Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles .338-06 Questions

Probably a couple dumb questions, but I like my face where it's at, so I'm going to ask anyway.

I should be getting my .338-06 back from the smith here soon, so I'm trying to get my ducks in a row, and get starting loads figured out.

Initial Components List:

225gr .338 Nosler Accubond
Resized .35 Whelen R-P Cases
CCI 200 LR Primers
RE19

Now, going through a couple loading books (Nosler #4 and Speer #13), the Nosler lists the 225 accubond max loads as two or three grains lower than the Speer starting loads. Digging deeper, it seems Nosler used resized .30-06 brass and kept the pressure level to the 60k PSI of the .30-06 since the pressure data was established prior to the adoption of a SAAMI spec for the .338-06. The Speer loadings are set using the Speer 225 SPBT which is a bit shorter than the accubond, which leads me to my questions.

Is it safe to back the Speer loads down a grain or so and work up using that data since the only component I'm changing is the bullet, or should I start with the Nosler minimums, even though the only common components are the bullet and powder, and work up?

As a side note, it should be understood, this will be the first cartridge I've started from ground zero with, and I'm fairly new to reloading over-all, so any help or ideas is appreciated.

I suggest you try RL-15 first. It is the only RL powder that is temperature insensitive, is easy to load(tends not to have pressure surprises), and is accurate. I use it in both my 338-06 and my 35 Whelen.

There is a lot of 338-06 experience here at the Fire, so I'm sure you will get a lot of helpful advice.

Steve

I have found it to be very easy to work with using a variety of powders. I have not used RL 19 but 15 works well as already stated. My best shooter with 225's has been using Varget but the others were a close second. It is a fun round...

I'd grab R15 and work with it first and H4350 second.

Dober

When I started loading for mine, I had a hard time getting any speed out of most of the powders and I tried several. Ended up using 60.0 grains of RamShot Big Game and the 225 grain Nosler AccuBond. Rem cases and Fed. 215 primers. Getting 2620 of a 22" barrel.

I appreciate the suggestions for RE15 and H4350, and truth be told, both were choices before RE19. But the only thing I could find in Cheyenne is RE19 and the sportsman's warehouse down in Loveland was out of both RE15 and H4350 with no firm date as to when they would get it in.

So I figured I would give it a whirl since I can find data for it.

I have found that varget works well in cases that have an expansion ratio similiar to the 338-06, RL-15 wood be a second choice for me. I have loaded and hunted with the 35whelen for many years and when Varget was introduced it turned a short-medium round into one that can reach out to past 300yds with ease. If your game is elk , moose or similiar sized game i wood try a 210 TSX or 225 TSX if you can get the accuracy and velocity you require. it is nice to see that rounds based on the 06 case are still being built and sought after, the older I get the less I need a magnum!

Reloader 19 and the 225g Hornady spitzer flat base is extremely accurate in mine.

Congratulations on a fine choice. Probably my favorite round. I agree on trying out the RL-15 but RL19 should work just fine.

What are you mainly going to hunt? Another bullet thought to try out is the 210 partition and believe it or not I really like the 180AB/BT. The 180 comes out of mine at over 3000fps and shoots pretty flat if you are doing some open field on lighter game like deer. I shot a nice big doe with a 180BT last fall quartering at me, went in ahead of front shoulder and exited just in front of the hindquarter. About a 1.5-2" exit hole.

Hard to go wrong in the 338-06.....

I had good luck with 4064 with Horn 225's. In the 200-210's I go with 4320 right around 51-52 gr. Since you are necking down 35's in a custom barrel you might watch for tight necks, so I would start about 10% below and make sure a bullet slips in easily in a fired case...IMO

art

a 338/06 is similar to a very large 223 Remington, in ratio to size and powder capacity....

powders that work well in the 223s, will work excellent in the 338/06.. I have never understood why folks accept only slower burning powders in the 338/06, yet never question faster burning powders in the 35 Whelen....

I prefer not to have compressed loads, and I also recommend to folks that try to make a 338/06 into a 338 Win Mag, you might as well get the 338 Mag...

