1903 action and 338-06 or 340 howell

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30 January 2006, 04:48

adam5432002

1903 action and 338-06 or 340 howell

I was wondering about putting together a 338-06 or 340 howell on my spare 1903 rifle thats just laying around. Is it possible to rebarrel it for 338 cal because i think both cases are 30-06 bolt faced. Would you recomend this? Would you recomend the 338-06 or the 340 howell?

30 January 2006, 04:54

onefunzr2

I've got a 338-06 and wished I'd had it chambered for the 338 Hawk/Scovil.

The extra long neck isn't needed.

30 January 2006, 06:31

MajorCaliber

The 35 Whelen is the smart choice for a Springfield

30 January 2006, 06:33

ramrod340

Unless you have a long magazine and long throat the extra neck doesn't help much. Plus you must buy brass from them.

I have my own 338 wildcat. More or less a 338Gibbs with an etra gr or two. The Hawk, Gibbs or Howell with give you 50-75 FPS over the 338-06 loaded to the same pressure. Unless you simply want a wildcat do a 338-06 load to 63-65,000 liek the 270 and not look back.

30 January 2006, 07:09

333_OKH

quote:
340 howell

What case is this based off of and what does it provide over the 338-06? I have a333OKH and a 334OKH Magnum.

30 January 2006, 07:46

Lowrider 49

I have a 35 Whelen and a .25-06 on a 1903 and they are both kinda heavy (around 9.5 pounds) but shoot really well with a Douglas barrel. I have one action ready for a barrel and it may become a .338-06 just because I don't have one...I'm running out of standard calibers I don't have.

The year of the .30-06!!
100 years of mostly flawless performance on demand.....Celebrate...buy a new one!!

30 January 2006, 08:10

ramrod340

quote:
What case is this based off of and what does it provide over the 338-06? I have a333OKH and a 334OKH Magnum.

The Howell's non-magnum cases are based on their own design. This is basically a 2.6" 06 case. So you must buy their brass or buy some unformed 06 brass. Run in the die and trim. The Howell and Gibbs have the same capacity. But since the Howell gains much of it via the neck unless you can seat the bullet out you lose net capacity to the Gibbs.

30 January 2006, 19:55

54JNoll

I would think the 338-06 would be the easier of the two. Not sure if you existing mag box is long enough to accomodate the longer Howell. If not it would require more mods.

30 January 2006, 20:41

N. Garrett

Adam,

Since you want to put bigger holes in your target, why not a cartridge that was used in the 1903 back in the '20's?

I vote for the 400 Whelen Improved.

I'm shooting one now...it is a great round.

Garrett

30 January 2006, 21:50

fredj338

I'm a huge .338-06 fan, but how about a 9.3x64? The extra weight of the 03 wuold work great here. A 24" med. wt. bbl. Rigby style stock, express sights, classic.

31 January 2006, 06:48

vigillinus

to see a wonderful9.3x64 Springfield (and a .425 W/R) check out gunbroker.com 42589405.