Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 338 W.M. to a 338 RUM??

I have a Remington 338 win. mag. I want to have it rebarreled to a 338 RUM. Is the action long enough(Remington 700) for this cartridge? Do I have to have the bolt face opened?

I'm pretty sure you will be fine in doing that conversion as I did the same thing many years ago.You might need a new follower for the mag box but otherwise you should be good to go. No bolt face alteration needed.

I rebarreled a 338 win mag into a 338RUM with a 26" Brux #5 contour barrel.

My mag length on the 338 win mag was 3.685"

I had the smith set the lands at 3.625" on a seated 225 gr Accubond

I seat the 225 AB at a 3.600" and expect the COAL to increase with throat wear

That being said, this is a much shorter throat than factory SAAMI spec chambers and as such I can not load to book max. Book max is 98 gr RL25 in the Nosler #5 manual and if I get over 94 grs I lose the primer pockets. On very hard to find 338RUM brass that is not a good thing.

But the gun shoots lights out so I just mind my manners and keep my wild side down and it is an excellent caliber and gun.

IMO if you can't get to 3.600" COAL because of mag length or ejection port size then I wouldn't do it.

Not an unreasonable conversion, but consider ammo availability. If you need store-bought ammo, the 338 WM will be easier to find (in my experience).