Seriously considering a barrel/cartridge swap.....need input.

Wrong Way

Wrong Way

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So I am thinking about dropping my two hunting rifles to one "do all" rifle.

As of now I have a 700LSS in 300 RUM (my old moose camp had some looooong shots) and a 700mountain LSS in 7/08 that I use for my longer deer watches/back up for my RUM)....a deerfield .44 covers the close-in deer stuff.

Anyway, I'm thinking of dropping the 300, and re-barreling the 7/08 mountain with a 20" fluted tube in .338 federal to cover everything.......thoughts?

Talk me in to/out of it guys!

WW
 
Wrong Way said:
So I am thinking about dropping my two hunting rifles to one "do all" rifle.

As of now I have a 700LSS in 300 RUM (my old moose camp had some looooong shots) and a 700mountain LSS in 7/08 that I use for my longer deer watches/back up for my RUM)....a deerfield .44 covers the close-in deer stuff.

Anyway, I'm thinking of dropping the 300, and re-barreling the 7/08 mountain with a 20" fluted tube in .338 federal to cover everything.......thoughts?

Talk me in to/out of it guys!

WW
Click to expand...

rebarrel the 7-08 to 338 Federale with a 22" medium weight tube...maybe .60 at the muzzle.......forget about the 20 incher...pistol barrels on pistols...rifle barrels on rifles.....

or sell the 7-08 and buy or build a good 30-06.......
 
Both good ideas, to me you go from having a longrange rifle, a medium range one and a close one to two close range rifles.

I would go with something less harmful to the shoulder but still a bit more flatter than a 7-08, say a 7mm mag of some sort and keep the 44.
 
Wrong Way said:
So I am thinking about dropping my two hunting rifles to one "do all" rifle.

As of now I have a 700LSS in 300 RUM (my old moose camp had some looooong shots) and a 700mountain LSS in 7/08 that I use for my longer deer watches/back up for my RUM)....a deerfield .44 covers the close-in deer stuff.

Anyway, I'm thinking of dropping the 300, and re-barreling the 7/08 mountain with a 20" fluted tube in .338 federal to cover everything.......thoughts?

Talk me in to/out of it guys!

WW
Click to expand...



Dropping the 300 and getting a 338 Fudd is like asking the doc to add a club foot to your body.
 
Wrong Way is about the last person here that has to ask for any advice on hunting rifles! However, always good to get a discussion going. I wouldn't even dream about a 20 inch 338.
Ok, here it goes, a 30-06 (don't you have any Husqvarnas left) with 22 or 24 inch barrel.
I've shot two of your huge northern moose, each with a 30-06, of course. One shot for one, but teh other one stayed on his feet and I fired the second shot.
My chronographed load of a 200 grain Nosler partition makes 2700 feet per second. What more, for long or short range moose hunting conditions do you want?
 
Amphibious said:
+1 you have a do-everything rifle already. stick a 2-7x33 on it and you have deer/bear/moose, near and far covered.
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2-7X33? Naahhhh

it allready wears a 2.5-8X36 (VXIII) :D

To the 30/06 guys: no, never, not gonna happen.
May be just a personal thing, but I won't own an '06 (apart from my garand) for the same reason I won't own a 10/22.....they work OK....but everyone has one. Next you'll be telling me to get a 7400 in .06, wearing a Trophy 3-9 in see-throughs :p


Truth is, I am a big fan of the .308 based cartridges (funnily enough, not the .308 itself though...see above) and since my ranges have shrunk hugely with a swap of hunt camps (a long shot at this one would be 300-350, most are 200 or less) so I got to thinking that the .338 Federal cartridge would be a good compromise between the magnum and the 7/08, and I could use it accross the board (Deer-bear-moose) rather than having two., and while I am sure the 7/08 would do the trick (140 TSX about 2800 FPS, .38" for the first two shots....third opens it up to .75 unless I let it cool before the third)

Now the barrel: 20" is a great length for a mountain rifle....fluted medium contour would be even better. With development of new powders, etc. I think you will eventually see the trend shift towards shorter tubes. I prefer the wight, balance, and manouverability of a short barrel far more than a 24-26" tube. Wasn't that long ago that everyone HAD to have a 28" barrel on their shotguns, and longer was better.....remember? :D

I guess what I'm looking for is first-hand experience with the Federal round. Seems decent enough out to the 400 mark....not RUM #'s for sure, but then again, at 400 they don't need to be :)
 
I realize its boring but if you want to go to "one" rifle then as already said the .30-06 i the best solution. Sell both the .300 and .7-08 and then buy a premium lightweight .30-06 like a Sako Finnlite and put a Leupold 2.5x8 VXIII on it and you're all set. Weatherby used to make the Ultralightweight version which was nice and light also. The 06 will handle any moose around nicely. I and my entire moose camp hunted with .338 mags for years and have now all dropped down to 7mm rem mags and they drop just as dead and quickly. The 3006 is about the same power as a 7mag but a bit shorter barrelled which helps in tighter cover.
 
I agree about the short barrels, I have a couple .308's with 20" tubes. But if I was to build a .338Fed I'd likely use a 22"...
 
the 7-08 would be decent for everything, but if it were me and i ddint need the money or anything i would stick with 2 guns;)....
 
The .338 Federal actually works pretty well in a 20" barrel - that was one of the design criteria. If real long range isn't a high priority anymore, if there ever was a great pair to have, they're the 7mm-08 and a .338-'06. More I look at the .338-'06 the more I know I need one, and I own just about everything from .17 to .45-70 with a wee gap in the lower end - the .25's (I just don't like them). I guess the one scenario that really shows the advantage of the bigger bullet is when you find a real p***ed off big bear too close for comfort. I'd way sooner have a .338-06 with a heavy tough bullet in my hands than ANY .300 - and I grab my .300 Win Mag more than anything else. The .338 Fed gives the advantage of a short action so generally less weight, but what's action length mean in a .338 anyway? Actually, you might be the perfect candidate for a .375 H&H!
But why am I saying this stuff? You probably already know it.....
 
Sell 'em all & buy a 338 Federal in a Sako ... either the Hunter (wood/blue), Synthetic/Stainless or "Grey Wolf" Lamimated Stailess ... 7 lbs, 6-3/8lbs or 7-1/4lbs respectively.
 
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