.300 Weatherby Mag
New member
Anyone have any experiece with this caliber?? I'm looking at a building a custom in 338-06 off a mauser 98 action I have sitting here... Looking for a good close range thumper for pigs and deer in timber...
338-06??
- Thread starter .300 Weatherby Mag
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Yes, do it! I have a rifle chambered in this round and have been very tempted to build another. I have a custom 1903 .338-06 with a Leupold VXIII 2.5-8X36 sitting on top, 24" fluted barrel. I picked this rifle up for $600 used at a local gun shop and by the time I added the scope, rings and bases I walked out the door with about a total of $1100 in it back in 2005. It was a consignment sale so I got to talk to the original owner and received as well his reloading dies and brass.
I've only got one load for this rifle and it is straight from the Hornady Manual. IIRC the manual states 57.1 grains of RL-15 is max charge, I'm using 56.5 grains, with CCI LR primer, properly headstamped Norma brass, and Hornady's 200 grain SP bullet. This combination is getting me 2880 fps across the chrony, and I was able to put 5 shots inside of one inch with this load so I quit development. Zeroed at 200 yards it only has 24" of drop at 400 and 1600 ft-lbs of energy plenty for any elk I might run across so it really isn't what I'd call a short range rifle more of a medium range one.
I've only killed one game animal however with this rifle and that was a pronghorn doe last season. I took her at 200 yards with my load, slightly quartering shot. Bullet went in behind the shoulder and exited near the last rib, she only ran about 50 yards but she was dead on impact.
My one and only complaint about my rifle is the weight. My rifle comes in at about 9.5 lbs and it gets kind of heavy when carrying chasing elk. However the weight makes it a honey to shoot because a 200 grain bullet moving nearly 2900 fps could be a shoulder thumper for sure.
I've only got one load for this rifle and it is straight from the Hornady Manual. IIRC the manual states 57.1 grains of RL-15 is max charge, I'm using 56.5 grains, with CCI LR primer, properly headstamped Norma brass, and Hornady's 200 grain SP bullet. This combination is getting me 2880 fps across the chrony, and I was able to put 5 shots inside of one inch with this load so I quit development. Zeroed at 200 yards it only has 24" of drop at 400 and 1600 ft-lbs of energy plenty for any elk I might run across so it really isn't what I'd call a short range rifle more of a medium range one.
I've only killed one game animal however with this rifle and that was a pronghorn doe last season. I took her at 200 yards with my load, slightly quartering shot. Bullet went in behind the shoulder and exited near the last rib, she only ran about 50 yards but she was dead on impact.
My one and only complaint about my rifle is the weight. My rifle comes in at about 9.5 lbs and it gets kind of heavy when carrying chasing elk. However the weight makes it a honey to shoot because a 200 grain bullet moving nearly 2900 fps could be a shoulder thumper for sure.
Yesireee!
Mine is a converted M700LH with a 22" barrel because I wanted the same weight and balance as the '06 it replaced. I sent a case with a 250 Nosler seated out for throating to Shilen. With a 200gr Hornday, 4320 gives 2810 with an ES of 29fps. If I had to do it again, I'd have it throated for 210 Noslers.
Handloader #109 has a very good article and would be worth the $10 to Wolfe Publishing.
Mine is a converted M700LH with a 22" barrel because I wanted the same weight and balance as the '06 it replaced. I sent a case with a 250 Nosler seated out for throating to Shilen. With a 200gr Hornday, 4320 gives 2810 with an ES of 29fps. If I had to do it again, I'd have it throated for 210 Noslers.
Handloader #109 has a very good article and would be worth the $10 to Wolfe Publishing.
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Have not used mine on game yet. A local shop had a custom built on an Interarms action with a Shilen barrel in a McMillan stock that had been setting on the shelf for over 2 years. I offered to buy the Zeiss scope off it a few months ago and the shop owner made me an offer for the whole package I could not pass up. My intent was to keep the scope and sell the rifle for enough to basically get the scope for free, but since it came with 1 box of handloads I made the mistake of shooting it 1st. It is a consistent 1" gun with moderate recoil. I bought bullets and dies and have developed some 225 grain loads at around 2650fps that are accurate.
