Nomercy448

Just a curious question on a lazy pre-season afternoon...

I've mentioned before that I'm rebarreling/rebuilding my first deer rifle to hopefully wring out better accuracy - a 30-06 Ruger M77MkII. I'm also in the market for another 338WM.

So then I got to thinking - why not just buy an extra barrel for my '06? Then I could change out in a matter of hours, and only have about $500 invested, instead of another ~$2000 in a rifle and optic.

I'd be leaning towards the 225-250grn pills, where past experiences with both tell me to expect 50-100fps difference, in favor of the WM.

Any suggestions? Thoughts?

Big Uncle

It would be simple to do the .338-06 A-Square on that strong action. Just a barrel without fooling with the bolt. I would imagine that you would have feeding issues if you tried to use a .30-06 and a .338 WM in a switch barrel outfit.

I have never had a .338-06 but have toyed with the idea. I use a .338 WM quite a bit and the idea of having a lighter rifle with less recoil, and only giving up 200 fps or so sounds attractive.

Nomercy448

I didn't say it very clearly, I knew what I was trying to say - just didn't get it on the page so everyone else would!!!!

I'm only considering the 338 A-Square as a switch barrel on my old .30-06. If I go 338WM, I'd get a new rifle.

So I'm deciding between a lot more than just the cartridges, but trying to really assess which CARTRIDGE I want instead of deciding between:

338-06 switch barrel on my existing rifle = $500 for new barrel, ~100-150fps slower, would only get to shoot 338A2 or 30-06 one at a time

vs.

338wm new rifle = ~$2000 in scope and rifle, ~100-150ish fps faster, wouldn't have to change barrels and rezero to switch.

Eliminating everything but the cartridges themselves, I'm a bit torn.

Big Uncle

I have never been a big fan of switch barrel rigs. I see a lot of traveling hunters with their switch barrel Blasers but most of them are from Europe where it is tough to own very many rifles. The concept of a quick change barrel makes some sense on take down rifles like the Blaser, but changing barrels on a traditional rifle sounds like a headache to me.

With QD rings you could share a scope among different rifles and keep the cost down a bit.

Have you considered the 9.3x62? It seems to be the new (very old) hot choice for USA hunters. It is very common abroad and ammo is easy to find. Some local guys have screwed a new barrel on .270 and .30-06 rifles to use this grand old cartridge.

Sheridan

I don't have a huge arsenal, but I do have "back-up" rifles for each type of hunting I do.

So, in this case - I like the idea of the .338WM as a back-up for your .30-06 and vise a versa.

For me it's my 7MM RM and my .338WM.

jerry d

Certain "cool factor" to a 338-06.

Nomercy448

Definitely a consideration, Jerry!!!

Eh, I'm still kicking it around. I believe I'll be buying/building another 338WM in the near future anyway as part of another matched rifle set project I'm working up, but I'm on the fence about simply "upsizing" my tried and true old deer rifle. I'm rebarreling it anyway this spring, so adding another barrel at that time might save me a little cost - better said this way: it's going to be at the shop, so if I want two barrels, now is the time to do it.

I tend to agree, Big Uncle, about Switch barrels being a hassle if you use BOTH cartridges a lot, but I think they make sense if you use one a lot, and one not - plus, I enjoy them for some reason. For cartridges I use much, I hate them, been there, tried that. I don't even like having AR uppers without lowers!! But I have and have had a couple switch barrel rigs that I've liked. In this case, it likely makes more sense than most cases, as I NEED a 30-06 a heck of a lot more frequently than I do a 338 of either flavor. I have back ups in either class (Hi, I'm Nomercy, and I'm a gun-a-holic...) in case I didn't have time to swap. The only real headache for me is the range trip to reconfirm the re-zero. I record the correction between the two loads, dial on the scopes, and reset the turrets - but I like to put it across a bench to make sure it's right before hunting it. Takes about an hour to change over with a Savage, goes faster with a Rem style - as this Ruger would be. Savages are easier to set for headspace, but you have to do it every time and you have to remove the stock unless you pin your barrel nut. Rem styles can be faster: with a rear or port entry wrench, you don't even have to remove it from the stock, just torque it down to the spec'd torque, confirmed with witness marks if you like, check the go & no-go, rezero, and it's done.

