I have a 1950 FN Mauser action in 30'06 thatI was thinking about re-barreling to 338-06 or 416 Taylor. Any thoughts or reccomendations would be welcome.

It's all about the "E".....do you want to hunt Elk or Elephant?

Ah crap. That's a good question. I want a large bore, but would use the 338 more. Damn, stop making my choices even harder. LOL!

It could be opened to shoot the .375 Taylor.....a fairly good choice for elk and a big bore to boot.....whack em and stack em for elephants too!

338 is a rebarrel ..
416 RUGER, since its factory, is boltface and feeding

458 winmag or AccRel is easier, frankly.. bullets from 200gr to 600grs, and some are dirt cheap

jeffe

The 416 taylor is a belted magnum so it would require more work then a barrel change I think its hard to beat 30 06 but 338 06, 270 win and 25 06 all seem like fun cartriges hard to go wrong any way you go

The .338-06 would be a much more versatile cartridge this side of Africa. One of my favorites.
Which one would you get the most use out of?
Only you can answer that.

Thanks for the replies. Please keep them coming.I am leaning to the 338-06. Didn't know about tha 375 Taylor. Will do some more research.

Anything A 375 Taylor, Ruger, Accrel all will need both face work. Or a bolt swap.

These happen to be my 380&400PDKs (center) 260gr & 300gr bullets at 2700 and 400gr bullets at 2300 from a 06 based case. I now use basic bras for the 380 not 280 necked up like this one. So the neck is longer.

The 380 & 411 Howells from AHR would give you the same. Bigbore hit without bolt face work. AHR even sells brass and dies. http://www.hunting-rifles.com/Ammo/case_compar.htm

Oh I forgot to add I already have a Garand that has dropped alot of deer and a 1903 custom. So I figured I'd use the FN Mauser.

Loks like I'm gonna have alot of fun deciding this one. Ain't it great!

A 35 Whelen maakes life simple.

.338-06 would be my first choice after having one for the last eight years. I have a .35 Whelen as well and it would be a good second choice. I'd like to have a .375 and .400 Whelen as well someday.

+1 for the 338-06 It is going to be my next build too.

I've spent years testing and comparing the various "std" wildcats to the AI type to the full blown out shoulder forward like the Gibbs.

For the most part the difference between slowest to fastest IE a 338-06 to 338Gibbs or 340PDK or 340Howell loaded as close to equal pressures as possible the velocity gains will be no more than comparing a slow std rifle to one that happens to be 100-150fps quicker.

I happen to use my PDKs because I spent a large amount of $$$ trying to first match AI claimed velocites then trying to get some REAL WORLD numbers.

In a 30-06, 338-06 35Whelen std or improved the difference isn't much. What I have found that in the 375 & 400 the larger cases like the Brown Whelen, Howell etc start pulling away. Also depending on the bullet in the 375 and more likely 411 or 400 the longer cases like the Howell comes in handy. In a 400 Whelen most posting I've seen put a 300gr bullet at 2300-2500. I don't have any data on a 400gr in the Whelen. The Howell or PDK will move the 300gr at 2700+ and a 400gr at 2300. That is 404 velocity.

All that said if I wanted something larger than an 06 and decided not to go with a magnum I would go 338-06 if I wanted larger 9.3x63 over a 375Whelen.

If your FN has one of the heavier barrels seen on the early commercial FNs you might consider reboring/rechambering.

The .375 Ruger works like a hot damn in my JC Higgins M50(mid 1950's FN) action.

Another vote for the 338-06!! I rebarreled my Ruger M77 .270 into a 338-06 (PacNor did the work) and it is AWESOME! Haven't killed anything with it yet (just got back in Nov) but it shoots like a charm.

I like the .416 Taylor. It will do anything that the .338-06 will do and more. Mine is a sub-MOA gun with a 22" barrel. With lighter bullets, 300 gr. area, it shoots flat enough to make comfortable 400 yard shots on any N.A. game. With the 400 gr. bullets @ 2350 to 2400 fps. it will stop anything Africa has to offer. I have always felt it is one of the best for a one gun African hunt.....Tom

Why not the 9,3x62?

Thanks N E. Din't think of the metric's

The 62 Mauser is a good one...good range for a hunting rifle and you can just about if not eat up to the wound channel. Then on other hand the .338-06 is a good one as the 62 Mauser..it is a toss up, they both kill well. I use them both...but as Jeffe states why not the .458, it is what I am doing now with my J.C.Higgins 50.

I have both the 338/06 Imp and the 416 Taylor.

