I've always been a little intrigued with the .338 Federal, and have been halfway looking for one since the round was introduced. Oddly enough, I've never come across a used one (or new that I can recall) in any of the local shops, so I kind of gave up. Well, Midway has been running a sale on their 185gr bonded soft points, so I ordered 5x boxes. Now I just have to find a rifle, brass, and dies! I'll probably end up ordering an Encore rifle barrel, but I have been considering rebarreling a short action 700.

Looks like it uses all the typical .308 powders, and seems that forming brass from .308 is relatively straightforward. Doesn't look like it would be hard on brass, and recoil should be tolerable at around 2600 fps. A 20" Encore would be a very compact setup, especially with a 1.75-6x Leupold or Burris!

For those who have experience with the .338 Federal, how do you like the round?

I don't own one, but I have made 7 of them for customers and all of them report very good results.
3 of them were made on AR10 style auto-loaders. Very good accuracy and the effects on game are very good.

I really hadn't considered the AR option, but would be an easy conversion...all you'd need is the barrel.

I have a close friend who is an outstanding hunter and who has at least thirty hunting rifles for different cartridges. The .338 Federal is his favorite rifle of the lot and he has it suppressed with an 18" barrel. With it he has killed many large red deer stags and they grow big in my neck of the woods (New Zealand) and numerous sika stags as well.

I’m having a 99 made into a 338 Federal, can’t wait to get it back. I have some 160 Barnes waiting on it to try. It should be fun to shoot.

Jason, The "History" of the 338 was in an AR-10 platform, guy in AK sheep hunting with a 308, taking the sheep out and saw a bear (or suspected a bear), he would feel more comfortable with something larger than 30 cal, thus the 338 Federal. So why not a 358 Winchester, because he worked for Federal and I guess decided to create a round that was already a wildcat and put Federal's name on it?

It's a great round, one of those that performs much better than the paper ballistics says it should. I've never seen a used one anywhere, Thinking of buying a 308 and having it re-barreled.

Like the 350 legend, I don't NEED one, but I really WANT one,

Hanco, Who's doing the work for you?

Great round! If your getting into hand loading for it the 160ttsx and the 210 partition are great bullets for all your hunting. I use benchmark for the 160ttsx and LVR for the 210. Performance on deer and elk have been excellent.

Pre-panic, how available was 338 fed at brick and mortar stores? I know it's easy to find online, just curious how "mainstream" it's become.

I have a Kimber 84 and these are the two bullets I load for my .338. I have shot a few deer with the 160s and they went right down. I loaded the 210s for bear but have not had a chance to use them.

I bought a .338 Fed in a stainless Ruger from someone on this site back in 2017 and really like it.

It is one of my picks for assembling a set of 3 rifle cartridges to cover the contiguous 48 States, the others being the 223 and 6.5 CM.

I have 3 stainless Rugers chambered for those 3 cartridges set up about the same, all three bedded in McM Hunter stocks, but with different scopes. The idea being that if they all have the same ergs, that they feel the same, moving between them won't cause any decrease in performance. It is a lot less expensive to practice with the 223 than with either the 6.5 CM or 338 FED.

i have only occassionally seen 338 FED factory ammo on dealers' shelves since I bought mine in 2017. I have only bought it from on-line sellers.

Why not the 160 for everything?

Retained weight will be as good and most likely higher than the Partition.

Here is one listed locally. I have no connections to the seller. Just passing on the information.

https://www.theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/fs-tikkka-t3-win-338-federal.2656174/#post-11971142

I have to say I like mine a lot even though I have only shot one deer with it so far. I had a new Winchester model 70 in 308 rebored to 338 and put it in a McSwirly stock.
Have been almost too busy building a house to hunt this year, but last year I took a very nice buck on my new property. It shoots very accurately with hand loads, especially the 200 grain Hornady Interlock. Last year’s buck was taken with a Federal factory loaded 200 grain fusion bullet. Dropped him in about 10 yards!
Do a little thread searching on the cartridge. There are a couple of very good conversation threads on here.
Here’s mine.

I have considered doing the exact same thing for a great elk and hog setup. With a Silencerco 36M, it really has my gears turning to do it.

i have a ruger frontier in 338 fed. it is my go-to gun for foul weather hunting. the 200gr fusion factory loads are DRT for deer and really accurate even with the short 16.5" barrel. i've had it for probably 10 years when i was on a quest to have every variation of the 308.

