Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 338 FEDERAL...Popularity? Experience?

I would like to know f the cartridge is proving popular or not - anyone here have expereince with it???

Whats a .338 federal....?

I had to sell one in a Ruger Hawkeye and I regret it. It sure shot great and I would like to have it back.

My Kimber shoots the 338 Fed great! Several one shot kills on elk, plus a couple of deer. Who cares if it is popular or not, I like it. I'm not going to go to Wal-Mart to buy ammo for it anyway.

Scratches my itch. Second one on the way soon.

Had a .338 Fed built on a Ruger 77 RSI in about '06 or so. I've shot a few deer with it, and carried it a lot in general, I just plain like it. Got a good price on a synthetic/stainless 77 Hawkeye .338 Fed; bought it for bad weather. Have shot a whitetail buck and a muledeer buck with it, and it seems to work really well too. Think I'll keep them both for the long haul -- they seem to have the parts and pieces.





Shot with two different versions of .338 Fed chambers, and they both seem to work out nicely. I eat a quite a lot of venison these days taken with these rifles, and it is pretty good...

Dennis

Hoping to blood my "faux" Kimber Montana .338 Federal on an Idaho black bear next month. Waiting for it to get done having a new coat of make-up applied and then it'll be time to slap Talley's and a Leupold VX1 3-9x40mm with LRD on it and hit the range.

My Tikka T3 Lite in .338 Federal shoots very well. I haven't worked up a load for it yet, but it will shoot 200 grain Fusions into an inch or less at 100 meters.
I haven't drawn blood with it yet but I have confidence that it will get the job done when the opportunity presents itself.

I just purchased a new DPMS LR338L (338 Federal)39" long and 7.9 lbs. Just put LaRue LT112 one piece quick release scope mount on it and will be ordering a Bushnell 6500 Elite 4.5x30 50mm scope in a couple weeks.purchased 140 rnds of american eagle 185 gr soft points. Soon I will be shooting it. Can't wait

I'm looking to get a .338 Federal, as well. It would seem to be a great combination of knockdown power and minimal recoil.

I think it would be tough to beat for bigger critters like elk and moose and bear inside of 400 yards, and it should flatten deer with little meat damage.

Lots of good bullets ro play with from 160 - 210gr at 2500 - 3000 fps. Sounds great to me.

Think of it as modern and improved 7x57

Dennis,

That is a sweet setup you have there! Very nice and definitely a keeper. One of those paired with No.1 RSI in 7x57 would be delicious, indeed!

I just bought a Sako 85 in 338 Federal. Can't wait to get it to the range and better yet try it out this deer season. My only complaint is the lack of loadings currently offered. Not that the choices currently aren't any good because they are. Just would like to see more choices. Where I hunt, the longest shot is about a 100 yards which will make this round a killer for sure. From what I read, the lighter bullets are getting the best accuracy.

Seattlesetters- if your looking for one, Euro Optics is selling the 85 Hunter like mine for $850. You will have a hard time finding a Sako brand new for that price.

Ingwe,
Think of it as a .308 with big girl panties.

DPMS offers it in their AR 10. That would be a good choice if you ever get pinned down by a herd of bears.
whelennut

In my rifle the 185 TTSX has consistently been the most accurate. TAC or 8208 XBR have been very accurate (no chrono on the 8208 yet) book loads indicate they should be similar. Have found loads for 210 Scirocco II and 210 Partition that are quite good as well (2000MR and Leverevolution). If I knew I were keeping the ranges down the 210 Partition would be hard to beat.

I have a Sako 85 in .338 Fed. I bought it mainly because it was something different that I didn't already have, however I'm glad I did. Mine shoots MOA with several loads using 210 TSX's and 200 Accubonds and RL15. I haven't tried any other bullets or powders yet, because I've had more than satisfactory results from those within the range limitations I plan to use this rifle for. I've only used it on feral hogs (and a couple coyotes while hog hunting) so far, but it anchors big boars with authority. Recoil is fairly mild.

My huntin buddy has a montana in.338 Fed. I have shot it and recoil is not noticeable to me. It's accurate, and hammers the deer. Hunting in the woods of NH, it makes a lot of sense.

I've got a stainless Hawkeye topped with a 1.5-6 Burris Euro diamond and it consistantly puts 3 Woodleigh 200gr PP's into 1" or a bit less at 100yds. 200gr hotcors over the same powder (AR2206H, H4895) shoot to a different poi but the groups are the same size.
I haven't shot anything that bleeds with it yet, but I hope to change that situation in the next couple of weeks.

In regards to your original question, I don�t know how to define popular for relatively recently introduced cartridges. Obviously there are sales as a measure, but I�m not certain any cartridge brought to the market today is popular by the standard of the old stand-bys such as the 30-06 or 270win. I don�t think the 30-06 or 270win would necessarily be �popular� in terms of sales if they were brought to market right now. Tradition counts for a lot in rifle sales. Just a situation where there are multiple options to meet any hunting or shooting situation you can imagine. On the Fed�s side, is the fact that it has plenty to deal with everything from deer to hogs, black bear and elk which represents the vast majority of hunting in N.A. In terms of velocity and energy it is very close to the 30-06. There is an excellent selection of bullets from the 160 TTSX through the 225 Accubond if you�re feeling adventurous (others include: 180 BT, 180/200 Accubonds, 200 E-Tip, 200 Bal. Silvertip, 185/210 TTSX, 200 Hornady Interlock, 185 GMX, 200 SST, 200 Hot Cor, 210 Partition, 210 Scirocco II, 215 Gameking, etc, etc). Brass is a non-issue, and never will be given its 308 heritage. Federal is now producing factory brass as well. Being Federal�s first rifle cartridge I suspect getting factory ammo will never be an issue, unlike the 338-06, or potentially the 338 RCM. There is not a huge selection of factory ammo, but what is available is quite good and covers about everything with 180s through 210 Partitions. I haven�t heard any bad reports of the 200gn Fusion ammo. It�s very easy to load for, the short size is good for short action rifles and the smaller diameter allows for more in the mag than the short/fats. On the bad side; 338 bullets don�t go through the air as well as skinnier bullets; you�re limited to the powder you can squeeze into a 308 size cartridge; and it doesn�t have the tradition other than as the 338-08 wildcat. Rifle availability was quite good, but has gone down. Starting this year, Ruger builds the Hawkeyes in 338 RCM vice 338 FED and Sako isn�t importing them from what I�ve read (still make them though). Kimber is the only one chambering it in a bolt action, and available, in the US right now (I think). That's my take on it.

How many companies are making factory loads?