Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 338 win mag with a 26" barrel

I have had a few of these a mix of Ruger,Winchesters and 1 Remington. Oh yeah throw in the 340 weatherby with a 26" barrel. Those that own 338's what are your preferences? Personally I kind of like the 26" barrel because of its balance .

The first .338 Win Mag that I built when I was in gunsmithing school had a 26" barrel. The .338 that I shot the most was a Pre '64 Winchester M/70 which had a 25" barrel, it was the most accurate M/70 I've ever owned. If I were to build another I would go with a 24 or 25" barrel as I like barrels of that length.

Shorter tubes can have their place in the field and so do the longer ones.

Got a 338-378 Bee MK5 with a 28" barrel including the brake. Don`t plan on making any changes.

Balancing is also matter of getting use to the rifle. My Ruger Alaskan and Ruger Frontier even with their 20" and 16.5" barrels respectively, balance just fine.

The only .338 i ever owned had a 26" Shaw #2.5 barrel on it. Never could get it to shoot right but I did like the way it looked and settled in when shooting. For open country hunting it was fine but it got a bit cumbersome when going through the trees. I enjoy shorter and lighter these days. I have also come to realize that my shooting ability doesn't warrant me having something that needs a barrel that long reach its velocity potential...i just don't shoot much past 350 yards

I have a LH SS Model 70 338 w/ 26" barrel. I find it very accurate and no problem in the field or woods.
I'm 6'6" and weight 270lbs, I have more problems going through the woods than a 26" barreled gun ;>

I had a 700 classic with a 24" and it was about perfect. I sold it and bought an XCR 700 with a 26" barrel, which I then had cut and crowned to 23".

If I ever buy or build another it will be 24".

23" .62" at the mzl is about model perfect to me..

Dober

Looks like the 23-24" tubes are winning

I like 24". My ruger M77 MKII balances out nicely that way.

I bought a 77 MK II 338 on closeout at Sports Authority about 6 years ago... I paid 350 bucks for it...my wife still got pizzed that I bought yet another gun even though that was a deal of a lifetime . I ran 2 boxes of 225 grain Remington ammo through it and it was one freaking accurate rifle. It might have been the most accurate 338 out of all of them but Duh I sold it. Oh I wish I had that one back.

My Abolt 338 came with a 26 in. barrel. I used it like that for several years knowing I really wanted it to be shorter. About four years ago I had it cut back to 23 in. Accuracy is about the same as before but I've not checked it through my chronograph for amount of velocity lost. I do like the balance of it better.

My XCR was 26"; I really didn't like that. Had it shortened to 23" (Dober's magic number!) and I like that much, much better. In fact 22" would be cool.

It would appear that the 3" cut off cost me about 60-70 fps. Now THAT is a bummer, since .338 is so marginal on game to begin with........

My 338 X-long aka 340 Tyrannosaur aka 338.8mm RemMag has a 26 inch barrel but it was custom turned to look like a lot like a model 70 FWT with a very short fast taper right at the reciever then a fairly gentle / straight taper from there out. Had this bbl like this for a very long time and I am a total velocity whore so put me in the 26 inch column. Oh, and it settles and hanldes nicely too.

I just can't like long-snouted rifles. I've tried!

My Sendero is 26" but it's a big beast anyway.

My hunting preferences are likely shaped by doing most of it here in the PNW. In "normal" woods I might like a 26" better, but I've just gotten used to 20" and 22" barrels and that's what feels right.

I'm good to go out to 600 yards with my .338 with a 26" or now a 23" barrel. Let me rephrase that. I shot it extensively out to 600 before, and it did great, and it's still banging my 600-yd gong with brutal regularity as a 23" tube. I'd not shoot further than that regardless at this point (and likely not THAT far in actual hunting conditions!).

I had a 26 inch 338, but now have a 24 inch. I like the 24 inch better.

My current .338 Win.mag. has a 22� ss PAC-NOR barrel on a Classic action with a McMillan featherweight stock. I have had them with 24 and 26 inch barrels, and I just don�t get the so-called advantages of a 26� barreled .338. It sure as hell is not my deal. CP.

I don't care for the way the longer barrels handle for the elk hunting I do.

I had my M70 .338 cut back to 23 in. I would have it done at 22" if I were to do it again.

On the other hand I have a 26 in barreled 7 mag that seems just right for the antelope I plan to use it on. I take it.

The 26 in barrels seem quieter and gentler on the shoulder.

I don't think the 26 offers any advantage velocity wise in a 338 just happened to make the M70 I owned balance better. I had the same gun in 7mm Rem mag and that balanced rather nicely. Then again in the Remington and Ruger 338 models I owned they felt completely different in the handling department..not better or worse just different.

My 338 winmag is stock Ruger profile Shilen at 24". I bought it that way back in the mid 80's. It prints 3/4" any day for me and 1/2" for my wife. The fellow I bought it from bought a new Ruger m77 to rechamber to a 375 calibre based on the 338 case. I am so happy he did not rework the rifle I bought from him for his project. I paid 200 bucks for it which was an excellent price even then. I have a 25" 375 and do not seem to notice a difference. I do like a short brush rifle though I use my 338 in the thick stuff. The scope is the problem there but at 25 yards I just sight down the barrel like a shotgun.

Have an old custom 338/378 wby. w/ a 28" shilen brl. no brake, have used it in the elk thicket's out west just fine, a newer super-america in 338 WM w/ the 26" brl. perfect combination of balance and velocity, I like longer barrel's.

Gunner