I have played with a lot of powders in the 338/06, and have had excellent performance out of ones like H 380, IMR 4895, IMr 4064, IMR 3031, IMR 4198, Benchmark, H 322, RL 10, RL, W 748, Varget, BLC2.. even SR 4759...once again, powders that work real well in the 223...

Acuracy has been great in bullet weights from 200 to 250 grains... even the 275 grainers, but I hoard those any more...even tho there is not always a lot of data around since the round is not a SAAMI spec'd one until recently, the 35 Whelen is.. and there is a lot of data using a lot of those powders.. working up from Whelen data's start or even 10% lower.. you can get some pretty decent velocities without compressed loads...

and for some of those that wonder,... yup, I've even worked up Blue Dot loads for 180 and 200 grain bullets in 338 bore...and once again, accuracy was excellent as always... same with 4759 and 5744...

Seafire, those are excellent suggestions, and once I get more comfortable reloading, I may well try those. But since I'm still fairly new at this, I'll stick to established loads, and most of those are on the slow end.

Thumper, thanks for the warning, I'll definately keep an eye out for that.

Miket, this rifle will be used for elk and hopefully above, but primarily elk. I chose the mid to heavy weights since this rifle will likely never be scoped, so the 185-200 grain range doesn't offer much benefit for an open-sighted rifle.

Furprick, I've not yet been seduced by the Barnes kool-aid since the nosler kool-aid has yet to burn me. But, if the Accubonds don't pan out, I may try the 225gr TSX before moving up to a 250 gr NP or A-frame.

I think RL19 is a bit slow, it works great in the .338 Mag. RL15, 4064, 4350 work well, but Ramshot Big Game has been great in th e .338-06.

I use a full case of Big Game for mine.The bullets are 225 Hornadys. My velocities dropped when I compressed W-760 and IMR-4350. Max velocity for 225 is about 2650. IMR-4007 and N-550 are in the same burn rate. The old classic powder for the 338-06 was IMR-4320.

Excellent post by Seafire, and the comment on why folks try and make a 338 Win out of a 338-06 makes about as much since as anything I have seen posted lately and he is spot on, and that could also apply to the 35 Whelen and folks trying to make a 9.3x62 or 375 out of it..Both the 338-06 and the 35 Whelan are grand cartridges in their own right, if you want a 338 Win or 358 Norma, 9.3 or 375 then you should buy one for more than a few reasons.

Welcome midget! You picked a great cartridge!
I haven't tried RL-19 since RL-15 has worked so well in mine. If I was starting out with your components, I would start with the Nosler data and work up the loads until it got to around 2650-2700fps. That should be about tops for a .338-06 with a 225, depending on how long your barrel is. Also, the number one thing you need to do, if you don't have one already, is to get a chronograph! It's your best indicator for pressures. Everything else is just guessing.
Put some pictures up here when you get her home.

Check your PM's

The 338/06 is a good cartridge and loading it is straightforward, but you should weigh some of those 35 Whelen cases before you go much farther. I think you'll find that they're almost as heavy as military '06 cases, which means they'll have less capacity and will tend to generate higher pressures than cases formed from 30/06 cases. Remington is very conservative when it comes to the 35 Whelen, and I think they make Whelen cases that heavy for safety. I had the best luck using WW 30/06 cases for my 338/06. They won't make a 338/06 into a 338 WM, but they could keep it from being a 338 Federal.


Okie John

Teeder, pictures will show up when I figure out what kind of handle will go on it after I get it back.

okie john, the reason behind the .35 Whelen brass is simple. I hunt with four or five people who use winchester .30-06 ammo, and though the chance is small, I'd just as soon have a different headstamp in case someone runs out of ammo, loses ammo, or something similar happens and someone sees WW 30-06 headstamped brass lying on the truck seat and in a moment of stupid grabs it and goes back hunting in a hurry. Sure, .338 should not fit, but a loose neck in a chamber might just work.

Probably all small worries, and once I start testing and burning gun powder, I may find out so much that ain't, so to speak. But the reason for trials is to mitigate the errors, and because it's fun.

By all means, keep up the criticisms and the ideas, I'm learning more than a little, and appreciate the varied points of view.

Sounds prudent. I won't have an 8x57 in the house for the same reason.


Okie John