338 Marlin Express

[Wolfer]

I've liked the thought of one of these ever since I heard about them.
Anybody got one they been shooting boolits through?
Theres probably already a thread on this somewhere if I just looked hard enough.

[monge]

i had a 308marlin great gun 1" at 100yards sold it to buy a xlr kind of wish I kept it they have become hard to come buy !

[starmac]

They are interesting, I think if I had one, I would hoard brass, as they may go the way of the 307.

[rhouser]

I have the 338 mxlr and 500 rounds of new brass, plus 200 rounds of factory ME. I have a set of ranch dog dies and shaking it down with cast is on my list of projects to start on.

Mine is a 2008 manufacture and the iron sights are dead on at 100 yards (with factory ammo at the 2nd notch). Action is smooth as silk and it's a fine shooter just with the iron.

I believe it should handle the cast well, but, I have been told that it might be a bit "challanging" with the cast due to some marlin chamber specifications.

Never met a Marlin Rifle that I didn't like. thanks rc

[Wolfer]

I do think they may go the way of the .307 and that one of the reasons I want one.
If I get one I'll gather a lifetime supply of brass over the next ten years or so. Shouldn't take that much shooting boolits.

[Good Cheer]

One of my wanta do it's... a 99 Savage rebored to .338 Federal. Got the dies, mold, j things, the 99... just trying to find the time. Thinking seriously about making the neck just a little bit longer. Looks like a great reason for paper patching.

[Jeff H]

Ken Waters wrote it up in '95 as a wildcat as the 338-08 and I thought that I had seen it in another of my older wildcat books (out on loan right now) well before that.

Unless you just really want the correct headstamp, I would think the .338 could be made in one pass from .308 brass but I have not done that one.

Compare the cartridge dimensions of the .338 Fed and .308 Win. and you may find that factory brass is no obstacle. You may also find that necking down .358 Win. brass is easier than necking up .308 brass. When shooting the .25 Souper, I saved some work and just necked UP new factory .243 cases instead of going through all the steps DOWN from .308 to .257.

I have not done the .338 meself buut if I did, the first thing I would try would be taking once fired 7.62x51 brass up to .338 in one pass and see how it goes.

By "try" I mean that I would do my homework and look at all the dimensions first and then form a few cases. If I could get ten good cases with minimal fuss and the shoulder is where it should be, OAL is attainable, etc., I would use those cases with minimum loads and work up. If all went well, I would have my source of brass.

MAYBE the .338s could be chambered in a .308 rifle with the right ("wrong") bullet though, in which case I would definitely go with factory .338 Federal brass.

[starmac]

One of my wanta do it's... a 99 Savage rebored to .338 Federal. Got the dies, mold, j things, the 99... just trying to find the time. Thinking seriously about making the neck just a little bit longer. Looks like a great reason for paper patching.

I talked to a smith friend a couple years ago about this. He thought it would be a little easier to use a later m 99 with the removable mag, rather than the rotary mag.

[shotman]

the main problem is the bullet weights. Like a 308 it will shoot a 220gr but not far. When you jump to 338 anything 200gr or under is hard to find .When you go cast you will look at a 2in drop at 100yds . 5744 works good in a 338-06 with cast

[Good Cheer]

I talked to a smith friend a couple years ago about this. He thought it would be a little easier to use a later m 99 with the removable mag, rather than the rotary mag.

I've formed, trimmed and turned some 30-06 into a 338Fed with a slightly lengthened neck that feeds well through the rotary when loaded with spire points. After looking at the boolit options I don't think that lengthening the neck will be of much benefit unless going even longer and using a long bolt or single shot. But, it looks like it's a perfect place for paper patch.

[Nobade]

Ranch Dog has moulds for the 338 MX on sale right now, $30 for a 6 cav. is hard to beat.

[TCLouis]

Thx for the heads-up Nobade.

My 338 Maggie loves cast boolits from the 220 grain Lee mold, not so much from the 200 grain RCBS.

6 at a time sure beats two with the RCBS and one with the Lee and if it is a RD mold it will have a meplat which is the ONLY reason I went to the RCBS.

Yahoo, only 16 left now, but my order is in.

I get tired of casting for it, so I shoot it less than others even though I love the performance and that is even a better looking hunting boolit than the RCBS. OH boy, I can not wait to see what it will do. I see twenty pounds of cast 339 boolits in a couple of weeks.