30-.338 Winchester Magnum Reloading
- Thread starter Gone Ballistic
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
Thanks so much. I'm aware that Winchester actually developed this round originally to be their 300 Magnum but, Norma essentially beat them to it and they changed course developing the 300 WinMag. They probably should have stayed their course and fed off the outstanding success of the 338 WinMag as ballistics are so close to one another.
You folks have my admiration and I give huge KUDOS to each one of you for your response to my questions. I thoroughly enjoy the sharing of everyone's helpful information and can't thank Len Bacus enough for putting this site together. Where else could anyone find so many fabulous ideas and information inside such great comadrie?
Fred Huntington (RCBS) was first to chamber 30-338mag. That's what got me interested in 30-338mag. I looked at new Browning Safari 308 Norma Mag in the 60's and only reason I didn't buy no ammo or cases. My first 30-338mag I got loading data from Fred jr up in Orville store. Last time I was in Ca that 30-338mag was on display in their small museum @ the store. I really don't think 308 Norma had any part in 300mag vs Fred wildcat 30-338mag. Rem chamber 40x in 30-338mag
An NRA Shooting Sports Journal | Serenade in Blue: It could have been the .30-338
Long-range stalwarts, such as the the lanky 6.5x284 and subsequently the .30-338 and .300 Win. Mag. all lost center stage in the competition world to svelte young starlets like the 6mm and 6.5mm Creedmoor.
30/338win is about the easiest 'wildcat' out there to form, load and shoot. It's just a treat to shoot. I've had at least one in my safe for better than ten years. It really shines with 200g - 230g bullets. Very similar velocities to 300Win with less powder. I prefer mine with at least 26" of barrel, but even with a 24" barrel it doesn't give up a lot of velocity.
I an sure we are not talking about the same thing. I started out to form 480 Mag. belted cases to 8MM338 Winchester. Again, if they could have formed the cases they would not have asked me to get involved. And they do not like my case lube, they instructed me top to leave my no name case lube at home. They wanted my ''other #4 RCBS shell holder", so I brought a small gasket cutting ball peen hammer. Because: There is no way they could put 480 magnum cases together without problems inherit-ant to the belted case.
First I had to determine if it could be done with my forming dies, I started out the same as anyone; that would be sizing with a 30/338 die or an 8MM338 die. Forget it, there was no way an 8MM Remington mag case could be sized to 30/338 in one pass, And then I went to the 300 Win Mag forming die, that worked until I went to sizing the 30/338 die.
My last effort at forming 300 Weatherby and 8 Remington cases cases to 8/338 was with a 350 Remington mag case forming die. I shimmed the bottom of the die off the shell holder to form cases with the correct case length from the shoulder to the case head + .010". When I finished with the 350 Remington Mag forming die life became easier.
Next: The cases that would not fit the #4 RCBS shell holder:, there were 40 cases in that category. To get the cases into the shell holder I used the small ball peen hammer, when the case will not fit the shell holder there are other problems, all 40 cases had at least 3 problems, all of the cases had case body expansion ahead of the belt and the diameter of the case head in the extractor groove had increased in diameter. Between us we have 5 lathes with collects, reducing the diameter ahead of the case body in front of the belt would not be a problem, after that we could have cut the extractor groove etc. etc. I convinced him he did not need the cases that had been hammered with heavy loads.
F. Guffey
Jerry M
Well-Known Member
8mm Remington magnum and .350 Remington magnum are nowhere near the same length as .30-338... You need to stop and get someone to help you figure out what you have. In 40 years of reloading I have never even heard of a 480 Magnum.
Good Luck
Jerry
Good Luck
Jerry
I an sure we are not talking about the same thing. I started out to form 480 Mag. belted cases to 8MM338 Winchester.
Ok. Sorry. I'm obviously confused, I thought the thread was about forming and loading 30/338winchester.
Ok. Sorry. I'm obviously confused, I thought the thread was about forming and loading 30/338winchester.
I can only guess what you could have been confused about. A friend needed all the 8MM338 cases he could get his hands on. Had he been able to find 30/338 Winchester cases her would not have called me. He had 480 Belted magnum cases. He did not have any 480 mag. belted cases.
F. Guffey
I need to stop and get someone to help me figure out what I have? There is no end to how rude a member can be to another. If the smiths involved could figure a way to form 8MM Remington cases to 8MM/338 Winchester cases they would not have bothered me. The only way I was able to form the long Magnum cases was to, there is no reason for me to wast your time or my time.
Forgive, F. Guffey
Jerry M
Well-Known Member
The confusion is that the thread went on a tangent from the OP.
Jerry, you will not believe how pleased I am to find the problem is so simple; I thought the problem was caused because there were so many reloaders/smiths that can not correctly case a chamber.
F. Guffey
