Short Barrel .338 to .375

[3Sigma]

I want to put together a medium bore hunting rifle, .338 to .375 caliber, for any and all NA game (yes, my 30-06 can do the same). I prefer 20" barrel for handling, would consider a 22", but no further in case I run a brake or suppressor. The plan is to run light for caliber solids (hammer bullets, Barnes, etc.) with faster powders for the cartridge to get as much powder burn as possible.

I'll use a ARC Nucleus long action, I have both .473 and magnum bolt faces, it will run from a mag, accurate CIP length for max COAL.

I need to pick a cartridge and caliber to get a barrel made... I'm stuck in analysis paralysis.

Given the barrel length, really big cases (RUM) seem like a wasted effort, as do cases like the 300 PRC that need the barrel length to shine.

My initial list of cartridges and their drawbacks is as follows:

375 Ruger: Brass is not available
375 HH: No brass, expensive brass, difficult to run from magazine (?)
338 RCM: No brass, seems like a waste on a long action
33 Nosler: Peterson Brass, best option IMHO
338 Win Mag: don't like belts
338 Edge: This only makes the list as I have one already, so I have dies.

In paper, I really like the 375 Ruger, but no brass (and only hornady at that) means it is dead in the water. Past that, the 33 Nosler seems like the best choice, followed by the 338 Edge.

Has anyone out there built something similar? Any thoughts or suggestions? Anything I missed?

Thanks for reading.

 

[B23]

What about a 375 Ultra mag? ADG makes 375 Ultra mag brass and it's available.

 

[3Sigma]

What about a 375 Ultra mag? ADG makes 375 Ultra mag brass and it's available.

I considered that... I like ADG (use it on my Edge), but would the shorter barrel hinder it too much?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[abishai]

Couldn't you use 300 PRC brass instead of 375 ruger ?
I havn't had any issues with the hornady brass, but it has been
decades since I have messed with it

 

[B23]

I considered that... I like ADG (use it on my Edge), but would the shorter barrel hinder it too much?

Thanks for the reply.

A 375 is a pretty good size bore diameter to burn the powder so even with a 20-22in tube, depending on what you're trying to achieve with this particular build, I think a 375RUM would make for a great shorty big bore thumper and being able to easily get and use ADG would just be icing on the cake.

 

[358WCF]

You skipped over the 35s? How about a 35 Newton? 30 Nosler or 375 Ruger brass is easily adaptable. There was a guy on the Nosler site who built one with, I think, a 20" bbl & it got about the same speeds as my 358 Norma with a 22". If you would consider a belted case, a 35/300WinMag may be a tad bit easier to make cases than finding 358 Norma. Lapua makes 300 WinMag brass too.

For the .473 bolt face there's always 35 Whelen or a 375 Whelen. Haven't seen many .358 Barnes lately, but Hammer has them in stock.

 

[wwbrown]

I have a 375 Ruger with a 19 inch barrel and a 9.3 x 62 in the same length tube. I use them for bear hunting in dense woods over bait so the ranges are close and the bears really see no difference between the two, both give me two holes from about any angle presented. I usually grab the 9.3 recoil is a little less and it is built on a 98 where my 375 Ruger is on a 700, personal preference.

Get ADG 300 PRC brass and neck up if you don't want to work with Hornady 375 Ruger brass, I have not had a problem with the Hornady brass but if I had to do it again I would go the ADG route. I have ADG 300 PRC brass and it is nice.

 

[effendude]

I cut down a Sako M995 in 338 Lapua a few years ago to 16.5" and threaded the barrel for a Thunderbeast brake so with a 338 Ultra can, the rifle handles well. I've used the rifle for (3) black bears over 500# each as well as a few MN whitetail bucks around 175# dressed. Using Retumbo and the 250 grain Berger, everything bang flopped. The rifle shoots a little bigger than MOA but for it's intended purpose, I wouldn't shoot anything past 300 yards or so anyway.

As far as burn rates, a fellow member posted a burn rate chart from quickload on a similar post I did a few years ago. Even slow burning powders achieve complete burns with a 16" barrel. I'll look for the old post.
I'm a heavy bullet fan, so I like the slower powders and I've had just enough experiences with Barnes bullets to swear them and similar bullets off until the lead police shut me down.

Short barreled 338 RUM or Lapua loads?

I am putting together a 16-17" barreled 338 RUM rifle to run with a Thunderbeast 338 Ultra suppressor. This will give me a finished rifle overall barrel length of 27-28". I normally run RL-33 with my 338 rifles but with the shorter barrel, I think I need to switch to a slightly faster powder...

forum.accurateshooter.com

Good Luck,
Scott

 

[DaveTooley]

Or a 338-300 PRC. I have reamers and dies if that interests you. It was called the 338 AI for Accuracy International when it was submitted to the military. Probably have some 375 Ruger brass around somewhere.
Any RUM on a 20" barrel just doesn't make any sense to me. YMMV

 

[spencerhenry]

I went with a 375-338, or 375 taylor.

