My 338 has the factory 26" barrel. I don't use 225 bullets myself. I use 210 Nosler's for everything. Whitetails, Blacktails, Elk and Grizzlies. The 225 Nosler's I've handloaded have run about 2820-30fps. I could go faster, but I'd just be adding recoil.

Here's a pic of it and a small Whitetail I shot a few years ago.

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It's nothing fancy, but it's very accurate. Chambers and ejects shells perfectly. I added a recoil pad and had some trigger work done. Most of the animals I've shot with it have dropped at the shot with the 210 Nosler's. The Grizzly I shot in September went about 50 yards and needed only one 210 Nosler.