I typed this up on another forum in response to the regular banter us gun guys constantly go through. Thought I'd share my opinion here as well.

To play off the other thread that is on page 2 now on the effectiveness of (insert one of 10000 different cartridges, this one just happens to be the .338-06) the .338-06, I can't help but wonder how many times us hunters and shooters can possibly hash this stuff out.

It's this simple.... Find a rifle that interests you. Make it accurate. Get the real world ballistic information of your accurate load. Practice. Then practice some more. Then determine how far YOU can make your rifle effective. Sure, some rifles are more effective than others. You're only going to be able to get so much out of a 30-30 and 170gr. flat points, and you're only going to be able to shoot a .338-378 Wby so much. Even with a brake the muzzle blast will eventually get to ya... So be real with what you want your rifle to do but the biggest factor on what your rifle is capable of is you!

Where I hunt and how I hunt, most of my shots are within 250 yards but if I'm not ready to shoot 400 yards at elk I won't be eating all the elk I like to, and I like to eat elk.

I recently traded into a .338-06. Let me preface this by saying that I am the worlds biggest 30-06 fan and the latest 6.5 Creedmoor sucker. But I've always been in want of a .338-06.

It's a sporterized Springfield 03A3 with a custom barrel and Timney trigger. I fit and bedded it to a Boyds stock and mounted a cheap Leupold Rifleman 4-12 with the Ballistic plex. Then I went about the work to making it accurate.



It will regularly shoot sub MOA with a 225 grain Hornady and a book max load of IMR4895 with TW mill surplus brass for right at 2700 FPS . Acutally it averages 2689 but I have no problem rounding up the 11 FPS..

I like to shoot several groups to make sure the accurate load is always accurate, then confirm zero.



I run the numbers through my ballistic program but I always confirm at actual yardages for my ballistic dots. The two rarely align.

The first dot is dead on at 300 yards.



300 yard group.



I like 2nd focal plane scopes because adjusting the power changes the MOA measurement of your dots. It took a few shots to find at what power my 2nd dot was actually dead on at 400 but I have zero qualms about stretching this melon thrower to 400 yards. If I back the power of my scope from 12x down to 9x the 2nd dot is dead on at 400 yards.





Somebody with more skill than I can get more out of it and some with less can't get as much but the 338-06 is definitely capable past 300 yards..

Happy hunting,

Todd

Great post, and summation especially. It doesn’t matter which gun or cartridge you think you identify with, you’re still gonna have to learn to use it someday, if you ever want to brag about it

I’ve always wanted to try the 338-06. I knew a few old timers who adopted it early and their confidence was certain. My own peer group was all about magnums at the time, but we also survived on our own lack of sleep during those days. Not sure if I should keep talking, ..so I won’t. Suffice to say, I still think the 338-06 made perfect sense to me

Great Post and she is a Look'r! What Boyd's stock is that? Had a 338RCM for several years and was well practiced out to 300M from field positions. Unfortunately it was a solid 2.5" gun after a lot of time and money invested. I have a Ruger donor action in a factory grey laminate stock that I can not decide to go 338-06 or 35 Whelen. I guess until I decide it will remain a 25Aught6:)

BTDT. Hart 23”. Throated for 250’s but ran 200 BTs at 2910 with IMR 4320 and 225’s at 2670 with same. 1/2 MOA using a 6x42 and 2.5-8x

FWIW the Hornady 225 and Sierra 215 slipped cores at the 200 backstop.

Nice mushrooms with Hornady but on Elk I would run either a Partition in 225 or a Barnes.

Absolutely Flattened deer with 200 Noz. Great round. Enjoy and you might try IMR 4320

Now that is a solid hunting rifle!

Sweet! I have a buddy here that uses only the Hornady 200 sp in his...has taken elk a tad past 400yds easily. I used my Duplex bottom post in my old Whelen AI's 1.5x5 for the same sight subtention...awesome!

Great post. I have always liked the idea of a 338-06, but the only one I have ever seen was a production Weatherby mark five that they built about 10 or 15 years ago for a time. Maybe I'll find one sometime?

Nice gun, especially like the stock. Very sharp looking.

Mine is a Model 70 rebored from 270...bought it brand new in Montana
at a Walmart, after Montana's elk season was over for $250 on close out.

