If I remember correctly, a 338-06 holds 67 grains of water, a 338 WM 86, and the 338 RPM 82.6.
That sounds about right. The 338-06 Ackley holds 72.6gr. full up.
It's great there are new things being developed. I get it. New & exciting stuff keeps the ledger in the black. Keepin' up with the Jones's & all that. Call me contrary, but this Weatherby thing gets a big yawn & the oddball proprietary brass kills it right there for me. Especially after the spotty availability of just about anything during this scamdemic clustercoitus of the last 2 1/2 years. They had a perfectly workable middle of the road 338 with the A-Square-06. Will anything hit square in the boiler room with the RPM know the difference from the A-Square? Maybe that extra few yards of point blank range will make hits easier?
The crusty old curmudgeon also fails to understand the race to the bottom everybody's engaged in with super-duper short barrel lightweight rifles with fair to middlin' heavier hitting cartridges... then braking them. It seems some folks have more $$ than sense, but hey I kinda get it. I guess going deaf beats having a bunch of halfmoon scars on your forehead. Mine's littler than yours & is obnoxiously loud, spits fireballs, & bites doesn't strike me as a very positive statement. Isn't there a point of diminishing returns in regards to light weight? I cant imagine these leichte Wunderwaffen point & hold nearly as well as something weighing a couple of #s more. If 2 or 3 #s is that important, maybe lose it from your belly rather than the rifle. Flame suit is hanging in the closet, but I really dont care.
My 338-06 Ackley, built before there was a factory 35 Whelen, gets an honest 3000fps & under 1" groups with 200-215s using plain old 30-06 brass & 4350... a few fps less with Big Game. Brass life is very good. The 25" barrel drives the all-up-ready-to-hunt weight to a whopping 8 3/4 #s with 5 rds of ammunition, add a sling we're talking a hideous 9#s. No brake is needed, but maybe a gun-bearer. Just for giggles, I'll try some 225s to see what it will do with them. Thinking 2800fps will be easy.