260 - how come only lower 48? 210 partition seems Alaska capable?

ctw on the fire

I have a Kimber Montana in 338 Federal with a 3X Leupold weighing in at less than 5.5 pounds.
I started with the 210 NP as that was available and I've stuck with it as the performance on bears and moose is just great.

That's the only way I'd build one.

A custom shop Model 7 KS in .338 Federal would be the cat's meow!

I actually saw the thread on the Tikka, not quite what I am looking for. I'm really leaning the Encore barrel route, just a matter of deciding on a barrel length.

I had a 257 Robts rebarreled last year to 338 Fed. I had a Lilja 84m mod contour barrel at 23" installed. It likes 210 Partitions and runs them at 2575 into sub MOA. I've been carrying it the past week trying to track down a buck but havent found one big enough yet. I'm guessing it will work.

I've only passed through AK, never hunted there, so no experience equals no opinion.

Isn't not having an opinion against the rules here? 😇😂

I've always thought the .338Fed was the perfect "Great North Woods" cartridge--whitetail, black bear and moose.

I have a Sako 85 in 338 Federal that likes the 200 gr TBT factory load. I’ve taken deer, elk and moose with it. If I had to take one of my rifles for everything it would be that one.

Thinking about a stainless Winchester 100 carbine in 338 Fed gives me goosebumps!

True dat!

Expressing an opinion about something you have no actual knowledge of is a hallmark of 24HCF..

Local Sportsman’s has had 2 Savage’s in 338 Fed on the rack for over a year.

A couple of yeares ago, CDNN was practically begging people to buy the Savage 11s that they had in 260 and 338 FED.

Not mine or am I in anyway associated with the owner.
But if I were seriously looking for a 338, I might be tempted.

https://theoutdoorstrader.com/threads/fs-ft-kimber-classic-338-federal.2657890/

I've been looking hard at that rifle....but can't decide if I want to go that route, or simply have a rifle built on a 700 short action (which I already have). Or, I go even cheaper and build a 20" Encore...although, I know I will like a bolt .338 much more than a single shot.

It's too late now but I always thought a Remington Custom Shop Model Seven Mannlicher would've been great.

Now this would give me goose bumps! Lol.

I had a little stainless synthetic ruger Hawkeye in 338 rcm that I liked but thought it would have been just as good in a 338 fed. It was a lighter little 20" barreled rifle with factory open sights. The 338 rcm fed a little rough and not always reliably but I liked the size and features of the little rifle. I would like that rifle in 308 or 338 fed.

I carried the rcm some in grizzly country and had it loaded with 225g interbonds at 2675fps. Practicing some drills I found the feeding wasn't reliable and traded the gun off.

That little stainless 20" ruger with sights was lighter and balanced better than my 20" 30-06 77 guide gun was. I liked the 20" barrel and open sights on the guide but the contour is too heavy and I don't like the laminate stock. I thought about dropping it in a boat paddle but didn't want to open up the channel on the LA boat paddle stock I have.

Bb

I have one in the Kimber Montana with a Leupold FX-2 4x scope. Out of dozens of centerfire hunting rifles, this one is my favorite. The rifle feels like a dream when you’re doing more walking than shooting. It also has the best trigger on it out of any of my rifles I have killed whitetails with it out to 260 yards and I killed my first elk with it on November 10th with a kneeling shot from 200 yards. I feel my 338F delivers more dramatic results on game than my other rifles, even my 30/06. I shoot it out to 400 yards and in the right circumstances would feel confident in the rifle on game to that distance. I shoot the 180 Nosler Accubond in 308W Lapua brass. I have only purchased 1 box of factory ammo for the rifle. All of my ammo other than that has been loaded in 308 brass.

I have no experience with the cartridge, but I really want one. Just have not found the one yet...

Like you, I’m very intrigued by the 338 Fed. I love the .358 win, so I think the same characteristics will apply. Unfortunately, not that many rifles were made. I’m also considering an encore barrel. Should be great for deer/elk/moose/bear at reasonable ranges!

This one would be nice!
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/916916040

Yes it would. But I am thinking a rebarrell for suppressor use. Heavier barrel cut to legal minimum.

