I am wondering what the optimum barrel length for a .338 is. I have owned .338's with 26" and 24" tubes...but I wonder if a 23" or even 22" barrel wouldn't work just as well?

Thanks,
Chet

Longer is always higher velocity, but handling and handiness is part of the equation too.

I'm on the verge of having my .338 rebarreled and will probably go 23" fluted stainless.

quote:

Originally posted by Chet:
I am wondering what the optimum barrel length for a .338 is. I have owned .338's with 26" and 24" tubes...but I wonder if a 23" or even 22" barrel wouldn't work just as well?

Thanks,
Chet

No need to go 26" on a .338WM, 24" is plenty. Anything shorter and muzzle blast goes up considerably.

Chet-absolutely it will work well.

I've worked with the 33's quite a bit and this is what I've found.

With the 340 I've worked with 23-26" tubes.

338/06 I've worked with 22 and 23 and 24" tubes

338/300 wsm 21" tube

338 I've worked with 23 and 24's

Brad from here has done a ton load with 22 to 24's and I believe he has settled on the 22 as the best. He'd have to check in and say for sure.

I would go for whatever handled the best and the heck with what it mea's for length.

As for speed loss, I've done a fair bit of testing of b4 and after (with the same tube and same lot and load) and you can pretty much expect to lose 30 to 33 fps per inch.

So in the real world this is no big deal.

I'd go 22 or 23 and not think 2x about it.

Mark D

I'm cutting mine to 22"....and adding sights as well

just my preference is all.

Hum a thread that has perked my interest. Do any of you have any loads concerning this issue that you have chronographed? Would you please share the loads and the fps data with us. Accuracy data if you have it. Thanks.

I have a pair of 338s, one Browning A Bolt and one Winchester Model 70....both with 26 inch barrels...

I prefer the 26 inch barrels....

However, I have done some loading for an acquiantance that has a Ruger 77 Mk 2 with a 24 inch barrel... doing some chronograph work....

I noticed that the velocity loss with the shorter barrel occured when using powders like 4350 or slower.... however, when loading with powders like RL 15, IMR 4895 or 4064, W 748, H 380 etc... the velocity loss was significantly less if any at all.....

So I do think that one can argue that the shorter barrel will reduce you point blank range potential... but then the reason for a shorter barrel probably has to do with rummaging thru brush with the rifle, which would negate the argument of needing the max point blank range...

I am going to keep my 338s with 26 inch barrels... but then I don't think I am toting anything overly superior to the guy with a 338 and a 22 inch barrel....Its all back to bullet placement anyway.....

And I always have my 338/06 which has a 24 inch barrel on it... and I always download my 338 Mags to about 2400 fps anyway... If I need long range, I have the 300 Win Mag for that....

I don't need the two 338 Mags, but one has awesome wood on it, and the other is as accurate as a varmint rifle, which is rare for a 338 from anything I have ever seen...

Besides a 200 to 250 grain bullet at 2400 fps, is a pretty potent game getter in its own right....

cheers
seafire

Bottom line on the speed thing is if you take away 3" of tube plan on to loose 100fps (at max).

Do the math and you'll find a 1" drop (if both are sighted the same, I used zero at 100 to make it fair as possible) will give the 3" shorter and 100 fps slower tube a whole whopping 1.2" more drop.

I would suggest that that is not much and certainly not worth the worry. At least not for this kid.

I look at tube length anymore only in the manner of balance.

I work with a certain bore dia and go from there to figure out what kind of length and girth I need to make it balance the way I like.

I have a strong tendency to like between .65" for the cals up to the big 7's. And for the cals from 30 on up the mzl to .7" at the mzl.

But that is just me and how I like a rifle to feel and is what works for me.

Mark D

My 338 M70ss had a 26",I appreciated it. But it was not used in heavy brush or for fast handling, muzzle was .580". If I was to build a neat handy rig I would go probably 23".But then I would very tempted to make it .375 Taylor instead!

A 375 Taylor is always a temptation, at least 4 me.

Mark D

Think of a 338WM as a 33 caliber 30.06. A 21" works well,I know that's heresy but if any of you read Charlie Sisks barrel length experiment,you too would be a heretic

Thanks for all the very helpful and informed replies. I am thinking of putting together a new .338 and would like to try one with a 22" or 23" barrel...but I could still go with a 24" if the shorter lengths would cause a problem.

Thanks,
Chet

I have now owned and shot 12 different rifles in .338 Win. Mag. since Jan.'68 and loaded and shot several more. This is my absolute favourite cartridge and I currently have 5 high quality rifles so chambered.

IF, I were to get a custom .338 Mag. built, I would get a 23" bbl., NO longer, but, I could live with shorter. My Dakota 76 has this length and handles superbly; it gives just over 2700 fps-mv with 250 Nosler Partition Gold Moly Free bullets and groups these into .6-.75 consistently....I cannot conceive of a better B.C. load.

Mine was cut back to 22" due to a very poorly executed porting job. I was young enough to believe the dealer that I "needed" to port it because of recoil. Never mind that it sprayed the bullets around on a plate.
I had it cut off and crowned benchrest fashion and am very happy with the way it handles, shoots, and the muzzle blast isn't a big deal. I did loose just a little velocity I'm sure as my poi changed a we bit but it now will cloverleaf. Nate

The 50 or 60 fps loss in muzzle velocity is . . . well, 50 or 60 fps. How important it is to you is a largely personal question, but it is rather unimportant to the game.

On the other hand, the .338 is best with powders in the 4350-4831 burning range, and a .338 uses a lot (relatively speaking) of powder. Cutting from a 24" to a 22" barrel not only loses velocity, it also increases muzzle pressure (with the same load), which increases muzzle blast (volume), and more importantly, moves the muzzle blast two inches closer to your ear. It also makes for a slightly lighter gun which means more recoil and more muzzle rise.

I've never found a 24" barrel to be unhandy in any situation, so I'll keep my .338 (and similar calibers) at 24 inches. However, I won't call you an idiot and insult your ancestors (much ) if you perceive a shorter barrel to be an advantage.

Just getting accustomed to my first .338 a laminate stainless ruger and I like the 24" barrel but I have gotton used to the 25 1/2"cz barrels to so that has helped, they seem to hang well for off hand shooting........................longer barrels that is.

The longer the barrel the faster the bullet will go. For shorter barrel to try to keep in velocity they need bigger shell cases more powder.

Mine's 23" and I think it's perfect. Goes 2760 with 250 Noslers.

If I were you I would start with it at 24" and see how it handled. If you didn't like the 24" you can lop it off another inch or two a whole lot cheaper that you can rebarrel a 22" to a 24"..................DJ

I personally like longer barrels. And the 25" barrel on my pre-64 M70 in .338 suits me fine. However anything over 24 with the .338 Win is gravy.