Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Can you tell me about the 338-06 for elk and mule deer?

I'm researching this caliber and I know little about it, some of the info states that it is a 300 yard cartridge and other state that it is good out to 500-600 yards. All my shots will be 500 yards in or less probably using a 215 grain Sierra Gameking or a 210 grain Barnes TTSX. Thanks for the help.

Can't see how one would achieve better ballistics than with the .30-06.
Maybe slightly more shocking power...otherwise slower...heavier. Less of a long range round, imho.

I am on my third one, and it does a very good job on both elk and mule deer. However, I don't shoot much beyond 300 yards, and it's a rare occasion when I shoot that far. I have used 200 Ballistic Tips, 210 Partitions and Sciroccos , and 200 and 225 AccuBonds. All have produced one-shot kills on elk. I have some 185 TTSXs loaded up, but haven't had a chance to get out and shoot them yet. I expect that they will perform just as well.

That said, it would not be my first choice if i was expecting to take a lot of shots beyond 300. That's what the .300 Win Mag is for.

Yep, my thoughts exactly.

My only kill with a 338-06 was a cow elk last fall, 185gr GMX at 2780fps, range 400 yds.
The scope was a Burris E1 and it worked well in the sagebrush flats.
Shooting at a known distance (laser) and being able to place the shot via a holdover reticle or dialing makes it more workable for me regardless of the cartridge.

A buddy had suggested I take the 7Mag or 300Win and was surprised with my choice but he is used to a duplex scope and guesstimate for range and holdover.
My rifles are all setup a little differently than his, but they work for me...

This is how the 338-06 works on game.

I'd say 300 is seriously underestimating the .338-06. While bullet drop is more than a speedster, a 225g AB launched at 2600fps retains 1883fps and 1772fpe at 500 yards. If you want to stick with a minimum 2000fps it is a 400 yards load.

That clip looks familiar somehow..

Not slower at all. A 30-06 will push on average a 200 grain bullet 2500-2600 fps. a 338-06 will push a 200 grain bullet 2750-2900 fps. The lower BC of the lighter .338 caliber bullets could be a handicap if the range was extreme.

I was wondering if you would notice..

I've prolly killed more elk with the .338-'06 than most. It fuggin' kills elk DEAD. No fanfare, no bullshit ... just dead.

Yes, I'd sooner hunt elk with a .338-'06 with a 200-grain @ 2,750 than a .30-'06 shooting a 180 at 2,700 fps. Marginal difference, but a difference.

Blessings,

Steve

Steve what 200gr bullets did you use?

"Lighter" bullets? I'm missing something.....
The advantage with the .338-06 is due to the increased pressure and *more powder*.

Physics are what they are...no free lunch.

I have killed exactly one elk, a 5x6 bull, with the 338-06 and it work very well. I was using a 210 gr. Barnes TSX at a tad over 2700 fps and with a quartering shot it entered the left side just behind the ribs and exited in front of the right shoulder. Bull stumbled down the hill and went down within 100 yards.

The area we were in had lots of grizzly and I felt very comfortable carrying the 338-06 over say a 30-06 or even a 300 mag.

Now, would the results on that bull be similar with the 30-06 or 300 mag, maybe.

It is my current postulate that the more you open up the diameter of the bullet as compared to the diameter of the brass powder charge. I guess more bearing surface of the bullet to charge? The more efficient that the rifle caliber will show in terminal performance. It is just having to use heavier bullets to match ballistic coefficient make excessive recoil an issue. I wonder if there needs to be some neck in down how ever as I have not studied or seen man straight wall case cartrudges/ calibers.

"Lighter" for caliber. The 200 grain class bullets which shine in the 338-06, don't have a very good BC compared to the 225 and up .338 caliber bullets. The lighter .338 caliber bullets also suffer in BC compared to the 200 gr .308 caliber bullets.

In your first post you had it backwards, the 338-06 is not slower and heaver. It is faster and heavier.

More bearing surface in the 30=06 case makes a difference.

If you are building a 338-06 you can have it throated to sit 225 grain accubonds farther out of the case. 60-61 grains of h4350 will push 225 grain accubond 2700-2750fps out of a 24" barrel but you may need a drop tube to get it in there. That to me is no slouch

broomd,

Have been trying to figure out your ballistic point, but the basic internal ballistics rule is that the same case necked to .338 is capable of about 5% more muzzle velocity, with the same-weight bullets, than the same case in .30 caliber at the same pressure.

Which means that if the the .30-06 can get 2650 with a 200-grain bullet in a 24" barrel (easy in my experience, and shown in published data at 60,000 PSI) then the .338-06 is capable of around 2780 fps at the same pressure. With 220-225's the .338-06 is easily capable of 2650-2700, or about the same velocity as the .30-06 with 200's.

A lot of people use "hard" bullets in the .338-06, because they believe they're somehow "better", but my experience is that the 200-grain Speer Hot-Cor and 225 Hornady Interlock Spire Point work very well at .338-06 velocities. They both penetrate sufficiently and kill quickly--which agrees with Dogzapper's experience, which doesn't surprise me.

Does the .338-06 kill differently than the .30-06? In my experience, maybe. But then that applies to hundreds of cartridges, as long as the bullets open and penetrate sufficiently.

Its interesting that a 30-06 case necked either up or down gets all the raves but the '06 itself is 1000x more popular.

My .338 is a 22” WM and it pushes a 225g AB to 2742fps with H100V. In 2013 I used it to take a cow at 487 yards. With a 24” barrel you should be able to get about 2675fps with the 225g AB (per Hodgdon) and 2775fps with a 210g TTSX (per Barnes). At those velocities the 225g will deliver about 2094fps/2191fpe and the 210g will deliver about 2073fps/2017fpe at 500 yards. With a MPBR zero for a 6” target, the 210g will be down 37” and the 225g 39” at that range.

I went with the 225g AB because of the extra energy at longer ranges but put either one in the zone and they will do the job at 500.