Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 338 Win Mag Barrel Length

So what do you see as the ideal barrel length for a 338 Win Mag?

If it matters, intended quarry is elk in the Rockies, and everything but mountain game in Alaska (moose, 'bou, bear of both species).

Stainless Model 70s in 338 command a premium (as do the even more rare 375), but now that the Extreme Weather will be offered in 338, prices will drop. The BOSS drops the price even more; thinking about cutting it off if'n I find one for cheap enough.

Mine have all been 24" in factory rifles. A 26 just seems crazy in a hunting rifle, to me.

If having a tube put on, 22 or the quirky 23 would be my choice.

I think JB had a 22", and never had any appreciable velocity loss.

I'd definitely kill the BOSS, even if it was only 20".

i love magnums, and to me belted magnums give you the most bang for your buck with 26" tubes, 24" is ok too. bad part is that longer barrels can present challenges to carry in heavy timber. i think the .338 can be in a 24" tube and you wont lose out on a ton of performance.

I've always like 23-24" barrels on my magnumbs if I inteded to do much timber hunting for elk. 26" is great for shooting across a chronograph but it does make for a long rifle in the field

I have 2 338's. One 26 in, one 24 in. Chronographing the same loads through each reveals virtually no change between barrel lengths. Some are a bit quicker in the 26, some a touch better in the 24. I do not think I have ever seen more than a 50 FPS advantage for the 26, most of the time they are real close.

That said I like the 24 to carry.

I had a tube screwed on and it finishes @ 23". If I was to do it again, it would be a 22" barrel.

Besides JB, I think Rick Bin has one of his customs listed with a 22" (.338WM) under the Custom Rifles forum. It is the first post under the "Blueprints" topic.

26 perfered but wouldn't bitch about a 24.Nothing shorter due to muzzle blast.

I am running a 22� barrel. With 65grs of RL-15, it will spit out 210 gr. NPs at an overall average speed of 2884 ft/sec. For me, I did not give up anything to have a little easier handling rifle in the brush. CP.

23" is the way I'd go

Dober

im sure you are all aware of this, but i will mention it anyway, when you get higher in bullet diameters the speed lose vs barrel length is very marginal. if you have a 26" .375H&H and your buddy has a 24" barrel on his the speed difference will be probably less than 50 fps, in .338 it would probably be in that 50-75 fps difference between 24" and 26" tubes which is really not a big deal.

.................Depends on your definition of ideal. If you`re looking strictly for the best possible velocity regardless of your hunting terrain condition, the 26" tube would be your best choice for the 338 Win.

Even though you can do so in heavier timber, brush, thickets, etc, a 26" barrel making the rifle approx 46.5" in OAL may not be the most ideal way to go.

Adapt your barrel length to your terrain conditions the majority of the time. Besides; any 20" 22" 23" or 24" barreled 338 Win will do anything a 26" barreled 338 Win will do. Given the same shooting distances, an estimated 100-130 fps loss from a barrel 4" to 6" shorter, won`t make any killing difference on any elk, moose or big bear, nor affect accuracy.

Even in the longer ranged more open plains country, my 375 Ruger Alaskan with its 20" barrel, will do anything any longer barreled 375 H&H will do. But when you throw into the mix heavier and thicker terrains, timbers, brush, etc., a rifle 40.75" in overall rifle length (such as my Alaskan), is certainly better to carry around than a rifle 45" to 47" long.

The best possible velocity is all well and good. But also consider the rifle too and how you will use it for the easist and most convenient use.

I've got a M70 .338 with the 26" barrel. My dad has one in a Rem M700 with a 24" barrel. With the same loads, mine shoots just a little faster than his, but not enough to make any difference for hunting. I've personally never been bothered by the 26" barrel. But for AK, I suppose I would go with a 24". One thing I would do if I bought one with a Boss would be to just scrap the barrel and put a new one on at the length and contour that you want. You'll probably end up with a better shooter that way. My buddy who is a guide/outfitter in AK has my old SS M70 .338. He loves that rifle and says it has never failed him so I think you're making a good choice here. By the way, I also have one of those rare M70 SS .375s (grin!). It shoots great!
Test

I've been happy with 24in, and when I wear the barrel out on it, I'll put either a 23in or another 24in on it.

I've had both 22" & 24" barrels...........about 50-65 FPS difference in velocity, IIRC.

I'd never have a 26" & the 22" is very handy but some guns seem to balance a little better with a 24".

Just a matter of what you want & like as the real performance difference is non-existent.

MM

I like 24" in this caliber; you can by with one as short as 22", but you've gone past diminishing returns (is you want a handier/lighter rifle, get a .338/06 w/ 22" barrel).

I had mine built (on a Remington-made '03 action) with a 23-inch Douglas barrel. I am not a speed freak, but hand loads chrono pretty much like the book data for the most part. The only ones that were noticeably slower were with 225 grain Swift A-Frames, probably because the jacket material was a little "stickier". In a Rimrock stock, it balances and handles nicely, even in Colorado aspen thickets.

I like the 22 idea but thats gotta chit kick your ears.My 22 270 is loud enough.

24" here!

Mine is 26", but its out right now getting trimmed to 23"...

I have a customized SS Model 70 in 338wm with a 26" barrel. For me it "feels" about right. When I shoot this barrel out I may get a 24" or I may not.

I agree with the previous posters who are of a mind that there is little performance gain, I think it is how it handles. Personally, my shortest barreled rifle is a 22" 3006 and that is as short as I would go. My longer barrels, for me, just handle better.

Respectfully I disagree that shorter barrels handle better in the bush. I crawl through some pretty thick stuff in the spring and fall and I've never felt handicapped by the extra 2 - 4 inches on my barrel.

I think you should handle some 22", 24", and 26" barreled rifles and see what you like. I'm a pretty large guy and the longer barrels seem to fit and point better for me - maybe for you it's a 23" or perhaps a 26". What I'm getting at is suss out the feel for yourself and don't worry about performance - I'm pretty sure the critters won't be able to tell.