I have two Weatherby 30-06's (long story) and would like to convert one to 338-06. I have absolutely no idea about things like this and have a few questions. Is it a pretty simple process to rebarrel the action? Can you get a barrel to match the old barrel contour so that you can use the same stock? (both stocks are gorgeous) Can the bluing be matched or does the gunsmith reblue the action to match the new barrel? Who besides Pac-nor does this kind of work?

Thanks in advance.

Kynadog,

Rebarreling the Weatherby 30/06 for 338/06 is a straight forward job. Barrels can be ordered to closely match the existing barrel contour so that stock fitting is very minimum. It is preferable to blue the barrel and receiver at the same time to get a match. Any gunsmith who installs barrels should be able to do the job for you.

Malm

Yes to the first two questions.
Not sure about blueing the barrel to match the action to perfection. But I know a good gunsmith can get very close. Probably wouldn't cost much more to have the whole thing done any way.
Pac-Nor (and most other makers) will match your contour but there again if you want perfection you will have to send the barrel. Also your Weatherby barrel my be common and not need to be sent in. Thes are ? for your barrel maker/gunsmith.
Depending on where you are in Texas you might give my gunsmith a call.
David Christman
216 Rundell Loop rd.
Delhi LA.
71232
(318) 878-1395
He does excellent work.
By the way I hope ya'll don't mind me giving Mr. David all these plugs. He�s just a great friend and has helped me out a lot.

Kynadog as you've already been told, the barrel contour can be matched up very closely but it won't be exact unless the barrel is sent to the barrel maker so they can match the profile. I sent a Remington Sendaro barrel to Lothar Walther at their request as they had no Sendaro profile to go by at the time. The Sendaro barrels from LW are profiled off the barrel I sent them. The fit is perfect. I polish the entire rifle to the customers desired finish then have it blued by another local gunsmith friend. The bluing will match up. I quite bluing after doing it for 25 years. The caustic fumes were getting to me. I still do all the polishing & detailing my self. Hope this helps.


[ 12-22-2002, 18:42: Message edited by: Bear Claw ]

Think this over again. What bullet will you shoot out of a .338/06? Perhaps the 210 Nosler Partition would come up as a choice.

Now look at the bullet choices for the 30/06. There is a 200 gr Nolsler Partition that can be driven at 2688 fps with a Ci of .481! Now look in the same Nosler #5 and find that the .338/06 shoots the 210 Partition at 2690 fps and it's coefficient of form is only .400!

These are only numbers but they do show that at 200 yards the 30/06 will hit with 2387 fpe and the .338/06 will hit with 2377 fpe. Furthermore the 30/06 will shoot the 220 gr .30 cal Partition at 2600 fps.

Now these are the published numbers. We know that, in general, larger bores with the same case will drive similar bullets faster but in this case with the same brand barrels we find a labratory result will similar performance.

One thing for sure if you go ahead with this is that you will be out $600 and still have a heavy Mark V with no CRF. This is not even my second choice action for numerous reasons. The barrel and installation will cost at least $400, bluing more and the rest will be lost on resale value.

You will get almost immediate delivery if you just sell one of those Weatherbys and buy a Weatherby in .338/06! They make new rifles in that caliber.

Savage 99,

All good points. A rational person would follow your advice. But who among us is totally rational when it comes to spending $$ on our guns? A few things have swayed me. I already have 3 30-06's: two Weatherby and one pre-64 model 70. The Weatherby I am thinking of converting is not a Mark V but an old Vanguard. I also thought about getting a new 338-06 from Weatherby but they only make the gun in synthetic stocks (I need wood. Besides, I need a new "project".

Try the .30-06 vs .338-06 comparison using the 250 grain bullet in the .338-06 . A 250 grain .338" at a sedate 2500 fps will penetrate and kill far better than its paper ballistics indicate. Beleive Me. I have first hand experience with this.

I did basically what you want to do. I used a new M70 though and had Lilja do me a same contour and length barrel which precluded any stock work. Mine has worked out very well.

FN in MT

Personal cartridges are fun for some. It's an industry to promote one or the other. That has been going on forever it seems.

Go ahead and have fun. Myself I find hunting much harder than what cartridge is in my rifle.

The WSM cartridges have created a lot of interest. It's not hard to predict that the 338/06 will be forgotten soon.

Kynadog,

You can also have the existing barrel rebored to .338, and rechambered to .338-'06. I bought a Tradewinds Mauser once uopon a time that had been so converted.

jim dodd

Frank's right... cartridges like the 338-06 don't "show well" on paper.

My 22" re-barreled 338-06 M70 shot 210's at 2,780 fps. 225's at 2,700 and 250's at 2,550. Funny, but in the several 338 WM's I've owned (22" bbl's) I've never gone above 2,850 fps with 225's or 2,675 with 250's... that's a 150 fps advantage over the 338-06. Not insignificant, but not huge either. Course the 338 WM requires ten or so grains more powder to get those 150 fps... that IS significant.

