I have made a lot of them over the years. It's a caliber that is in slow but steady demand here in Wyoming.
I kept 3 of them myself from time to time, but every time someone offered more money to me than I could stand, or offered to trade guns I liked better at the moment, and I let them all go. I now have some rifles in 9.3MM and they do what I need, but I have nothing bad to say about the 338-06. They killed everything I ever shot and I never needed to shoot 2 times at anything with one. In fact it's my absolute favorite of all the .338" bore rifle shells.
I keep thinking I should build one more for me and never sell it, but I have a 9.3X57, and 9.3X74R and a 9.3X62, so I can't seem to make myself build another one for my own collection. But that is not for ANY lack of merit of the cartridge.
I think it's interesting to see how the 3 most popular planes-game guns in Africa for many of the "glory years" were the 333 Jeffery, the 318 Westley Richards and the 9.3X62. The first 2 are in the same league as our 338-06, (or close) but don't quite fire a 250 grain bullet as fast.
The 333 did have the availability of a 300 grain however, but with the bullets we have today, the 338-06 could actually beat either one of the 2 British rounds for most hunting.
The 9.3X62 is more powerful, but for anything up to elk size I can't see how more power would really help. Once you can blow a good sized hole through the chest from any angle, including hitting big bones, having a heavier and larger diameter bullet is not going to really put them down enough faster to matter.
Might see some difference on Bison or maybe Moose.
Elk hit with my 338-06 or any of the 9.3MMs I just mentioned fall instantly, or within a very few seconds. What's not to like?
