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

I always thought that a 338 federal in a stainless synthetic Remington 7600 pump would darn near ideal for an Alaskan rifle.

Phil told a group of students he talked to that he was fine with clients starting at .270 in terms of brown bear cartridges... so while I can't speak for him, I also can't imagine he'd have problems with either an 06 or a 338 in the hands of a client that could hit a bear-sized target.

Ok then, +1 again.....
Lj in Alaska....

here is the other important question ? if you needed more ammo or lost your ammo > which cartridge could you get ammo for easy = 30-06 plus it is still a better cartridge all around over a 338 Federal cartridge hands down. if you want that size bullet get a 338 Win.mag that is a heck of a bear cartridge that you can find ammo for.

Where’s all the fast twist 223 guys? Everyone knows it can handle everything on the planet…

338-06. The 338 Federal was an answer to an unasked question. Although I like it.

What will you be hunting? I lived in remote AK with a ton of bears. As a teen I often carried a 458 win mag it was my second centerfire rifle. Never did that rifle make me feel any more comfortable than carrying a 308 or 270. So… I carried whatever I wanted to as well. If you are hunting deer, caribou, or moose carry any rifle you want. Why worry about bears?

were just old and slow i guess so we need a slow twist plain Jane 30-06 why make it easy. remember the old bull on the hill with the young bull.

Good post^^

I’m really interested in this statement, from the computational perspective.

338 fed h20 capacity is listed at 57.5
06 h20 capacity is listed at 68.2
So the 06 has roughly 18% greater case capacity,

We know approximately how much the case capacity differential will affect velocity at same pressure from the “Barsness” rule. What I’m curious is, what is the relationship between diameter and bearing surface versus velocity - at the same pressure.

End question being, is there a way to predict at what point increased case capacity will overcome the increased velocity due to the smaller bearing surface?

Gawd. Are we really going to trot out the "what if you lost all your ammo" thing again? When have you ever actually lost all of your ammo or known someone who did? When have you ever actually traveled to another state, on a major hunting, likely planned for months if not years in advance, and realized when you got there that you needed to try to buy ammo at a convenience store because you left it all home? Also, if you're actually ON your epic, back country hunt in Alaska and somehow misplace ALL of your ammo, you aren't going to be at the store anyway. C'mon man.

If we're really just interested in the ability to drop animals (minus humans!), you make a strong case that the 30-06 was an answer to an unasked question. 8x57 Mauser, 303 British, 6.5x55, 7x57, 30-30, 45-70... what do the vast majority of us hunt that these don't comfortable dispatch? (The point being, most of the rounds we consider "traditional" today were new kids on the block at some point... plenty of room under the tent for all of them.)

Just imagine if rifle talk was limited like pistols? 9/40/45, 9/40/45, 9/40/45…..

On the little 308 winchester, 338 federal and 358 winchester, they benefit from faster powders. They're very efficient with 20 inch barrels.

One really good way to maximize killing power in these smaller cartridges, is to forgo plastic tips, boat tails, pure copper construction and partitions.

You end up with shorter bullets, more bullet weight, decent BC/SD, all while not impeding powder capacity.

Narrow down to bullets known to expand like a mother fker, and you're golden.

200 grain norma oryx in the 308 winchester

230 grain norma oryx in the 338 federal

250 grain norma oryx in the 358 winchester.

In all three cartridges, you'll easily fit 48-49 grains of the latest/greatest powders when the norma bullets are loaded out to .030" off the lands.

Though not the flatest shooting, I'd gladly hunt any Alaskan game with the above loads.

Geesh, a case of angels dancing on the head of a pin.

Pick the rifle you like the best, get some good bullets and be done with it.

Hi AK,

All true. The other thing that figures in the equation in this case is the larger bore diameter of the 338 allows a larger area to allow the gas to expand. I've seen John B explain it and I'm sure mathman can explain the physics.

If you want to see it in action look at a 180 gr bullet in the 30-06 and 338-06. At the same pressure, barell length, and case capacity, the 338-06 wins the drag race.

It’s not the bearing surface that is affecting the velocity, it is the surface area of the rear of the bullet. Yes, the 30/06 bullets may have a higher bc, but you’re still burning more powder and carrying a larger, heavier rifle.
Short of shooting long shots, I think the 338 wins for a number of reasons.

For maybe the first 75 yards.

Well if that’s the case, then the answer to this dilemma is the 280.

Nope! You'll never find 280 for sale at a lemonade stand in Idaho when you lose all of your ammo.