Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Is the new 338 federal caliber here to stay

That DOES sound nice. When did they make those in .243?

When I get one, it'll likely be the 7x57mm. Of those currently available, that's the ideal cartridge for the 20" barrel, I think.

scott

Mine was mfg around 2000, should still be made as the 270, 7x57, and '06. Never seemed to follow through on their 338 Fed in 1A, maybe the new RCM round will get slated.

jpg,Two rifles;Tikka and Kimber Montana. Both with 22" bbls. H4895,Fed215 primers,re-formed W-W cases(weigh the least of any 308 cases and give more inner space),185TSX gives 2870fps,200 Speer gives 2690fps. Very simple to load for and not finicky.Still playing with loads and will report later this winter.By all means get one and start playing.Barnes is supposedly coming out with a plastic tipped TSX in 160gr.If that happens and the BC is any good then I can get rid of my 308 Win.

Ruger RSI in .338 Federal:



NECG front sight:


Ruger African rear sight:


Caliber script:


Barrel is a PacNor 3-groove, so no, it's not a factory model.

But it ought to be .

If the weather breaks, I'm going to run it over the chrony tomorrow.

DN

MD, That looks gooood!Anxious to hear what she'll do.

MD, very nice rifle, I have always admired the manlicher stocks, how much does your rifle weight?

DN:

Nice rig! If it were only a No.1 it'd be perfect. (I'm a lefty )

scott

My "other brother Darrel" (muledeer not Mule Deer) did indeed put together a nifty little .Ruger .338 Federal.

I have been hunting with a Kimber 84 in .338 Federal some this fall. With a 15.-4.5 Nikon it weighs 6-1/4 pounds so is a nice weight for woods/mountain hunting. Mostly I have been shooting the Federal 200 Fusion load, but so far have been matching factory ballistics quite easily with Ramshot TAC powder. I suspect that if I keep this rifle (a loaner) the 200 Hornady at 2700 or close to it would be my all-around load, but the 210's from either Nosler or Barnes would be good for really serious work.

A 200 spitzer at 2700 will shoot flat and fast enough for 400-yard shots. I know this from shooting other rifles with spitzers at that speed, from the 6.5x55 up to the .375 H&H. This muzzle velocity will not excite some shooters, but it will do the job.

Whether the .338 Federal survives is another question. I suspect it will, because unlike the .358 it was designed around bolt actions and modern bullets. But any cartridge over .30 will always be looked at as "specialized" in today's market.

On the other hand, recoil even in a light rifle is not much. One of the reasons the .358 (and various other small .35's) faded is that recoil with 250's was pretty stiff in light woods rifles.

I am guessing the .338 Federal will hold on, if only marginally as a specialty round for hunters who don't feel 3000 fps is an absolute necessity. I was prepared not to like it, but now do, a lot.

mule deer- Very NICE!!! Anxious to hear how it shoots for you!

Hey Dennis, that RSI looks great! Look forward to hearing how it shoots. A 3x would be just about perfect on that....I suspect you have a few lying around, looking for a home

Jeff

a magnum of any type is LOUD, so much so that it probably damages your ears more than a standard round like a 30-06. They are both noisy but having shot a 23 inch barreled 300WSM in the field now I can say that while it is effective if applied correctly, it hurts my ears more than my a 24 inch barreled 270 or 30-06, or 22 inch 308. The 338 Federal seems to offer the ability to cast a heavier bullet (when needed) while possibly not blowing out your eardrums. I do have a question for Mule Deer how does your loaner Kimber shoot with the Fusions and Hornady's? Have you "harvested" any game with the round??

Took it to the range today -- have to work on the bedding in the factory stock, but I think it has some possibilities.

200 grain factory Fusion loads:


185 gr TSX with 46 gr Reloder 15:


Factory velocities are running just over 2500 fps with 185 TSX and 200 Fusion; my handloads are running right at 2400 fps with 185 TSX and 200 gr Hornady Spirepoint. ( I think there's room for some more powder...)

DN

Can I chime in here and say that I see just over 2600 fps with 200's from my .358 Win? :-)

-jeff

Who can really say for certain where the 338 Federal will go. I just bought a Tikka T3 in 338 Federal. Doesn't matter to me..........I handload everything.

Personally............I liked the reverse direction that Federal took with this. Velocity over 3400FPS isn't everything!!!

I like it too. When I was deciding what to rebarrel my Model 7 to, it was either going to be 338-o8 or .358. I chose .358 because the .338-08 was still a wildcat at the time, but the rumor was that it was about to be "adopted". I didn't want to end up with a slightly out-of-spec .338 Fed, if that makes sense.

If I were in the market for one of the little short-action Kimber rifles, for instance, I'd be really hard-pressed between .338 Fed and .308, which is saying a lot because I really respect .308.

-jeff

RL15 what a wonderful powder!

Mule Deer, Some would say that you can't possibly hit any animal with groups like that and certainly can't kill them with velocities like that.

When I get done with the bedding the groups will be better.

When I get done with load development the velocities will be higher.

But I could kill a lot of stuff with the rifle as it stands now .

DN

Absolutely!

Nice rifle in the pics, great feedback, should put the 'rumors' to rest alot re: matching factory load spec with handloads.