Before reboring you might try loading a few boxes of Nosler 200 grain partitions and shoot them for a season.
There's a lot of wisdom in this post^^^^^^^^^
Oh I know the 30-06 works great. I killed a 150 pound sow with that rifle about five minutes after I took that picture the other evening. (I took the picture in the evening, went hunting, then posted this thread when I got home). So hunting isn't something I do every fall. I am killing stuff all year long. I don't go a week without dropping a couple of pigs.
A sub magnum 338 has intrigued me since I first saw the 338 federal. The 338-06 has just been even more interesting to me. I am thinking about doing one because I have gotten comfortable enough with my reloading that having a cartridge I pretty much have to reload for doesn't worry me anymore. I reload nearly all my hunting ammo these days. The primary advantage to me on the 338-06 isn't that I think it will necessarily kill significantly better. It is more the increased bore size lightening the barrel and getting a little better theoretical performance in a shorter barrel due to the increased bore size allowing for more complete powder burn.
I am glad you have chimed in here though bsa, it was a thread of yours that kind of sent me down this road. You had a thread a while back I think where you did something somewhat similar. I believe it was that thread that I actually saw the comment about doing a hard chrome finish.
