Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Is the 338 Federal on a come back tour?

It's just a halfway point, layover, for going from 308 to 358. Nobody really wants to live there.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

Maybe I'm more of an oddball than I thought, but I always felt the .338 Federal was a smart little round that does a whole lot from a small package.

I don't get the recoil gripe that some maybe have. It's like a 22 - 23 pound kicker. That's a far cry from .338 Win Mag territory. But, I can see where most people don't need anything bigger than a mild 30 cal, or thereabouts.

Ha! Well said!

The problem with 338 Fed is that the 30-06 shoots all the same bullet weights faster with about the same recoil, flatter trajectory and much more energy downrange. A 308 will shoot 200 gr bullets within 50 fps of a 338 with 200's and shoot 180's faster than the 338 will shoot 200's. At the muzzle the 338 shows a slight edge, but the 308 is faster, flatter shooting and with more energy with equal bullet weights past about 100-150 yards. The .003" greater bullet diameter is of no advantage on game and actually hurts the ballistics.

The 338 works, but I don't see it offering any advantage over 308, and it's a step down from 30-06. It is just a cool round for guys who want to be different from the crowd.

I personally really like the 338 federal. I have one in a Tikka that is very handy. Plenty of power from a small light gun. I load and shoot 210 nosler partitions in mine but looking at factory ammo ballistics I disagree a little with some info that has been posted. A 308 shooting 180's in factory form will be somewhere near 2570-2600 fps and a 338 federal with a 180 grain accubond is 2830 fps and the 185 grain tsx is 2750 fps. That is a pretty significant performance improvement as far as I am concerned. I don't see any factory load info for a 200 grain .308 but the 338 fed will do 2630-2700 fps depending on the load. That means it will shoot a 20 grain heavier bullet approximately 100 fps faster than the .308 with 180s. It is certainly no magnum and does have a bit of recoil but for whitetails, pigs and bears out to 400 yards it is a great round.

It is a good round, no doubt. The question is, does it have what it takes to make it in the marketplace. The answer would appear to be no. That doesn't stop folks that like it from enjoying it; just takes a little more effort.

History indicates that for a new cartidge to succeed, it has to offer capabilities not available in existing rounds. I don't think the .338 Fed does that.

I agree. I have a 30-06 and several 308Win rifles. I also have a 338 Win mag. Just do not see the need. But it is a cool round, like the 358Win.

I bought a Tikka in 338F from smithrjd and I like it very much. The complaints about the stock and original rings are both unfounded in my opinion. I've owned two 358s and a 338-06 but sold all three. I love this little gun, not too light and not too heavy. Good for a walk about rifle but heavy enough to hold steady for off hand shooting. It is very capable, when loaded right, of killing anything in n. America w/the 210gr Partition. For Texas hogs and deer I will load the 200gr Speer, Fusion and ballitic tips. I also have some 180gr ballistic tips but feel like the Federal shines w/the 200gr bullets out to 400yd. Please don't roll your eyes guys as I've already run the ballistics. I am going to send the original stock to Darren for one of his camo sponge jobs and have the barreled action cerakoted. I have put a VX3 3.5-10X40 w/post and duplex on top and am very pleased w/the set up. The recoil is a little less than the 358 w/200's to me. I bought this one to keep and really don't care if others like it or not. You couldn't give me a 223AI or a 260 but many of the guys here like them...and I respect their right to be a loony. I'm just a loony that has fallen in love w/the 338Federal. powdr

There's a Kimber Montana w/ a Leupold in Talley's on GB right now if any of you have the bug! I'm hoping that by posting about here it will drive up the price to the point that I quit checking in on it.

Repeat 3x I don't need this gun...

If anyone can ever see the difference between a 30-06 and a 338 Fed within ranges of 400ish or less, they are better than me. I would venture it is safe to say there is 0% difference in the outcome. Which says very good things about the 338 in my opinion.

The Savage offerings are interesting. I'd like to have a Model 11 lightweight hunter with the 23" stainless fluted barrel from the 16 Bear Hunter.

I'm 180 out. Wish I never bought it and was glad to get rid of it.

Gun was expensive, ammo was expensive (when you could find it), and accuracy was nothing to brag about especially for a Sako. Honestly it didn't do anything that a bunch of other calibers could do as well or better.

IMO the cartridge was a solution to a problem that never existed.

Yep....I still say the .338 Fed was nothing but another 'almost'. Almost a .308. Almost a .358. Almost a 30-06....if with training wheels. If it had never been un-wildcatted, it could still be cool. 😄

No, the 338Fed is not on the comeback trail.

I agree it isn't coming back. I think the same parent company owns federal and savage. Makes sense they chamber rifles for it and try to create interest.

I'm a fan of the 338 Federal. It's pretty sexy and it works. I've only killed a couple deer with it so far, but I've enjoyed shooting it a bunch.

I hope prm fills this thread up with pictures. I can only add a couple...

That's a great buck! I know the 338 Fed kills things just as dead as any other cartridge.

I like my 338 Fed. It doesn't do one thing that a half dozen other rifles in the safe can't do just as well, but its a keeper. It might not be on a comeback tour like some of y'all have suggested, but I never thought it was gone. I have all I need to keep shooting it for as long as I need or want to shoot it, so I really don't care if Federal keeps making it or not.

It seems like several rifles I like don't seem to be making it right now. I can't find ammo for a couple of 284 Winchesters and the latest that seems to have been dropped is the 35 Remington.

seems it would be a good close range hog caliber.

It's kind of a has-been that never-was, which is really sad. A 338 Federal should have been a real winner. A lot of cartridges do what others do as good or a bit better than maybe not quite as good but they get the job done when asked to deliver. Sometimes that "cool factor" really warms up the hot stove and as such it's well worth the price of admission. I think a person should buy whatever they want as long it's their money. I love all the new stuff but I usually wait a while so the bugs get worked out; you know, a few years anyways, like 40 or 50, better yet 80-100. :-)

Nice buck SAS.