$200 for the rebore, done by Bob West up in Eugene, before he passed...
He only did it, because I knew someone he knew...

usually he was only doing high profile celebrity's work...

so its accurate that's for sure...

for velocity and accuracy, H 380 was the powder of choice.. according to Bob
it proved to be so...

if you swap bullet weights around from 200 to 225, to 250 grain
50 grains of IMR 4064, gives you 2500 fps with all three bullet weights
and more than minute of deer at 100 yds...when compare POI on all
three on the same target...not that much different...

IMR 4895 is also an excellent powder, for accuracy and velocity...

It was so effective, that I never have really used any bullets besides the
3 Hornady SPs....200, 225 and 250... I do like the 250 grain RN a lot...
but then I am a Round Nose fan.. old school, I know...

My two 338 mags have spent a lot of time in the safe ever since I got
a 338/06 done... really the only Wildcat I have until I did a 20 Practical.

Never saw the need for a Whelen after getting the 338/06 done...

What makes the .338-06 so interesting to me is the great number of factory .33-caliber bullets one can use. One can load lighter-weight bullets to shoot farther, or heavier bullets to shoot closer. An example is the .338 Sabi, which's case holds a little more powder than the .338-06, but was designed to shoot the heavier .33-caliber bullets. For years I have thought of switching to the .338-06 from my .338WM for hunting in Alaska, but he .338 works so well for me that it's hard to change

http://www.sabirifles.co.za/338sabi.htm

little more than a .338 Federal, little Less than a 338 Win mag.... but you can dang near overlap either if your try hard enough =]

thanks for the good writeup OP---- I just run the ballistics on my scopes with dots at their highest power and then write that down. For me knowing my 3rd dot is at 325 yards and the bottom of the thin part of the duplex is 425 when maxed out (where I'm probably going to set it to shoot that far), is just as valuable as knowing the third dot is right at 400 on 6.5X (not so much where I'd prefer shoot it at). Besides, most animals don't know they are going to be shot or else they wouldn't be there... they definitely don't line up at perfect yardage increments =]

But it is an interesting method that I will have to consider a little longer before deciding on how I feel about it. dots in a scope are always a compromise. You gain speed, and give up a little bit of precision to dialing elevation which is generally OK at hunting ranges shooting at large critters. But if I'm pulling my head out from behind the scope and resetting the Magnification, I don't know how much faster that is than just dialing the drop???

I have made a lot of them. It's still a pretty popular caliber in Central Wyoming for elk. I killed a nice bull with one about 15 years ago and it worked as well as any other round I have ever shot any elk with, and better then some. A "bang-flop" at about 165 yards with an exit. The shot was quartering way strongly, and the bullet hit in the mid body, and came out a the front of the chest where neck and chest meet. It was a 275 grain Speer bullet, no long made. But 250 grain Nosler Partitions work just as well.

In fact the 210 gr Nosler partition seems "made for" the 338-06.

Thank you all. Some very nice input thrown in!

The stock is a Boyds Platnum model with laser engraved snake skin checkering in coyote.

I like it. It’s a bit loud but I really do think it looks great.

Todd

Are these Hornady SST's or Interlocks? I was going to try the 225 Interlocks.

Hawk Driver - thought hard about a .338-06 a few years ago UNTIL I heard about and researched a nifty 'lil number called the 9.3 X 62mm. Sure the 'foreign' round is harder to find i.e. brass and bullets BUT it can be used to hunt DG (up to a point)
in Africa while the other one can't. The trick is winning a lottery somewhere so I can afford the trip LOL. Meantime 286 grain slug is nothing to sneeze at on an elk hunt (again, trusting to luck for the $$$). besides the 9.3 has "panache" the other can't match.
Homesteader

Wow! I like the sound of that. If I could pick any rifle for a 338-06 it would be an M70(current production for me) with a Mickey stock. I think I would probably like to shoot 210 or 225 Partitions-so maybe I would go with a Featherweight?
The closest thing I have to a 338-06 is a 9.3x62-which I really like.

I shot my first Colorado bull about 25 years ago with a .338-06 using a 225 grain Hornady Spire Point. That bullet, with either IMR4320 or 4064 shot so accurately I never tried another bullet. I finally lost interest in all wildcat chamberings and got rid of the rifle. It's a fine cartridge, but I truly don't know if it has any advantage over a .30-06 and a stout 180 or 200 grain bullet. However, more experienced might have some comments.

