Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 338 Wby RPM

I have fiddled with the 338-06 std and AI. Just got a box of once fired Wby cases. Significantly more case capacity than either. Nearly same as 7 RM. What the 06 based cartridges always wanted to be!

If I didn't already have a lightweight .338 Win. Mag., I'd spring for the RPM. Very similar velocities to the Win. Mag., just a shorter, lighter rifle. I have a 6.5 RPM that I love.

Right down the rabbit hole you go

Scotty
I am an addict
Rick

Neck it up to .358 and you would have something

I've got a Ruger Hawkeye Compact Stainless All Weather in 338 RCM and it's nigh on to perfect. Exactly the power level I wanted in a .338, but very noticeably lighter weight and much easier to maneuver in the thick stuff.

Neck to 358?
then I would severely limit bullet choices…truly terrible idea

You've never used a .358 have you

180, 200, 220, 225, 250, 280, 310 this is a pretty good selection

Why? I have killed elk with both the 35 Whelen and the 338-06 and observed zero difference. Of course the same can be said for my last bull taken with a Kimber Montana 270 Win.

Knowing RinB well, I suspect he's tweaking the Campfire's "medium-bore" advocates--or maybe actually trolling....

Yes, yes, yes. And no rebated rim or stupid belt!

I will stick with my 338-06's. Thank you very much.

Didn't you post one time that you thought increased effectiveness started at .358 bullet diameter?

Yeah--and Phil Shoemaker's experience is similar. We've discussed it some....

I've used the 35 Whelen on the last 12 animals that I've taken and it flat out puts them on the ground. It is a killer for sure. In fact until one has used it, it is impossible to realize the 35's effectiveness

The Wby RPM in 6.5mm and .338 does nothing different on game animals that the 6.5 PRC and the old 338 Win Mag does. The 338 Win Mag as I have done many times can be loaded down or up depending on your needs. Recoil can be controlled with rifle weight, stock fit and loadings. The RPM, while effective, offers nothing over the 338 Win Mag and a bit less in horsepower. The belt aspect is a non issue, at least for me, I’ve never had a problem feeding 338 Win Mag loadings, either mine or off the shelf. Wby is reinventing itself, as they’ve done several times in the past with many changes including their actions. They need a way to cut cost and induce profit all while offering the latest and so called greatest cartridges and rifles. They have undoubtedly played an instrumental part in big game hunting and big game rifles, especially when it comes to DG offerings. God bless them, however nothing they offer, especially at their price points are attractive to me. I could build a better custom rifle for $3K any day. Only one man’s opinion, to each his own.

the same can be said about Hornady and even more so, they "re-invent" their own bullets then proclaim how they are the greatest new projectile on the market while never having improved anything over the other mfgs bullets, take the CX bulet for example

and their interlock ring has never, ever worked as they claim, even after they renamed it the ELDX and put them in shiny new red boxes

every Interlock & ELDX bullet I shot into water jugs blew up into tiny pcs of jacket shrapnel

and none of their new cartridges offer any ballistic improvement over stuff that has existed for eons, BUT we have the wild eyed gundummies wagging tongues excitedly on how great they are

Just got my hands on a Peterson 7 PRC case. I used fine ball powder to compare the Weatherby 338RPM v 7PRC case volume. The RPM case capacity is slightly greater than the 7PRC!

I suspect the velocity capability of the Weatherby 338RPM v 338Win will be close to identical.

Also the Weatherby 6.5RPM capacity far exceeds the 6.5PRC which is closer to the 6.5-06

jwp

On heavy potentially dangerous animals I believe 9.3 diameter 250 grain monolithic bullets are where fully adequate starts.

There are no 35 250 monolithic bullets by Barnes. There are some outfits that make monos but they are designed to fragment which I wouldn’t want for DG.