Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 338 Fed vs 350 - Penetration compared?

Closer comparison would be the 338 Fed to the 8x57 Mauser. The 350 Rem. Mag. & 35 Whelen is in a differant league.Just My opinion.

It's not about penetration but about 338Fed. Come back to the range to zero my Aimpoint H1 Micro on the T3 Hunter. It's the rig i'll bring to hunt moose, boars and fallows in Sweden next month.
The 200grs Fusion from factory load was controlled at 785m/s average 3 shots, 2575fps, from the 22in barrel, temperature was 17�C.
At 100 meters four shots (3+1) stay in 1,5moa (remember it's a red dot sight)and i zeroed to hit 1,5inch above point of aim. (sorry no pictures).
Think penetration and accuracy will be OK for this hunt...
Love that small cartridge.
Have good WE
Dom

I can say that I have chronographed 200 grain factory loads from the 338 Federal,35 Whelen,and 350 Remington mag.

The difference was pretty much negligible,the Whelen and Federal were virtually idetical,and the 350 was about 100fps faster.

This is due to the 338 Federal being loaded to higher pressures than the factory Whelen.

I can't really tell them apart in the field. Although full power handloads would give the whelen and 350 a 100-200 fps advatage with all bullet weights. We know this to be true because this is how a 308 sized case compares to a 30-06 sized case.

In the real world,they are the same.

Good comments guys - thanks.

Wonerful pictures - thanks for posting.

Great pics Dom, thanks. Those factory 200 Fusion loads must be pretty warm. I've chrono'd them in two different rifle at over 2700. Best I can do with 200gn handloads is mid 2600s (2660s) (22" barrel).

not more than a 310gr .358" woodleigh.......

The 338 Fed. cannot run with a 350 Rem .Mag. the same as a 308 cannot run with a 30-06. The same as I could not play football @ UOM/Orono in '73 - Speed, Ass & Horsepower come to mind. JMO

Just an observation here. I've had several 350s, a 35 Whelen, both vanilla and improved, and currently have a 350 with a long box and throat, a Kilimanjaro on a MRC action. I haven't used or tested all the bullets you mention but the Whelen and 350 Rem mag really are America's "9.3x62" (.366 cal) and if you've been reading any cartridge info here of late you know how popular that cartridge is becoming and what it can do.

My 350 throws a 225-gr TSX to 2800 fps with TAC and this is a 400 yd load without too much exertion. To compare with the popular 9.3 which commonly throws 286-gr bullets, Swift makes a 35 cal, 286-gr A-frame which my 350 will boot to 2350-2400 fps which is what the 9.3 does. The Whelen can pretty much copy the 350.

My point is the two bigger 35s are quite a bit more capable than the shorter, smaller cased brethren but can be loaded more modestly also.

Man a 350 with a 225 @ 2800 is a lot of smoke. Add a 6x36 with dotz and you've a 500 yd elky rig. If'n I could find one of the buggers that is..grin

Dober

Yes that's a lot of ooomph but compare 338Fed to 35 Whelen and long throated 350Rem mag is a bit unfair: must compare them to a good 338-06.
I don't know the ratio of big game really taken at 500 yards to ones taken at less than 300.
For that duty the 338Fed is good enough, no better than a 30-06 but it works well for me and i'm sure i can go farther in case of need.
Hope to have pictures to show after my swedish trip.
Have good day
Dom

This is a great thread for me to read right now. I'm getting a savage 99c to rebore and am on the fence as to go 338fed or 358win. The gun was really cheap but in decent shape and I've been wanting to make a conversion of that type. I'm still undecided but all the info on here makes it a more informed decision. Keep the info coming.

God Bless
MM

Hi MM, for a Savage 99 i'll go to the 358, they made some years ago so it would be normal to rebarrel in that caliber. Well handloaded is, for sure, not a short range caliber only and can reach farther than most think. Easy to handload too.

Dom

Good stuff guys, all the 350 talk makes my have seller's remorse: Buddy wanted to borrow my Ruger 77 SS and flattened a nice 10pt WT buck one evening. Later after killing more deer he dropped a HUGE Elk, cannot recall score - but it's up there, very impressive. Yeah, felt compelled to keep him happy and sell it to him so he had all the fun w/it

I could do worse than find another - chop bbl to 20-21" and bead blast it like another guy on the fire did, and do a trigger job/replacement.

YET, if I can get the same job done (via 338F), and have more rounds in the mag well - 'just in case' (thinking bears) and less recoil/blast to boot....but I realize there is a trade - off and no free lunch.

I do find alot of 358 Win users very satisfied w/their rifles for how they use them, on all size game animals, and feel if enough experience was out their in 338F w/good bullets that work best in the niche short action round, it may stack well also for a medium range mid bore.

T11 - me thinks I'd not be using the same bullets in a faster '06 or Win mag case as I would a short action case, and as to horsepower/penetration, a faster round gives more expansion/frontal area which typically decreases penetration. SO if an '06 - belted case, for large game and 33-35s, I'd start at 225s myself, but the 338F is probably at best peaking thru 210s and a 358 thru 225s, though some will argue and run 'HEAVIES' in a 358 and granted - up close they are hammers...regardless of downrange drop in trajectory and terminal velocity.

SO perhaps the playing field is leveled some (assuming modest distances) - as no doubt crunching numbers the shorts will never be longs in performance, but in penetration to get thru vitals however far from entry hole on various large animals, I guess there is a point where 'enough is enough' - assuming you have enough....and after that 'dead is dead.' To me the rationale between using a mid bore and a small bore is when you are hunting game, or hunting in an area where critters roam that can hurt you....and you want a little more bullet in expectations that you would put something down faster up close ...if needed.

Thanks guys.

I'll try be more helpful this time . I dont think you'd see a difference in the field between the 338 F and the 185 and the 358 and say the 225-gr NP on good hits on game so I think it boils down to preferences for you. Personally, even though a mono-metal bullet I'd shy away from the first in favor of the 210-gr and in a normal 350 magazines, I'd do the same with the 225-gr TSX in favor of the 225-gr NP.

My favor would lie with the the 358--a little tradition and nostalgia there though it certainly doesn't pass the Walmart Test

Edited for clarity.