.270 conversion to .338-06

@Wyatt Smith will that chamber in a long action?

Skinnersblade said:

I doubt that would be available in left handed but thankyou for the suggestion. I recently bought a .340 weatherby lh which I feel would cover the hot .338 I was thinking the .338-06 would use the same components without being as destructive on deer.

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I didn’t know you lived in Canada and needed a left hand shooting rifle? I missed the “lh” part. Anyway, I’ve shot deer with my .338WM using a 225gr Core Lokt bullet. The meat damage is the same/less than a .300WM using a 180gr Core Lokt? I would load down your .340 Weatherby IF you reload. If not, look for a left hand .338? Or like most people here on AH, ignore me! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Yes. The brass can be formed from 30-06 but it’s so easy to get o don’t know why you would. Think of it as a 30-06 necked up to .366

not the best picture but here she is.

Skinnersblade said:

Good afternoon gentleman I'd like to start of by saying your all a terrible influence on me. I was perfectly content to own only one rifle until such time as I started hanging around on here. So far I've bought two more.

Today I bought a Remington 700lh chambered for 270. I really like the fit and feel of the rifle but am not in love with the caliber. Given that the parent case of the .270 is the 30-06 I believe it could be rechambered to either 338-06 or .35whalen could any of you shed some light on this for me. Also which is a better cartridge to rechamber too.

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Skinnersblade
You already know my opinion the 35 Whelen check out the the post 35 Whelen project almost finished.
That will help you make up your mind.
Why would you pick the 338/06 when you can have a beautiful, versatile good alround cartridge like a properly loaded WHELEN. It will handle anything from sabre tooth field mouse to moose and more.
My vote unashamedly goes to the Whelen.
Cheers mate
Bob Nelson
Whelen lover

Skinnersblade said:

I doubt that would be available in left handed but thankyou for the suggestion. I recently bought a .340 weatherby lh which I feel would cover the hot .338 I was thinking the .338-06 would use the same components without being as destructive on deer.

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Skinnersblade
The bullet for the Weatherby need to be tough, they may be to tough in construction to work to perfection in the 06 based 338.
On the other side of the coin the Whelen can use 35 cal pistol bullets up to the big 310 grain woodleigh. Properly loaded the Whelen isn't far behind the 338 mag.
If you rebarreled get a 1 in 12 twist barrel
Cheers mate Bob

I have a feeling that Old Elmer Keith would have answered about like this. The 270 cartridge is a great cartridge once the expander ball has brought the case neck to 338 diameter.Lol
I’m working on a 338/06 on an 03A3 action, lord knows when I will get around to completing it though. I have a 375 Whelen Ackley Improved and a 35 Whelen, both of them are great rounds.
A guy should not try to rationalize the need for a new rifle and especially if the rifles are in the same group of usefulness. A pragmatic person would make the comment that you could load down the 340 Wby. Sure you “could” do that but then you wouldn’t need a new rifle in the 338 class now would you?
Cheers,
Cody

The 338-06 fits nicely in a particular niche- just as did the very similar 318 Westley Richards. There is something to be said for bullet selection and the 338 bullet options are plentiful. The 338 Win Mag type bullets are usually strong so provide a side benefit for loading the 338-06. I too have built and owned 35 Whelens but they just didn't seem to fit best in that "unknown" niche like the 338-06 does. For up to elk/moose and PG, sans eland, the 338-06 works well as does the 35 Whelen. For larger or tougher, the 375 HH is, IMO, a far better choice. The 9.3 seems to ballistically snuggle up against the 35 Whelen, or vice versa , so "feel" the same to me. Don't misunderstand, the 35 Whelen AI is an excellent and useful cartridge and better than the standard 35 Whelen because of the more positive headspacing. But, IMO, the 35 Whelens or 9.3x62 just won't quite do what a 375 HH does so well!

Aside from purely subjective preferences, I have found the 338-06 a very easy and predictable cartridge to load for- no surprises and almost boring... a good thing! I've built 2 of them. One with Shilen barrel and the other with a Krieger barrel. Both on standard long Winchester post-64 CRF actions. The one I currently have, with a Krieger barrel, started life as a 270. I think converting a long Rem 700 would be very easy and straight forward. The Win 70s have been a little more work but not bad. Requiring removing the mag box spacer and using a long mag follower (375 HH size), modifying the ejector and bolt stop. No feed rail mods needed.

I have a NULA .338-06 rifle that I took to Namibia and used on five game animals from Springbok to Cape Eland. It performed wonderfully. My rifle is most accurate with a 210-grain Barnes TTSX and H414. It has an edge on the .35 Whelen by being able to use higher-BC bullets for the same given bullet weights. I'm going to take it on a Hog hunt in April and back to the Eastern Cape next April as part of a two-rifle battery.
Having said that, they really are two peas in a pod. The main difference is that .35 Whelen factory ammo is available in a well-stocked gun shop and .338-06 is really available only through internet suppliers. Brass for the .338-06 is expensive and almost entirely limited to Norma. I have some Nosler and Weatherby, but I rarely see those offered.
I love the rifle and caliber, but I wish that I had requested a 9.3x62 when I ordered the rifle. Cheaper brass and you can find 9.3x62 all over southern Africa. Good luck in your project.