Looking a load data you can get it to perform about the same as the new 338 Ruger Compact Magnum. A little less than 150fps less than the 338 Win mag. Factory loads are arouond $70-$80 per box, so it is pretty much a handloaders round, but bullets and powders are easy to find and brass can be made easily from 30-06 brass. A box of 100 bullets and a set of dies cost me less than 1 box of factory loads and I had everything else I needed.
Looking a load data you can get it to perform about the same as the new 338 Ruger Compact Magnum. A little less than 150fps less than the 338 Win mag. Factory loads are arouond $70-$80 per box, so it is pretty much a handloaders round, but bullets and powders are easy to find and brass can be made easily from 30-06 brass. A box of 100 bullets and a set of dies cost me less than 1 box of factory loads and I had everything else I needed.
azsixshooter
New member
That's a sweet rifle Taylorce1...I've had the idea to build a 338-06 off an '03 action for awhile now. Thanks for such good pics!
There's something about that .338 that has gotten my attention. I didn't realize there where so many variants. I always liked what I read about the .338 Lapua, and the .338 Win Mag, but I had no idea that there where so many others.
Not to hijack the thread, but....
Does anyone know where there is some kind of chart that compares the ballistics (trajectory, fps, and energy) associated with all the different choices. I'm thinking of slowly putting together a nice bolt action rifle.
DBAR
Not to hijack the thread, but....
Does anyone know where there is some kind of chart that compares the ballistics (trajectory, fps, and energy) associated with all the different choices. I'm thinking of slowly putting together a nice bolt action rifle.
DBAR
edward hogan
New member
Agree with the comment on going Ackley Improved.
I am a bigtime believer in the .338dia for longrange and power; but from what the OP said about close up thumper and in timber, the .35 Whelen comes to mind.
Lot of flexibility with the Whelen, can load pistol bullets, cast almost anything, and it is pretty easy to find .35cal rifle bullets these days as they aren't in high demand.
I think the greater variety of bullets you could cast in .358 diameter, (probably wouldn't have to even size the bullets), plus larger diameter working for you in the dense timber is a plus over the .338....
Not to be a wet blanket on the .338-06, but the flexibility is all in the Whelen's favor. Whatever you go with, have fun and am sure you will have a great handling rifle...
I am a bigtime believer in the .338dia for longrange and power; but from what the OP said about close up thumper and in timber, the .35 Whelen comes to mind.
Lot of flexibility with the Whelen, can load pistol bullets, cast almost anything, and it is pretty easy to find .35cal rifle bullets these days as they aren't in high demand.
I think the greater variety of bullets you could cast in .358 diameter, (probably wouldn't have to even size the bullets), plus larger diameter working for you in the dense timber is a plus over the .338....
Not to be a wet blanket on the .338-06, but the flexibility is all in the Whelen's favor. Whatever you go with, have fun and am sure you will have a great handling rifle...
.300 Weatherby Mag
New member
I like the whelen but, there are so many more options for .338 bullets... I'm stuck with lead free options if I want to hunt with it here in the PRK, so no cast bullets for hunting...
I've got the Whelen (another 1903) as well and and can tell you that there is no need to go Ackley Improved on either to achieve positive head spacing with either cartridge. Plus from all that I've read you will not even see a real gain in FPS, sure it will go faster but you will not on average see anything like a 100 fps gain. The only time I'd recommend an AI case is if you step up to the .375 or .411 versions of the 06 cartridge. However owning an Improved cartridge can be cool and I don't fault anyone for doing it however there is no real benifit in the .338-06
The .338 does offer a better selection of hunting bullets to use although the Whelen isn't far behind. I didn't buy a Whelen to shoot pistol bullets in so I don't see that as a strong selling point, I have smaller rifles to shoot lighter bullets in. However I am shooting 180 grain Speer FP from time to time because I had a bunch of them from when I owned a .35 Rem. I prefer the 225-250 grain bullets out of the Whelen.
Here is a pic of my Whelen as well!
