Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 338/06 vs 35Whelen rebore

Alaskalanche described his 338/06 build on an 84L a few years back.
IIRC it was shortened to 21”

I believe alaskalanche has done a .358 Win and a .338-06 with Montanas. As I recall the barrel on the .358 was shortened. I don't recall if that was for minimum wall thickness or weight reduction?

I would go .338-06 just because it sounds cooler saying it. I have no experience with, interest in or rational use for either, I just think.338-06 sounds cooler.

I’ve had both the .358 Win and 336-06.

.358 is a JES FWT pre-64, 338-06 an FN Mauser I picked up on the Classifieds.

Liked both, sold the .338, kept the .358. Used the .358 more. No flies on the .338-06. Thinning the herd.

The .358 is unique as one can shoot .357 pistol bullets, jacketed and cast, plus an impressive range of rifle bullets. My current fav bullet is the 178 gr Shock Hammer. Impressive accuracy and terminal performance.

Guess I could have worked up more .338-06 loads, just got focused on the .358.

DF

When I was making the same choice I wanted a short barreled rifle and to shoot round nosed bullets so I went Whelen. No regrets and it has been a great rifle. Nowadays with the small number of RN bullets out there I would easily choose the 338-06.

Ah yes, that age old question that every rifle loony must face sometime during his lifetime. Should I go 338-06 or .35 Whelen? The decision could be life altering. Truth be told, either one would serve just fine. I six of one and a half dozen of the other type situation.

Truth is there isn't much more than a nickel's worth of difference twixt the two. For the most part, one will do the same on a game animal as the other. There is a slight advantage in range for the 338-06 but the .35 Whelen may hit just a little bit harder. Again, six of one and a half dozen of the other.
There's an excellent article by the late Finn Aagaard where he compared both cartridges in IIRC, Rifle magazine. He kept things about as equal as possible and while admitting that it made no real difference, he did go with the .338-06.

Me? I went with the .35 Whelen as I already had three rifles chambered as such. Two factory guns, a Remington 700 Classic and a Ruger M77RS. I also got a good deal on someone's custom rifle as an estate sale, an Oberndorf military Mauser with a nice stock in the classic form with elephant ivory forearm tip and grip cap, 1 in 14" 24" barrel and the rifle shoots bug holes with the 225 gr. TSX. I call it my very lucky elk slayer.

I always though about doing a 338-06 but the Whelen works so well for me that I've never gotten around to having one done. Anyway, I'd been craving a .35 Whelen so when the Ruger showed up and I shot it the stock cracked and the rifle tried to come out of the stock. I had a Ramline laying around so used it to fix the problem. I found out the screws were loose. About a month later the Classic showed up and I bought it, Both will run 1.0" to 1.25" with my handloads so good enough for the hunting I do. About 6 months later I found that custom and it seemed fit me almost perfectly so it came home with me. I shot a little better than the factory rifles with the largest groups at one inch or a little less with actory ammo or my handloads until I tried the 225 gr. TSX bullet. I got some .50" groups while woring up a hunting load for elk and the final result was the TX running from .375" to .75" at 2710 FPS.

So, if I should have to replace the rifles for some bad luck happening, I'd just do another .35 Whelen and never look back.
PJ

I have both a 338 06 AI and a 35 Whelen AI.

Give me the 338 06.

As I mentioned before buy them all quit debating in significant differences. Only way you'll be happy is to experience them is to have and use them.Back in 82 i bought a m70 xtr in 338 mag loaded 200 gr spitzers at 2900+ recoil is not insignificant nor was the blood shot meat. So I down loaded it too about 2800 and they died just as fast. Allways want a 35 Whelen and in 89 found a m77rs being cleared out bought it too . Shot several deer with factory 200 gr pspcl rem loads they all died. I had plenty of tissue loss so I started using 225 npt's at 2550 and they worked fine. One day at the lgs I spotted a Whitworth 375 and picked it up cheap , shoots nice and doesn't recoil as much as the 35 Whelen or 338 mag. Late in the 90's I found a custom 338-06 in an FN custom for a decent price. 200 gr Hornady SP's at 2700 and the deer died without too much tissue loss. Then I spent to much time with a woman and lonely beer while trying to keep up with reading JB's writing, yup ended up with a 9.3x62. In there on my loading bench is a pile of 50 ct bags of 200 gr NPT .308's I like and have more 30-06's than any other , haven't worked a load up for 2oo's yet for my 06's but I am going to and shoot some deer and whatever. I am figuring it will kill everything fine just like the others. Should have started reading Phil Shoemaker sooner. It was good enough for him so I am not worried about its results. Point is quit going through mental gymnastics, work up a load for what you have stop worrying about ones you don't have and go kill game...mb

This debate usually comes down to personal preference, pragmatism, or looneyism. Take your pick.

