3. All of the majors sell 200-225 gr. bullets in .338" and .358". The 35 Whelen has a vast pagent of revolver bullets from which to choose practice bullets. I hear you can use Makarov bullets in the 9.3 (!); I haven't tried them yet, but I will.

3. Standard 9.3 bullets weigh 232, 250 and 286 grains. They can be hard to find in the US except for the 270 gr. Speer semi-spitzer, which seems to be everywhere. Several Euro firms make them, but finding them here can be a chore since lots of people claim to sell them but few stock them regularly. I hear the 270 gr. Speer is "too soft for big game," but so far, my investigations have turned up no first-hand accounts of failure.

4. Loaded ammo is available for all three. I sold both of my 338-06's before A-Square loaded ammo for it and never got to test any. Federal and Remington 35 Whelen ammo is about 150 fps below what conservative handloaders can do with the cartridge, but would probably be fine anyway. Most 35 Whelen owners love the Federal load, but it's expensive. There are rumors that Graf & Sons may influence Hornady to load 9.3 ammo, but no one knows for sure how that will turn out. Winchester loads 9.3 ammo but does not sell it in the US yet. Also, my local dealer tells me that loaded S&B 9.3 ammo should be available soon, but he has no date yet.

4. As someone pointed out, the 375-06 is also a good idea. I don't know what kind of velocity it would get in a handgun barrel, but most .375" bullets are built for H&H or Weatherby impact speeds and terminal performance may suffer.

Hope this helps, Okie John.

I will start by saying I'm highly biased in favor of the 35 bore.

First lets look at the 338-06 vs 35 whelen. If you ignore the whelen data, that doesn't load to modern pressure levels, you'll see that at the same pressure, the whelen enjoys an honest 100 fps for the same weight bullets as the 338-06. So, lets say we launch a 250 gr from both, the 338 leaves the tube @ 2450 fps, the 358 @ 2550 fps. At 300 yds, they will be traveling at the same velocity, and the 338 pill will have landed 1" higher. The 338 fans will cry about their superiour section density (a meaningless term as it ignores bullet construction). You will find that in the 80 odd years the 35 whelen has been used in the field, there has never been a complaint about the 250 gr bullets having insufficient penetration. For all intents and purposes, both rounds are a match.

To the comment about no majors making bullets heaverer then 250 gr in .358", depends on what you consider major, but North fork offers a 270 gr, Swift a 280 gr, and Woodleigh a 310 gr. Personally I think a Swift a-frame or Barnes X 250 gr in the whelen is the heaviest practicle bullet.

As far as shooting cast pistol bullets out of the whelen, it is great fun, and I know guys shooting 100 yds groups approaching 1 moa. These loads generate almost no recoil, and are just a joy to shoot. ~15 gr unique pushes a 180-200 gr bullet to 1700 fps, entirely capable for white tails out to 150 yds.

Now, lets look at the 9.3X62, the case may be the same dia at the rim as the other two, but it has a noteably larger powder capacity. Original ballistics were 286 gr @ 2350 fps, but with modern powders, you can easily reach 2400+. It is definately a bit more gun then the other two. The only downside I see is that you aren't going to find componet bullets for it at your corner gun store or -Mart store, as you will in the other bores.

I too like the 35 for some very simple reasons. The 9.3x62 may be a fabulous round but due to component availability and the complicated PITA of forming cases from 06 type brass its the first of the three eliminated from my list.

The 338-06 and 35 I dont see that much difference in them at all, but like the 30-06 the Whelen has a jump on the 338 and components dies and even factory rounds are more easily had. Id like to rebarrel my 30-06 to one of these loads and if I went with the 338 I would probably be resizing 30-06 brass which is no big deal really but with the whelen I would likley just get whelen brass.

The very name Whelen also carries a bit of nostalgia with it and thats neither here nor there for most folks but I like it myself.

Gentlemen,

I do think that comparing the effectiveness of these three cartridges is kind of splitting hairs, however for any of the bigger work, the 9.3x62 is hands-down the best choice. I have seen it used very very effectively on ALL big game in Africa, and out to 300 yards or so, the drop is manageable. I think that the construction of 9.3 (.366) bullets are probably the best matched to the potential of the round as any combination available. If you are in other parts of the world, 9.3x62 is in great profusion in most gun stores. Rosenthal guns in Windhoek probably has 40 or 50 boxes in stock in 7 or 8 different loads. It is also very popular in the Nordic countries and Germany.

The .338-06 would be my second choice and the .35 Whelen the 3rd, however, to be honest, you won't go wrong with any of them. Especially since you are not professing to have a desire to hunt DG with it.

Joel Slate
Slate & Associates, LLC
www.slatesafaris.com

7mm Rem Mag Page www.slatesafaris.com/7mm.htm

I like the 338-06... it's an easy cartridge to load for and has a nice, ample shoulder compared to the 35 Whelen. The 338-06 strikes me as a "Western U.S." round... a tad more flat shooting than the others and perfect for elk and such... also, there are plenty of 33 cal bullets to be had on this side of the Atlantic. The metric 9.3x62 strikes me as a round that's more at home on the African Continent, though it's undoubtedly a good cartridge and does make the biggest hole of the three mentioned.

Brad

Try the T/C custom shop/Fox Ridge Outfitters at 1-800-243-4570.

I've got 'em all as well. I've taken pretty large bull elk with the 338-06 and the 210 gr Partition at 2800 fps, large bull nilgai with the 35 whelen and the 250 gr Partition at 2550 fps and a range of plains game from the little spring buck to the very large eland with the 9.3x62 and the 250 gr X at 2670 fps. Every round did the job absolutely flawlessly. Given the bullets I used they are all 300 yard rounds IMO on game up to elk size or so with descent broadside shoots. The 35 Whelen being a bit less flat shooting than the others. With the 250 gr X, the 9.3x62 becomes a longer range round than most think, an easy 300 yarder (which is where I stop pulling triggers from field shooting positions). Also, what I observed the 9.3x62 do with my 25 yard shot on my wounded eland just flat impressed me, rolled over and lights out! So what does all this mean to me?... Being a handloader, I would opt for the 338-06 if game was elk size and under. Of the three, I would opt for the 9.3x62 if eland/moose/big bear were on my agenda, particularly with the 286 gr X or 320 gr Woodleigh available for the bears and such, if needed. Could I have hunted all the critters I did at the ranges they were shot with any one of the rounds, yep!