For those of you that own a Weatherby .338/06, how does yours shoot with factory ammo and/or handloads? I got mine to the range for the first time this morning and with the factory load it seems to be a 2 inch shooter. Not horrible but I hoped for at least 1 1/2". I hoped the factory load would shoot well enough but it looks like I might have to handload it. I might have not been having a great day at the range plus it was so damn hot that the light barrel would never cool completely down. Anyway, wondering about others' results with this rifle in this caliber.

SC:

Every person I have ever come across that had "had" one, had saved up for it since it was not cheap....

They are beautiful rifles in my opinion... but everyone of those people I have talked to that got them, got rid of them because they would not shoot...

Good for minute of Elk at 200 to 250 yds, maybe, which is just fine.... However, the one I have on a Winchester Model 70 action will out shoot any Weatherby 338/06 it has come across... some of these guys were blaming the round, not the rifle.... that is until they saw the accuracy out of mine.... Mine is not real fussy on powder types or bullet weights either...

I have to admit, if I had to start a rifle collection over again for just big game hunting, If they shot worth a darn, my choices would be 3 of the Weatherby "whatever that model is called"( Ultra Lite?) in 243, 7/08, and 338/06. There would be a 260 in there over the 7/08 if they made one of those also....

really a pity they don't shoot better!


good luck with it tho!
cheers
seafire

I heard a rumor that the Weatherby chamber and the shoulder angle of the case were not the same. There seems to be several different angles a 338-06 could be. The guys doing the rifle and making the ammunition did not communicate properly on which angle they were using, which was one reason the rifle and ammunition were discountinued.
Don't know if it's true or not but I never heard or read of anyone shooting a Weatherby 338-06 well. Some decent shooters but nothing spectacular like other 338-06's I've read about. Meaning, if you used once fired brass you should get pretty good accuracy.
If this is all internet myth than I apologise but it is something I am also wondering about.

I have always found a 338-06 to have excellent accuracy potential. I have never shot a Weatherby 338-06 however.

If you are unsatisfied, give Weatherby a call to see if they will do something for you. They do say their guns will shoot 1.5" or less with good ammo.

If you want to try a different avenue, give A-Square a call. They were the first ammo company to introduce the 338-06. They have a new owner who is investing a lot of money to make sure their quality is top notch. Their web site is: http://www.a-squarecompany.com

Aaron

Try some compressed loads eith R19 and any good 250 grainer in the 338-06...I found this to be sub-MOA and 2612 to 2645 fps with moderate pressure.

wow sabot, how do i do that and what rig are you shooting with( specs please

My best two accuracy loads are with H 380 powder and IMR 4064 in the 338/06....

W 748 gets honorable mention....

The 338/06 is almost like a big 223 case to me... most powders that work well in the 223, with proportional volumes will work well in the 338/06.... ( I am sure that will draw a lot of flak! )

Cheers
seafire

are you compacting your loads? how many grains are you using of each powder?

With IMR 4064, my loads are exactly 50 grains of powder.... what I like about that load, is with anything from a 200 grain bullet to a 250 grain bullet, your MV is 2500 fps....

This makes life simple if you shoot different bullet weights routinely and don't want to change scope zeros.

With H 380, this is a compressed load...

With 250 grain bullets I am loading 60 grains of powder...with an MV of about 2650 fps....out of a 24 inch barrel....

With a 200 grain bullet I am loading 65 grains of H 380 in Rem brass and 66 grains in Winchester brass... velocity is in excess of 2900 fps

with a 225 grain bullet I am loading 62.5 grains for a MV of about 2750 to 2775 fps.....

With H 380, I am using Large rifle primers instead of Mag primers that everyone suggests....

I never really use any other bullet weights in the 338/06, but the 200, 225 and 250 grain loads...

cheers
seafire

I have a Weatherby UL 338-06 that was recalled even before I could shoot it (about 3 years or so ago). Don't know what they did, but it is an honest 3/4-1" shooter with Nosler BT's and Partitions. RL-15 worked best for me. That gun, with a 3x9 Zeiss is about as good of an elk rifle as there is.....if you do a lot of walking as I did.

quote:

Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
With IMR 4064, my loads are exactly 50 grains of powder.... what I like about that load, is with anything from a 200 grain bullet to a 250 grain bullet, your MV is 2500 fps....

This makes life simple if you shoot different bullet weights routinely and don't want to change scope zeros.

With H 380, this is a compressed load...

With 250 grain bullets I am loading 60 grains of powder...with an MV of about 2650 fps....out of a 24 inch barrel....

With a 200 grain bullet I am loading 65 grains of H 380 in Rem brass and 66 grains in Winchester brass... velocity is in excess of 2900 fps

with a 225 grain bullet I am loading 62.5 grains for a MV of about 2750 to 2775 fps.....

With H 380, I am using Large rifle primers instead of Mag primers that everyone suggests....

I never really use any other bullet weights in the 338/06, but the 200, 225 and 250 grain loads...

cheers
seafire

good stuff seafire! thanks for the help

The powder of choice for the 338.06 with 225gr bullets would be 2 grains faster than 4350. I found V V N-550 fits,but any 308 powders should work.Varget gets a mention.I found I ran out of room with IMR 4350 and W 760 long before I got the target velocity of 2650.In fact a compressed load of W-760 went slower.

quote:

Originally posted by SCGunNut:
For those of you that own a Weatherby .338/06, how does yours shoot with factory ammo and/or handloads? I got mine to the range for the first time this morning and with the factory load it seems to be a 2 inch shooter. Not horrible but I hoped for at least 1 1/2". I hoped the factory load would shoot well enough but it looks like I might have to handload it. I might have not been having a great day at the range plus it was so damn hot that the light barrel would never cool completely down. Anyway, wondering about others' results with this rifle in this caliber.

IF you really are a gun nut, why would you even consider using factory ammo?? The "powder of choice" or the .338/'06 has for years been IMR 4320......