I have no knowledge about building a wildcat at all. For the buliding a 338-06, not so much a wildcat, what would be the best way to go about achieving this (i dont want to buy a weatherby.) Would i have to find an old 30-06 and then have my gunsmith rebarrel etc. I do know how to make the brass though. Like before i have no knowledge so anything anyone has to offer would be appreciated. Thanks a lot.

-John

You will probably get a lot of replies to this but I'll start off.

Yes, the first thing to do is find a donor rifle. Any long action standard bolt face rifle will do. Ex. 30-06, 270, 25-06 etc. Take it to your 'smith tell him you want a 338-06. Ask for his preferences on brand of barrel and make a decision in that regard. Work out any other details like barrel length and contour, finish, sights, stock (factory or aftermarket, wood vs synthetic), and any other details you might need. And then wait for him to get the work done.

As far as forming brass, I have no first hand experience with the 338-06 but I think that case forming is as simple as running new, lubed 30-06 cases through a .338-06 Full Length sizing die. Several manuals have reload data for the .338-06 and you can find more on the 'net. Sean

I do a lot of Wildcat work, some are OK, some are a royal pain in the butt.

The 338-06 is in reality no longer a wildcat, you can buy properly headstamped brass from Graf & Sons and other suppliers.

I have several "wildcats" in work now, and a 338-06.

I recommend going for one of the more popular "wildcats" as you will likely find a gunsmith that has a reamer, thus you may avoid the reamer cost for something "exotic".

Then you have to think about loading dies. $200 or more for a custom set. (You can buy 338-06 dies for about $50, this is another advantage to using a "wildcat" that is becoming standard).

Wildcats are fun if you want to spend the money.

However, most of us can do with a commercial available cartridge. This has lots of merit if you plan on hunting away from the home base and ever have to buy ammo.

But, if you still are going down the "wildcat" route, best procedure is to first select the wildcat cartridge and the bullet you are mainly interested in. Then make up a dummy round,or have your gunsmith do this, and seat the bullet properly with the base of the bullet at the base of the case neck. This way all the powder capacity will be used for powder, without having a bullet stuck down in the powder space. THEN, and I repeat THEN, select an action with enough magazine length to take the cartridge COL and with the correct bolt face. This way, many potential problems in making the new cartridge feed out of an action are eliminated before the gunsmith starts the work.

Back to the 338-06, just select a rifle to strip for the action with a proper bolt face and magazine length, like a M70 in 30-06 or 270. Figure out how much you want the gun to weigh, and the gunsmith will select a barrel contour. I would go with 10 inch twist, maybe 12 if you shoot the lighter bullets. You want a quality fiberglass stock or a walnut stock, pillar bedded. Drill and tap the receiver scope base screws out to 8-40, install Talley rings & bases. Be sure the action receiver ring is trued and the bolt lugs are trued and lapped. If barrel and action are CrMo, either caustic matt blue, do a rust blue or finish with something like Robar Roguard. If stainless, either matt finish or have a Black Robar Roguard finish.

Easy as Pie!

[ 11-04-2003, 05:51: Message edited by: John Ricks ]

<a comical reply>
first, take lots of money, about 30x what you would pay for just dies for a normal caliber, that does what you want any way...

add 300 bucks for gunsmithing a suitable action, as in a rechamber...

(this assumes you OWN the action)

oh, yeah, and 200 for a barrel...

just to match something that's out there, either as a std round, or someone else's cat.

i know this is on the high side, but it's what it feels like.

jeffe

(also humourous answer) But Jeffe, the bragging rights at the club are worth every penny, compared to what the common peons are shooting, you da' man! LOL - Dan

Dan,
you are 100% correct.. braggin rights.. which is why i built a 257wsm in 2000.

but, for REAL braggin rights... I've got my 500 jeffe.... and can shoot it once in awhile.

yeah, cat's are cool... but just to match factory stuff, it's nice to calm down on the $$$

jeffe

john17,

What John Ricks said just about covers all the bases.........good choice in caliber if you want to hunt the "big" stuff. Your gun--your choice--go for it...and good luck!

Ol' John

Many years ago I got really into this "building the ultimate wildcat" thing. What I learned was very discouraging. It CAN be expensive, although I did it "poor boy style" and tried to stick with everything milsurp.

Still you eventually come face to face with the real issue: WHY? There really wasn't much reason for anything I could think up even years ago. Today there has been the same steady flow of "wildcats" under the bridge which can only lead us to the real issue again: DOUBLE WHY?

Until someone comes out with some radically new technology like special barrel steel, stronger actions, new case designs, new powders with unheard of characteristics....this whole wildcat thing is, quite frankly, much ado about nothing.

An ego trip, if you will.

However, worthless pursuit of not, is it fun? Yes. Worthless or not is it rewarding? Yes, in a spiritual way.

Will the hunting world be a better place because you dreamed up the 257 Thingamajig?

Get a copy of Cartridges of the World and P.O. Ackley's Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders. Then take two aspirin and call me tomorrow. I think you'll be feeling better and the fever broken.

<another comical reply>
I usually start out with a set of dies, or a box of brass I picked up some where for nothing. Then, after looking at them for a number of years, decide its time to build a rifle and see how that sucka shoots.

There's been a lot of wisedom exuded here, John 17.
With few words Pecos seems to have portrayed it well.
I have fathered a number of wildcats since the late 50s and pretty much stayed in the closet and just enjoyed doing it.And that may be the only answer. I did it for me. Only in the last 20 years or so could I really afford it without nickle and dimeing the project. As pointed out the cost of actions, barrels, reamers, dies etc. really add up.

It doesn't appear that you want to go the design route anyway. That's good.

I think the easiest way to get a dandy well accepted, inexpensive wildcat is go the 8M/M 06 route. Get an 8M/MX57 Mauser with a good barrel and stock ($150 to $200) or less. Have a reputable gun smith rechamber it.Make sure he has the reamer. Maybe another $100 or less. While it is at the GS maybe have it drilled and tapped. Bring it home . You give yourself some fun by shaping the wood. Then get an economically priced desent scope and mounts and voila, you have yourself your first wildcat and it will be capable of taking any North American big game. If you like it you can put all the bells and whistles on it later.RCBS can supply dies at a reasonable price. There are others who can supply them cheaper, but they are.

john17: If you already have a .30-06 rifle, talk to Pac-Nor, or E.R. Shaw. For under $300.00 they can sell you and install a .338-06 barrel.

But if you have to buy a rifle to re-barrel to .338-06, then it would cost you a little over than twice as much. In this case, I would buy a Weatherby Ultra Lightweight .338-06 A-Square. This rifle would cost you over $1,100, but it weights a little over six pounds, has a fluted stainless barrel, and a Weatherby synthetic stock. A local gun shop was asking $1,200.00 for one, so perhaps you could get a better deal if you don't buy from Weatherby.

You can see it here:
http://www.weatherby.com/rifles/lw_ultralightweight.shtml

[ 11-23-2003, 22:22: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

Actually Bubba, I've built at least half a dozen 'cats that way. "Ooh, look at the deal on these dies, yeah, gotta have 'em." A while later, it's "Man I have to find an action to build that (fill in blank here) on." Yup, that's the way it works alright. - Dan