Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 325 WSM vs 338 Federal

Exactly. Most all 338 bullets are designed for the 338 WM. I see that as a real problem for this new 338 from Federal unless someone gets cracking and works out this disparity between bullet design and velocity. Even if they do, the bullet makers probably wont find it economically feasible to come up with a full selection of 338 bullets for one cartridge whose future is not certain.

That was my feeling too, when it was first introduced, i.e., the bullets available are designed to perform terminally at a higher speed, so performance would suffer. That's why I prefer the .358 Winchester. Those bullets were designed to expand optimally at anywhere from .38 Special to .35 Remington velocities, or from .35 Whelen to .358 Norma Magnum velocities. The bullets designed for the various velocities are out there already. Not the case for the .338 Federal.

NOT Exactly. Bullets are designed for a range of muzzle velocities not a specific cartridge. The 200gr Hornady SP is designed, according to my Hornady manual, for 2400-3400fps. If cartidge can meet the velocity window, then it is launching a bullet within the bullets design parameters. Did the 358 whither because most bullets were made for the 350 mag/35 Whelan/358STA? Or the other way around for that matter. NO.

What will make or break this round, will be consumer useage. There are enough bullets that fit into the 338 Federal performance parameters to make it in the field but will the consumer by the rifles? Based on all the discussion here and other forums, it's got a good start.

RH

Which did you end up with the fat redhead or the blonde with BO? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

GB

I will take the blonde and a bar of soap please.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> RL..

So if you can launch that bullet all of at most 2600 fps, that makes it a 100 yd round, as that's where you are down to 2400 fps.

The 338 fed should be an honest 250-300 yd round, launch suitable bullets 2500 fps and keep them above 1800 fps. But if such suitable bullets don't exist, then what good is it.

I see these rounds as akin to a 9/16 ton pickup. One has a big block v-8 with 2 cylinders taken out of it, the other is a v-6 with a supercharger. There is certainly some fanatics that'll say such is what they've always wanted, but most folks will snicker and get either a 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton.

Good catch. Actually, what I needed to put was: "The 200gr Hornady SP is designed, according to my Hornady manual, for a Muzzle Velocity of 2400-3400fps." <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

If it only expanded down to 2400 that would not make a very effective round would it. The point I was trying to make is that most 338 bullets less than 225 grains should work well in Federal's round. There are plenty of bullets out there that fits the description and the the "lack of bullets" will not kill the 338 Federal.

RH

Which time?

Perfect analogy.

It's funny reading this thread. 180 and 200 TSX, 200 accubond, 180 BT, 200 partition, 125 cup and core 150, 170, 195 and 220 grain Interlocks, 150, 170, 200 and 220 grain gamekings, 196 and 220 graine Norma bullets, a 250 grain Woodliegh weldcore- nope no bullet selection in .323" at all. And to top it of they have better SD weight for weight than .338" ones.

Nothing the .338 Federal does that the 8x57 can't just as well and the .325 has a few hundred fps on both. On a board where there's all this talk of AI's and the massive 75 fps gains the .325 advantage is monsterous.

And some folks (alot of them on this forum) will get the 3/4 ton and use it to haul groceries.

There's alot of guys like to talk up their 10lb. 338's but won't launch 250's for fear of recoil.

If I want to launch 200's then it makes alot more sense to do it in a .323 or .308 that have good SD than any .338 (or .358).

If you are a light rifle fan, then either of these rounds make sense. It's a trade-off. You sacrifice some heavy bullet horsepower for the portability, but for me that's worth it.

If you only want one rifle then these wouldn't be the best choice (who the he!! wants one rifle?).

If you worry about factory ammo availability then these wouldn't be the best choice (doesn't enter into the equation for me).

Compare bullet selection and R&D with 30s, 32s, and 33s and get back with me.

If the 32s were that good, they would be everywhere. Fact is, they are not, and that solely due to the fact that it is a bastard caliber.