The 338/06 is just fine. I've taken mine to Africa a couple times with great success. Another thing to watch is barrel length and muzzle diameter or barrel contour, call it what you like. I sort of like the Douglas or Shilen # 3
with a .625 Muz. 23" long.

Bob Nelson 35Whelen said:

Skinnersblade
You already know my opinion the 35 Whelen check out the the post 35 Whelen project almost finished.
That will help you make up your mind.
Why would you pick the 338/06 when you can have a beautiful, versatile good alround cartridge like a properly loaded WHELEN. It will handle anything from sabre tooth field mouse to moose and more.
My vote unashamedly goes to the Whelen.
Cheers mate
Bob Nelson
Whelen lover

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When pondering between a 338/06 and a 35 Whelen its easy: More is always better!

Gentleman you've not made the choice any easier, compelling arguments for both sides plus a wild card in the form of the 9.3x62. I'm know closer to a decision then when I started.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

Skinnersblade said:

Gentleman you've not made the choice any easier, compelling arguments for both sides plus a wild card in the form of the 9.3x62. I'm know closer to a decision then when I started.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

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Skinnersblade
Decisions decisions easy fixed mate
9.3x62 ammo expensive hard to get.
338/06 good round but limited suitable bullets. Hard to get factory ammo.
35 Whelen hits hard, shoots flat to 400 yards, cheap ammo, easy to find, heaps of projectiles for reloading, can be loaded to 35 Remington velocity or up to give the 338win mag a horrible shake up. Can use cheap cast bullet for practice or small game. Versatile can be used on everything from sabre tooth field mouse to eland.
Do you need any more convincing the 35WHELEN IS THE ONLY ONE TO CONSIDER.
Cheers mate Bob ( Whelen Nut)

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen could you provide an image of a sabre tooth field mouse? It sounds as though it belongs In the same familia as the jackalope but given that I've never visited the land down under I can't be certain.

Skinnersblade said:

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen could you provide an image of a sabre tooth field mouse? It sounds as though it belongs In the same familia as the jackalope but given that I've never visited the land down under I can't be certain.

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Skinnersblade
Haven't shot one yet they're secretive little buggers might be similar to you jack pole.
I'll definitely send you a photo when I get one. May have to have quite a few rums first, that seems the best time to see them.
Ha ha ha ha
Cheers mate Bob

I'm not immune to rum bob however I personally prefer a good rye wiskey.

I am building a .338-‘06 right now. I like the ability to handle heavier bullets than the ‘06, while retaining good velocity with low recoil. Using a Rutger M77 mark. II with CRF.

Bullthrower338 said:

I have a feeling that Old Elmer Keith would have answered about like this. The 270 cartridge is a great cartridge once the expander ball has brought the case neck to 338 diameter.Lol
I’m working on a 338/06 on an 03A3 action, lord knows when I will get around to completing it though. I have a 375 Whelen Ackley Improved and a 35 Whelen, both of them are great rounds.
A guy should not try to rationalize the need for a new rifle and especially if the rifles are in the same group of usefulness. A pragmatic person would make the comment that you could load down the 340 Wby. Sure you “could” do that but then you wouldn’t need a new rifle in the 338 class now would you?
Cheers,
Cody

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@Bullthrower338 if I understand correctly your .375 whelen also uses a -06 parent case. If that's the case could you provide your opinion of that cartridge? How large of game would you comfortably hunt? Thoughts on the round itself ? Reloading ? Availablity of properly headstamped cases and components? I didn't realize there was a .375 option.

Except that 9.3x62 is legal for some DG in some countries, 338-06, 35W, and 9.3x62 all fill about the same niche. 338-06 is certainly the weakest/slowest of the 3, but not so much that it makes a lot of difference. The really nice thing about all 3 of them is it doesn't take 80 grains of powder to get a bullet moving. The bottom line is you can't go wrong with any of them. It's mostly a matter of taste. Go with your gut, not with mine or anyone else's.

Whichever you go with, I'd plan on reloading anyway.

Skinnersblade said:

@Bullthrower338 if I understand correctly your .375 whelen also uses a -06 parent case. If that's the case could you provide your opinion of that cartridge? How large of game would you comfortably hunt? Thoughts on the round itself ? Reloading ? Availablity of properly headstamped cases and components? I didn't realize there was a .375 option.

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Yes, I expand 35 whelen cases as the step is very easy and it yields far less split necks than trying to go from 308 to 375. Properly headstamped brass is available but hard to source in small quantities. I like the cartridge but have not shot any animals as of yet so I can’t really give any feedback on it’s terminal performance. I plan to hunt elk with it and anticipate that it will perform well at reasonable ranges.