Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 338/06 or AI'd how do you like yours?

Spot on description from another site IMO and it's one of my favorite shooters,plenty of punch, great inherent accuracy with any pill from 160-225.The "AI" IMO is insignificant for practical hunting scenarios as the standard round is more than adequate,just happened to stumble on the AI barrel for a great price.

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Re: 338-06 AI

I suspect that its lack of popularity is simply due to the fact that it doesn't fit any of the marketing strategies used to sell "sizzle" to the general public. It's not an Ultra or a short mag. It's not a magical, short, fat cartridge. It's not tacticool. You won't see it on Best of the West flooring bull elk at 1000 yards.

The 338-06 has all the workmanlike traits of its parent case. It is reliable, accurate, gives solid terminal performance, easy to load for, easy component availability. To a rifle crank like me, those are all desirable traits.

To the uninitiated, it's boring. Maybe even inadequate, since it doesn't have the word "magnum" anywhere in its name. After all, everyone knows that if it's not a good anti-tank round, it can't possibly be any good for big game in North America.

I'm going to make it even worse by putting it in a Mauser.

Who wants one of those? Yuck! They are old, heavy, inaccurate, obsolete junk that only a hillbilly would want and even they have sense enough to prefer a good SKS. Everybody knows that a serious rifleman carries a Remington 700.

The .338-06 is impressive enough as-is. I build most of my commissioned rifles on Mauser 98 actions, thus, the non-AI version is typically a lot more straight forward to build with regards to feeding. And, the std case allows for one more cartridge to be housed in the magazine.

The negligible velocity increase you might get from an AI will never be noticed by a game animal.

Very efficient cartridge with workman-like performance. Mine is a REBORED pre64 M70 that was originally an '06. It was restocked in French walnut and checkered in a wrap around fleur-de-lis pattern. I shoot 210 Nosler PTs and have shot elk and moose with it and never needed more than one shot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v323/WyoHunter1/33806resize.jpg

Mine is on a Winchester classic action with a fluted Brux #5 @ 24 inches bedded into a manners MCS-t. I couldn't get the 210 PT's to group worth a crap with 3 different powders so I went to the 225 AB with RL-15 and got a 1 hole group at 100 yds.

225gr Hornady's in the non AI version. Shoot right at 1" with or so with not much trouble hope to whack a deer this year with one after I bloody the Whelen first.

Mike

L to R: .270 Win, .30-06 SPRG, .338-06, .35 Whelen








Virgin brass on the .30-06 and .35 hence the rolly polly shoulders.

Mike

I have the AI version. Started to work loads up.

Flyboy I'm glad I had it made. It's on a Remington 700 action. Have shot a large bull Moose and Elk with it now. I will stick with 210gr Swift Scirocco's. Cannot for the life of me figure out why it hasn't enjoyed more success as a cartridge.
I share the same sentiments as you with this particular rnd. It just isn't cool or glitzy enough I guess.
But all kidding aside, it shoots oh so close to my 270, which shoots 140gr pills quite flat. The differences in drop would surprise most.

Love both of mine, and my .25-06, a couple of .270's, .30-06, .35 Whelen. I even owned a .280 and 8mm-06 for several years.

03-A3 Springfield



7lb 9oz all up M70 Winchester Classic!

Mine is a rebored Model 70, that I got new right after hunting season was over in Montana, from the local Walmart in Butte.. for $288.00 It was rebored by Bob West in Eugene Oregon...

Testing it against a friends 338/06 AI, mine has a faster MV than his does with all bullet weights...when he rebarreled his, he just went with the regular 338/06 next time...

I tend to shoot 225 and 250 grain bullets out of mine, as I don't need it to duplicate the 30/06, as I have a batch of those..

but since I had mine done, the 338 Win Mags don't see much action outside of the gunsafe....

my most common load for elk, and I hunt mainly in timber, is a 250 grain RN from Hornady, at 2650 fps, with a stiff charge of H 380...

for going retro, when loaded with SR 4759, and using a 200 grain bullet, one can duplicate the old 33 Winchester, for an MV of 2400 fps... recoils more like a 308...but is very accurate..

2 x 7 Leupold shotgun scope resides on top...


using 280 brass instead of 06 brass ( the chamber has to be able to accept it), you can gain another 100 fps or equal a 338 Win Mag.... loaded one for a friend who went that route..
but he still had it labeled as a 338/06, when it was really a 338/280....

I've always thought the ideal chamberings for any big game in the lower 48 would be a 6.5/280 and a 338/280...

I have a 338-06 my favorite bullet weight is the 225.

It's good medicine for critters.

I like my AI version with either 215 SGK over Re-15 or 230 Fail Safes over W760

Have had both. No real difference but the AI case looks better. I have a set of AI dies if you are interested.

I have been hunting with the plain old 338-06 since 1995. Multiple elk, black bear, a grizzly, a nilgai, a few deer and hogs have dropped to it rather nicely. I cannot see how one can improve on the round.

Nice rifles fellas.Just recently been messin with the Barnes 160 TTSX as "I feel the need for speed" after my initial indoctrination of heavies under 3K. This offering barks on the heels of the WM out of my 28" tube but of course doesn't carry the holy grail BC that the bigger heavies do. I've never been anal or get worked up much over lower BC's as these bullets have been killing critters effectively without the hype therefore I let my top turret do its job.Think this Barnes offering will be good to go for deer or speed goats out to 500+.

I very much like mine. It's not an AI and runs on regular. It's over kill for the small Mississippi white tail I hunt with it but who cares. Mine really likes the Hornady 200gr SST's.

That sir is one incredibly great looking rifle!

Very nice looking rifle you have built!

Explain please! Once it's fireformed what difference does it make? Have you got it throated longer or something?

Mike

I form strictly Winchester '06 cases with an intermediate .323 explander,probably not necessary but haven't split a neck yet after multiple reloadings and haven't needed to trim either.