re chambering .308 K98 to 338 win mag
- Thread starter throback
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manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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why not .338 Federal, based on the .308 case?
Hey that's kind of interesting
The only problem with going to the .338 federal is your comment on wanting a cartridge of similar power to the .338 Win Mag.
The .338 fed is to the .338 mag as the .308 Win is to the .300 Win Mag. Since you're going to have to rebarrel or rebore to switch a .308 bore into a .338 bore, the small amount of extra action work to make it feed is not a particularly big factor. The rebarrel is going to take more time and cost more than a little machining to make the action accept and feed the belted mag case.
The .338 fed is to the .338 mag as the .308 Win is to the .300 Win Mag. Since you're going to have to rebarrel or rebore to switch a .308 bore into a .338 bore, the small amount of extra action work to make it feed is not a particularly big factor. The rebarrel is going to take more time and cost more than a little machining to make the action accept and feed the belted mag case.
I have a mauser that was done in .375/.338 -- to get it to feed correctly -- more that the rounds would pop out cause someone took maybe a bit too much rail off the sides, I had to "widen" the receiver bottom and upper mag box to allow for the extra 2 mm or so of the .338 diameter.
I used a file to take down the "bumps" on the receiver that center the follower and some metal along the receiver and bent out the mag box a touch. It works 98% now. I dont know that if I didnt have the rifle whether I would set out to do it, even when the extractor on mine was widened already and done well and it had a great bbl _ I think I would start with a .338 action with the correct bolt face and mag box etc on a beat up gun rather then the mauser
I used a file to take down the "bumps" on the receiver that center the follower and some metal along the receiver and bent out the mag box a touch. It works 98% now. I dont know that if I didnt have the rifle whether I would set out to do it, even when the extractor on mine was widened already and done well and it had a great bbl _ I think I would start with a .338 action with the correct bolt face and mag box etc on a beat up gun rather then the mauser
"...why not .338 Federal..." The availability of ammo and/or brass for one. Still not a bad idea though. Epp's is listing it, but I'd hate to think what it's worth.
Aside from the barrel and mag length issue(Nearly a half inch difference in case length between the .308 and .338 Win Mag alone. .540" for loaded ammo.) you'd also have to deal with going from a rimmless case to a belted magnum. There'll be a serious increase in felt recoil and cost of ammo or brass too.
Aside from the barrel and mag length issue(Nearly a half inch difference in case length between the .308 and .338 Win Mag alone. .540" for loaded ammo.) you'd also have to deal with going from a rimmless case to a belted magnum. There'll be a serious increase in felt recoil and cost of ammo or brass too.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
wha?
theres a large selection of .338 bullets available, and if you cant find .308 brass to reform then you should sell all your reloading equipment immediately
wha?
theres a large selection of .338 bullets available, and if you cant find .308 brass to reform then you should sell all your reloading equipment immediately
Well I like the controlled feed idea. I have an A bolt in.338 now and all the loading gear already. I saw the ballistics on 338 Federal and thought for close range they are pretty good. So really maybe I should just get a quote from a gunsmith. Thanks for the comments.
