how many factory loads are there?
who other than the originator loads for it?
how many factory rifles are chambered for it?
It will never reach the success it needs to become anything other than a flash in the pan, sorry.
it will end up in the same place as the 260, 280rem and the 358.
Great round for its intended purpose but just didnt catch on with the mainstream.
...............As far as I know, Ruger, Sako, and Kimber currently chamber the 338 Federal. There may be some other makers who now do that I didn`t think of and some who might do so later.
The amount of factory loadings available may not necessarily determine popularity. As a reloader, I would be more concerned about brass availability, which has been no issue thus far in loading the 338 Federal for a friend.
From a marketing standpoint and to really determine "correctly" any cartridge`s popularity, one would have to some research and find out what the sales figures have been for new 338 Fed rifles from the makers going back the 3 years or so and then compare those past figures with more recent sales figures. That will determine whether or not there is a growing trend or a decreasing sales trend for the 338 Fed.
Then one should also contact the various distributors to determine how much 338 Fed brass has been and is being sold.
That would better put the puzzle together in order to better determine whether or not the 338 Fed will become just "a flash in the pan" or catch on with the "mainstream."
When it comes to popularity, I`m not so sure that the 260, the 280 Rem or the 358 Win are in such a bad or so-so place right now.
Until the proper marketing research is performed, I wouldn`t exactly say; "it will never reach the success it needs to become anything other than a flash in the pan!"
Opinions are ok, but they can be far from actual marketing facts.