As a 300 WSM user, I'd sooner have the 338-06 over the 338 WSM. From what I've been told, the 338 WSM dimensions have been changed (shoulder moved back) from its original dimesions (a basic necked-up 300 WSM) and will now have less case capacity. Sooo, if it ever comes out its advantages over the 338-06 will be negligable. The 338-06 will hold five rounds in a M70 and feed like slippery sausages if made correctly. The WSM will hold three. Perfect feeding with the WSM's, while not impossible (mine feeds VERY well now), is more difficult and requires everything to be "just so."

Go for the 338-06... I doubt you'll be unhappy. It's as pleasant shooting a round as I've ever had and it's a nice looking cartridge to boot!

Brad

Kynadog,
HunterJim beat me to it with boring your existing barrel. An advatage of this is that you do not have to recontour the barrel to match, nor do you have to reblue. Cliff LaBounty does this but his costs will be very near what a new barrel will run. There is a guy in Oregon who took over Bob Wests reboring business who does it cheaper. It is a very viable alternative.

I tend to shy away from building any wildcats and the only one I have is a 338/06. I did it a few years ago when the word was out that it was going to be brought out by one of the major manufacturers. Well the ammo has arrived but the onslaught of production rifles has not. It is a great round and as Franks says it does things in the upper bullet weight range that the 06 owners can only dream of.

One problem you will want to consider if you were to choose to have the barrel rebored is the very likelihood of warpage. Over time a barrel will develope internal stresses from the continual heating, cooling and pressure of shooting.

When you start removing metal as in re-contouring, fluting and reboring, you begin to relieve these stresses as you begin to peel away the layers and you run the likely risk of having things go south when you least expect it. This is not always the case as I've seen some rather exceptional accuracy from rebores, but on the other side of the coin I've seen some loose and out of whack bores as well. You need make yourself aware of all possible consequences before you plunk down good money.

One other thing to consider when seeking a 338/06, if you want to boost performance a bit then you might consider the Improved version.

Malm

Pac-Nor, E.R. Shaw and others can do all the work needed. You will have to give them a call to tell them what you need, and then you have to remove the stock and send the barreled action. Sometimes they require that you send the bolt. They can even "blueprint" the action for you. I believe it will cost you under $300.00 if the work is done by Pac-Nor or Shaw. Pac-Nor has a web site, I believe.

What you get in addition to a plain .30-06 when you rebarrel to .338-06 is a greater punch from the heavier .33 bullets. You won't lose much velocity with the right bullets. There is nothing wrong with a 225-grain XLC FB out of a .338-06 barrel from 2,500 to 2,600 fps.

[ 12-23-2002, 00:20: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

Don't limit yourself to the 338-06. As stated, there's the Ackley Improved version with a 40 degree shoulder. But there are others to consider: The .338-.270HGT or .280 Rem blown out to .338 both of which have shorter necks. Or the 338 Scovill, or 338 Hawk from Fred Seglin at www.z-hat.com. All of these get the most velocity and efficiency from the basic '06 style case. To fit and chamber any of these should run about the same price.

Ray, where did you get that 225 Barnes XLC RL22 load from? I can't even find a listing for RL22.
The fastest I can crank out uncoated 225's is 2600 using VV N550.

Great points guys, but Kynadog said, "I would like to convert to 338-06" He didn't ask our opinions of the caliber choice, just is the operation relatively simple.

One would assume he realized there would be little advantage with the "light for caliber" 210gr. bullets. The reason I've considered this was to drive bullets of 225 or more likely 250gr. weight to a reasonable velocity. This has a clearly beneficial impact on the round's effectiveness on game. The larger diameter allows heavier bullets to fit the same overall length, and magazine well. The choice of 338-06 sounds pretty good as it is now a factory loading.

Kynadog, I am interested in your results.

Safe Hunting

Clint-- You're right, he didn't ask, but he DID say he had abbsolutely no idea about things like this. I've got a 338-06 AI and now that I see what other possibilities are out there to be had on the '06 case I think I'd probably go with something else now. Probably the Hawk or Scovill as they get the mostest from the case design. But I'm not about to pay another $250+ to have the barrel set back, rechambered and a new set of dies. Not worth it at this juncture.

Ray-- It's not there now, you must have edited out the RL22 recipe from your original post, but thanks for the other info. I don't have the Barnes manual #3 yet. I invested in 500 of the 225's recently so I don't think I'll be getting any of those 210's any time soon. BTW, I'm using Lapua brass, maybe that's why I get 2600fps with no pressure signs.

Re: speed difference of 338-06 vs 338 Scovill
Here is an example for 210 Nosler Partition.

338-06--- -- 2743 using IMR4320 max load

338 Scovill-- 2853 using RL15 max load

It's about the same difference for other bullets.
I don't have any load info for the 338 Hawk, but think it should be very close to the Scovill.

Merry Christmas!