Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Good 338 Federal loads

Well I never did get to test the 185 ttsx on moose. The only bull I saw all week was already running and well before shooting light. Oh well, that’s why it’s hunting and not shooting.

So I bought some 200gr federal fusion bullets to try. In the box was a card with some load data. The data is showing 56.1gr of alliant power pro 2000-mr @ 2,869! That’s out of a 24” tube. Anyone try that combination? That sounds like a pretty stiff load.

I just checked the Alliant data website. It's showing 52.0 gr @ 2725 with a 24" barrel, but doesn't list pressure. With a 22" tube I'd expect 2600+, or so. Still dmn good performance!

Federal had max at 56.1gr. Just to see I put 56.1gr 2000-MR in a new federal case and it was to the tippy top. After some tapping I had maybe 1/8”. That was be a pretty serious compress load.

Whew, 56.1 would seem like a rather stout load! I have tried the 52 with a 200gn bullet but didn’t get close to their book indicated velocity. With a 200 Hot Cor, my notes say I got ~2650 and there was an annotation of “no psi signs at all”.

I have a box and a half of 200 Northforks I should play with. Relatively short bullet so I could stuff quite a bit of powder in there.

just bought a Tikka 338 Federal hoping to give 200 gr etips a try

Very long bullet. I had a tough time getting enough powder in to make it work. I ultimately decided lighter monos were a better fit. But I’ll bet that 200 would really penetrate!

I agree with PRM. A 200gr, cup&core would be a Solid "getter done", a 200gr Mono would cut the range capability considerably. If you are dead set om Mono's then I would drop back to a 185, or the 160.

The 338 Fed is a Great cartridge, but in truth has a narrow range of 'acceptable' loadings that optimize it's potential.

With that said, I'm still burning thru a host of 180-210's Noslers whenever I can get to the range.

I haven't taken "Old Thumper" out hunting in awhile but it worked out great the day after Thanksgiving! This buck showed up 30 minutes after I got to my stand and caught me reading my IPhone. The 135 yards shot took out both lungs and shredded the top of the heart. He went down into a gully and stopped about 50 yards from where I took the shot. The Hornady 200 gr. Interlock is a great hunting bullet, it's a shame it was discontinued...

Bullet: Hornady 200 gr. SP Interlock
Powder: Hodgdon H4895 47.8 grs.
Primer: CCI-200
Case: Remington .308 Winchester Reformed
LOAL: 2.895 (2.228 base to ogive with Stoney Point)
Avg. Velocity: 2636.69 fps
ES: 20.63 fps
SD: 8.48

Nice buck! I really liked the Interlock. I bought 400 when I heard they were being discontinued. That should hold me over for a while.

The two currently available 200 gr I have are the Hornady FTX and the Speer hot-cor. One of them should work well for you.

I got my grubby mits on a bunch of those 200 grain Hornadys too. I noticed one box has a flatter tip while the others have a regular spire point. One of the boxes is marked SP-RP but it has the same #3310 on he box. (These aren't the ones with the flat tips.) I sent an email to Hornady asking about the differences but never received a reply.
pbcaster45; does "Old Thumper have a 24" barrel?

I have one sitting in the safe but yet to shoot it given Covid-19 issues. I loaded up four different loads with the 160 TTSX. But as stated here, I find them expensive. I have a box of Speer 200 spire points ordered but it may be a while before I get them. I used the Hornady 200 FTX in a 338 ME and found them to really be a hammer on deer at nearly the same ballistics of the 338 Federal. Although the 338 Federal does give an extra 100 fps which might cause this bullet to open even more quickly.
But they too are a bit expensive.

I have limited powders on hand. Re-7, H4895, IMR 4064, and AA2495. But I did pick up a pound of H335 to try as it seems to give good ballistics with 160, 180/185, and 200 grain bullets. Previous gun owner recommends TAC as well.

I need to remember that I am only shooting 120-160 pound whitetails at under 100 yards. Maybe 150 yards, but likely much less. The last two deer I took with a rifle were at 13 yards and 28 yards.

With the 160 grain the H335 and Re7 did very well. Groups hover around 1". But they are expensive bullets. Over twice what I pay for the Speer 200 grain. I might save them for deer season but need to work with the Speer 200 grain bullets.
The 200 grain Speers with 46 to 47 grains of H335 only gave me 2" groups from the Hawkeye.
I still have to try AA2495, AA2015, IMR 4064, H4895, and Re7.

Any thoughts that can save me from more unproductive loads?

A Hodgdon book max load of H4895 has worked very well for me. Velocity is 2650. You can probably find good accuracy well below max and it will work great for the purpose you described. If you want more velocity, Leverevolution will get around 2700.

@River_Ridge

Yes, Old Thumper has a 24 inch barrel (PAC-NOR Fluted 3-groove 1 in 10 twist).

It been a while since I've been part of this thread. I was wondering what is the largest game anyone has taken with their .338 Fed, what load they were using, and the performance. I'm trying to get added in to a Bison hunt this fall (one of my friends had to back out) and really want to take one of my .338 Feds but just not quite sure about it. I'll know this week if I'm going and the hunt is November so I'll have time to work on loads. Based on my own experience, the 160s are out. They dump a lot of energy on the entry side and as good as they are, can't see them penetrating through and through. This outfitter strongly suggests heart/lung shots so shooting behind the ear isn't an option. Typical range is 100-200 yds. If no actual experience on Bison, I think moose and larger plains game would be a decent comparison. Everyone else is taking their big bores ( and I will as well), but would love to drop one with the "tiny" Fed..

Would a 7'3", 525# black bear count for comparison? Granted it's not a 'Ton of Fun', but it's the best I got. I used a Plain Jane 200 gr @2650 fps, complete pass through. In my mind you're only going to shooting about 200 yds max, so I personally would not let myself get caught up in the Mo' Accurate Mo' Better trap. Bison are BIG ! (Lot's of target there) I'm thinking a 200gr AB, or a 210Partition, backed with a stout dose of 8208, or LVR. If it shoot's under 3" at 100yds I'd hunt away satisfied in my blissful ignorance.

John, I took a ~600 lb. cow moose with my 338 Federal. Bullet ws a 210 Nosler Partition, range was about 70 yards. I pulled the first shot and spined her, dropped where she stood.

Just started working up loads for Elk season, tried 160 TTSX and Woodleigh 180 with X-Terminator, Varget, Benchmark (couldn't find any A-2230). So far Woodleigh 180 with Varget has been the most accurate, going back to the range this week to check velocity.