338-06 Ackley improved

[douglasskid]

Please share some thoughts on using 30-06 vs 35 whelen brass to form 338-06 AI.
THANKS

[Mk42gunner]

.35 Whelen-- Pros: Easy to neck down and leave a shoulder for headspacing at the same time. No danger of someone reading the headstamp and trying to chamber a bullet that is thirty thousandths too large.
Cons: Not real common, I think only Remington, and Nosler make component brass; Federal also loaded it, not sure if they still do or not.

.30-06-- Pros: Readily available from just about anybody, neck can be expanded in one step. Match grade brass can still be found, if that matters to you.
Cons: May have to neck to .35 to form a false shoulder for headspacing anyway. May have someone try to force it into a .30-06 chamber--"But it says .30-06 on it."

I realize that the AI case shape should prevent anyone from fully chambering one in a normal .30-06 chamber, but strange things happen. I form all my 6.5-06 brass from .30-06 instead of .25-06 for this reason.

Robert

[douglasskid]

THANKS. I have a good supply of 35 Whelen. I'll try it.

[dh2]

I am dong .338-06 not the AI version, but with out annealing the brass I get about double life out of the brass formed from .35 Whelen over brass formed from 30-06

[oldblinddog]

Back when you could buy cheap ammo cheap at Walmart, I just bought .30-06 and fired them in my .338-06 AI. They came out perfect. Now a days my .338-06 isn't AI and I can buy brass with the proper head stamp for about four times what I paid for that Walmart ammo...

Since I have several .30-06 rifles now, I didn't then, I care what the head stamp says.