338-06 A-square

This was a wildcat, no doubt, dating to shortly after introduction of the 338 Winchester Magnum (1958) and availability of 0.338-inch hunting bullets. It is very simple to neck up the 30-06 case to accept 0.338-inch bullets, which no doubt contributed to popularity of this chambering. Shortly after the end of WWII, Charles O'Neil, Elmer Keith, and Don Hopkins invented a similar wildcat using the old 33 Winchester bullet (0.333-inch). Since no proper spitzer bullets were ever commercially offered in that diameter, their wildcat was significantly handicapped. Conversely, with popularity of the 338 Winchester Magnum and the 340 Weatherby Magnum chamberings, a wide variety of modern 0.338-inch bullets became available; hence, the 338-06 has had a steady following that may or may not continue to grow. Considering the significant performance advantage over the 30-06, for use against heavy game, likely, this round will eventually reach commercial mainstream status, as did the similar 35 Whelen. For the Whelen, that took threequarters of a century, perhaps the 338-06 won't take so long. One could argue that the similarity of these two numbers might prevent this but the 338-06 does have a significant trajectory edge and it gives up precious little to the Whelen, when both are loaded with heaviest feasible bullets – time will tell. Since it uses far less powder and generates somewhat less velocity, the 338-06 produces far less recoil than the 338 Winchester Magnum, when chambered in guns of the same weight. However, ballistics are sufficiently close so that it is suitable for the same applications as that short magnum, if one will keep shots to, perhaps, 75 yards less maximum range. Properly loaded and in the right hands, the 338-06 is suitable for hunting the largest species in the Northern
Hemisphere and most species in Africa.