Ruger american 30-06 into 338-06 or 35 whelan?? Any opinions?

[tygar]

LOL I was just being funny. I'm 240+ down from a 270 power lifter. I have owned & shot everything up to 470 Nitro & still have up to 450 Watts & have most of the big guns you can name.

The straighter the case, like a 375H&H it's a push, like said above, the more overbore the sharper the recoil. So, given the same bullet wt & speed the 35 would "kick" less than the 338. A really good example is comparing any of my 4 .375 H&Hs to my 375/338. Both shooting the same bullet at the same speed & the difference between the "push" of the H&Hs & "kick" of the 375/338 is very evident.

But I will admit that the closer I get to that big 70, the less I'm inclined to sit at a bench & run 20-30 rounds thru one of my thumpers + I will admit to a few with muzzle breaks. There are also tricks for shooting boomers from the bench. I have an adjusting seat on my benches where I can lower it so I can sit straight up (I also use higher rests). That way you are more like when you shoot standing. It lets the recoil push you backwards without leaning into the rifle on the bench. That is where you get hammered, leaning into it.

I learned that the hard way back in the 70s with my first .460 Wby. Back then they were unported & I being the "stud"(meaning dumb), I figured I could just shoot it like anything else. Wrong! After 6 rounds, I was seeing black with bright stars. Actually got a concussion. Learned right there, shoot those things from the bench straight up without leaning in, just snug to the shoulder.

I don't think either will be very bad to shoot. I'm more concerned about the skinny brl.

If you get a chance to check out the Ruger American, it looks like it could be a very nice light weight mountain rifle. (if it shoots).

I also like lightweight hunting guns & even have a 6# .338 winmag.

[Hardcast416taylor]

When I made up sporters using `Bubba`ed` 1917 Enfields into .338/06 rifles I used E.R. Shaw barrels. I was forced to use their 2 1/2 magnum sporter because of the 338 caliber. On my last build I had them do straight fluting to cut the weight a bit, a good decision I`m thinking. My pre `64 Win. Model 70 in .30-06 with 180 gr. J bullets kicks a bit more than one of the Enfields using 210 gr. J bullets. Since this old body of mine is getting picky about recoil, I`m pretty much going to all cast in all my rifles, even my beloved .416 Taylor is now an all lead shooter.Robert

[tygar]

Well just got thru shooting the 06. Short story. Easy shooting & quite accurate. (at least at 50yds) Had 2 one hole groups & 2 with 2 touching & 1 slightly out. 2 different bullets, 165, 168 & 2 different powders. Can't remember exactly, I think 4831 & 4064 but won't swear to it.

The pad was very nice. I was locked up tight in order to get the eye relief as I just took my Leu 3.5-10 off a 10-22 & didn't want to screw it up & the recoil was very moderate.

I talked to my buddy gun smith who makes some of my guns & he said no way on boring the brl out. Need to put a new one on to make the 338 or 35. I do believe I'll go with my original plan to make it a 338-06, especially since I have many boxes of 338s and "0" 35s.

I am impressed with the Ruger American. The only thing I can say that isn't great is the adjustable trigger. It is supposed to go down to 3#s but I turned it all the way out & its still about 5. It does break clean & I had no problem shooting it but I like 2.5-3# hunting trigger.

So, I like it. I've been wanting a beater .308 so I believe I'll get another. Besides at $286 it's hard to go wrong.

[kycrawler]

I wouldn't count out reboring yet jess in Oregon says you need .100 thickness at the muzzle which would be .538 if your going the .338 route I have a new 700 adl here boxed up ready to ship to him to be bored to 35 whelen . The 375 whelen I have that he bored shoots like a dream

[tygar]

Thanks, I'll measure it. I currently have a Marlin 30-30 to send to him to make a 375 Win but to be honest I wouldn't mind a little more weight on the barrel & I could pick the most advantageous twist.

[Motor]

They are both good. That's a hard choice. My brother built a .338-06 on a Mauser action. He simply loves it.

Motor

[oldblinddog]

I just put together a .338-06 on a Charles Daly Mark X Mauser (just picked it up today from cerakote). I have also owned a .338-06 A.I. In my opinion, they kill just as well as the .338 Win Mag, of which I have owned several. I used a Remington #3 contour Douglas barrel chambered and finished by Douglas. I had the barrel in hand two weeks after ordering it over the phone. The local gunsmith had it for two months before he got around to installing it on the action.
Attachment 158378

[tygar]

I've had a special 31" heavy brl, 1in14 twist 308 barrel & the gun it's going on at my GS for at least a yr, a 24" heavy Brl for a DMPS 308 build w/upper & lower, 6mo, a Para P15 comp for 1yr+, a M1 Carbine 6mo(he said pick it up next week), Rem Guide Gun in 6.5 RM for 3 or 4 mo. Probably more I can't remember. The problem with a decent GS is they are so busy you just have to get in line & wait till they get to your gun.

