Converting a .30-06 to a .338-06

What would it cost to convert a .30-06 rifle to .338-06? Never had anything like that done before. Can they use the same barrel (just reeming it out to the new caliber, and adding rifling), or do they have to change the barrel? If they have to change the barrel, don't they have to make adjustments in the stock? All told, how much would all this cost, approximately?
 
 I started to think about this when I purchased my Kimber 84M in .308. The problems I am having with this particular rifle aside, it occured to me when I bought it that I would be better served with a .338-06 as my other rifle, as opposed to .30-06. There is not enough difference between .308 Winchester and .30-06 to be useful as a combo, but the .308 Win/.338-06 combo would be ideal for North American big game hunting. Thoughts on either of these points?

You might try Dan Pedersen at the Well Sports Store in Prescott, Arizona, 928-445-3655. He makes excellent cut-rifled barrels, which can duplicate any contour you want, and also does excellent rebores.
 
 I just had him rebarrel a Model 70 in 7mm STW to .300 H&H, and he also talked me into doing a rebore on the 7mm STW, to the .358 Shooting Times Alaskan. Both barrels are very accurate and drop right into the same stock, so with my barrel vise I now have a switch-barrel M70. He should be able to do a great job on your .30-06/.338-06 change; reboring costs less than $250.

If you are having problems with that rifle then sell it.
 
 A .338/06 makes little sense to me. If it were a popular cartridge then it would be fine. But it will never be as common sense shows that a .338 Win Mag with a 24" bbl will shoot further and a standard 30/06 will shoot heavy bullets well.
 
 If you reload you can load a .338 Magnum down.
 
 I always suggest selling a rifle and buying a standard one that you like. Similar cartridges to the .338/06 are the .35 Whelan, 30/06. .300 WSM and the mentioned .338 Mag.

Hawk, what rifle would you like to convert to 338-06? Is it stainless or chromoly?
 
 It will make a difference as, if you go the re-bore route, you can run into problems with the stainless barrels from USRAC. Dan Pedersen at Cut Rifle will rebore stainless M70's... Cliff LaBounty WILL NOT. I had a long conversation with Cliff about stainless M70 barrel's... they're very spotty in quality and vary in "hardness" throughout the length of an individual barrel. Some re-bores are successful with them, many are not. Honestly, unless you're trying to preserve the "look" of a vintage firearm, I'd rebarrel with PacNor, etc. A bloke here in MT will re-barrel with a Douglas bbl. for $300. I like the various Douglas contour's best, but PacNor can (via CNC) match any contour you want for a small extra fee.
 
 I had a 270 rebarreled to 338-06 two years ago... it's a wonderful round. Mine (22" bbl) was very accurate and gave up very little to my various 22" bbl'd 338 WM's. I got right at 2,700 fps with 225's and 2,550 fps with 250's. With the 225's that's only 150 fps less than my 338 WM's and only 100 fps less with 250's! I'd say it's a VERY efficient cartridge. Recoil is very mild. Personally, I'm sold on the round and agree entirely that it's a perfect companion to your 308. To get the additional fps in the 338 WM substantially higher powder charges are needed... recoil, of course, increases.
 
 As far as 338-06 brass, it's an absolute breeze to make cases from any 30-06 hull (which are plentiful and cheap). H4350 is the "best" powder I found for all bullet weights.
 
 Here in Montana the 338-06 has a bit of a "cult" following... it goes with elk like ham goes with eggs.
 
 Brad

Just wondering what made you choose 300H&H?

Mule deer
 How careful do you suppose you need to be about headspace each time you swap? No big deal to drop a gauge in there and check it, but do you?
 
 Hawkeye
 The 338-06 is a great cartridge, and IMO far better than the magnum, which I have never enjoyed shooting as they just flat kick too much. I shoot an honest 7#, 300WM with a hard butt plate and would gladly shoot it before any 338 I have ever shot... something about that cartridge I just do not like...
 art

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. The rifle is a Dakota 76, so it would definitely make more sense to rebarrel it than to sell it and buy another. I'd lose a lot more money by doing that than I would by just rebarrelling it with a same contoured barrel. I think that is what I am going to do, soon as I have some money for the job. It's going to be a .338-06. Seems like you lose little to the .338 Win Mag in way of trajectory (point blank range) and energy, and gain a lot in mag capacity, powder efficiency and reduced recoil.

Rick--Used one a .300 H&H a little that I borrowed, and liked it a lot. Have used various other .300 mags (Win., WSM, Wby., RUM), and decieed to try the original. The .300 H&H is easy to load for, and does anything a 7mm STW will, if you use the right bullet. It's just an "antique" version of the .300 WSM, but the cases feed super easy. Am getting 3050 with 180 Partitions into .6-.7 with R22.
 
 Sitka Deer--Headspacing isn't much problem in a Model 70, since you have to screw the barrel in tight enough to get the extractor cut in the barrel lined up with the extractor, but have checked it with gauge too. Works slick.
 
 Am doing the same thing with a Remington 700, with 26" .270, 22" .30-06 and 22" 9.3x62mm barrels, and will scratch witness marks on each as they're fitted by various gunsmiths (the '06 came on the factory rifle) so they can be fitted exactly the same each time. The witness mark on each barrel will line up with one on the bottom of the action.

