Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Killin power: ‘06 versus .338 Federal

If hunting in big bear country which would be more appropriate?

I’m thinking the .338 Fed with 210 partitions or some Flavor of a TTSX might be the trick, and in a lighter rifle. Thoughts?

I'd go for maximum horsepower and quality bullet construction.

I would go for whichever rifle I was most confident in and was most comfortable carrying to increase the chance of it actually being close by when the bear shows up. Either loaded with a good bullet designed for penetration will get to the vitals. I would lean toward a mono personally since your muzzle velocity and impact velocity are going to be awfully similar in a defense situation and monos will open great and penetrate at those high speeds.

A lot of the 338 Federal rifles I have seen had shorter barrels (22" or less) which I like in brushy country. I would think you would still get good performance with the Federal in an 18-20" package which would be darn handy. Certainly the '06 will work with 18-20" also but then you might as well be carrying a .308, also a reasonable choice.

The 338Fed really doesn't offer much over the 308 or 30-06.

I suspect some they/thems like it cuz it's different.

I doubt any animal would be able to tell a noticeable difference between the two chamberings, assuming similar bullet selection. So I would go with whichever particular rifle you'd rather carry.

Back about 20 years ago i was talking to some Inuit, Seal hunters about what guns they were using, to kill Seals And Walrus, they said .223 I said what about Polar Bears?? That's when we bring out the .243s, some times it helps to talk to the people that are killing critters they usually know what it takes to do the job, with out a lot of B.S. Rio7

Have you ever tried a 200gr partition in a 30-36? If not, you should look into it. It will out penetrate that 210 .338 pill from the 338 Federal. I'd pick the good ol 30-06 with that bullet, personally. But then again, it would also depend on what rifle it's housed in and your style of hunting and what you want to carry.

Having owned and shot both quite a bit, I doubt there is much difference between the 2. I'd run a 185 TTSX in the Federal to 2700 or a smidge more or a 175 LRX/180 TTSX in the 06 at a smidge under 2800. I suspect penetration to be about the same and frontal area of the expanded bullets to be about the same. And thus arrive at same:same.

I’m not real sure that .03” more in bullet diameter will make a lot of difference in the end result of making an animal dead or not, but I have read that animals do show more reaction to being shot with a larger diameter bullet.

I guess I just never ran into the same fellas you did. I put in 8 years repairing generators, heavy equipment and delivering marine cargo from Attu to the MacKenzie Delta, YT. As a generalization, I can safely say one thing, they use what they happen to have.

In truth the 06 loaded with a new mono like Hornady’s CX 190 grain bullet with a .575 BC at 2,700 fps smokes the 338 Fed hands down. Forget far downrange, the 210 grain Partition in a 338 Fed can’t come close at any range. For bear worries at 200 yards, the 06 has a velocity of 2,394 fps delivering 2,414 ft-lbs. At 200 yards the 338 Fed launched at 2,525 fps is traveling 2,108 fps delivering 2,072 ft-lbs. The 06 throughout 100-500 yards with that bullet smokes the 338 Fed in every way. BTW drift is 5.7” for the 06 at 300 yards; the 338 Fed drift is 9.4”. That’s almost double the wind drift at 300 yards.

What would you rather carry when hunting if bears are a concern?

Black bear or grizzly country?

This seems right. A slightly wider bullet for the 338, about the same weight if you're loading big in the 06, but probably going a little slower. A push?

My 338 Fed with my 185 TTSX load.......

The 06 will always hold more powder, so it will always hit harder, so that's what I would pick. I would use heavier, top quality bullets, such as a 168 TTSX, 180 gr A-Frame, or the like.

Good load for the 338 Fed started at 2,750 fps, however it will only equal the 06 at the muzzle and slightly beyond and will trail the 06 at 150 yards out in measured impact velocity and energy. The 338 Fed will fall behind by more than 200 ft-lbs energy at 300 yards. There’s no substitute for the benefit of a higher BC load.

Splitting hairs for sure, however the OP is nebulous at best using a term like “killing power”. I’m merely saying the 06 loaded in this fashion 190 gr CX w/.575 BC is by all measures more powerful than the 338 Fed using a 210 Partition. The 06 loaded like this also throws more heat than the 338 Fed 185 ttsx at 150 yards and beyond. Both are more than suitable for the same game.

flintlocke, the group of guy's I talked to about 5 of them, all seemed to agree on what they were using, I didn't interview the whole Community. makes sense they would use what ever they had and had ammo for. Rio7

Id stick with my 168 ttsx out of 06 that’s zipping around 2900 and retains 100% of its weight.
If thick country, shorter distance than the 180 mono would be just fine.
Cup and core? 200 partition or A frame

From the OP's choices, I would go with a 338 Federal.

Main reason being, I have a rifle chambered in 338 Federal, but no 30-06's.

Would much prefer one of my 338-06's, 416 Remington, or 45-70 though.

NAD…No appreciable difference