I get a lot more use out of my 338/06 IMP than I ever will the Taylor. Yes I have hunted the taylor but short of the really huge bears and the fact that I can shoot deer and elk with it because I can it does not really se a lot of use.

My 330/06 on the other hand sees a fair ammount of use and is much more versatile. I can use it for anythign from antelope up through deer and elk to moose and bears and it is just about perfect for most of it. Is ti a long range uber magnum? Nope. However by using the Ackley Improved version and a 26" barel it is basically a 338 Win Mag on an 06 case and I can comfortably shoot a critter out to 400 yards. However I personally prefer to get a hell of a lot close if I can.

Tony, starting a conversion of 30-06 to 9.3X64. Have just too many 06's.

9.3x62!

For simplicity sake, take your pick of 338, 35, 9.3, 375 and 40 cals, use the AI versions, and stick with the '06 case or the same with the Ruger case...you might not need any rail work and progably only exchanging the standard extractor for a magnum extractor...plus there is the WSM and RUM cases to work with which might take some rail work.

AND...there are a bunch of other wildcats like RamRod pointed out, that will do every bit as good as a belted mag or Ruger case will do.

Before you decide make up some dumbies with the Ruger case, pull the barrel and see just how they ACTUALLY feed. I did a 416 Taylor before the Ruger case came out on a Ruger Tang M77 and it was basiclly a barrel and extractor swap and it feeds slick as owl stuff... I would pick the Ruger case if I were doing one today.

I did have to open up the bolt face a bit for the case rim size difference and mill off part of the bolt face ring because of the button ejector and watch the headspace when I was fitting the barrel, but you don't have that problem with a mauser bolt, only some push feeds.

I also have a 338-06. I like big heavy bullets and large calibers. I had a Rem 700 rebarreled to the 338-06 some 40 odd years ago just for elk...I built the 416 just for "kicks".

While the 416 could be thought of as "wayoverkill", that's just what I wanted...I'm old, my knees and back hurt all the time and I DON'T want to follow up a wounded animal in the sh** I usually hunt in...the bigger, the better when it comes to whacking ANY animal...two legged OR 4.

I load it to moderate levels with a speer 350 gr MT and it will drop an elk like a bad date...and so will the 338-06 with a 225 gr Hornady SP at about the same recoil level but much higher velocity.

AND I also built a 9.3x62 on a VZ-24 Mauser...and it hammers anything I happen to point at...you can't go wrong with any of them...AND a 375H&H...and...and...and

Check out the magazine max length on your FN...my Ruger and VZ are maxed at 3.32" so you might have to seat any Ruger cased version a bit less than actual published OAL's depending on which bullet you happen to want to use.

Crawl the net...mausers have been massaged for ages and ALL the problems associated with the various rechamberings are well documented...
nothing new here.

Large calibers carry a heavy bragging load but the 30-06 will take ANY NA game and have proven that time after time...so...Enjoy your toy

Luck

I really appreciate all the feedback on this post. That's why AR is my go to site. It's the member's willingness to offer good suggestions. Thanks alot guy's. Looks like I have alot to think about Keep'em coming.

Have done an FN commercial action to .338-06. Is indeed a simple rebarrel. I think the 9,3x62 is likely to be the same, that is no magazine work at all.

I like both chamberings. I have two 9,3x62s. (No flies on the 35 Whelen either BTW.) Range of intended use and size of the target might suggest one over the other.

quote:

A 35 Whelen makes life simple.

I second this idea.

I'm leaning toward the 9.3x62. Just for something different. loking for barel suggestions now. Thanks.

Ah crap. A barrel length suggestion would help also.

quote:

loking for barel suggestions

I just ordered a Mcgowan in .338 caliber....the reason I used them was they would give me the contour I wanted.....I was able to specify a .120 wall at the muzzle and standard contours from Douglas and Shilen didn't offer that. Further the price I was quoted was quite favorable to Douglas and Shilen.

I have no previous experience but have read many many positive posts.....so I don't think I'm sticking my neck out much at all.

My existing 9.3 barrel is a Shilen.....shoots great but a tad heavier than I'd like! There are a lot of more spendy barrels available too.....I just didn't find a reason to spand much more.

Thanks, Vapodog. I appreciate it.

my couple from McG shoot great

I had my FN mauser action re-barrelled to 375 Ruger with no complaints from the gunsmith and I'm quite satisfied with the results. The Ruger case now seems to make more sense than the 06 case for regular length actions.

rik, can you tell me about your loads? Thanks