I'm getting the hots to build a new toy. Does anybody have any experience with the 338-06 or 338-06 AI? I have a nice FN Mauser action to work with and also regularly shoot Mausers in 257 AI and 35 Whelan AI. Looking to end up with a good rifle for elk and possibly moose.

It is difficult to beat the .338 win mag, have you considered opening up the bolt face on your Mauser and rebarreling to the .338 win mag first? The heavier bullets I think require more powder space than what the 06 can give the 250"s.

I like the 06 family and have used successfully the .25-06, .270 and .30-06 and now have built or rather have one completed and tuned and another being finished up by Jim Dubell in the .338-06.

The AI and Gibbs version require the fireforming as you might well know and if you are trying to get all you can off a .06 case that might be for you. The A-sq. is good enough for me.

There's typically not much advantage to the AI version with '06 cases, but in the case of the .338 it does give you a more substantial shoulder for headspacing. I suppose if I were building a custom rifle anyway I would slightly prefer the .338/06 in the AI version for that reason (and the very small increase in velocity).

I have a 338-06 it will be great with the FN action. Vel. increase will be very small in the AI and really not worth the extra effort.

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I have a 338-06 it will be great with the FN action. Vel. increase will be very small in the AI and really not worth the extra effort

I have my own 338. It is a blown out improved, shoulder moved forward 280 case. I get 11% more capacity than a 338-06.A little more than the 340 Gibbs. And just as I've found in the rest of my 06(280) wildcats. Loaded to the same pressure you will get 1% velocity for 4% powder increase. Comparing the same brand case you will get around 4% increase from the AI that will give you 1% velocity. To me unless you simply want an AI go with the standard.

I used to go with a 210 as a do all. Based on velocity, accuracy and performance on several hogs I've changed to the 200Accubond.

In a 24" I could push a 200BT at 2825-50 with a standard 338-06 using Norma brass(about 3 grs more capacity than a Rem/Win)at about 64000. That is less than the 270s 65,000 and the same as the 338Wmags 64,000 I had trouble getting 3000 with my Ruger 338Wmag.

I changed mine to my wildcat simply because I had the reamer and it would match the rest of wildcats.

I've been hunting w/ a .338-06 now for about 10years or so. Great cart. for NA hunting. You can certainly download a .338winmag but the rifles are typ. heavier & recoil will go up if you go w/ a light rifle. There is little perf. increase in going to the AI, but if you are going from scratch & want maybe 50fps extra vel. why not.
I would go w/ a slim 23" bbl. & try to keep the wight of the fin. rifle to 8#. it will become a fast favorite when you go for elk or black bear, even as a deer round it leaves little to the high speed magnums. 210grNP @ 2750fps is good for just about all of my hunting. I might switch to a 250gr @ 2450fps for close woods hunting but the 210grNP has been great close or far on small antelope & deer to elk, kudu & zebra.

The 338-06 is a very powerful and deserverdly popular wildcat. Well, if it's a wildcat and I suspect it's an officially registered cartridge with SAAMI.

It's close in performance to the 338 magnum and without the extra weight common on mags.

In my opinioon it's as good a elk cartridge as one can find bar none.

The AI version only brands the owner as a novice among knowlegeable shooters.

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Originally posted by duikerman:

The AI version only brands the owner as a novice among knowlegeable shooters.

Ouch! I like my 338-06AI. I have never had to trim brass. They wear out before then. I'm not sure how this truly compares to the standard 338-06, but I like this benefit. As others have said, the standard version is just as good performance-wise, so you would have to do the AI version just to be different or to have some other goal in mind.

It's hard to say whether one would spend more time in fire-forming or with trimming brass, but I'd rather spend the time shooting than trimming... That's really the only benefit I can see with the AI version. I'd also recommend the 210 Nosler as the go-to bullet for this cartridge. At least until I can try some advanced loading techniques for better performance with the heavier bullets.

I have an old FN in .338-06. Very nice hunting rifle at a good hunting weight. I would not do the AI, nothing wrong with it, but would be way harder to resell if you get the urge for something else in the future.

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Originally posted by Rob1SG:
I have a 338-06 it will be great with the FN action. Vel. increase will be very small in the AI and really not worth the extra effort.

Not looking for an arguement, but WHAT effort?

Gonna shoot the thing anyway, right? Not much
effort to rough siight with the A Square brass
first.

As for the A.I. version, I simply like the
shoulder. It does give a better headspacing,
and one thing I've noticed is that the larger the bore, and the heavier the bullet, a smaller
amount of FPS yeilds more kinetic energy
down range than smaller calibers.

How much? Not much I'm sure, But the A.I.
version just looks more like a properly designed round! (IMHO)

P.S. After about 10 years of procrastinating,
I took my commercial mauser fitted with a Mark
X Oberndorf style guard and Dave Talley straddle
and Precise Metalsmithing 3 position safety to the shop of stockmaker, Claude Gatewood, this morning for stocking. The barrel is a #3 Douglas chambered in .338-06 A.I., done by
I.T.&D. custom gun of Ohio.

And all the critics of this cartridge can
rest assured, I consider this rifle nothing more than a "heavy" 30-06. No insistance that
it is a 338 mag in disguise from me!

