338 WSM (aka 338 Redneck)

[CatskillCrawler]

Interesting to see how this one turns out. I did some research prior to getting my boy his 325 WSM. Same indicated that the 8mm bullet was the biggest diameter Winchester could use (and chose) before the case just ran "out of steam" or efficiency Per se.

Can not wait to here your results. :wink:

This is what Winchester's development team stated. That using .338 bullets did not give them the results they were looking for.

 

[Oldtrader3]

After owning a .308 Norma Mag, a .300 H&H, a .300 WSM, a .338 Federal, .338 Win Mag and a .340 Bee, IMHO it will be very close in performance to the .338 Win Mag for what it is worth. It should be great for elk hunting.

 

[SJB358]

After owning a .308 Norma Mag, a .300 H&H, a .300 WSM, a .338 Federal, .338 Win Mag and a .340 Bee, IMHO it will be very close in performance to the .338 Win Mag for what it is worth. It should be great for elk hunting.

With the room in a Winchester magazine I think the 338WSM could be made to run very hard! I know if I didn't have the old 338 I would seriously think about building one. Scotty

 

[wildgene]

...while the velocities listed above seem pretty ambitious to me, I'm still pushing a 220gr. .323 bullet @ just a little less (70-80fps) than the book max for a 215gr. .338 WM, w/ less powder, less boom & less recoil, & I can do it in a shorter, lighter rifle. I certainly wish there were more choices in 8mm bullets, but as it sits the .325 WSM is one rifle I would be happy to use a single load w/ a dedicated scope (CDS turrets, etched reticle, etc.)...

 

[SJB358]

Gene, what kinda rifle are you running? That sounds like a great load. Scotty

 

[gunhog]

I've been building these rifles for about ten years and was well satisfied with 3100 fps, 200 gr .Nosler btbt. Douglas Barrels has my reamer and uses it on my barrel choices. Head spacing to less than .002 and slight shoulder change to the 325 WSM case proves to be very fast and accurate.
Recently, I have begun pushing the velocities up with H414 and have had extraordinary results as far as velocity increases go. Formerly, H4350 was my best choice, but case capacity was limited. 70 gr. worked out best for a 200 gr. Nosler. ( With the length and hardness of Barnes bullets you will need to back off about 4 gr. or so to stay safe.) I won't give all the data out yet, but With H414 I have recorded 200 gr. SST's @ 3277 fps. and 225 gr. @ 2980+ fps. and still safe on primer and case inspections. Accuracy, I don't know yet. I was just checking velocities to load data @ 15 ft. I am going to push it a bit more and then work up the best load for velocity and dependable accuracy.
When I start tasting metal I guess I went to far.

Gunhog