Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .338-06 real world effectiveness.

At one time I owned 308, 30-06, 338-06, 35 Whelen and a 300 magnum all at the same time. The 338-06 shot 225's to the same speed as 200's from a 30-06 with significantly more recoil. The 300 magnum shot 200 and 220 gr bullets to the same speed as 200 and 225 gr 338 and 35 caliber bullets with the exact same recoil.

The 338-06/225 shows a slight edge in energy over 30-06/200 at the muzzle, but the better SD and BC of the 30-06/200 means better penetration at any range, flatter trajectory and more energy at longer ranges. With considerably less recoil. The difference in a .308 hole and a.338 hole is about the thickness of 2-3 sheets of paper.

The 300wm/200 or 220 at the same muzzle velocity as 338-06/200 or 225 generates the same recoil, penetrates deeper, shoots a lot flatter, and hits with a lot more energy downrange.

I sold both the 338/06 and 35 Whelen and later even the 300 magnum. There is a reason both 338-06 and 35 Whelen are niche rounds that will never become mainstream. And advancements in bullets make even less important.

It isn't that they don't kill stuff, they do. And both the 338-06 and 35 Whelen shoot flat enough for most anyone. But with bullets 225 gr or less they simply don't offer anything but more recoil over 30-06. And with the same recoil are a step down compared to 300 magnum. If you move up to bullets 270-300 gr then I think either of them start to separate from 30-06 or 300 WM. But how many use those bullet weights, and if I need bullets that heavy it is time to move up to 375.

It would be interesting to compare the 9.3 286 vs a 338 225 up to 300 yds in penetration and wound channel where much game is taken.

No doubt a 180/200 PT in 30 might surprise many with modern powders. Finn Aaggard found a 200 matched or bettered a 215 in penetration.
He and Steve Timm IIRC wrote a good bit on the OKH/338-06.

What 06/200 speeds are you getting in 22”?

Not to make a horse race but suffice to say from experience the 338 dumps game but most rounds will when good bullets hit vitals. The 338 no doubt delivers with room to spare. Frontal area may affect wound channel and energy transfer more than the .030 diff might suggest but yes a 30 has better LR #’s when you get on out there.

Just, you succinctly described what I have been trying to say for 30 years. Among effective cartridges there is so much ballistic overlap today that one is about as good as the other. A peek at the history of cartridges pretty much confirms most good ones are based on three cartridges, the 30-06, 8 X 57 and 375 H&H. If a fella recognizes the -06 is actually based off the 8 X 57 most are off two cartridges. Sure, there's a lot of other designs that are good, who can doubt that? By and large those in most common use today came from either the 8 X 57 or 375 H&H.

Yep.. I know first hand how hard it is to beat the great .30-06 in the field.

I do disagree with the recoil comparisons... granted I’ve only shot 1 .338-06 in my life but it kicks way less than ANY .300 Win Mag I’ve owned and I’ve owned quite a few. Again, could be just my rifle though.

I also can’t get internet velocity out of my 30-06’s.. 2750 with 180’s is about as good as I can get with the few ought six’s I own. I bet I could get that with 225 grainers in the 338-06 if I push the envelope... no need for 66 FPS gain. I’m the first to admit a good 180 at 2750 will kill anything I point it at.

But the 338 version is still a very viable field rifle and capable at distance..

Thanks again for the good conversation.

Todd

My father and I have a couple of 338WinMag rifles that we cut to 22" and load a bit light. 200/210gr stuff at 2,800-2,850fps is rather effective without beating up the shoulder too badly......

That's the simpler way to 338-06 performance.

Only shot deer with my 338-06, a built gun on a FN action and a 24" Douglas barrel with a BC stock. 200 gr Horn SP's do the job on deer for sure. Doesn't seem to kick anymore than any of my 30-06's with 180's. I think you will do well with yours. MB

I had two .338-06s over the years that I used exclusively to hunt elk. One was a rebarreled Remington 700 and the other was a rebarreled Ruger No. 1-A. I got tired of case forming and traded or sold both, acquiring a 9.3x62 and a 9.3x74R. I think that the the 9.3s were marginally better on elk, but not so much that I came to prefer one over the other when it came to terminal performance. I decided to go back to lightweight rifles and traded or sold off the 9.3s.

