JeffP,

Thanks. I'll keep it in mind if I give up on getting a .338 out of this.

Steve

Seafire,



I pushed with the guys on the phone for them to put a .338 barrel and follower on a magnum gun, and he indicated there was no way he could do it. I said I'd be willing to pay something extra for the mod. No deal, though. I didn't push really hard, though.



I think I want a CRF (vice the Browning) rifle for a .338, anyway. I may try to push the issue up the chain. As for the refund, I'm actually into the gun for the cost of the gun, shipping from the store in Idaho to my FFL, the FFL receiving fee, mounts and rings (which'll work if I get another model 70 mag), shipping to Winchester repair, and the dies, bullets, and brass. I doubt they'll refund that.



Steve

the .300 WSM ! Short action, lighter, accurate, efficient powder burn etc...

I have a rifle so chambered and it will do in a pinch for bear (Black or Grizzly)- using 180 gr. Trophy Bonded Bear Claws.

SKL;

Since Winchester and Browning are owned by the same outfit, I think Browning does offer a 338 Mag in a Lefty.
I may be wrong,and one thing good about this board, if you are wrong about anything, you don't have to wait long for someone willing to immediately point it out to you and insult your grandmother and your dog at the same time.

Otherwise I would tell them to just refund the purchase price and buy a 338 from another company. Or they can take a left handed Magnum action and spin a 338 Barrel on it.

If you want a 338, why let them talk you into something else, just because they don't have it immediately sitting on the rack.

I have been in a similar situation once before and they finally ended up coming up with what I had. If the rifle was screwed up unless it was your fault, then why let them give you what you want as second choice??

Good luck guy!

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

George,

The scope holes were far enough off that they were visibly not aligned. I think they were off enough on the front bridge that they couldn't be relaigned just by reboring to the larger screw size. I don't know how accurate the running "story" they've been giving me has been (I suspect the Browning/Winchester Customer Service folks are far away from either company's factory or repair facility. But the story was that they did some work to it, then took it to the range. At the range it was inoperable. They looked at it some more, and decided it was unfixable. Again, no telling whether this is a randomly generated plausible script they work through over the months or whether it's what actually happened.

Steve

Ditto George. Have them build you one.

I called back and asked the manager I've been dealing with (who's trying to be helpful) if the action, follower, spring, bolt stop, ejector, etc weren't all the same. He indicated they were. Since they still offer the .338 in RH, they have barrels. He indicated the problem was with serial number codes. The corporate system requires each action to be coded for the type of gun it'll be used in. He couldn't budge, he said. After he hung up, of course, it occurred to me that they often/usually use a production action for the custom shop guns, so there must be a procedure for specifying a serial number for a non-standard caliber.

Might try that argument tomorrow and see where it goes. Also, I need to check to see if I can return some of this unopened stuff to Midway and Cabelas.

RF, thanks for the .300WM recommendation and info.

Steve

Steve, you have sort of a dilema here.

I agree with some of the other guys, they OWE you a .338 Win Mag. However, it sounds as though you are not going to get it.

Given the options, I would take the 300 Win Mag and not look back. I know, it is NOT a 338 Win Mag, but it is a good gun.

I am just not sold on the new Winchester short mags. I had a super short mag and got rid of it, it would not shoot worth a shit. My dad has 7mm WSM that shoots good one day and not so good the next. He also has feeding problems with it. My buddy has a 270 WSM that is faster than hell but the accuracy is also hit and miss. (Not consistant, good groups one time to the range, piss poor the next.) He also has had extraction problems with different lots of brass.

I no longer own it (I wish I did), but I used to have a 300 Winchester Magnum and it was a great rifle. I used any number of 165 and 180 grain bullets in my reloads and had no problems.

I would push hard for a replacement .338 Win Mag. But if you cannot get it, a 300 Win Mag will take anything you are likely to shoot. I don't think you will have problems using the 180 Nosler Partition.

R F

Steve,



Insist on a .338Win.Mag.



Tell them to get a 'LH .338 barrel' from the Custom Shop (which still offers LH .338s), and install it on a LH action.

While they're at it, they ought to pick out a nice piece of wood for you.



Seriously, they OWE you a .338, or a full refund, including taxes & shipping.



George

P.S. Did they confess to what was wrong with the gun?

Canadian Lefty,

My only concern is that I've heard the WSM's are hard to make feed in a CRF action; of course, I also believe that's mostly theoretical as most of the folks who have them report no feed trouble. What rifle do you have in .300 WSM? How fast do you load the TBBC's?

I need to look on Speer's website at data for the newer cartridges.

Anybody know the answer on the model 70 .300WM OAL restriction?

Steve

fireball,

I don't know what's unfixable. I imagine they tried to weld and recut the the scope holes and couldn't do it without messing up the action. Don't know for sure, though.

Steve

Talk to someone at the "top", and insist on a 338. If they can't screw on the proper barrel (wouldn't suprise me if they couldn't) they ought to find someone who can.

Chuck

Did they ever tell you what was "unfixable" about it...I find that quite interesting.

Anyway, I'd push the custom shop angle. They are using Badger Barrels now, Ernie was fitting them in-house until a few months ago. Now he's sending them to USRAC and they are fitting them themselves...

If the action is salvageable......I can't see there being too much of a problem here. Otherwise, it looks like a mess. I wouldn't settle for a caliber you don't want.

Have they checked with all their distributors and stocking dealers for one in inventory???

Mentioning the fact that you're discussing this on a "newsgroup" of sorts may give you a little bit of bargaining power, that card gets played on me at least once a week.