I missed out on some clearance Savage hog hunters that were already threaded awhile back.

CRS, does a guy need more than 18" when he's going to shoot suppressed?

It's a good round. I used it for a couple years on axis, blackbuck, whitetail and hogs. Nothing took a step and never caught a bullet. Two years ago lent it to a buddy that was having rifle trouble for his lease in Laredo. He took 4 deer with it that season. It works great. I've used it less since I got a suppressor. The last two seasons I've hunted suppressed. Last year with a 308 and this year with a 6.8 SPC bolt rife.

I love the rifle. Ruger Hawkeye. I've used mainly 180 NBTs. Shoots well with those and 200 grain Hot Cores and Accubonds. Eventually I'll take it to South Texas for nilgai.

One of the bigger gun mistakes I've made was selling my .338 Federal Ruger.
I feel like the .358 BLR was redemption enough, but it still stings once in a while.

I do not know.

I had a BLR in .358, and honestly, don't really miss it...much more looking forward to snagging/building a .338. Speaking of which, went ahead and ordered 300 225gr PTSP's to try out when I start working out a load, even though the 185s should be overkill for everything I'm hunting (right now).

I’ve always liked the 338 Federal. I have a couple rifles chambered in the round. Had three, but pulled the barrel on Kimber and turned it into a 6 Creedmoor. I killed a few deer with the round and was impressed. I’m a lung buster primarily and the 338 put some blood on the ground. Deer never traveled out of sight, but trailing wouldn’t have been an issue if need be.

Mine.......







Luvs the Hornady 185 gr. GMX

ya!

GWB

For those interested, Midway has dropped the price of the 185gr bonded bullets to $27/box....they are actually $2 cheaper/box then when I ordered them last week.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1023840599?pid=207758

I also had one in a Montana. Shot great but recoil was a bit stout for most. Got my first bull with it. My younger brother got his first couple deer with it. Worked very well with 185 TTSX’s. I have photos somewhere of the scene where those deer fell. Couldn’t have been any blood left in them.
I eventually had it rebarreled to a 6.5L and later was missing the 338, I had Jon Beanland build me a 338-06 to fill the void.

My older brother has a Sako 338 Federal which shoots 210 partitions well. He took his first bull with it. So yes, they work with zero drama.

Thanks Jason280. I bought 2 bags. Good hit for my kimber.

bought a bag to go with some others I have.

Midway price is now down to $24/box....if they get much cheaper, I'm going to order a few more boxes.

I bought 300 at the $27.00 price... Just ordered another 200..I couldn't take it..LOL

I had a Ruger Hawkeye SS on lay away at Walmart during Christmas about 4-5 years back. I decided against it and got my money back. I really wish I would have bought this darn thing.

Does anyone know what bullet this is?

Likely its a fusion

They used in in their now discontinued MSR 185 Fusion load. I bought 200 just for the heck of it.

Haha, that's great Spence, put those with the 400 I have and we're set.

MIdway must have bought a bunch of them. I'm sure they're going fast and it's great to see "available" in a sea of "not available"....

Plus, if they are indeed Fed Fusion, those are accurate bullets with good terminal performance.

Not sure I'd want to push them at 338 Win Mag speeds, but will use them in my .338-06....

DF

I bet they’d be serious on deer in a 338 Win!

The round was a big flop around here.
They darn near gave away the Tikkas in 338Fed.
They they would appear in the classifieds, cheap.

Was tempted, but all I hunt is deer.
Love my 660 in 308. 165BTs.
The 30-06 shoots 180 pro hunters.

A 338 win is safe ballast.

So, a 338 Fed would have been cheap, untill I bought
a scope, brass, dies, bullets. Bunch of squeeze, already have the juice.

Not to mention a concern of getting a bullet that performed how
I want at those velocities. And availability.

Not to hurt any feelers, if you love it that's great.
I'll never get to know.

Well, my (400) .338 cal, 185 gr. Midway bullets arrived this AM. That was pretty quick.

They look good. I guess they could be Fed Fusions, at least that's what some are saying.

I got a thousand .224, 62 gr. Fed Fusions from Rocky Mtn Reloading a while back. Those shot very well and were deadly on hogs.

Bet these will do the same.

DF