Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .338/.308

I have been following the thread on Federal�s commercialization of the .338/.308 on the Accuratereloading board. HunterJim, provided the following news release from Federal:

Federal Cartridge Company pioneered the Premium ammunition category in 1977.
With decades of successful manufacturing, forward-thinking and outstanding
quality, only one thing was missing�Federal�s own cartridge.

This void is now filled with a unique combination of two time-tested
designs�the .338 bullet atop the versatile .308 cartridge case. It�s a
combination that�s been made a legitimate cartridge by the development
efforts of the engineering and ballistics staff at Federal in collaboration
with Sako rifles. A larger diameter bullet in the shorter-action .308 case
generates approximately 200 feet per second more velocity than a standard
.308 with a 30-caliber bullet (when comparable bullet weights are
considered).

The .338 Federal delivers the only modern .338-caliber load that isn�t a
magnum configuration. It gives big game hunters a larger diameter bullet for
more weight and overall energy on target�without magnum recoil.

According to Federal President Mark DeYoung, "This product breaks new ground
for Federal and compliments our emphasis on product innovation. The .338
Federal captures the capability of the longstanding .308 case, and offers
the respected performance of the .338 bullet, a favorite of big game
hunters. These two mainstays have been proven time and again and are now
brought together into a quality factory load. This cartridge also offers an
advanced option in support of the current trend for lighter rifles. The .338
Federal offers hunters more muzzle energy than a 30-06 Springfield�equaling
that of a 7mm Rem Mag. It�s a non-magnum offering that boasts magnum energy.
The round delivers devastating performance on game, including deer, bear and
elk and we�re proud to put our name on it."

Three Premium load offerings will be available in the fall of 2006:
P338FA1: 180-grain Nosler AccuBond 2830 fps
P338FB: 210-grain Nosler Partition 2630 fps
P338FC: 185-grain Barnes Triple-Shock 2750 fps

Product will be available in spring of 2006. Keep an eye on the Federal and
Sako websites for more ballistic information and availability updates.

I would much rather see Federal put up a Premium round for the .358 Win. And wouldn�t it be nice to see a little stainless Sako, Kimber, Ruger or Model 70 featherweight .358 Win. manufactured for over the counter sales instead?

CP,

Thanks for posting the info. Coincidentally, I stumbled across the press release earlier this morning at the Federal Ammo "Pressroom" :

http://outdoorwriters.atk.com/default.as...5&year=2005

John

Seems like a poor choice compared to the good old, find ammo anyplace 30-06 with the same weight bullet.

Neat cartridge and a natural fit for short actions.

I can see Remington putting this round into their new
Model Seven CDL.

.338-06 not count???

George, stop being silly ... we ALL know that anything that has to go into a long action is a "magnum" ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I see .... momentary lapse of reason on my part <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One of my "someday" projects is to convert one of my short actions to 338/08. Thinking my Ruger compact extended to 18 or 19 inch barrel in that caliber would be handy with a light weight handle

I'm normally not one to put down new cartridges, and will generaly try anything, but come on now.....

Hey, I have an idea! Let's take a case that is already too small to provide sufficient horsepower for heavy bullets, and design a cartridge to take even heavier bullets. What a fabulous idea! (oh yeah, I forgot, the 308 is really more powerful than the 30-06, just check out the loaidng manuals).

This seems like to ultimate useless round to me. If I want to shoot a 180gr bullet, I'm going to be shooting a 30. If I need more punch than that, I'm going to drive something with the horsepower to deliver a wallop when it gets there, not a paltry 2600fps with a 210gr bullet (IF they can get that fast in real life).

Legitimizing the 338-06 would have made FAR more sense to me. The 308 case is at it's best when necked to 7mm or smaller. A bigger bullet needs a bigger case, IMHO, of course.

I agree with CAS, why couldn't they have just further legitimized the 338-06. It would have a much larger following for factory ammo crowd that wants to shoot a 338 but without the recoil of the magnum. I don't think that sako sells enough guns to the mainstream to make it.

Why don't the do something really radical and neck the 25 wssm to 338? That would be funny...

Whoa...a new cartridge that actually makes sense? What lunatic came up with this idea <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />? I think the .338-08 makes a lot of sense, though given the nature of most "churners", it may not sell all that well. A 210-grain bullet started at 2650 is a long way from "paltry" -- it will handily do in any game in North America.

Let's hope the "Big Four" pick up on it and offer a few neat, light, handy rifles in .338-08 Federal. Might even have to buy one myself <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.

In my opinion it would have mad a LOT more sense to use the 284 WIN case. 338/06 ballistics in a short action. The 338/08 makes me want to yawn.....

I have wondered why Winchester came up with the 358 instead of this cartridge. I am biased to 7mm and 338 calibers though. I think they a have great combination of weight and ballistic efficiency without using too much powder space. I have wanted a short action 338 for quite a long time. Dang it, another rifle I'm going to have to go buy. I never thought of a 338/284 though - that sounds like a good one too. I for one will be looking forward to its introduction.

RH

A-Square "legitimized" the .338-06 with SAAMI a few years ago. That's why it is officially known as the .338-06 A-Square (at least for factory ammo like Weatherby's). So, Federal couldn't put their name on the .338-06 as A-Square beat them to it. I think having their name on a cartridge was part of Federal's goal with the .338 Federal.

Well, just as we have the .338-06 vs .35 Whelen debate, I guess we'll soon start seeing the .338 Federal vs .358 Winchester debate.

Personally, I think the .338 Federal (338-08) will make a neat little cartridge. A Ruger M77 MkII International carbine would be a natural. Yeah, you'd lose a little velocity in the 18.5" barrel but I bet 2500 fps would still be possible with the 210 Partition.

-Bob F.

A Kimber Montana in the .338 Federal. I'd buy one.

Ed T

In comparing Federals data in using 180 Accubonds in both
the 30-06 and the 338 Federal there is virtually not any difference.

With a 200 yard zero both share the same energy level at that distance and at 300 and 400 yards they are only 2/10 apart in drop.

Light short rifles with light recoil always have my attention.

This round stays with the 06 and can offer 200 and 225 grain thump.

Lots of potintial in a small package. I'd take one over an 06'
anyday and out to 300 yards what does the 338-06 have over it for all practicle hunting purposes?

This round will never sell. Makes way too much sense.

Maybe Savage will make the 110 in 338 Federal. If so, I"ll buy one. I have tons of 308 brass waiting to be necked up.

ZM

The 338-08 would be ideal for the whitetail hunting that I do. I've been planning to build one ever since I read Ken Water's article on it. I would buy/build one, notwithstanding my ownership of a couple of 308's and a .358.

Chris

For a while I thought that I would buy every new cartridge that came out. Now I really was not doing that but I had this or that one and one was similar to the other.

This is the crux of the situation in that one cartridge can be made to perform somewhat like another with the judicious use of the best bullet for the game and distance. So we have always had different cartridges and then each person can have thier own. I suppose this is what we want as it's what we got!

As to the 338 Federal I say good luck to it. In the mean time I will just use the ones that I have.

When the 270 WSM some old 270 Win fans got all bent out of shape and seemed threatened. So it goes.

It would seem that many of the existing 338 bullets are for a magnum. I was thinking of having a 338 WSM built at one time and even with that there are not that many 338 bullets. I would rather have a 30 caliber at this point.

It seems like Federal just wanted to have there name on the back of a cartridge case! Why not just make it a .358? What next? Will Remington come out with a 8mm/08 so that they can have something different?