Mule Deer that is a very interesting way to do things! Do you write down the zeroes for each barrel and find them to be repeatable...I would always check it by firing, but it would be nice to be able to just begin using it if you had to in a pinch.
 
 TIA,
 
 Mike

Mule Deer,
 I have a 300 H&H too. It is a pre 64 M70 with 26" barrel. It is without a scope presently and hasn't been shot in a while. I do remember factory 180 loads chronying at a little over 2800fps.
 
 I have been toying with the "Big Stick" philosophy of using a 150gr. X bullet and trying for 3300 fps. Not bad for the ancient warrior. [Linked Image]

Mike--Haven't gotten to the stage of checking zeroes yet, but am using Talley detachable mounts, and kind of expect to be able to switch scopes (a 3-9x on the .300, a 1.5-5x scope on the .358) along with barrels and have them be close.
 
 Rick--Yeah, the .300 H&H factory ammo is only available from Win. and Federal, both with 180's at a listed 2880, mostly because there are some OLD rifles in .300 H&H. But it's pretty easy to get 3300 with a 150 and safe pressures. Might even be able to get 3400 with moly-coated Fail Safes or blue X's. I settled on the 180 Partition because it is so easy to get to shoot, and i haven't found anything it won't kill yet.

I have spent $300 for a Douglas 358 stainless barrel installed and stamped and $600 for a Lilja barrel installed and stamped and the action accurized. You pays your money and you gets your choice !

Brad,
 
 Who is the fellow in MT who will rebarrel with PAC-NOR for $300 +/-? That doesn't sound like much more $ than a quality rebore and you get a high grade aftermarket barrel instead of the "keep the costs down" production barrel.
 
 Sincerely,
 
 Bearrr264
 
 PS If you want to send the fellow's name and number via PM, that's OK with me!

Mule Deer,
 
 Would headspacing be a greater challenge on a push feed Model 700 action? Even if it is, if one were to use a common family "case", one HS gauge would fill the void. I was thinking in terms Model 700 Stainless Mtn Rifle with a three (3) barrel set; 26" 22-243, 24" 260, and a 20/21/22" 358. Cover all the short action bases with one rifle, three Leupold scopes 6-18x/2-7x/2-7x and Leupold QD base and rings.
 
 Now, if that 223 points B&C whitetail will just stand still long enough from me to switch barrels, I'll be the next Milo Hansen!
 
 Sincerely,
 
 Bearrr264

Hawkeye, let me get this right: you're going to take a drill and saw to a Dakota 76? If you want a project gun, aren't there plenty of other ways to go? Am I missing something? What WON'T an '06 do?
 
 Jeff

Bear, if you re-read my post you'll notice I said he'd do a Douglas barrel for that price, not a PacNor... his name is Dennis Olson. He's in Plains MT. His info is usually in the back of any given issue of Rifle Magazine.
 
 Brad

Talus, I'm just talking about a new barrel, I guess. The action and stock would remain unalterred. I explained my reasons for it in the first post.

Brad,
 
 Opps! I was reading too fast for my 8086 processor brain to comprehend!
 
 Sincerely,
 
 Bearrr264

Bear, no problem, my brain currently is working with 2 mgb's of ram...
 
 Brad

Yeah, the same basic case would solve any headspacing problem, but witness marks work very well. The correct headspace isn't exact, it's a just a very narrow range from minimum to maximum, and screwing the barrel in the same way each time works very well.
 
 Your selection sounds good! Especially the .260 and .358.

Hawkeye, I just would like to say that doing this kind of a job can get pricey, if you don't watch your P's & Q's closely. Gunsmithing is expensive quick like. I would go with a new barrel, before trying to rebore one. Two people I know did that were never really happy with the results later.
 
 My brother did the conversion some years ago, but the labor was free really, his son was taking a course in gunsmithing etc. So he just had the price of the new barrel to contend with really. I believe that barrel was around $190 dollars then, which is cheap as opposed to a new rifle. Browning and Remington bolts are going for around the $650 mark and I know Winchester classics are in the $700 plus area.

Mushroom, I think you are right. I will go with a new barrel contoured to fit the stock.

Mule Deer,
 
 Thanks for the feedback. I agree that witness marks on take-down rifles work well as has been proven by the functionality of thousands of TD Savage Models 99. I would feel a little more comfortable being able to drop a HS gauge in to get the fit just right.
 
 Layne Simpson once wrote about a switch-barrel rifle that he had built on a Weatherby Varmintmaster foundation. As I recall, he had barrels in 22-250AI, 250-3000AI, and 7mmSGLC (Simpson's Good Little Cartridge), but he didn't discuss the job of actually changing the barrels. Layne is pretty vague sometimes and his research is pretty shallow sometimes. I sure hate it when "names" write something that is wrong and it becomes "fact" because a "name" wrote it.
 
 'Hope that you have a successful MT hunting season!
 
 Sincerely,
 
 Bearrr264

Thanks Mule Deer! Can't wait to hear/read how it works out.
 
 Mike