The .338 does offer a better selection of hunting bullets to use although the Whelen isn't far behind. I didn't buy a Whelen to shoot pistol bullets in so I don't see that as a strong selling point, I have smaller rifles to shoot lighter bullets in. However I am shooting 180 grain Speer FP from time to time because I had a bunch of them from when I owned a .35 Rem. I prefer the 225-250 grain bullets out of the Whelen.
Here is a pic of my Whelen as well!
Disagree in part. No it is not needed as in it is not vital. If I were to build a 35 Whelen I would not choose the IMP chamber simply because of factory ammo. In his case, since he's going to a wildcat, he should get the IMP chamber. While he does not "need" the IMP's superior head spacing it is nice to have, and if you're going wildcat, go wildcat.
Building a 35 Whelen seems silly since you can buy them factory made.
.338-06 is a factory round though not popular one and the AI version doesn't offer any thing over the standard round. There is plenty of shoulder to headspace off of and the AI version doesn't headspace any better than the standard. A-Square and Nosler both provide loads for the .338-06 though expensive. Plus A-Square, Norma and Weatherby have the brass properly headstamped available. While not a popular chambering this is no longer a wildcat round since A-Square got SAAMI to recognize it, though Winchester, Federal, and Remington don't produce it.
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I have to figure that anyone building a rifle is going to reload. The factory stuff is rare and expensive, it may as well not exist.
I've talked to more than a few 1000 yard shooters who chose the 280 AI chamber over standard simply because of better head spacing, so it does offer some advantages. Maybe not a lot, but some.
Talor, it's too bad we can't sit by the fire in hunting camp with some coffee, I bet we could have an all night friendly debate on rifles.
I've talked to more than a few 1000 yard shooters who chose the 280 AI chamber over standard simply because of better head spacing, so it does offer some advantages. Maybe not a lot, but some.
Talor, it's too bad we can't sit by the fire in hunting camp with some coffee, I bet we could have an all night friendly debate on rifles.
Hats off to Garry and Taylor
Outstanding example of disagreement without being disagreeable. I am with the standard case configurations. I used to think that my 7mm Weatherby offered a unique setup because of case design and neck length over the 7mm RM; however, after having custom 280Rem, 338-06, and 6.5-06 barrels made with long throats, I get the extra velocity without sacrificing accuracy or ES at the chrony. The variability makes it so intriguing.
Outstanding example of disagreement without being disagreeable. I am with the standard case configurations. I used to think that my 7mm Weatherby offered a unique setup because of case design and neck length over the 7mm RM; however, after having custom 280Rem, 338-06, and 6.5-06 barrels made with long throats, I get the extra velocity without sacrificing accuracy or ES at the chrony. The variability makes it so intriguing.
Which is why those rounds loose all of there advantage because most are in the hands of inexperianced shooters. Weatherby has always been those rounds that people buy in an attempt to mitigate poor shooting. Guess what, a gut shot is still a gut shot. I don't mind magnums, got a few myself, but magnums should be bought for the right reasons. I have never been in the situation that a magnum was nessesary, maybe if I lived out west though. I sold lots of magnums and ultra mags at shows in Michigan for guys going to the UP, why I have to ask, whats up there that a plain jane 30-06 can't handle well.
Built one on a VZ24 Mauser action with 23.5 inch Shilen lone star barrel. Machined the scope mounts into the barrel for a forward (scout) mount.
Hunt everything with it from pigs to elk.
With the 2x leupold and a sling it'll stay accurate to 400 yards and deliver a 215 grain sierra at 2700fps.
Close in I use Hornady 250 grain round nose at 2500. It's a cartridge that doesn't need hyper velocity loads to work.
You'll find it's an easy rifle to load for, and quite accurate.
Hunt everything with it from pigs to elk.
With the 2x leupold and a sling it'll stay accurate to 400 yards and deliver a 215 grain sierra at 2700fps.
Close in I use Hornady 250 grain round nose at 2500. It's a cartridge that doesn't need hyper velocity loads to work.
You'll find it's an easy rifle to load for, and quite accurate.