338 WM barrel length

[willtim]

I want to build a suppressed light weight 338 WM. Is a 22 inch barrel too short for this cartridge? Thanks

 

[OneSkinnyHunter]

What silencer do you plan on running?

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

I want to build a suppressed light weight 338 WM. Is a 22 inch barrel too short for this cartridge? Thanks

It's too long
I like 18-20" suppressed magnums

 

[Yellowknife]

The .338 WM has a similar case capacity / bore ratio as many non-magnums. Like a fat 30-06 is what it is. Long barrel isn’t needed and I use 21” for my unsuppressed gun. If I suppress it some day, it will get cut back further to <18”.

 

[willtim]

What silencer do you plan on running?

i'm not sure.

 

[wyosteve]

Weatherby is building their .338 RPM with 18” barrel. Ballistics are about the same as a longer barrel .338 WM.

 

[Stonia]

I suppressed my 338WM. The Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan has a 20" barrel. Nothing about this is lightweight though. I think its around 12.5 lbs. The older Griffin is about 1.5 lbs of that.

 

[Choupique]

338 win mag behaves better than most other "magnums" from short barrels. You can basically think about it as a souped up .30-06. Use the same powders, same barrel length, same trajectory etc. A 22" barrel would be fine.

 

[willtim]

Thanks, everybody. Now, who makes a 22inch carbon wraped barrel in .338 and what twist rate do I want?

 

[Axel1939]

I suppressed my 338WM. The Ruger Hawkeye Alaskan has a 20" barrel. Nothing about this is lightweight though. I think its around 12.5 lbs. The older Griffin is about 1.5 lbs of that.
View attachment 461960

Have you ever chrono’d that thing? Curious what velocity guys are getting with a 20”

 

[Stonia]

Have you ever chrono’d that thing? Curious what velocity guys are getting with a 20”

I never did with the suppressor on, it was just to cumbersome to take seriously. Put the factory brake back on and chrono'd a few rounds today on a Garmin. I don't reload, so I can't tell you what exactly I'm shooting beyond Hendershot loaded 236gr Hammers.

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[Axel1939]

I never did with the suppressor on, it was just to cumbersome to take seriously. Put the factory brake back on and chrono'd a few rounds today on a Garmin. I don't reload, so I can't tell you what exactly I'm shooting beyond Hendershot loaded 236gr Hammers.

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Holy cow. Am I missing something or isn’t that roughly 338 federal velocity?? MY 338 RCM is faster than that!

 

[Stonia]

Holy cow. Am I missing something or isn’t that roughly 338 federal velocity?? MY 338 RCM is faster than that!

I've never chronod it before, but I agree, that does seem around 150fps slower than I would have expected. As far as 338 federal, I think to get similar velocity you'd have to use lighter bullets, but I'm not sure. Certainly someone else can better answer that.

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[Axel1939]

I've never chronod it before, but I agree, that does seem around 150fps slower than I would have expected. As far as 338 federal, I think to get similar velocity you'd have to use lighter bullets, but I'm not sure. Certainly someone else can better answer that.

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Yeah I’m not sure you can fit a 236 in 338 federal. I know my rcm will push a 225 right at 2700. Lighter than 236 but still doing pretty good. There’s very little information on 20” 338 win mags despite several companies having made them over the years and Ruger still making them. Most data I’ve seen on 300 win mag there is a fairly good drop from 22-20”. I know it’s not the same but I might start there and see where I’m at with velocities.