bigcountry

Maybe its the name, but I seem to like the idea of a 35 whelen better. Performance isn't bad, and it is a commercial round somewhat.

Josh Sorensen

The whelen is another great round. Almost no practical diffeerence between the 338/06 and the whelen, in all thier versions. The 338/06, 35 whelen, and the 9.3x62 are all very similar rounds with the 9.3x62 holding the edge in larger bullets. The 338/06 holds the endge in 160-210gr bullets, the whelen in the 225-250, and the 9.3x62 in 250-310. They are all great rounds. The 338 also holds the edge in BC which should help trajectory and wind drift a little on paper, but again hardly any practical application. I have a whelen, and wouldn't think twice about getting the 338/06, great round no question if I lived back in the lower 48. Now that I live in alaska, the 9.3x62 gets a more serious look, 286gr bullet at 2500fps is pretty impressive, thats starting to give the 375 a run for its money.

James B

I am just going from memory here but while both are fine big game cartridges, the 338-06 has a bit better ballistics than the Whelen. The Whelen would hold a little edge in bullet size but the 338-06 would have a bit better sectional density. As a performer on Big game, the 338-06 is drastically underated. Having never really been a factory proposion, it will remain that way. I quess it is chambered in one of the Weatherby rifles. I have LONG wanted to rebarrel the 7600 Remington pump to that caliber. I have not however been able to find anyone to do the job for me. Anyone know of an outfit that would do the job?

oldelkhunter

As I have been researching this cartridge another thing always sticks out..they shoot extremely well. Another good feature is any bullet 200 grains or over will automatically be an Elk bullet. Tired of carrying around big guns and this will be lighter but not too light.
James there are any number of quality reborers around the country who would take that barrel and rebore to 338.

Virginia7

Go for it! 338/06 is one dang fine cartridge. As noted, Weatherby chambers a rifle for
it (or did). A-Square standardized it, so it's technically no longer a "wildcat", and I think
Nosler now loads for it. Federal will probably be next.
I've often read that an ideal two gun battery for hunting in North America would be a
270Win., and a 338Win.Mag. I disagree. Personally, if you feel the need for a magnum,
then move up to the 375H&H. Anything less is just adding velocity to what's already out there.
A good pair, IMHO, would be a 270Win. (or 280Rem.), teamed up with eihter a 338/06 or the 35Whelen.
I sure wish one of the majors would come out with a 338/06 (Ruger, Rem. or Win., etc.).
Well, I guess Winchester wouldn't do it as it comes too close to their 338mag.

DM

I own or have owned one or more .338-06, .338-06 imp, 350 Rem. mag. (same V as the Whelen) , 9.3x74R, 9.3x74R imp...

I hunted and killed big game with most of them too, but to me the REAL difference between them is the bullets!!!

I settled on the .338-06 imp. for my (at that time) one gun for life and took 13 big game animials with it the first 3 years after it was finished. Includeing, brown bear, moose, caribou, deer ect....

For me i like the .338 cal. better than the 35 cal. but that's on "bigger" game not deer! All of them are WAAAAAAAY over kill for deer, elk sized game.

I see guys posting big velocities out of there .338-06's and i was never able to get them with the 3 i've owned to date!! I chronograph my loads, no guessing here so maybe that's the difference?????

Another thing, all of mine performed better with 250 grain and heavier bullets!! I don't mean accuracy wise, i'm talking efficiency here! For the powder burned the heavier bullets went almost as fast as the 200/210's at what appeared the same pressures!! Also, the heavier bullets give a lot better penetration!!

One experiment i tried was to load 33 Winchester bullets in my .338-06 at max V, and i shot about 10 sitka blk. tailed deer with them!! WOW what bombs!! I head shot a few, and rib shot the rest!!! MAN, those things blow, and did a LOT of damage!!! They work like a "super powered" 270 Win. with 130's!!!

DO NOT use those bullets on big game at more than 33 Win. V's, you just don't get good enough penetration!!! I'm talking bigger than deer and only then on deer with a rib shot!!!

Anyway, i've shot thousands of .338-06 rounds, i like the package i just don't need that kind of power for my hunting these days... I wouldn't build an imp., i'd go with a std. .338-06.

I noticed the other day i still have a new Douglas premium bbl. chambered for .338-06 imp., and fit for a 700 Rem. action. It's full diameter ready to be countoured.. I guess it's something i never got around to!!!

Anyway, here's a moose i took with my .338-06 imp..

Drilling Man

frizzellr

Almost equal in performance with less powder and less recoil. Plus figure in the availability of 06 brass and you end up shooting for less cost.

broey1

I've never owned or even shot a 338/06, but my 35 Whelen is simply INCREDIBLE...... so, I'd assume the 338/06 would be just as nice.... little quicker, little flatter.

Maybe it's just nostalgia or whatever, but I kind of like the necked up '06s. Like I said, I love my whelen. Also, have seen 8mm/06s and thought it was intriguing.

mossy33oak

ok, yall got me a little interested in this after reading all these replies, so some questions.........say I have an old 760 30-06, I get my gunsmith to rebarrel it to .338-06. Can a pump handle the extra pressures needed to get the performance desired outta this round?Or would it be better to use a bolt action for this project? And can the average person take a 30-06 casing and squeeze a 338 bullet into it without modifying the casing any?

oh and another thing, where would i find dies?

frizzellr

www.midwayusa.com