If you want a rifle in XYZ cartridge, get one. I have shot and owned rifles chambered in 30-06, 338-06, 338 Win Mag, 35 Whelen, and 9,3x64 Brenneke. I know this may shock you, but they all worked.

Having owned all of those was due to looneyism. After using them all, personal preference went to the 338-06. After 20 plus years, it is now leaning towards pragmatism. I have dies sets, lots of head stamped brass, and enough 338 bullets to last a very long time.

Had my choice been any of the other cartridges listed above. I can not think of one instance where I would have been disappointed.

Yeah this a looneyism situation for sure!

I've taken moose with 270,30/06, 338Win Mag, 35 Whelen and lots of them with a 375H&H. All worked just fine. I know that the difference between a 338/06 and 35 Whelen is splitting a blond one..

The 338 Win mag is the only one I dont have any longer. It worked great. I shot several moose and other critters with it. It was even my first guide rifle. When I got my 375 I just liked the cartridge and the rifle its self better. Didn't seem to recoil as bad either.

I'm going to go 338-06 just because I haven't before!

Thanks for the replies guys. I enjoy the input and conversation.

358win is maybe the most interesting when considering it an smaller engine and the possibilities with pistol bullets and especially heavier cast bullet. 35cal is about the point where there's enough weight/mass/diameter that cast becomes an viable option and the 358win velocity window is more friendly for that.

35 Whelen is where I'd go with things. Factory ammo is much more available and it's a more "efficient" round as well.

The 35 Whelen has a well studied expansion ratio - same as the 308 Winchester...and the 223 Rem. Same powder for 3 very popular calibers.

DING DING DING!

I hear CFE223 is the fuel for the 225 to 250gr bullet weights in Whelen. Haven't had a chance to try this combination out yet, but plan to. IMR-8208 XBR is wonderful fuel for the 200 gainers.

I had this 338-06 vs 35 Whelen debate with myself way back when I was in Engineering school. Studied up on both and did alot of comparison analysis. At that time I decided I liked the Whelen better. More useful for my type of hunting - close range.

5 years later, on a business trip to the twin cities in Minneapolis, working for Cummins Diesel at the time, I took a ride on down to Owatonna, MN (while all my other compadres did different after hours activities). Cabelas was open till 8pm so this worked out quite well. There on the used rifle rack was a Remington 700 Limited Classic in 35 Whelen. I couldn't believe my good fortune. It went straight to the purchase desk. The rest is history.

I've walked passed only a few rifles in 338-06. One was a nice, but heavy custom mauser. Nothing that really tripped my trigger. I still can't believe my good fortune, and this has been the only rifle I've seen for sale in 35 Whelen.

I went with the .35 because years ago I read an article on it and it got imprinted on my brain that I should own one. Since having had one a while I am impressed with the balance between power, recoil and performance. I like short, handy rifles for some of the hunting I do and my 20” Whelen fits the bill perfectly with plenty of snort should a longer shot present itself.

I guess I came for the nostalgia and stayed for the performance!

The ability to load pistol bullets for plinking and even close range hunting of thin skinned game has kept me a devoted .35 Whelen fan (and .358 Win and .358 Norma).

One of the things that turned me off of the 35 Whelen is recoil. I owned a Rem 700 Classic in 35 Whelen. For some reason it was brutal to shoot.

I sold the Whelen and went to a 338 Win Mag which was better to shoot, but went down the road also. Went to 338-06 and never looked back. Experience forms opinions and we go from there.

I have never understood the pistol bullet mindset. What is a positive for some, is a head scratcher negative for me.

I have loaded a few cartridges down with softer bullets and have enjoyed plinking/hunting with them.
338-06 -180gr NBT(disc), 200gr SST/IL.
270 WCF- 85gr TSX, 100gr NAB, 110gr Sierra pro hunter, 120gr SST, 130gr IL, 140gr BTSP.
375 H&H- Hornady 270gr IL.

Velocities were running 1950-2400fps.

Coming from a guy that has all three of the popular medium bores .338-06, .35W and 9.3x62, I can understand where a lot of you are coming from. I really like all three of those ctdgs. I mostly hunt the larger stuff and can say that either one will get the job done on Elk or Moose inside 300 yds.

It,s almost a draw between them but if I had to settle on just one it would be the 35W .. maybe the 9.3, or maybe the 338-06 ? Real good performers, all of them. It all depends on the Bullet weight you prefer for the task at hand... as far as i can tell.

Fair enough. I shoot 158 XTPs and cast bullets with enough TrailBoss to duplicate .357 magnum rifle loads. Basically no recoil, cheap to shoot (back when TrailBoss and LR primers were east to find) and it has worked well on treed lions and small game.

The Trail Boss shortage has certainly put a damper on my light load experimenting.

Most of my experience is with H4895, 5744, and was just starting to mess around with Trail Boss when it went unavailable.

Ken Waters wrote that the best way to improve the .35 Whelen was to go to the .338-06.