History
The .338 EnABELR is the .375 EnABELR necked down to .338, a variant the maker saw coming during the .375's development. The result lands close to a scaled-up .300 Norma Magnum. Built around the heavy 300 grain class match bullets, it is aimed at King of 2 Miles and the two-mile game, where the whole objective is a high-BC bullet driven fast enough to stay supersonic past a mile.
This is a proprietary, direct-order cartridge with no SAAMI or C.I.P. standard and no mass-market factory ammunition. Loaded rounds and brass come from the maker. No standalone .338 print is published, so the dimensions here are derived from the .375 EnABELR case necked down.
Lineage
Necked down, the large beltless .375 EnABELR case now takes a .338 inch (8.59mm) bullet and feeds from a magnum-length action on a large rifle magnum primer. Among the big .338s built for extreme range it sits with the .338 Lapua Magnum, .338 Norma Magnum, 33 XC, and .338 Edge.
Specifications
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Case type | Rimless rebated, bottlenecked (~24° shoulder) |
| Bullet diameter | 8.59 mm (.338 in) |
| Neck diameter | 9.47 mm (.373 in) |
| Shoulder diameter | 16.15 mm (.636 in) |
| Base diameter | 16.71 mm (.658 in) |
| Rim diameter | 16.25 mm (.640 in, rebated) |
| Case length | 70.36 mm (2.770 in) |
| Parent case | .375 EnABELR (necked to .338) |
| Primer size | Large rifle magnum |
| Belted | No |
| Rifling twist | 1 in 9 in (recommended, for 300 gr .338 match) |
| Max pressure | No published SAAMI/C.I.P. figure |
| Recommended barrel | 36 in, 1:9 twist |
No standalone .338 EnABELR print is published, so the cutaway is derived from the .375 EnABELR case necked to .338: same head, body, shoulder, and datum, neck sized to .338. The case is rebated (the .640 inch rim is narrower than the .658 inch body). Treat the dimensions and drawing as the maker-derived reference, not a published standard.
Barrel Design
The 1:9 twist is set for the heavy 300 grain bullets, fast enough to hold them stable down through the transonic range past a mile. A slower twist cut for lighter .338s would waste the case.
I'd put my baseline at 36 inches, an ELR length that wrings velocity from the slow powders and holds the heavy bullets supersonic well past 2,000 yards, and the tables below are computed there from the 300 grain Berger load. Like every cartridge in this class it is heavy, loud, expensive to feed, and hard on barrels. That is the cost of two-mile capability. Velocity swings with barrel length and the specific load, so confirm your own on a chronograph before trusting a dial.
Handload Performance
Handload · 300 gr Berger Hybrid OTM Tactical
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Elevation (mil) | Energy (ft-lb) | Windage (mil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2950 | -0.3 | 5797 | 0.3 |
| 100 | 2843 | 0.0 | 5385 | 0.1 |
| 200 | 2739 | -0.3 | 4996 | 0.3 |
| 300 | 2636 | -0.9 | 4628 | 0.4 |
| 400 | 2535 | -1.5 | 4282 | 0.6 |
| 500 | 2437 | -2.2 | 3956 | 0.7 |
| 600 | 2341 | -2.9 | 3650 | 0.9 |
| 700 | 2247 | -3.7 | 3363 | 1.0 |
| 800 | 2155 | -4.5 | 3094 | 1.2 |
| 900 | 2066 | -5.4 | 2843 | 1.4 |
| 1000 | 1979 | -6.3 | 2608 | 1.6 |
| 1100 | 1893 | -7.3 | 2387 | 1.8 |
| 1200 | 1809 | -8.4 | 2181 | 2.0 |
| 1300 | 1727 | -9.5 | 1987 | 2.2 |
| 1400 | 1647 | -10.7 | 1806 | 2.4 |
| 1500 | 1568 | -12.0 | 1638 | 2.7 |
| 1600 | 1491 | -13.4 | 1480 | 2.9 |
| 1700 | 1415 | -14.8 | 1334 | 3.2 |
| 1800 | 1342 | -16.4 | 1200 | 3.5 |
| 1900 | 1271 | -18.1 | 1076 | 3.8 |
| 2000 | 1202 | -19.9 | 963 | 4.2 |
| 2100 | 1138 | -21.9 | 863 | 4.5 |
| 2200 | 1092 | -24.1 | 794 | 4.9 |
| 2300 | 1063 | -26.4 | 753 | 5.3 |
| 2400 | 1040 | -28.9 | 720 | 5.6 |
| 2500 | 1019 | -31.6 | 692 | 6.0 |
| 2600 | 1001 | -34.4 | 667 | 6.4 |
| 2700 | 983 | -37.4 | 644 | 6.8 |
| 2800 | 966 | -40.5 | 622 | 7.2 |
Muzzle velocity 2950 fps is the factory figure from a 36 in test barrel. Expect your own barrel to read a little differently. Velocity is color coded green supersonic, yellow transonic, red subsonic; treat transonic and subsonic rows as approximate.
Trajectory
FAQ
What barrel length and twist should I run?
A 1:9 twist for the heavy 300 grain .338 match bullets, and a long 36 inch barrel to collect velocity and hold them supersonic past a mile. This is a dedicated extreme-long-range build.
Is the .338 EnABELR a SAAMI cartridge?
No. The .338 EnABELR is a proprietary, direct-order cartridge with no SAAMI or C.I.P. standard and no mass-market factory ammunition. Its case dimensions and cutaway are derived from the .375 EnABELR necked down to .338 rather than a published standard, so confirm the specifications against the maker's own data.
What is it good for?
Extreme long range: two-mile competition and similar, where you need a heavy, high-BC .338 held supersonic past a mile. For practical shooting at any normal distance, a standardized .338 or a smaller cartridge is the sensible, far less expensive choice.