Unsure if I like the stock more or the denim sand bags. Both are cool.

I built a 338-06 in 1999. Neat round. Never took game with it, though I used a 22” 338 WM through the 90’s a fair bit. The 338 WM certainly makes an impression on elk, but at the end of the day, as I’ve gotten older, dislike recoil more, and have seen enough big game killed, I’d sooner pack a 30-06 than either. Or better yet a 308 (couldn’t resist).

[quote=Hawk_Driver][quote=65BR]

The IL. Odds are it will kill fine. Better than say the 215 Sierra but I would use a cup core to practice and on deer, and pay for and use Partitions or Barnes for Elk. I would want the confidence that if I have to go stem to stern or bust shoulders etc it will do as needed.

210 PTs have a reputation and following but run #’s and a 225 version only drops 2” more at 400 using a 200 Zero. More energy and SD. Better trajectory in the -06 than 250’s. For deer the 200 will surprise many. Flat and the BT/AB has decent BC and can give 2900+

Very solid performer but not to take away a like bullet in 30-06 in 180-200 can catch up downrange and will drop game well.

For a mid bore a 338-06 and 9.3 are my faves for use in North America if ranges are under 400 yds.

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........

Gotta admit--that stock is so psychadelic that I actually like it.

Fell off a ladder working on a second story window at home, shattered my tibia and fibula x-ray Had my lower leg looking like shattered glass Had 13 metal rods connected to a carbon fiber fixator for a few months until my bones grew back enough for a couple of plates and 20 some screws to hold my leg together. Also got a fused right ankle out of the deal, so scrambling over rugged terrain is a bitch.

I have had two .338-06 rifles. One a beautiful 1903 custom. I felt the recoil on that one was a bit stiffer than a stoutly loaded .30-06 with 180s. The other was a rebored BAR. It was soft recoiling even with 250s. Most of my hunting was for deer and I found the 200 Speer plenty of bullet. I loaded one box of 210 NP. They were accurate and worked fine. I hunted that one for five or six years before becoming bored with it.

I never found cases to be much of a big deal. I use a tapered sizer to expand .30-06 necks to .338, load them then go hunting. Mine was the standard version. It was chosen over the improved version for simplicity.

I now have a 9.3x62 barrel for a Blaser, but I have not used it yet. I am confident that it will take anything in this hemisphere and the African farmers thought it enough gun there.

I confess that I kept my .338-06 dies. There could be another one.

Jack

Interesting...Bob West also built my 338-06 back in the day.. 1947 transition model 70 with a 25 inch Donnelly barrel.. A friend of mine that knew Bob was getting one built and I was able to get mine in on a twofer..

The Donnelly/West connection makes it a true Northwest rifle.

Embrace the busy stock.

358 win on top and 338-06 on bottom:

Sorry to hijack the thread JAH.

Forgot I had moved my X-rays from photobucket!

Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch!

Wish you as speedy a recovery as possible.

Thanks but that was two years ago on Sep 29th, I'm pretty much recovered as I'm going to get.

There's no reason for a man over 50 to get on a ladder. I'm trying to hold that promise to myself.

Taylor,

glad they were able to piece ya back together....

hope you get use to having a leg like the Terminator...

that must have sucked to endure that..... I need to quit complaining
about my old age med problems.. which are more an irritation than
anything else...

not the bullet proof rock I use to be, but still am in a lot better shape
than a lot of other people my age...

YIPES - the X-rays remind me of the children's tale that goes "...and all the Kings men couldn't put Humpty back together again". Get well soon.
Homesteader. PS screw cleaning the gutters from a ladder !

Load 53 grains of Reloader 15 under a 210 Nosler and hunt.
You won't need anything else

+ 1

Or a 210 Scirocco II.

210 TTSX have never let me down on moose yet... I don't see it happening either.

Nice little round too.

Hard confirmed zero's to 600 yards. Don't think I"d take on a big moose much past 300 though personally with the round. In case I'd hit not quite what I wanted to, like hitting bone.

It has done well on neck/shoulder bones at 125 though... sitting under the hide off side still weighing 210...