I would like to thank all of the guys that offered the info on the 338-06, I really appreciate the feedback. I am pretty sure that I will eventually have a 338-06 in my gun rack some day. A friend of mine has a Win 70 short action that he might sell me. It is a stainless steel controled round feed model and I was thinking of maybe doing up a 338-08. I read an article by Wayne van Zwoll a while ago in Rifle Shooter about a 338-08 he had made and I found it interesting. Have any of you guys taken the 308 and necked it up to .338? What results have you had on game? I would primarily use this rifle for whitetails. Hopefully I'll get some more great feedback from you fine folks.

Joe,

If you need a short action 338, try a 338-284. IMHO the 308 case won't push a 225 gr bullet fast enough to be practical.

QuickLoad predicts 2500 fps from a 338-284 with 225 grain partitions, and 2300 fps from a 338-308. I like to start out over 2400 fps.

Don

How about the Nosler Balistic Tip in the .338/08? It might give the expansion needed. Personally I think a .270/08 in a rifle at about 6 pounds would make a great mountain rifle. Has anyone done a .270 on the 308 case yet?

WyoJoe

Adirondack Joe,
If you are still looking for a left hand action to build your rifle G-U Wholesale, 4325 So. 120th street, Omaha , Nebraska, (402) 339-3530, lists 2 each, Remington 700 BDL Rifles, new (left hand). A 30-06 for $470 (item 5813), and a 7mm Rem mag for $490 (item #5815). You can pull the barrels on either and get your rifle.

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"If you can keep your head about you when all others are loosing theirs and blaiming it on you..."

Should be a lot like a 358 win.

The .338-308 is another great wildcat that may lag behind the .338-06 when the larger .338 bullets are used. However, it does very well with bullets from 180-grains to about 230.

Here are a couple of examples about an individual rifle (August 200 of Petersen's Rifle Shooter):

200-gr. Hornady and 45.5 grains of Accurate 2015 = 2,670 fps.

210-gr. Partition, 2,600 fps at muzzle, 1,982 at 300 yards. Energy to match = 3,152 foot-pound, and 1,831 foot-pound at 300 yards.

Again, the .338-06 has more horsepower, but the .338-308 should be an excellent deer to elk cartridge. It should be flat shooting with a 180-grain bullet such as the Barnes-X. Heavier .338 bullets should also work well within reasonable hunting ranges.

[This message has been edited by Ray, Alaska (edited 04-30-2001).]

With this caliber I plan on using 200 grn Hornady Interlocks primarily, and maybe the ballistic tip since the 338 bt's are built a bit tougher than the lighter calibers, I hear. Again, I'm probably not going to hunt anything too big. 210 grn partitions for elk, if I decide not to use the 338-06. And if I decide to bushwack a moose within 150 yds, 225 grn.

And by the by, I'm not left handed

WyoJoe: Loads for the 270-308 are on page 377-378 of Ackley's Handbook, Vol. 1. If you don't have the Ackley set, get them. It's amazing what has been tried and the Ackley books are full of interesting variations. A great read.

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If Elmer didn't say it, it probably ain't true.