Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 338-06 standard or 338 A square

BR I'm fighting the gack bad right now, so hope to be up an at em for the weekend. I've been in bed more or less for the last 3 days but feel like I am getting a bit better. Sucky time to get the crud!

As to the pics, I can hardly take em let alone post em...

Dober

From what I hear the 84L is gonna be about 5 lbs 5 oz naked and probably around 1100 bones. How you gonna go about getting a good CRF action and a good handle and a good tube and build one for less...?

Dober

Yeah, that's what we all find out is that we CAN'T custom build one for less. Maybe we can only afford to make one because we do it incrementally. Adding it all up can be sobering. Especially when it ends up weighing more than a factory gun.
Back to the Kimber LA, hope sales go through the roof so there'll be lots of used ones in a year or two. Wifey may never let me lay down $1000+ on a gun again. And the thought of selling off any existing rifles---well that just makes me cringe.
Good hunting this weekend, hope you feel better by then.

Dober hope you get well soon.

Again, best of success on your hunt.

Thx guys, I'm trying hard to get better cause after the elky hunt I go 4 moose.

Dober

were Kimber to come out with it i would prolly get one and have my current one reworked to 375 or 416 Ruger......i built it on a 1917 and its a pig at a few ounces under 10 ready to hunt......granted near anyone can shoot the SOB all day cause the recoil is hardly there

Man this is COMPLICATED! There is a much simpler solution.
Buy a CZ American in 9.3x62. A superior round for Elk or Moose, very accurate and if you ever want to tackle something bigger, it'll do it. Bullets from 250-300 gr, fps from 2300-2500.

9.3 is nice, compared trajectory, prefer the 338-06. It is a good round no doubt.

I've owned the Weatherby version now for 7 years. Always used necked up 30-06 brass and love the gun which shoots very accurate with 180 NBT/AB's or 210 partitions. When Weatherby released it, there was rumor remington was going to follow, if they did and made ammo for it, it would have been a different story.

When I bought mine it was on gunbroker NIB, bought for about 2/3's of retail and only did so because I handload. If a major like remington or Ruger chambered it and the ammo makers backed it the popularity would be a different story.

Chip, agreed. Would have been welcome in the M70 also, but I think if Kimber picks it up, that would be a nice option. For a fly weight rifle easy to tote while roaming the mountains, it would be a very strong package on most any game w/in 400 yds or so IMO.

I have been following this thread for a while, and would like to offer the following.

I have admired, from a distance, the 338-06 for many years, and have owned a Weatherby Ultralight for approx. 6 years, in that cartridge that Weatherby calls the 338-06 A-Square.

I am sure that there are drawings of wildcated cartridges that are called 338-06 that vary slightly in dimensions. You can find all kinds of things on the internet, and publications.

What I have found, and some here have confirmed, is that the 338-06 that we see the major die manufacturers selling and the 338-06 A-Square are the same dimensions. I reload with a die that is labeled 338-06 and it works perfectly. I shoot Weatherby factory cartridges and Nosler Custom, all with great results.

I think some of this dimensional differences some here are seeing are from the early days of this cartridges development. So I would suggest anyone with a older custom 338-06 check them for chamber dimensions.

As for Weatherby not chambering the 338-06 A-Square now, it is due to the fact that they could not sell them. Most people don't know what a 338-06 is, as can be seen on this forum by a group of gun nuts that still don't know the cartridge well.

When I purchase my Weatherby I asked my dealer why they seemed not to sell, and he said " few people who come into my shop have ever heard of it". What Weatherby did was chamber the round in it's lightweight but provided little to no promotion of it. I remember seeing one article written about the Weatherby 338-06. There was no advertisements, nothing! Contrast that to the .300 Winchester Short Mag. You could not pick up a magazine, or log on to an internet forum without a discussion or article, plus Winchester advertised it.

Weatherby says it failed due to poor sales, I say, and have told them that it failed because they (Weatherby) did not commit to it.

Someone noted also that it failed due to chamber dimensions. I am not sure that this contributed to the failure, but I do know that early rifles were recalled by weatherby to correct an acuracy issue, which I was told was an improper chamber. My rifle that I purchased had been recalled from my dealer and sent back to Weatherby for correction. My dealer, and myself believe that the added attention it got is why mine shoots so well. So there may be some Weatherby ultralights so chambered that still have a oversized chamber or some other issue with them.

Sorry for the long post!

IIRC Winchester had it for awhile, but only in their custom line for around $2000 and the WBY cost around $1000. No cartridge is going to sell well with only those options. Also, as was said there was little to no promotion of it. WBY must have sold enough however as they are still selling ammo and brass, of course it could be being used in other rifles. I know a little off topic, but...

Agree w/last 2 posts

Sounds spot-on to me.

I bought an ER Shaw aftermarket tube and put it on a Savage 110 action. Here is the link from Brownells:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=23300/Product/SAVAGE_110_REPLACEMENT_BARREL_KIT

It is listed as "338-06" but from the get-go I took it to mean 338-06 A-Square and have had no issues whatsoever. As a matter of fact I get fantastic accuracy.

When I resize cases (I've been using a Hornady New Dimension FLS to size up 270 WCF cases I had lying around) there is no change in the shoulder, nor is there in once-fired cases.

I believe that once the round became "legitimized" reamers were produced with SAAMI specs whether labled as A-Square or not. It would be the older ones I'd have questions about.

This round has been a real pleasure to load for. It had been simply a project to ward off wintertime boredom, but it turned into a love affair. If it weren't shooting so well I'd likely build one on a commercial Mauser action. The cartridge really is, dare I say it, even more versatile than the 30-06 as far as the big game hunter is concerned... and I LOVE the Springfield... (2 of my 7 centerfires are so chambered).

Thanks for all the info guys. It's been and is being very helpful.

Perhaps we can put this issue to rest.

I have the SAAMI prints for the 30-06 and the 338-06 A-SQUARE in front of me. The 338-06 A-SQUARE is the 30-06 case necked up to 338 caliber with no other changes. Comparing minimum chamber dimensions, the base diameter, shoulder diameter and shoulder angle (17�15')are exactly the same.

There is one difference (other than neck diameter)........the 338-06 A-Square headspace is .0008" longer.

Confusion can result because the maximum cartridge dimensions show the shoulder angle at 17�30' for both cartridges and CIP (the European equivalent of our SAAMI) typically shows the angle between both sides of the shoulder or double what the SAAMI specs show. Reloading manuals show SAAMI maximum cartridge dimensions.

Has Kimber confirmed that the 84L will be available in 338-06?

I have it from an impeccable source that Dogzapper totally ignored Art Alpin and A-Square in the write-up on the .338-'06 in Nosler Number Five and that he did it on purpose.

I'm looking forward to a 338-06 AI. 210 Grain SCII Killin bear this coming August 1st!

Shag, What rifle do you have it in?