To me the 338/06 was at it's best...IMHO with 200 NBTs for deer and similar game, and 225 PTs for everything else.
In the 338 Federal, My belief is the round shines with 185 - 210s. The 185 Barnes and 200 Sp loads can do a lot of killing within the window of this round, which I would put out to around 300 yds, same size game as any other 33 bore, like the Win Mag. I'd use a Mono or PT on anything really big and/or dangerous. Just me. Lighter bullets give up BC so sizzle out faster downrange, heavier bullets don't fly as flat.
What range you shoot and game does matter. 200 BTs are long and might rob capacity in this SA round.
I settled on the 210 grain Partition as the all purpose load in my 24" 1-10" ROT 338-06.
I'm still playing around with the Ruger Hawkeye in 338 FED that I bought in 2017, but like the 180 grain AB so far.
I agree with your comment that the 338 FED runs into COAL issues with many of the currently available component bullets in short actions. I have occasionally thought about having JES rebore a spare Savage 99F in 308 to 338 FED, but haven't yet done so because of COAL restrictions in that action.
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