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One of Us |
on a scale of 1-5....one being totally unacceptable....five being the very best, how do you rate the .338-06 as a elk cartridge? /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | ||
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one of us |
3 My 340 PDK is a touch better.  As usual just my $.02 Paul K | |||
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| One of Us |
I don't have anything even close to that big and the elk I shoot seem to end up dead. | |||
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| Administrator |
Why would anyone want this on any scale? It will kill an elk like any other suitable cartridge. Which means anything from the 243 Winchester up. | |||
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| One of Us |
I rate it at 5. I consider the 338 Wim Mag the best elk cartridge in existence. I had a 338/06 AI built several years ago and it was the topic of an article in Handloader's Digest. I found that for hunting purposes there was very little difference with 200-210 gr bullets between the 338/06AI and the 338 Win Mag. the win Mag pulled away when bullets went heavier to 250-300 gr. But I have found that a 200 gr BBC or such will kill an elk from virtually any angle. Which is certainly something a 243 will do only if the bullets contain a fast acting poison. | |||
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| one of us |
My Kimber in 338-06 is my "moose rifle", so based on my experience I would give it a 5 Arild Iversen. | |||
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| One of Us |
Understood Saeed....but consider this.....where I hunt elk, the cost is a full two months gross income. Would you actually use a .243 Winchester if that were the case for you as well? /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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| One of Us |
From my experience using the 338-06AI I would give it a 5. Where I hunt ELK shots are not usually of the 600yd type. Heavy bush and close quarters are the norm. Yeah you might get a 200yd shot or farther but with this cartridge that is definitely not an issue. Lots of other great cartridges out there but this one is very hard to beat for the purposes mentioned. | |||
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| One of Us |
5 Whats a very expensive elkhunt. | |||
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one of us |
5 +P+ | |||
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Moderator |
4.99+ ... but so is a 243, right bullet, right placement .... opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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| Moderator |
I have a 308 that i call the grim reaper ... and if i had a 243 or 6 rem that did the same, i wouldn't hesitate -- then again, i've killed (notice i didn't say hunted) almost everything legal and 4 legged in Texas with a 45 colt -- it's been my "the gringo cazador has screwed up and someone has to go clean up the mess" round for 30 years .. that, a 12ga sxs why do i mention that? i wouldn't CHOOSE to do an elk hunt with a 45colt -- but if someone wounded one, and i had to clean it up, again, i would .. have used 223, 22h, 45 colt, 10mm ... and keep going back to the 45 ... makes a big hole where i want it .. opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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| one of us |
Jack Hooker's son (one of his guides) carried a 243 Winchester on guided elk hunts. Jack carried a revolver. TomP Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when wrong to be put right. Carl Schurz (1829 - 1906) | |||
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| One of Us |
Again with the comparisons/ratings...my 338-06 was built to shoot the old, long 270 gr Speers therefore it has a LONG throat and I can load it to the gills and get velos way over what is considered "Average" for published data for the 338-06. Wanna comparison...I have chrono'ed my goto load, 225 gr Horn/IMR 4320 26" 338-06 along side a factory 24" 338 Mag, 250 gr Win PP and both were within about 20 fs of each other. Yeah the Maggy had 25 gr on mine and of course anyone that's done this game for any length can improve on both cartridges in many ways. Besides I've seen several elk taken with a 100 gr 250 Sav factory equivalents in a Sav 99, so whats the point??? Both cartridges will do the job...but in todays world and if you want to believe all the U-toobs, the 6.5 and 7mm Noslers are taking the Elk hunting game by storm so WHY would you even WANT to muck about with any other cal/cartridge? Besides just how many wildcat iterations of 338-06 are out there that are even faster...rate WHAT?...compare WHAT?...bullet, velocity, cartridge efficiency, rifle, barrel length...SCOPE? I feel that "rating" is a total put down for whatever you want to rate...and comparisons just pi** on both the "ratee" and the "rator" and total simple mindedness...it is doing a disservice to BOTH...or just wanting to start another dust-up...too much of that goes on anyway and isn't really helping those looking for good data to work with. Good Hunting   | |||
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| One of Us |
4 out to 400 yards. After 400 yards, 338 Winchester Magnum. | |||
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| One of Us |
I would assume he meant rate the 338-06 at its best, probably something around a 210 TTSX in an Ackley configuration, shooting a 0.25" MOA group. I don't get the whole 6.5 craze when the .277" and .284" markets are so lucrative. What can a 6.5-300 Weatherby do that the 270 Weatherby couldn't? Practicality wise.
