Chopped .338?

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bunny

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Iam about to cut down one of my two .338 WM’s from 24” to 20” and mount a 2.5x fixed Leopold on it, anyone out there every play around with a 20” .338?
 
I have had a couple, never chronied my current one. I have a bad head for numbers but with 250+ grain bullets I did not seem to lose much. I generally use h4831, sometimes varget for lighter 200 and 225 deer loads but I never cared about the velocity on those much tbh

338 wm often gets handicapped by being put in big heavy guns when the real advantage is that it can be put in smaller lighter guns than full on stopping rounds and still be manageable for range use and follow up shots.

If you go into with the attitude that it is a “ big 30-06” shooting 250s at a similar trajectory to ‘06 180s you will not be disappointed. A lot of guys seem to hear 338 and think “ whizz bang magnum” not “ med bore potato chucker”, their loss

I think a 338 in a good stock with a carbine length barrel is the perfect rifle for hunting north and central BC, boreal to rainforest. Even if you aren’t changing loads up there is no tag you could buy or draw that couldn’t be filled with 250 grain 338 wm loads

Ymmv as always
 
I had a Weatherby Vanguard 338WM with a 20” barrel. IIRC, it was down between 70 and 100 FPS vs 24” barrel. Great gun, took it in trade and $$ and needs intervened. I would absolutely go for it I I didn’t already have a 20” 375.
 
Do it. I use a 338 with 21” and 375hh with 18.5. But I prefer a short brl as been hunting in thicker woods. I use Hornady 250 and imr 4350 and get 2625 with 338
 
conor_90 said:
I have had a couple, never chronied my current one. I have a bad head for numbers but with 250+ grain bullets I did not seem to lose much. I generally use h4831, sometimes varget for lighter 200 and 225 deer loads but I never cared about the velocity on those much tbh

338 wm often gets handicapped by being put in big heavy guns when the real advantage is that it can be put in smaller lighter guns than full on stopping rounds and still be manageable for range use and follow up shots.

If you go into with the attitude that it is a “ big 30-06” shooting 250s at a similar trajectory to ‘06 180s you will not be disappointed. A lot of guys seem to hear 338 and think “ whizz bang magnum” not “ med bore potato chucker”, their loss

I think a 338 in a good stock with a carbine length barrel is the perfect rifle for hunting north and central BC, boreal to rainforest. Even if you aren’t changing loads up there is no tag you could buy or draw that couldn’t be filled with 250 grain 338 wm loads

Ymmv as always
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I have had two 338s that I set up as light rifles with sights no scope, a Tikka that I never shortened and a Savage 111 that was intended to be 20", the gunsmith went to deep when He drilled for the front sight after shortening, so I had Him shorten some more and re crown, it ended up being just over 19". I never noticed the muzzle blast or recoil as being much different but both had limb saver pads. I didn't like the Savage and I am not really fond of Tikkas. I presently have a win 70 in 338 with a 26" barrel it will get left alone. Like Connor I still like the idea of a light
short 338 just not sure what rifle I would do it to. The low power scope is a good idea as well.
 
Like Connor I still like the idea of a light
short 338 just not sure what rifle I would do it to
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If I remember right our tikkas were twins, mine was blued, I had the same rear irons set up and long barrel. It was a handy gun, never wore a scope.

Can’t remember if it weighed 6.6 lbs or 6 lbs 6 oz. After a load development/sight in session with 15 woodleigh 300 grain RN I had an inexplicable nose bleed upon entering my truck :D

I had a ruger mkii I shortened and planned to rebarrel to a 20 inch 458 wm jury I had. Sold both at the start of covid ;(

The guy I sold the short stainless 458 barrel to was going to put it on a m70 EW, if he’s reading this I would love to see it.

Ended up with a Sako Aiii in a mcmillan with a SAKO peep. Hummed and hawed but went with the 20 inch barrel, on the rare occasion I carry a gun at work I honestly feel that 4 inches makes a big difference in thick bush.

Pretty pleased with it, ~7lbs with the irons around 8 with a 1.75-6x32 B&L. Definitely some woes finding the right scope/ mounting solution
 
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Sounds good to me. Love short handy stuff, most guys don’t think 2 or 4” makes that much of a difference in rifle handling. But it sure does, and 95% of shots under 200yds and 50% under 50yds nothing we hunt will notice the couple % velocity los of a shorter barrel.
 
Brian46 said:
I have an 18" 338 lapua, works great, very accurate
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but considerable less velocity... I thought the idea behind huge case capacity was to get the highest velocities...?


A 20 inch barrel will work fine with a smaller case like a 338 Win Mag or a 338 06... a little less velocity and a bit more 'blast'.
 
4fifty8 said:
I'm ok with 24" barrels on my 338 WM's wouldn't shorten likely to negatively affect resale. According to this source approx. 21 fps loss per inch. Author noted improved accuracy (barrel whip/harmonic issues??) and a lot more muzzle blast with shortened barrel.

– .338 Win Mag, 27 to 20 inches, 2,806 to 2,656 fps
https://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gun-nuts/2012/02/why-shorter-rifle-barrels-may-be-better/
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Another one
https://www.fieldandstream.com/whats-perfect-rifle-barrel-length/
 
If you're shooting distance is between 50 and 150 yards, do you think the animals will notice any difference between a 338/300 WM with a short barrel or a 308 win with a short barrel?
 
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