Down the rabbit hole again

A

alberta boy

Well-Known Member
As some of you might have noticed , I tend to go through a lot of different firearms , some of them are definitely oddballs . In past years I went through my wildcat phase . Everything from .17 cal to 50 cal . After a while , I got sick of making my own cases ( although I did develop a rich repertoire of filthy words in the process , bonus ) and vowed to never again bother with wildcats and stick with factory ammo . It started again , innocently enough , when I bought a few Husqvarna sporters chambered in 9.3x57 , a great old round by the way , and modified a set of dies so that I could make my own cases from a plentiful supply of 8x57 brass that I always have . It's only a set of dies after all , no biggie . Fast forward a bit and I came across a Ron Smith .358 cal gain twist stainless barrel . They are made just south of me by a gentleman by the same name and have an extremely good reputation here . I used one to build a 358 Win chambered pre-war 98 Mauser , it will reliably keep five rounds of anything inside an inch at one hundred yards and .75 MOA with loads it likes , a perfect combo for out here . Since I already have a 35 cal I decided to give the barrel to an old friend of mine who is an even worse freak than I am . Problem solved , one less project , or so I thought . He showed up at my place the other day with a new Douglas .338 cal barrel , 338/06 reamers and a set of dies ..................... I have been revenge gifted . I made the mistake of mentioning to him that I had too many 30/06s and was thinking about rebarreling one to a different caliber . There's a picture of the rifle on here somewhere , it's a Harrington and Richardson model 340 , a Mauser 98 based rifle , that fits me perfectly . Long story short , I have something to do this weekend . Actually , for the next several weekends , I have to start fireforming cases for it ............... plus it has a trigger blocking safety on it that bothers me , so I'll have to change that out for a striker blocking one . Ah , the rabbit hole .

AB
 
Ratwhiskers said:
l too have to admit, that's an itch (.338/06, maybe Ackley) l have been giving thought to scratching.....

l hope the project goes well for you AB.
Click to expand...
I will post some pics when I get the barrel installed . The 338/06 is a really good cartridge for Moose , Elk and Bear . As much as I like the 35 Whelen , I've owned , and used , a few over the years , there is a far bigger selection of 338 cal bullets available than there is for .358 diameter cartridges .
The rifle should weigh in at a little over 8 to 8.5 pounds when finished , so it will carry nicely in high country and it won't pound the hell out of me like a similiar weight rifle chambered in 338WM would . I'm looking forward to taking it out for Elk and Moose this Fall .

AB
 
AB.

There's a lot to be said for the "You can tone a big one down, where you can only push a smaller one so far up!"
Then again, if someone needs to do such with a larger cartridge and to never achieve the higher performance, it does defeat the object somewhat.
Why not embrace the reduced recoil, easily available brass and enough horsepower to get everything done at the normal hunting ranges that most folks take their shots at..... lt makes more than reasonable sense (to me at least)

l look forward to seeing your progress.

Ratty.
....
 
Ratwhiskers said:
AB.

There's a lot to be said for the "You can tone a big one down, where you can only push a smaller one so far up!"
Then again, if someone needs to do such with a larger cartridge and to never achieve the higher performance, it does defeat the object somewhat.
Why not embrace the reduced recoil, easily available brass and enough horsepower to get everything done at the normal hunting ranges that most folks take their shots at..... lt makes more than reasonable sense (to me at least)

l look forward to seeing your progress.

Ratty.
....
Click to expand...
That's pretty much how I look at it . I've owned a few 338WMs over the years , it's a great round for Moose and Elk at longer ranges . As the years have gone by , I find myself hunting in different terrain than I used to . 90% of the animals I shoot are under 150 yards , with the majority of those around 100 yards and under . I just don't need a belted case to reliably kill animals at those distances . Another advantage to the 338/06 is that it works perfectly with standard cup and core bullets . They actually perform better , in some cases , than the higher end premium bullets .

AB
 
I have to admit to more than once looked at the 35's and 338's on an '06 case. Think I will end with a 9.3x62 for my R8.
 
JohnCZ said:
I have to admit to more than once looked at the 35's and 338's on an '06 case. Think I will end with a 9.3x62 for my R8.
Click to expand...
The 9.3x62 is another good choice . All three are solid performers on larger animals . My choice would be based on ammo / bullet availability more than anything else . 358 cal bullets were a lot more common around here 20 years ago than they are now , 9.3 bullets were extremely hard to come by , the situation has now reversed and the 9.3 is about even in popularity . Performance wise , there is no difference between a 35 Whelen and a 9.3x62 when using comparable bullets , I'd happily use either .

AB
 
Managed to get a 9.3x62 barrel for my R8 Success and topped off with a Aimpoint H2 on a Blaser saddle mount, overall very happy. First shots yesterday with factory PPU 285gr soft points, PPU states 2263fps and they chronographed with the Garmin Xero at 2260fps average 10 shots. Always like it when box speed is actually correct, nice work PPU.
The Blaser barrel is without sight and the micro red dot weighs nothing so all up it's lively at 7.5lbs.
Cheers
John
 
Last edited:
JohnCZ said:
Managed to get a 9.3x62 barrel for my R8 Success and topped off with a Aimpoint H2 on a Blaser saddle mount, overall very happy. First shots yesterday with factory PPU 285gr soft points, PPU states 2263fps and they chronographed with the Garmin Xero at 2260fps average 10 shots. Always like it when box speed is actually correct, nice work PPU.
The Blaser barrel is without sight and the micro red dot weighs nothing so all up it's lively at 7.5lbs.
Cheers
John
Click to expand...
A nice combination . I have the 338 barrel installed , but have been to lazy to post pictures . I will put some up shortly .

AB
 
Ratwhiskers said:
l too have to admit, that's an itch (.338/06, maybe Ackley) l have been giving thought to scratching.....

l hope the project goes well for you AB.
Click to expand...

I may be wrong but I think the late Sikadogs 338-06 I built for him may be for sale

If that is of interest - on a Sako AV if memory serves me right
 
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