338/06 from a Remington P-17

eaglesnester

eaglesnester

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Have a Remington P-17 that has been converted to a 308 Norma Mag. Barrel is pitted like stink and can only get 2841FPS out of a 200gr Speer SPZ with IMR4831. There are also head space problems as there is incipient case head separation along with the bed rails allowing three rounds to pop up out of the magazine box when chambering a round. Would like to remove barrel and convert to 338/06 with a 26 inch heavy sporter barrel with a 1 in 10 twist.
Anybody reload for this wildcat? If so how do you like the performance and how difficult is it to get dies? Can I have RCBS make me up a custom set?
Thanks: Eaglesnester
 
Its easy to reload for. I use Redding dies and its easy to size 06 up to 338 with them. Redding has a tapered ball in them so it takes little effort to size up. I buy my Reddings from Sinclairs but you may have noticed that P&D is thinking of stocking Redding products. I assume RCBS also makes them but I've never looked into it. It's a nice cartridge to shoot. More of a push than a kick to it.
 
I don't know what your problems are as your 2841 is close to maximum in the 308 Norma with 200 grain bullets. The case head separation issues could be due to improper resizing rather than bad head-spacing.

Dies for the 338-06 are easy to come by as most manufacturers build them. Performance with bullets 225 grains and lighter come fairly close to 338 Win Mag performance.

The 30-06 based 338-06 case should feed better from the magazine providing the feed rails weren't modified for the Norma round. try running some 30-06 cases through the magazine to see how they feed before you spend any money on the rifle.

You will need probably a new bolt as the bolt face on your rifle would have been opened up to accept the magnum round.
 
You should also check and see if it'll feed a 30/06 case now before you proceed further. If the feed rails on the magazine have been opened up to feed the wider 308 Norma case it may not feed the skinny '06 case. It's hard to add metal...
 
P-17

bolt face will have been opened up for larger magnum case head 30/06 case is smaller you will have to stay with magnum case if you rebarrel
 
Even if you are starting from scratch,a 338WM is a better build on the P-17. The heavy rifle and deep magazine are much more suited to a magnum. The weight lessens the recoil . When I want more than a 30-06,it's because of grizzly bears,then a deep magazine is a comfort. May I suggest a 358Norma.

BTW, my 338-06 is on a FN M-98.
 
bugs said:
bolt face will have been opened up for larger magnum case head 30/06 case is smaller you will have to stay with magnum case if you rebarrel
Click to expand...

Or change the bolt, they can be found without too much effort, this is not a problem when rebarreling.
bigbull
 
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