 

[big5ifty]

375 HH: No brass, expensive brass, difficult to run from magazine (?)

Not difficult to run from a magazine. My 1946 model 70 proves that.

New brass may be expensive, but as a hunting rifle, 50 pieces is a lifetime supply.

 

[Orr89rocz]

376 steyr was fun in my steyr rifle at 19” barrel length
Hornady brass tho and very hard to find. Powdervalley says they have some in stock

 

[3Sigma]

Couldn't you use 300 PRC brass instead of 375 ruger ?
I havn't had any issues with the hornady brass, but it has been
decades since I have messed with it

I had to look this up, and you are correct. This opens the brass available to Lapua and ADG. Thanks!

 

[rickiesrevenge]

35WSM or 35 Whelen Imp

 

[3Sigma]

Or a 338-300 PRC. I have reamers and dies if that interests you. It was called the 338 AI for Accuracy International when it was submitted to the military. Probably have some 375 Ruger brass around somewhere.
Any RUM on a 20" barrel just doesn't make any sense to me. YMMV

Thank you for the suggestion. Initially I was trying to keep to standardized cartridges and stay away from a wildcat, but given the supply issues I may need to become more flexible.

I need to do some more analysis but if I go with a 338 wildcat, the 338-300 PRC or 338-30 Nosler would be options. Initial glance looks like they are very similar cases.

 

[3Sigma]

I cut down a Sako M995 in 338 Lapua a few years ago to 16.5" and threaded the barrel for a Thunderbeast brake so with a 338 Ultra can, the rifle handles well. I've used the rifle for (3) black bears over 500# each as well as a few MN whitetail bucks around 175# dressed. Using Retumbo and the 250 grain Berger, everything bang flopped. The rifle shoots a little bigger than MOA but for it's intended purpose, I wouldn't shoot anything past 300 yards or so anyway.

As far as burn rates, a fellow member posted a burn rate chart from quickload on a similar post I did a few years ago. Even slow burning powders achieve complete burns with a 16" barrel. I'll look for the old post.
I'm a heavy bullet fan, so I like the slower powders and I've had just enough experiences with Barnes bullets to swear them and similar bullets off until the lead police shut me down.

Short barreled 338 RUM or Lapua loads?

I am putting together a 16-17" barreled 338 RUM rifle to run with a Thunderbeast 338 Ultra suppressor. This will give me a finished rifle overall barrel length of 27-28". I normally run RL-33 with my 338 rifles but with the shorter barrel, I think I need to switch to a slightly faster powder...

forum.accurateshooter.com

Good Luck,
Scott

Thank you very much for that. It looks like you went down the same path, and this is the feedback I was hoping to see.

I need to dig into GRT a bit and see how the RUM based cases work. I have some data from my Edge to calibrate the model as a baseline.

 

[DaveTooley]

Thank you for the suggestion. Initially I was trying to keep to standardized cartridges and stay away from a wildcat, but given the supply issues I may need to become more flexible.

I need to do some more analysis but if I go with a 338 wildcat, the 338-300 PRC or 338-30 Nosler would be options. Initial glance looks like they are very similar cases.

If you decide to go 375 Ruger I have some brass available.

 

[3Sigma]

376 steyr was fun in my steyr rifle at 19” barrel length
Hornady brass tho and very hard to find. Powdervalley says they have some in stock

Steyr and it's 9.3 x 64 parent were on the initial list until I saw the case head size.

 

[effendude]

Thank you very much for that. It looks like you went down the same path, and this is the feedback I was hoping to see.

I need to dig into GRT a bit and see how the RUM based cases work. I have some data from my Edge to calibrate the model as a baseline.

You're definitely thinking similar to me. I went with shortening the Lapua because I already had two rifles in that caliber. The Sako M995 with it's original full length barrel had shot a grizzly and a big black bear in Alaska, and I really wanted a handier suppressed big rifle. Pay attention to finished length if you are planning to suppress it. 20" barrel with a 10" suppressor would be a beast to hunt with. I've tried!

I think you'd be pleased with a 338 RUM or a 33 Nosler. I know the Edge gets fairly long to feed out of a mag with heavier bullets. 338 suppressors are maybe more common than larger caliber ones. I'm a Thunderbeast fan so that helped my decision as well. I love my .35 Whelen's, .375 H&H and .375 Ultra but as infrequent as I use them, I don't need them suppressed.
Good Luck,
Scott

 

[Orr89rocz]

I think an ultra or edge or lapua would be a waste in a short barrel. 33 nosler would be more efficient or a 33 wsm