I've been very tempted to get 338wm, 30-06, and 243 or 22-250 barrels for this rifle then stack a bunch of different species on it, who knows, that might still happen.

app

Hi Big Uncle/Jerry/ao

I'm newbie on this forum and I'm from other similar forum..been hunting for long yrs..& all kinds of calibers, 270/7mm/30.06/375,..my latest acquirement is a 22.250 for varmint-hunting(jackal + lynx)..more exclusively..

I realize this thread is +- 1 yr old, but i'd just like to enquire what then happened to your switch-barrel-project regards the 30.06>338wm calibre..was it successful ?..any detail/experiences ?

Reason is tht I also/similarly considered a switch-barrel job some time ago, but the practicalities/costs were to prohibitive on my budget, so, I then chose to start reloading my 338wm(Ruger SS) extensively..
I then discovered just how versatile this cal really is, nl, I could use pills of 160/180/200gn downloaded to 30.06 specs, or I could upload 180/200/225/250gn pills to 300wm velocities, easily, & if needed..
I could even download 225/250/275gn pills to 338Fed specs, ie 225/250gn at 2100>2450fps, easily..

Iow, this one rifle can then be utilized to hunt from small(deersized) buck(with 160gns) right up to Elk/Buff/Eland(with 250/275/300gns),easily..
Iow further, this one rifle then became my open-plains/mountain/bush-rifle, all in one packet.. AND, at the velocities I am currently reloading the re-coil is virtually quite similar to 30.06 velocities, especially with the lighter pills(160/180gn) as mentioned.. although it does get more noticeable with the heavier pills at the higher velocities..but not at all unbearable as such, to me..

A further surprize was tht this .338wm cal has AWESOME killing power, much more ,in my view, thn my previous calibres, ie, game would drop at oneshot, no matter how big or how small, if I do my bit...&even if the shot is a little offish, it still succumbs right there & then..in this regard this calibre is quite superior IMHO, & especially then with the heavier pills..

I also found tht the cost of reload-ammo is far cheaper thn shop-ammo..naturally/especially over the long term, & tailored to yo specific rifle(& as I was fortunate to got hold of a stash of 1x fired shells quite reasonably)..

Regards
app

Nomercy448

Since this original posting, I've actually made up my mind and spent some money. I decided that I do indeed need another 338wm, AND to go ahead with converting my 30-06 to a 30-06 + 338-06 Switch rig. I was placing an order for a handful of barrels, so I took advantage of the volume discount and bought as many as I thought I could use. They're all supposed to be here in late June or July, and the end result will be 3 switch barrel rifle rigs - 30-06/338-06, 7mmRM/338wm, and 300wm/458wm - plus a 416 Rigby single-tuber. I spent a little too much this winter on a couple revolver projects, plus a couple new AR's for me and the missus, then a couple of exhibition grade stock blanks, so the barrels will sit around for a few months collecting dust before they get spun onto the receivers.

To clarify what I was asking about in this post, again, I wasn't ever considering a comparison of the 338wm vs. the 30-06. I've owned both (and since this originally aired - I own a 338WM again), and have killed game with both. My question was more a casual "convince me I'm not crazy for wanting a 338-06 too".

I'm not really a fan of the lightweight bullets in the 338wm, nor of superweight pills in the 30-06 or 300wm, hence my desire for different cartridges for their respective applications. At the end of the day, I know I CAN DO a lot of things with my reloading press, but I also know there are only a few things that I WANT TO DO. There are disadvantages of running 160grn 338wm rounds just like there are disadvantages to running 220grn 30-06 loads. I'm a type that leans towards selecting the most desirable bullet weight for a given bore diameter.

Luckily for me, I'm financially irresponsible enough to blow any spare dollars I can scrounge up on rifles, so I'm not stuck with just one or two rifle cartridges in my safe - heck, I'm glad I'm not limited to a dozen cartridges, let alone a few!

flags

To go from 06 to 338 Win isn't as simple as just replacing the barrel. You need to change the bolt too since the base dimensions of the 2 cartridges are different. I was going to turn an old 7mm Mag into an 06 and the gunsmiths all told me the bolt needs replaced too. he 338 Win base is the same size as the 7mm Mag base so you would end up with the same problem.

I'd suggest going to the 9.3x62 Mauser instead. The base of both the 06 and the 9.2 are the same and the 9.3 is a great round that has been around for well over 100 years and is very, very popular in Europe and Africa. You can get heavier bullets in the 9.3 than you can the 338.