... what do yuo see as the attributes when comparing to both the 338-06 and the Win mag?
For some inexplicable reason, AHR's reamers,
etc, were made with 0.037 inch more neck and correspondingly shorter body. I can not predict how much more I'll get from my on-spec body's greater capacity.
AHR's web site lists the gross case capacity of
their version as 78.3 grains of water (body, shoulder, and neck)
versus only 71.2 grains for the .338-06 -- about 10% more. My original version, with its slightly longer body, may hold as much as 80 to 85 grains -- 12% to 19% more.
The .338 Winchester Magnum case holds about 85 to 86 grains, full to the mouth, so my full-spec .340 Howell has about the same gross case capacity as the .338 Winchester Magnum, in
a slightly longer ".30-06" case instead of the fatter H&H-type case. That can't hurt.
I don't have velocity figures right handy, right now, for either the original .340 Howell or the .338 Winchester Magnum. AHR's chronographed loads with 225- and 250-grain bullets recorded velocities of 2,950 and 2,600 ft/sec, respectively, from their
ersatz version. I'll probably load my slightly roomier version to lower pressures and probably get about the same velocities.
I'll be pleased, I'm sure, with even less -- maybe no more than 2,700 ft/sec from the 225-grain AccuBond -- if I ever get the chance to get close enough to an elk or whatever other big beastie that God will let me see through the scope long enough to get a shot off.