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| One of Us |
Far more important to me then where the cartridge rates is, How much you like the rifle. Are you confident with how it shoots, fits, feels in your hands? After that things fall into place pretty easy to kill things with it. | |||
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| One of Us |
five Having another 338-06 built right now. Stainless model 70 classic, #3 Shilen 1:9, PTG aluminum bottom metal, McMillan Edge. Having been there done that with 243 through 375 H&H on elk. | |||
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One of Us |
In my opinion, probably the best balanced cartridge for covering N.A. hunting. DRSS(We Band of Bubba's Div.) N.R.A (Life) T.S.R.A (Life) D.S.C. | |||
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| One of Us |
Assuming you mean for 'usefulness,' about 3+, ... and that's probably over-rating it. It's always a relational thing vis-a-vi other cartridges. If I want more 'ummph' than my '06, 35 Whelen, or .300 Magnum can generate, why go to an odd-ball cartridge? I'll just move up to my .375 H&H. All The Best ... | |||
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| One of Us |
Isn't the .35 Whelen based on the .30-06 case? Yes, the .35 uses a larger diameter bullet, but it's hard to beat the SD of the barely lesser diameter bullet. If you are talking about the .338-06 versus the .35 Whelen you are talking about apples versus apples. The rest is just mental masturbation. | |||
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| One of Us |
4.9 The '5' goes to the 35 Whelen, my favorite.   | |||
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| One of Us |
I DO own a 338-06 and LOVE it. | |||
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| One of Us |
5! I rate it just as highly as my 338WM. THE 33cal is my favourite cal of all. Cheers.  | |||
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| One of Us |
Good points. The Magnum would stretch the distance, but one can always do the same with the .338-06 by getting closer to the game being hunted. My favorite is the .338WM, but I do like the .338-06. | |||
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| One of Us |
It's an efficient cartridge that does not burn a lot of powder to attain it's ballistics. Many surpass it, but at what cost. Extra powder, recoil and $. It fits in a standard action with some, 5 down and one in the spout. Can be formed from plentiful 30-06 brass. Bullets from 185gr.-300. With todays bullets, 210-225gr. is all you need. It is a 400 yard killer in the right hands. which covers 99% of shots. It will put a big hole in and out for easy tracking. It does not have the mortar trajectory of some other calibers. You can download it to .338 Federal or milder status. It's a wise choice now and especially when you get older and realize the magnums are not a necessity. It is hard to beat all of it's combined traits, especially for North America and specifically elk. It's a sure 5. | |||
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one of us |
The 338-06 is a 5 for hunters and a 3 for snipers. ______________________________ "Truth is the daughter of time." Francis Bacon | |||
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One of Us |
With all this praise for the 338-06, what happened to the 338 RugerCompactMagnum RCM? Equals or betters the -06 in a smaller rifle. For the 338-06, one could just load a 338WM 100fps slower with a faster powder that produced good accuracy. Rating? I would give the 338-06 a 4. The 338WM gets a 5. The 338 Ruger would have gotten a 5+. +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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one of us |
a 3, if I wanted .338... I would use a win mag or a weatherby. | |||
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| One of Us |
My question is How many people that commented actually have killed an elk with a 338/06 or for that matter even own one? I own one and have killed elk with it. I rate it at a 5. | |||
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| One of Us |
I must be getting quute old as I now see many of the magnums as deficits.....It seems they add very little to the table and contribute to the weight and recoil.....This can be a deterrent to good shooting. I once owned a .338 Win Mag and found it's recoil to compare closely to my .375 H&H..... I can live without it. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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| One of Us |
There are lots of elk cartridges that I would rate a five. I would put most of the 30's, 8mm, 338, 35's and 375's in that same category. That is after having witnessed and killing elk with 243 through 375. Have used the 338-06 on half a dozen myself. A 210 NP or TSX out of 338-06 is fantastic elk medicine. Like I stated above there are many superb elk cartridges available. | |||
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One of Us |
These kinds of questions sure bring out a lot of opinons but most of those giving those opinions I wonder what their real experience is? | |||
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| One of Us |
I built two 338-06ai's. They are comfortable to shoot, accurate and effective. I have shot a lot of stuff with them, from feral goats thru red stag and elk. Years ago I hunted elk a lot and had great success using a 7mm RM with 175gr bullets. Now my preference is the 338-06 with 180 or 200gr accubonds or 210gr partitions.. From my experience the rating is a 5. It's a versatile cartridge...works great for deer, bear, hogs and elk...at least it does for me. Wouldn't trade mine for anything else.. | |||
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One of Us |
 roger double Old age is a high price to pay for maturity!!! Some never pay and some pay and never reap the reward. Wisdom comes with age! Sometimes age comes alone.. | |||
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| One of Us |
sure can't argue with that..... /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill | |||
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| One of Us |
My experience with the 338-06 is zero when using it to hunt but I hope that will change when I rebarrel a Remington 760 currently chambered in 270 Winchester. | |||
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| One of Us |
Well, without 338/06 hunting experience, your rating does't mean much. Does it? That is why this ratings have little value. | |||
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| One of Us |
Getting closer is a great idea but many times it isn't possible. | |||
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One of Us |
It would have been good enough for Elmer Keith, even with his big-bore preferences, and probably has better bullet choices than the 35 Whelen. I use a 338 WM and we only have 'Indian elk' here, so I can't speak personally about the .338-06 on wapiti. | |||
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