.338-06 vs .338 Win Mag

[nonpcnrarn]

I have a 270 Model 70 Featherwight Deluxe and love the looks of the gun. I was thinking of getting a big brother by buying another 270 Deluxe and having it rebarreled and rechambered to .338-06. A-Square now makes factory ammo so I don't have to make brass. I had both shoulder joints replaced and worry that the 338 Win Mag would be too much for my shoulder. Will a couple hundred feet per second make that big a difference on a bear's or elk's end of the rifle? Will the recoil be that much lower to be noticeably different to my shoulder? I would really like to have a big brother to the 270 Win. By the way the only Deluxe model I can find is 270. The wood is much nicer on the Deluxe Models. Hence the 270 as the base for the build. I like the .338 cal as the Barnes MRX bullet is made in that caliber and not available for any larger caliber. Half the state of CA is lead free hunting area and the MRX has a tungsten alloy center that increases SD while remaining lead free.

[zac0419]

It looks like they made that Feather-Deluxe in 30-06.

www.winchesterguns.com/products/catalog/historic-detail.asp?family=001C&mid=535102

It would be an east task, maybe couple hundred bucks to rebore to 338-06 from 30-06 if I understand it. Might be hard to find one? Good luck

[njsbd]

I to like to create new guns etc. However the .270 is very capable of elk or black bear ( I am supposing this is what you are referring to by bear) I Have taken several of each.FWIW. Read any of Jack Oconnors stuff might help.

[edk]

Funny how the 270 gets sold short but at only +0.007" on the same case the 280 is often touted as the perfect round.

Might you have to go heavier on the barrel profile on a 338 than what Winchester might be using on a 270?

[Len]

Whatever caliber you choose you may want to consider a muzzle brake. A correctly made brake makes some of the heaviest calibers very mild too shoot.

[nonpcnrarn]

Feb 7, 2011 9:37:43 GMT -5 Len said:

Whatever caliber you choose you may want to consider a muzzle brake. A correctly made brake makes some of the heaviest calibers very mild too shoot.

Coni Brooks of Barnes has one on her 6.5 lb .338 Win Mag and says it kicks like a 270. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask what kind she uses. I hope it is the kind that matches the barrel contour. The only Deluxe Featherweight I could find is the 270 so I would just get .338 cal barrel in the featherweight contour. Come to think of it, the muzzle brake might be a good idea for the 270. I'm sure my surgeon would prefer a 270 that kicks like a 243.

[swcr]

My dad has had 2 or 3 different .338-06s and I didn't feel that any of them kicked any harder than a .30-06.
He shoots a 225 grain Nosler Accubond. The last moose he shot with it was a little over 300 yards and the bullet went in one side and out the other.
On the other hand my brother shot a moose at roughly the same range a couple of years ago with a .270 Win using the 140 grain Nosler Accubond and it broke the left shoulder before exiting the other side.

[agrizz]

Your 270 will work for anything on this continent if you just change bullets for the game at hand. The 338-06 will have less recoil than the .338 in the same weight rifle. I use a .338 win mag in a ruger 77 and have no issues with it however I do not have a shoulder problems either.

[Deleted]

I had a 338-06 once and like a fool sold it when the 300 WSM came out. I liked the round and found recoil not bad at all. It was a flat shooter and capable of taking any game I'd go after.

[doghawg]

I have a .338/06 40 degree Ackley Improved...hows that for a mouthful... ;D. that I had built in the late 80's. It's on a Whitworth (Mauser) action with 23" Douglas barrel.
Here is the cartridge along with a .270 and '06...

I've always thought .338 Win mag recoil was obnoxious and have found the .338/06 to be noticeably milder. I had a shoulder scoping done two years ago and they must have left a nerve ending or two hanging out of the joint because I've lost all interest in hard kicking rifles. With 200 gr. deer loads at 2750 fps and 225 gr. Hornadys at 2670 fps I figure this gun is as big as I'm ever going to need.
This is the only elk I've killed with this caliber (plus 5 or 6 deer) but he didn't seem to notice there wasn't a belt on the cartridge case or the bullets didn't cost a buck apiece... ;D..225 Hornady in the shoulder, through both lungs and under the hide on the far side.

[kywindage]

I have killed elk and mule deer with a .338-06 made by New Ultra Light Arms. it is a wonderful cartridge and the elk I killed was at 309 yards, and I used a 200 grain Nosler Ballistic tip that was not recovered. Truth is however, the elk would have dropped with the same shot from a 180 30-06 or 130 .270, or even a 117 gr. .257 Roberts. I plan to have my NULA rebarreled to a more useful, all-round cartridge.

[Aggie01]

the .338 TBD (45-100 necked to .338) will be perfectly in between the 338-06 and the 338 win mag) plus a huge rim for the single shot fans.
I wish I had the funds to chase it right now.

[steveb]

I have a Winchester made 1917 Enfield, thats chambered in 30-06. Have often though of having it re-done to 338-06 or .35 Whelen. Hmmnnn.... steve b

[kaytod]

I have a soft spot for the .33's. My personal preference is the 338win, and it is also what my wife shoots as her go-to gun. I also had a 338 Lapua as well as a good friend of mine.
He is older and not as "fit" as he once was. Although he is enamoured with his Sako, by the time he fitted it with a 2-10x56 Zeiss, 5 round box mag from the trg-42 and sling the rifle was in the neighborhood of 12lbs. Since it was burdensome for him to travel in the Wyoming hills with that rifle and pack, I introduced him to the Weatherby ultra light accumark in 338-06.
He purchased one and complete with sling, 2.5-8 Leupold and a mag full of 210grainers it tips the scales at a smidge over 8 pounds.

I was "elected" to work up a load for the rifle with 210X TS, and settled on a load that produced 2700 fps from his 24" barrel. He has since killed two elk with it, which greatly improved his average.

Upon load development I found that the recoil impulse in his "light' rifle was not unpleasant at all being a bit slower to push. 225's were softer yet to me. However if you want to run 185's a-zippin it is a bit lively getting back the speed needed to slap you a bit.

I have come to the conclusion that the 338-06 is far underrated and quite capable, not to mention a pleasure to shoot. I guess O'neil, Keith and Hopkins got it right many years ago, they just needed the great .338 dia bullets we now have.

I don't think you'd ever be sorry.

[nonpcnrarn]

I have a barreled action in 30-06. It is a Fabrique Nationale barreled action that is as old as me. It has a Canjar trigger that breaks like a glass capillary tube at 2 lbs. The sporter weight barrel has more metal than the featherweight barrel and could easily be rebored. I am not sure what a replacement Featherweight style stock and action bedding would cost. I could finish the stock and add a Limbsaver pad myself. Would it cost more than a new rifle ($900)?