[fouronesix]

338-06 or 35 Whelen- hmm.
Dunno, many in that "tweener" category are similar. I've had, loaded for and shot a bunch of rounds through two 338-06s, a 35 Whelen and a 35 Whelen AI. All are easy to load for, but the 35 Whelen AI is a better choice than the standard 35 Whelen, IMO.

Currently only have a 338-06. Nice caliber. Also a good selection of 338 bullets available with the bonus that many were designed a little tougher given the original use in the 338 WM. You could also easily throw the 9.3x62 into that general category of calibers.

No matter, they're all good for medium big game- up to moose/eland sized stuff. And I can't imagine a recoil worry given your name dropping the 460 Weatherby, 470 Nitro and the 450 Watts. Plus, it's very easy to plug the numbers for any caliber in question into a recoil calculator and find out the quantity of recoil. IMO, you have to get to the 375 HH level before jumping into the next larger category for hunting… along with the next level of recoil.

[tygar]

In my experience the 375, compared to the 338, is a better killer. I've shot elk, moose & brownies with both & my judgement is 375 is much better on the bigger game. Not that the 338 isn't good, just that the 375 is "better". I've turned moose az over front with the 375 where the 338 kills them but they may stand for awhile until they finally figure out they're dead. But, as the man said, dead is dead.

But since I have a number of 375s that I can take any time & 338s in mag & ultra & maybe Wby, the "mid" range power of the 338-06 seems to be a good fit for most anything & will be a fun gun to experiment with in both lead & jackets.

Actually, some opinions on what twist to make the barrel in either a new one or rebore would be appreciated. I would think that maybe the 210s or 225gr bullets might be a good choice but what have you guys found work well in yours?

Man, if you want to talk about a killer thumper, that Watts with 500 or 600gr bullets just mows down anything. The nice thing about it is the straight case, so that even though your within 100 or so feet of the 460, it is much easier shooting. I've actually mostly just gone to 400grs in my 45cal rifles. Goes faster, hurts less, & kills plenty good, & in my Krieghoff double they shoot 4 in 1" at 50.

That reminds my, I probably have several boxes of 600gr Barns if anyones interested in some pain.

I also had a 9.3/74 double & was not impressed with it at all, but understand the x62 is better.

[fouronesix]

Yes , I have a 10 lb bolt 450 Watts that is about all I want to shoot off the bench on a regular basis. A 500 gr bullet @ 2400 fps IS enough gun. Interesting neither the 450 Watts nor 450 Ackley were standardized for commercial production. They both pre-date the 458 Lott by many years but weren't "pushed" like the Lott. I suppose the market wasn't ready for them in the 1950s but by the 70s it was ready for the Lott.

As to the 338-06, both I've owned had 10" twist. I've never had a problem with that twist in bullet weights ranging from 200 gr to 250 gr. My current 338-06 is a fairly beefy 8 lbs on a Win 70 CRF action. It has a 24" Krieger barrel and HS Precision stock. It is a ***** cat off the bench- even with the heaviest 250 gr loads. My two favorite bullet weights have been the 210 gr and the 225/230gr.


The 450 is nice to look at. The 338-06 looks just like any other bolt gun with a synthetic stock.

[Whiterabbit]

If it were my choice:

338-06 would be a gun I'd shoot 200 gr Nosler E-tips in for the most part, bought cheap in large numbers from shootersproshop. Goal would be to run a load that went out to 500-600 yards. Everything shorter than 300 yards would be gravy.

35 whelen would be a rifle I'd make primarily a cast bullet shooter. most of the use 100 yards standing offhand. Might try to do something with some of the hornady jacketed bullets for something past 200 yards, but primary goal would be cheap shooting with a fat meplat hammer <200 yards.

Kinda different goals. I think others here would have different opinions on their primary goals for each cartridge. But those are my thoughts. Since I don;t shoot long range much, the 35 whelen has more appeal.

[tygar]

Since we were talking about boomers, here is a pic of my 40 cals with a 30-06 for comparison. Also showing 600gr next to 500gr bullets with a 400 .416 for comparison.