To me, the 30-06 is a half ton truck, and the
338-06 is a 3/4 ton truck. Now tell me the 3/4 ton isn't better suited for heavier work?

Come on farm boys, speak up! Every farm boy I
know opts for the 3/4 ton version!

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Gonna shoot the thing anyway, right?

Don, even I can't argue with that - pretty much in a nutshell there. The headspacin is pretty much the key for the "conversion" and the few feet gained is pretty much a questionable point on the killing power.

This AI stuff has always interested me as well as what Rocky Gibbs has done-it is that corn meal stuff that has me keeping things simple.

Surely a nice looking round for sure-if it looks anything like my .30-30AI

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Originally posted by grizz007:

quote:

Gonna shoot the thing anyway, right?

Don, even I can't argue with that - pretty much in a nutshell there. The headspacin is pretty much the key for the "conversion" and the few feet gained is pretty much a questionable point on the killing power.

This AI stuff has always interested me as well as what Rocky Gibbs has done-it is that corn meal stuff that has me keeping things simple.

Surely a nice looking round for sure-if it looks anything like my .30-30AI

Like I said Grizz, not looking for any arguement. Just gave the reasons I'm building
the 338-06 A.I. on my FN mauser.

The reasons for building such a rifle does not have to be based on bigger, better
or "improved".

I just simply wanted one! And
because I started with nothing but the action,
the cost doesn't even figure in!


Duikerman,

Might I suggest you have overrated your ability
to read minds and pass judgements on same. I
find the simple answer, "I just want one.", sufficient, and completely valid. Can't see
how that reason makes one's ballistics knowledge
suspect?

I'll probably opt for the 338-06 AI just because I already have a few other Improved guns and have never been disastisfied. Also since I do all of the work myself, and have for the past 30 years, there is no additional effort or expense. On the occasion that I put somethng togeather for myself, I like it to be different. Also since I normally take at least one backup rifle to camp in a standard caliber finding ammunition is not a problem. As of yet I have never run out of improved ammunition on any particular safari unless I happen on to a heavily populated dog town. I suppose I should have made my original question a little more clear. For those of you other "novice" riflemen who have fooled around with the 338-06 or 338-06AI with a Mauser FN Action, have you encountered any unusual problems with the conversion, such as feeding, extraction or a favorite twist.

My intent was not to open any scabbed over wounds for those of you that are not fans of Mr. Ackley's Novice approach to our sport. I for one appreciate and marvel at his efforts.

I have 338-06 on a FN action. I think the AI would be a better way to go. Not for velocity,rather, a case a touch bigger could make good use of the 4350 class of powders.With the 225gr when I compressed load of a 4350, it went slower.The reason I added more ,was a very underwhelming velocity.

I wonder why someone, to a post titled: "338-06/338-06 AI", would voice their opinion on the 338 WM? Hmm....strange. Anyhow, since the latest Hornady manual lists 4 or 5 225 gr. loads for the 338-06 (loaned my manual out!!)@ 2700 fps (a mere 100 fps, or about 50 yds. behind the same manuals loads for the 338 WM), the 338-06 vs. 338 WM is a very, very silly ballistic argument. I have nothing against the 338 WM and think it's a fantastic cartridge. But my personal preference causes me to consider such factors as magazine capacity, brass availability from the '06 family, and efficiency with regards to powder among other things.

That being said, my father has one rifle in each of these calibers. And since his son (yours truly)has younger eyes, I have had the pleasure of firing practically all the loads through both these rifles. By far, Dad's A.I. has been shot the most. His "Go to" load pushes a 210 gr. Barnes X (the old style, cranky X bullets)a hair over 2700 fps. It'll do more velocity wise, but load development was a royal pain with said bullets, and since this load grouped at 1" to 1-1/4", we stopped there. The loads were developed some years ago and I'm sure with todays better bullets (Specifically the Triple-Shock)and with what paltry increased knowledge I've gained over the past few years, a better load would be easy to develop.
I recently fired some developmental loads in his standard 338-06. Even with the starting powder charges it's evident to me by virtue of the chronographing results that the standard cartridge is very likely going to be ballistcally very, very close to the A.I. I don't think there will be any problem attaining 2700 fps with a 225 gr. bullet. And I don't think there's an animal in the continental U.S. that will know whether the bullet exited the muzzle of a 338-06 Std., a 338-06 AI or a 338 WM.
In my opinion, choosing between these two cartridges is really a matter of personal preference rather than one of superior ballistics. Please, no B.S. about case trimming etc. That's just part of the deal, fellas. Besides, it takes a lot of shooting or some hefty loads to make case trimming an issue. Do you guys huint prairie dogs with these things or something?!?!? I mean just how much are you going to shoot a 338 caliber rifle after the load development is finished? Headspace? As much as I've read about this on forums, I've seen few actual real life examples of excessive headspace. If headspace were ever to be an issue, I think I would have seen it in the few hundred rounds I've fired through my 35 Whelen given its small shoulder.
I say pick the one that makes you happiest and never look back.
Regards,
35W

35Whelen - Well said. It's ALL good. Pick what you like and enjoy.

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Originally posted by markino:
35Whelen - Well said. It's ALL good. Pick what you like and enjoy.