As was already pointed out, there are plenty to choose from.

If you limit the 338 to 200/225 grains as most appear to do for fear of recoil, things start to even out.

is the 325 really 325 caliber or 315 caliber? Does the 300 WSM really do the same thing as the 325 WSM but with a better selection of bullets?

The 325 is really a 0.323" dia bullet.

The question you have to ask yourself is, is there anything you'll hunt with a 325 you wouldn't hunt with a 300? Personally, I can't think of anything I'd choose the 325 for, and when you look at a 168 gr @ 3200 fps, the 300 is a softer recoiling round that delivers the goods still doing 2000 fps further out there. And if you package the deal in a lightweight rifle, which is the entire reason to get a WSM, the 300 deals all the recoil you want. If you decide on a heavier gun for the 325, then just continue down that road to at least a 338 win mag.

Sure, but you could say the same things if comparing the 7mm WSM to the 300 WSM. Can't think of a thing I'd purposely go hunting for with the 30 that would be out of the 7's class either.

If you want a lighter shorter rifle that approaches the 338WM in punch, the 325 offers that option.

mig: I bet that a proficient shooter and hunter with the .338 Federal can do as well if not better than another not-so proficient hunter with a bigger gun. For example, there have been quite a lot of old timers in Alaska who used "the big gun" to kill the biggest Alaska bears back in the early 1900's. The big gun was the .30-06.

In the book titled "Alaska's Wolf Man," which relates to Frank Glaser's life in Alaska in the early 1900's, the author tells among quite a lot of other interesting accounts, how Mr. Glaser managed to kill three grizzlies with three shots from his .30-06. But that's only one story of numerous in the book. Some of the old guides back then used the .30-06, too.

My point is that if you enjoy shooting your .338 Federal, as well as any other cartridge one can think about, and as well as you become proficient with it, it won't fail to deliver for you.

Most .338 bullets may be designed to handle the speed of the .338WM and the faster .338's around, but there are plenty of relatively soft bullets for it. While the .338WM, .338 Dakota, .338RUM, and a whole bunch of .338's can shoot bullets from 210-225 grains to 300, non-Magnum cartridges such as the .338 Federal, .338-06, etc. do very well with the lighter .338-caliber bullets beginning at 160 grains in weight, all the way to 210.

Some .338 bullets are softer than others. For example, the 250-grain partition has never failed to kill moose for me, although the pieces of lead left behind attest to how the front portion of this bullet often disintegrates. Now, I don't think it's a good idea to load a 250 grainer for the .338 Federal, but a 180-grain Partition should work very well. Speer, Sierra, Kodiak, Woodleigh, and other bullet manufacturers produce relatively soft bullets one can use for the .338 Federal.

All one has to do to allow an individual rifle to shoot faster is to use lighter weight bullets for it. Take for example the 180-grain Federal load for the .338WM (a new offering from Federal). Loaded within safe pressures, the 180-grain bullet comes out the muzzle at approximately 3120 fps. The same bullet weight, but for the .300WM comes out the barrel at 2960 fps. Both can handle the fast speeds. .30-caliber bullets are also designed to handle the speeds generated by the .300WM, .300RUM, and the whole rest of super .300's. The same bullets work very well at .308, and .30-06 velocities, even when reduced loads for these two are created.

Lets say that I still want to use a 250-grain Partition out the .338 Federal. In this case, all I have to do is to get close to the intended target in order for the bullet to do it's work within its design parameters. The 250-grain Partition, as well as all expanding bullets, are designed to expand within certain speed ranges.

The "heavy and slow" bullet principle works very well, and one can see that in the design of the .338 Sabi. But I imagine that .338 Federal hunters, at least in the US, want "fast-light" bullets, and there are plenty of light bullets.

LOL!!

Even if you don't handload you still have some very good choices in the 325WSM ammunition from Conley Precision Cartridge..RL..
Here is a link.. http://cpcartridge.com/cart2/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_121