Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 338-06 and Elk

Fellas:

My in-laws live in Ruidoso, NM and my wife's stepfather is an avid hunter as are lots of folks out there. He tells me the 338-06 is steadily gaining in popularity amongst elk hunters. I'm wondering if anyone else is discovering this in the West?

This is a job for Tracks........



Casey

Don't know if it is gaining popularity but I know people that use it. It is a fine choice for elk.

I dont know about out west but its gaining interest rapidly in the midwest as it is one outstanding cartridge..........

" Steadily gaining popularity" might be a bit of a stretch, it has its followers, and some interest for the future... It is an excellent cartridge-one of the best- for elk sized critters...
Ingwe

I'm not the board expert on the 338-06 but I do love the thing. Easy to load for, pushes 210 at a nice rate, and I''ve seen it penetrate darn near the length of a cow.

I bought one that I found in a gun store in Cody, WY, about 8 or 9 years ago. It is one of the rifles that goes to elk camp with me every year and I have taken two bulls with it--both with 200 grain Ballistic Tips.

Mine is a bit unusual. It's a Ruger No. 1-A that someone rebarreled. Except for the 23-inch barrel, it looks like a factory stock 1-A. I really wanted one of the Weatherby Mk.Vs, but never ran across one other than in the Weatherby display at the RMEF Elk Camp the year that it was in Albuquerque.

I haven't run across any other rifles chambered for this round in my occasional perusing of the used gun racks or at the two or three gun shows that I attend each year, so I can't say that it is common down my way yet.

I've got one and the only thing I don't like about my rifle is it is a little heavy. I picked it up used in 2004, and unfortunatly I haven't connected with an elk with it. Most of the time on a hike I'll carry my .270 as it is a much lighter rifle and the one I seem to have when I find my elk.

My rifle will push 200 grain Horady SP 2900 fps (56.5 grains RL15) sub 1" if I do my part on the trigger for three shots. I finally killed a pronghorn doe with this rifle at 200 yards, now just need that elk. I've been nothing but impressed by how my rifle shoots and with a 200/210 bullet it should make a fine elk rifle.

My buddy and I handload for his Weatherby in 338-06. That round is fantastic. I think it would be perfect for elk inside of 300 yards. It's not gonna set any speed records, but with 210gr Noslers the groups we shoot are inside a dime all the time. I'll be buying or building one very soon. Using 30-06 brass, it's very easy to load for and IMHO yields magnum performance.

CLB

I dont know how much popularity it is gaining but its real popular with me. I consider the trio consisting of the 35 Whelen, the 338/06, and the 9.3 X 62 to be about the top of the heap for the kind of elk hunting I do.

Been using the 338/06 and the 35 whelen since 1987.
Elk hit the dirt pretty quick.

T

I have one. Yeah its a great cartridge. With the 200 grain NAB going 2900 fps its like a hammer. 2900 with a 200 grain bullet is about what a 300 win. mag. will do. My gun also likes 225 grain Nosler Partitions at 2700 fps.

I use Norma brass, I do not see any psi signs. When I was working up a load, I just stopped when she shot good.
It rates an A+ with me.

Here is mine.



Have a good day.

My first magazine article was in Handloader and it was about the .338-'06. At the time, I had used the round for many years and it had proved to be suck a great elk and bear cartridge that I was simply compelled to write the article.

I used the .338-'06 for many more years and it always did everything I asked of it. Bears and elk are simply dead meat.

I never used bullets heavier than 210-grains. Over the years, I used the Winchester 200-grain Power Point (great bullet), the 200-grain Hornady Spire Point, the 200-grain Speer Spitzer and the 210-grain Nosler Partition. They all worked wonderfully.

It kills the heck out of big mule deer, too.

The .338-'06 is a fabulous cartridge. Period.

Steve

I gotta try a 338-06 one of these days...

The 338-06 Ack is my primary elk rifle. I use the Swift 210 gr Scirocco and Rel 15, Fed 210M primers

Mine should be good....developing loads with 225gr Accubonds and TTSX's for my Sako m75 Greywolf 338-06AI. Been hearing RL15 or 4064 is the powder to use.




Just finished fireforming brass/breaking in barrel using H414. GOing to use it on spring bear this season and a bull elk this fall-unless I get one with my bow.

No elk, but mine has taken caribou/moose in NWT(225 partitions), brown bear in Alaska (250 aframes) and is going as plains game rifle to Africa in fifty days shooting 210 gr TTSX. Rifle is pre 64 FWT bored to 338-06 and comes in fully loaded at just south of 8 lbs. Shoots all three bullets noted above into 3/4 or better. Gotta luv it!

It deserves to be more popular than it is. But I bet that there is twenty 338 Win Mags for every 338/06 out there

I seriously wanted a .338-06 but I didn't want to get rid of the action I had (mag bolt face) and try to find another M70 LH to build it--so I went .338 Win. Poor me

Couldn't that suggest that the 338'06 is growing in popularity... I mean how many people are getting rid of their Win Mags compared to how many are ridding themselves of their '06s ? (yes, that is an example of the addage, "figures don't lie, but liars figure!)

I've got a thing for this cartridge as well. I took one on as my bench project rifle for the winter and it is nearly completed. A Savage 110 rebarreled with a Shaw aftermarket from Brownells, Gun-Koted in matte SS in a laminate stock. The only thing I didn't do on the project was cut the 24" barrel down to 22" and add target crown; that was done by my 'smith.

I have high hopes for the rifle... higher for the cartridge. My 'smith is holding a Mark X action on which I plan to build a lighter-weight 338'06 for elk. The Savage I've built for black bear.

I figure that if I have an elk rifle I'm more likely to get out West for a hunt... my wife may not buy that logic, but it motivates me !!!