In order L to R: 470 Nitro 500gr, 460 Wby 500gr, 450 Watts 600gr, 450 Watts 500gr, 458 Lott 500gr, 458 WinMag 500gr, 450 Marlin 350gr, 416 RemMag 400gr, 30-06 168gr.

Most of these are a lot better standing up than sitting down.

[fouronesix]

I can just feel it! Actually the 470 Nitro isn't so bad in a decent gun loaded to factory specs. The 450 Watts and the 458 Lott are of course comparable to each other and just barely tolerable off the bench. But oh my the 460 Wby is just a wee bit much in a sporter weight rifle. If in the right mind set I can go about 18-20 rounds max off the bench with the 10 lb Watts with 500 gr @ 2400 fps loads. I think it has to do with just the right amount of relaxation during recoil. Too relaxed and you're cheek or nose gets whacked pretty hard, too tense and it gives a sore shoulder or whiplash headache pretty quick. If not right- then a couple of rounds is about it.

[tygar]

For the most part, the 470 is not bad, as it's another more tapered case with less overbore than the 460 or 378 (which kicks like hell). In my doubles, the 470 is not bad except for a Douglas I used to have. (used to!) It was the hardest kicking double I've ever shot & it was not accurate! I like the Kreighoffs, Fabarms, Brnos. All shot well & my Kreighoff Tech .458 is a tack driver. 4 at around 1" at 50yds. Hard to measure one big honkin hole. My 2 brl Brno 375/20ga was also an easy 1" at 50 & not bad at 100 with it's scope. I just plain prefer the O/U rifles to the SxSs & they shoot better. 2 straight lines instead of crossing & opening up.

Like I said on the 460, after my first one w/o a muzzle break (also a 378 w/o) no shooting them without a break from then on.

I can get a few gr more powder in the Watts. I think my 500 load is about 96gr of 3031 given to me by Mr. Watts about 30yrs ago. As a side note, he was another big time, big game hunter, using cannons that was about 5' 5" or 6" & could handle anything. He always said big guys like me tended to fight the recoil where little guys ride with it.

I'ts interesting, but my 450 W, & 458 L, feel about the same recoil wise & they are very different guns. The Watts is 8 or 9# with a break, & the Lott is the big CZ Safari at 11 or 12 w/o break.

Interesting that old age has made me into a 400gr bullet guy in the 40 cals, or a break on anything with 500s. And me with boxes & boxes of 500 & 600grs.

Those boxes of 600s are still there if anyone wants t buy some pain.

[pull the trigger]

If you really are shooting cast out of it I would go whelen. The 338 shines with the jackets, but for cast, 35 all day every day. Especially if you dont have one yet!!

[tygar]

Well I'm still sitting on the RA. Have to get off my butt & do something. Been trying to get my gunsmith to call me back for several weeks now on all my stuff so it's no use taking it to him to just sit around for a year or 2.

My other gunsmith only builds BR/long range guns & won't waste time on other stuff.

Well its 65 degrees & I'm going to go shoot.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Tygar. WHAT NO .416 Taylor in that cartridge line up? After working for a gunshop for some years part time and doing all the range sight ins I narrowed my big bores down to the Taylor, a 375 H&H then my .338 Win. Mag. and my .338-06 Enfield. If I can`t kill a woodchuck dead enough with my Taylor, then I`ll quit! I favor the 200 - 210 gr. `J` bullets in my .338-06 for deer hunting here in Mi.Robert

[tygar]

Been thinking about it for a while. Have the 375/338 & it's great.

[dougader]

I have a Savage that was rebarreled to 338-06. It's an accurate gun with jacketed and cast both, but it does have a heavier contour barrel. I like shooting cast, but if I were hunting elk I'd go with a 225 Nosler Partition or the Accubond.

For a mostly dedicated cast deer rifle, though, I picked up a CVA Hunter in 35 Remington from Bud's for about $165 plus shipping and the local ffl transfer fee. I couldn't hardly pass that up and figured guys aren't using their 358 Win and 35 Whelen rifles at max. "jacketed" velocities when shooting lead anyway. I'm looking at the RCBS 35-200 FN for a deer bullet at about 1800-1900 fps and find that do-able in the little single shot.

I went with the 338-06 over the 338 Win Mag as the guys I know who hunt with the Win Mag use accurate handloads that aren't running full-bore either.... more like a 338-06.

I think about the 35 and 375 Whelen from time to time, but if I go to a larger caliber cast boolit gun in an '06 based cartridge I'd go with that 9.3 x 62. It sure looks like a winner and the Hunters in Sweden and South Africa have been proving it for decades.