All,

is a 22" barrel long enough for the .338 Win?? if not, what is the optimal length?

thank in advance
Regards,
Craig Nolan

Most ballistic tables you see for the .338 Win. Mag. are obtained with a 24" barrel. You will loose some velocity going to a 22" tube, but I'm not sure how much ( my guess would be that the difference wouldn't be that great). A few gun makers put 26" barrels on their rifles to squeeze out every last FPS possible, but I think 24" is the best comprimise for this caliber.

I prefer a 24" barrel as it lends balance to the rifle, but 22" isn't an unreasonable length. Even tho it operates at the same pressure levels as the 300 Win mag, with a 20% larger bore the 338 isn't dependent upon barrel length or slow powders to make it perform.

My Model 70, 338 came with a 25.5" barrel, hasn't been a problem with the length or accuracy.

My M77 has a 24-inch barrel and for me it is just about perfect. I don't think it's too long, and the rifle isn't the least bit cumbersome.

I think people worry too much about rather a rifle is 22" or 24", 26" etc.. I think you should go with what feels best to you or what makes the rifle balance better. The bullets will not bounce off of an animal just because you are shooting a 22" barrel rather than a 24" or whatever.

I have a 21" bbl. on my ruger 77 in .338wm. I lost about 70 fps as near as i can calculate. As i've seen barrels of the same length vary by 100fps. i don't feel that it is significant. Sure made a handy brush rifle. I'm only 5'7" and 24" barrels are too long for me in the brush. Only lost 50fps. with my favorite 250gr. load.

It's more personal preference than anything else. Swampshooter makes a good point that a shorter barrel is more easily carried and balanced if you are smaller in stature.

Just remember this: As you shorten your barrel you lose velocity and gain muzzle blast. The muzzle blast from a .338 will be noticeably louder with a 22 as opposed to a 24 inch barrel. That's why I like the longest barrel with which I am comfortable. At 5'11" with a 35" sleeve length, 24-25 inches seems natural to me.

I did some cut off tests some years ago, which I can't find the results of right now..But the final opine on my part was 24 to 26 inches was the best to go with...4 to 6 inches of barrel is about the length of my pocket knife, I can see no reason to be concerned about that. As to its mobility in the brush, that is a joke and the idea of some scribe that obviously has hunted little or he would know that barrel length has nothing to do with brush because you cannot determine where brush will be in relationship to your position in this world at that time of opertunity..

All,

seems consensus is 23"-24" would be best, all things considered...

Thanks for weighing in on this...

Regards,
Craig Nolan

I have used a full stocked 338 with a 20" bbl since 1964. I have taken shots with it out to a full 400 yds on a caribou hunt. Closest shot about 25 yds on a deer. I like long barrels on some rifles but I have been in the thick stuff here in SE AK where you had to turn the gun vertically in order to change directions. Depending upon where you are going to use your gun the most may help you decide how long you want the barrel. I have a collection of barrel ends from guns that the owners thought were too long for use in our woods. Thats not to say that there aren't alot of long barrel guns in the woods but for myself I've never missed the extra 4-6"'s of barrel on my 338.

Mine wears a 23.5" Shilen #5.

I think 24 is about best, for a general purose .338 win. 26 might better for open country, but I don't think of the .338 win mag as tops in that catagory anyway.
22 would not be bad either if you don't need to squze a lot of velocity from the rifle.
I mean if you are sooting at less than 250 yards it won't matter much at all...tj3006

Yes, technically a 22" barrel is long enough for the .338 Winchester Magnum. I would estimate velocity average approximately 25 fps/barrel inch within a 22"-26" barrel length range.

The "optimal" length for me is a 25" barrel.

I've got one with a 24 inch tube and one with a 26 inch tube. Both are muzzle braked which makes em a bit longer. I prefer the one with the 24 inch tube although the longer one gets 127 fps more velocity out of my handloads. I see it as personal preference.

Of the five 338 WM's I've had, four wore 22" barrels... it's my favorite length for the round.

225's still go 2,800 - 2850 fps and 210's go 2,900 - 2950... good enough and more handy than a longer barrel.

The bore-volume / case-capacity ratio of the 338 WM is identical to the 30-06 and I doubt anyone would argue a 30-06 doesn't work well in a 22" barrel.

But, to each his own...

A friend of mine cut down a .338 M77 an inch at a time to see how short he could get it before velocity started falling off signifiantly. He only lost 25 fps per inch and whent down to 20 inches where he stopped.
I have 3 .338's one with a 24" barrel and two with 26". I don't agree that a long barrel is as effective in the brush as a short barrel (if I read that right?) I remember the time that I was following a brown bear into the alders when the tracks brought me to some stuff so thick it was all I could do to get myself through especially while dragging one of those 26" barreled .338. The thought went through my head that I was glad the bear wasn't right at that place while I was discombobulated and just as I broke through and regained my composure before I even had time to look up I spotted a pool of blood in the snow right at my feet. That did in fact send a chill down my back and I quickly looked up to see the bear about 10 yards in front of me just starring at me as I stumbeled out of the worst of the alders.
That long barreled rifle worked just fine that day (as it has for many bears before and since) I put the bead on his neck and finished him off and there was plenty of room in the brush at that perticular place.
It's all about balancing out your needs. The good news is that it appears wich ever way you choose to go you won't loose as much as most would have assumed before my friend did his test. If I built one more .338 I think I would have it a 22"er.

The diff. in vel. between a 22" & 24" is really negligible. You can get a 50fps diff. between diff. 24" bbl. rifles. I would worry more about how the rifle feels in your hands. I am 5'-10" & a 26" bbl. bolt gun feels long. SO I have settled on 23" for std. calibers & 24" for magnums if going custom. I am happy w/ a 22"bbl. on a factory std. caliber rig.

You should be fine, the 338 WM doesn't have enough capacity and the bore is large enough that differences of an inch or two wont matter. Its when you have overbores, such as a 264 Win Mag, or very large capactiy cases like a Lazzeroni or 378 Wby based rounds, that every inch makes a difference with the slow burning powders.