Paper Patch .338-06

[oldblinddog]

The rifle is having the barrel installed so it may be several weeks before I shoot any of these. Accurate 32-220B that drop .331 from the mold. They weigh 236 gr. as cast. Alloy is air cooled hardball.

[Nobade]

That ought to do the trick!

I have a buddy here in town who PPs for the 338-06. With full loads that thing is a real powerhouse. Very accurate as well.

-Nobade

[oldblinddog]

My first attempt at this. Attachment 151140
They are sized .339. The paper is all purpose printer paper.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Quite a few years ago I had a custom PP mold made for my .338 Enfield 1917. It drops a boolet that when wrapped weighs +/- 240 gr. I also use regular printer paper wet then rolled, let dry overnight then lightly coated with JPW to lube and keep the patch on. I think you`ll like this combo when you get it figured out.Robert




I checked some of the boolets body dia. they are .330".

[OnHoPr]

Darn those look good, especially for the plus 200 lb animals on raking shots. Can they HP them? Yea, get those in the low to mid 2000s and they will be dandy. Just for the heck of it what is the twist?

[oldblinddog]

1 in 10 Douglas barrel.

[oldblinddog]

Checked with the gunsmith today and he says at least 3 more weeks until my barrel is installed.

[Chill Wills]

LBT made a very nice two cavity mould for my 338-06 at least twenty years ago. Great bullet with a very small rebate (boat-tail). I would post a picture but until I find the camera cord I can not download....

[Haggway]

I have a 200 grain ranchdog mold for .338 and a .338-06 getting built. I will have to give this a try.

[oldblinddog]

Who made your mold? Let's see some of those boolits.

[oldblinddog]

Three months and I don't have the rifle yet. The barreled action is being coated but they said I can have it the end of the week when I get back to town.

Seems everywhere I go it is under a foot of snow, or a flood/blizzard/tornado warning. I haven't cast or loaded anything in months....

[oldblinddog]

Came home today.
Attachment 158385

[wmitty]

Let us know how it shoots!

[OverMax]

Should be a interesting project. Nice profile your boolit has for paper-patching_(good choice on your part)_ Do you have a powder in mind for you're P/P cartridge use oldblinddog?

Yes sir there is snow and cold in places where it wasn't expected this year. I live a couple hundred miles South of the Canadian border. We've seen only 4-5" of snow on the ground so far. It wouldn't surprise me to hear our (professional snow plow drivers) in those big orange State dump trucks have been playing Pinochle all winter also. Anyway. Keep us informed how its going with your P/P that 338-06 you have.

[oldblinddog]

Attachment 184081

I've been away from this project for quite awhile. Due to work and family it just didn't have priority. Hopefully, I will be able to continue with it. Here is a new pic of some 32-220B compared to the gg version which is the 34-250B. I will be developing loads for each side by side.

Attachment 184082

L-R: 200 gr. Speer, 34-220B paper patch, 34-250B gggc.
PP is loaded with IMR4320, GC is loaded with IMR4198

[oldblinddog]

Got to the range today to try the pp loads. Fired one j-bullet to make sure of zero. 200 gr Speer with 50 gr of IMR 4320. It was dead center at 100. First shot appeared to impact below the target. Second shot I put the crosshairs at the top of the target and it appeared to go above the target. This was 48 gr. IMR 4320. I'm going to have to move back to 50 yards to see what's up. This is very disappointing as it has been more than a month since I last got to the range. I ceased firing those loads as there was no point until I get it sorted out. The j-bullets made a nice 1 1/2" group.

[Nobade]

That is a reasonable load, at about 36K PSI. But it has a lot of air space in it, and using stick powder. You will likely find better results with either a bit less powder plus inert filler, or a full case of slower ball powder. My own 338-06 has been working very well with IMR7383, which is somewhat similar to IMR7828 or much slower than 4320. I use enough to leave room for .5cc WC860 on top, which acts like inert filler but adds a touch of energy to the shot and burns up so doesn't crud up the cases. Pressure is a bit lower, likely around 30K PSI. Loads are tightly compressed of course.

-Nobade

[oldblinddog]

Slower powders are on the list to do. Right now it is a matter of scope adjustment to get on target. I need to move back to 50 yds and get a bigger piece of paper to shoot at. The RSO's at this range are extremely intolerant of not hitting paper. I was getting questions after only two shots. Not able to learn much today.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I`m curious about why you are using a GC mold for patching? If you check out the Accurate #33 molds on page 4 of their catalog you will see 2 molds designed for patching for the .338 cartridges, #33-210P and #33-240P. Both are flat based so they don`t have a rebated base for a GC thus making for a better wrapped base in my humble opinion. Some people like soft lead cores and others (myself included) use a 50/50 alloy and yet others go with an even harder core, so I guess it`s trial and error for what works for you. Look forward to reading about your testing results.Robert

[oldblinddog]

This bullet is/was an 8mm (32-220B) that I had sized up to both .331 and .339. I hope that they both work well. But they may not. Everything is a guess (as they say) until you pull the trigger.

Those two designs look great. I could be wrong, but I don't think they were available when I had my molds made.

Edited to add: the 33-240P appears to be my mold without the gas check base.