I don't know how this degenerated into an argument about the merits of the .338 Federal vs. the 7mm Rem Mag. Those are two pretty different cartridges that excel at different things.
As an elk round, I'd be fine with either. Inside of 100 yards, I'd take the Federale.
Between 100-300 yards, I doubt it matters much. Some people like bigger, heavier bullets and some like velocity. Both would be terrific choices at these ranges.
Between 300-400 yards, both are still more than adequate, but I'd lean more toward the 7mm RM as it takes some of the guesswork out. If I had time with and knew the .338 Federal rifle I was shooting, I'd have absolutely no qualms about popping an elk with it at these ranges, though.
At 400-500 yards, I'd definitely want the 7mm RM. In fact, about 500 yards is as far as I would ever pull the trigger on any game, and even then it would have to be a darn-near perfect set up where I had a spotter with binoculars and wide-open terrain where we both could see the animal for a considerable distance after the shot. The only things I'd want to shoot at such distances would be very flat-shooting, wind-bucking numbers with minimal recoil such as a 6.5x.284 or .264 Win Mag running good 130s or 140s, a .270 Win or Roy or WSM using good 140s or 150s, or a .284 Win,.280 Rem, or 7mm Roy or RM or WSM or SAUM running good 160s.
I'd prefer the .338 Federal to a .308 Win as an elk rifle without question. I'd get the same trajectories as a .308 shooting 165gr bullets but with 200-210gr, .338-cal bullets and roughly the same recoil. Although the ammo availability hugely favors the .308, for elk, I'll take the bigger bullets and greater energy every time.
And the brown bear scenario mentioned before really doesn't have a right answer, IMHO. I was just using it to illustrate that there may be at least some situations where folks might prefer the performance of a .338 Fed to a 7mm RM, because it seemed as if some fine folks were saying that the 7mm mag wins hands-down, every time.
Last edited by seattlesetters; 04/17/11.