About four years ago, a friend was dispersing his rifle collection and I was gifted a beautiful custom Mauser chambered for an "improved" version of the .338-06. It has a longer barrel (26-inch) than I like and it is heavier than I like, but I have felt obliged to take it hunting, and it has gone to elk camp with me every year for the last three years. I have also taken a custom pre-64 Model 70 Featherweight chambered in .30-06 and have hunted with each rifle on different days. For elk, I load 180 or 200 ABs in the '06 and 200 ABs or 185 TTSXs in the .338. These are the bullets that shoot the best each in each of these rifles.

My conclusion from all of this is that I can't quantify any difference in terminal performance between all of the rifles mentioned above. A rifle that is accurate and feels good in the hands, chambered for any of those rounds, will reliably kill elk and deer out to 300 or so yards--about as far as I let myself shoot these days.

I had one of the Weatherby's and liked it well enough although it was hard on brass. I liked the trigger on that rifle but not the safety. I like a three position safety. The formed 30-06 brass seemed to stretch ahead of the base and I wasn't sure what if anything to do about it.

I finally came to the same conclusion Lotech did and moved on. With the bullets we used years ago, it had a place. With bullets and powder of today, I don't think it does any more. It will do anything a 30-06 will do and nothing it won't. Nothing wrong with it at all, to me it fills a niche which isn't really there.

I traded Justahunter that rifle, for three awesome custom hunting knives! The way he's shooting it I might just regret it though. However, I did have Kevin Weaver build another on a New Haven M70 Classic Stainless Steel action. I used a Pac-Nor #3 Super match barrel 1:10 twist 3 groove, and had it bedded into a McMillan Edge stock. After I topped it off with a VX3 2.5-8X36, light weight Talley's, 5 rounds down, and nylon sling it weighs 8 lbs 9 oz ready to hunt. Not the lightest out there but not unwieldy either.

The rifle was showing great potential up until I shattered my leg in September 2015, and I haven't messed with it since. I need to get it out and hunt with it, but didn't have any real hunts this year where I needed it.

I used 30-06 once fired brass with a 1 pass thru a Redding full length sizing die. It has a tapered expander plug. CCI 200's and 760 powder start load to fire form, the first time thru the bullets were seated out to engage the rifling for positive case contact on the bolt face. No problems with excessive stretching for mine. MB

Taylor,
I like the looks of that. I hope you get to put her to work soon. 😎

"Shattered my leg" how the heck did you do that?





P

Few thoughts. After my experience with mine I was left with the impression it was a solid killer with less bloodshot meat than high vel mags. Also you get 5 rounds. Lastly, consider the history when Elmer Keith loaded 275’s in his OKH. Likely a close mirror of a 9.3 which is what I would build today if I wanted a long non-mag, mid-bore. Knowing I’d give up trajectory.

I have used my 338-06 (Kimber Montana) for a few years now. It is just over 6 pounds scoped and with 4+1 with 250 a frames at 2500 fps its what I will use on Kodiak brown bears. Thus far its worked just fine on caribou, moose, and grizzly with 210 sciroccos at 2830 fps out of its 21" barrel. Recoil is stout in that light of a rifle yes but its plenty accurate for my needs. Yes a 30-06 with a 180 at the same velocities would work as well....but I actually don't own a 30-06 so 338-06 it is. And weighs 2 pounds less with a scope than my 338WM w/o a scope.

A 250gr at 2500 probably won't shoot up too much of the edibles either one would think.

Probably a thumper on bears too, I'd imagine. Sounds like a nice rig, Alaska.

That is a cool mountain rifle for hunting big things! I’ll bet it does kick just a wee bit!

I have owned various 338-06's.

My favorite ran a 210gr TSX at 2850fps. There is nothing on this continent that I would hesitate to use it on, and only a few in Africa that I would hesitate on.

Longest shot was 275 yards on a 6x6 elk.

I played with 180's to 275's, and settled on 200-210gr. Hornady IL, NP and TSX.

I have the parts to build another since I sold my last one to a very good friend. Model 70 stainless classic action, McM edge, Shilen stainless #3 1:9 twist, will cut at 22" and flute to shave some weight. I hope to work a load with 210 TSX or TTSX and call it good.

That is a really nice mountain rifle in grizzly country. It can do it all........