I'm in the market for a Sako 85 Hunter with great wood. The only ones I can find are in .338 Federal. Not my first choice, I was looking for 6.5X55, .260, 7mm-08. I have a Longshot Rifles custom 7mmWSM I shoot F-Class with but it is too heavy to hunt with. Those who have shot and shoot the .338 Fed. Please compare the recoil to other calibers. I don't mind a little recoil but not a big fan, was hoping for lighter recoil.

I know there are a ton of other rifles out there. Probably can't afford one of the new Cooper 54's, and want a short action.

How about it, any .338 Federal lovers out there?

Thanks for entertaining a 24 hr. Campfire Newbie

Buzzsaw

Recoils about like a .358Win.

okay, so am I looking at 20 foot pounds, 22 foot pounds, 50 foot pounds? .243, .308, .270, 06, 7mmWSM with a Vias brake? I've shot those, guess I should have mentioned what "I" could compare it too.

Handloads.com has a recoil calculator and I put in the following info from Nosler #6. Top loads for each cartridge. 8.5 lbs rifle weight in both cases.
30-06 180gr 2872fps 61gr of powder results in 21.59ft/lbs.

338 Federal 200gr 2529fps 47gr powder results in 17.95 ft/lbs

338 Federal 225gr 2428fps 46 powder = 19.88 ft/lbs

30-06 165gr 3002fps 63gr powder = 20.82 ft/lbs

Here is the site to make your own calculations.
http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

Hope this helps.

THANKS nsagam,
This tells me it should be very managable, about like the .308.

I guess I have no more excusess not to "pull the trigger" on the Sako 85

..........Buzz!.........I happen to reload for a friend and fellow hog hunting buddy who owns a 338 Federal Ruger carbine. I`ve also fired his rifle on numerous occassions! The bench recoil or recoil from a free hand position isn`t at all bad!

To get a pretty good idea, take a look at this on the range video using the 338 Fed which should give you a pretty good idea as to its recoil.

Go to......."shootingtimes.com"......scroll down a little to the video section and then click onto,,,"view all",,,,then click onto,,,"cartridges",,,towards the upper right. Then speed scroll down until you find the video,,,,"338 Federal Rifle Cartridge",,,,and play!

You`ll see Boddington firing at some steel plates using a 338 Federal Ruger carbine. With the exception of smaller and/or younger shooters, I don`t see any excessive recoil there that most couldn`t handle.

Thanks bigsqueeze!! I'm there!

Buzz, I'm sure you've looked but there seems to be several Sako 85 Hunters on gunbroker in calibers more to your liking.

Don't get me wrong, the 338 Fed is probably a nice cartridge (I prefer the 338-06) but if it were me I wouldn't "settle" for less than what I really want.

Yea, I agree. The guy on gunbroker, I talked to him yesterday. He bought a ton of the hunters, all in .338 fed. This tells me they may not be selling well. He has some with outstanding wood, as you saw on GB. I'm also looking a few Coopers, great rifles but not many available. I did see a Hunter in .270WSM but mostly the Finnlights. There is a nice Winchester here in the classifieds in 25-06, tempting, I'm really shopping wood too. I'm not in a great hurry, maybe the "right" one will come along. This going to be a moderate range hunting rifle for deer, pronghorns, Axis, etc. No monster bear.

I understand, I'm a total sucker for really nice wood!

It recoils slightly more than a 308 win. Really not much difference. If you can handle a 308, you'll be just fine with a 338 Federal.

depends on how hot, and how light the rifle is

Off subject a tad, but for a caliber that many don't think will make it, the .338Fed has received considerable play around here over the last year.

Right along with the recent influx of liberals, idiots and trolls. Hummmmmmmmmmmmmm

Yeah, I've always had the 338 Fed pegged as a liberals dream!?!

Well, when you put it that way, it is a real glissade. Gotta love what you can learn from the Olympics. You think Federal is in on it?

Buzz, if you are going to hold out for some nice wood, then you ought to hang on awhile and check out some of the Cooper 54s that will be coming out in 338 Fed.
And we know they will shoot.....

The 338 Federal is a very underrated cartridge. Ask the guys at Hill Country Rifles what kind of response they have received from guys using them all over the world. Most of the criticism comes from people who have not used them and/or seen their performance on game.

R

I can't imagine it being more than an 06.

I've owned a Ruger UL (laminated stock) in 30-06 and I currently have a Rem 600 in 338F. Both weighed about the same and I can honestly say the felt recoil is less for the 338F. I'll admit the Ruger stock did not fit me very well. In another comparison, my 338F began life as a 308 and I hunted with it for several years. The recoil of the two are very similar (308 w/ 165gr & 338 w/ 200gr) with the 338 slightly more noticable. If I had to quantify it, I'd figure the recoil of a 338F with 200gr and a 308 with 180gr bullets would be virtually the same with like rifles.

RH

I have a 338Fed that weighs ~7.5 and 308 that weighs 10.5 (26" heavy barrel). The 338 Fed is very comparable to the 308 shooting the Federal High Energy 180 Partitions. Have not shot them side by side to compare yet, but the 338 Fed would be a touch more in a similar weight rifle, but not bad. Certainly less than my 338-06.

Edit: associating my rifle choice with liberalism is feudin' words!

Buzzsaw,

First off Welcome to the 'fire. A lot of good info and people on here.

As for your gun, if you're in no hurry, wait for one to come by in the caliber you want. Based on the description you gave for the use of the rifle, your choices of 260 rem, 6.55x55 or 7mm-08 will be great.

Good luck and good shootin'

Buzzsaw,

I really like the .338 federal and don't think the recoil is much of a bother. But everyone is different when it comes to recoil. That said, the Federal is a fine round based on the .308 case and to me feels like a good load in 30-06.

I just purchased a Sako 85 SS from another member and the reason I bought the Sako is you can't find a Sako anywhere for what people are selling them for in .338 federal. You can find them online for $750 - 800 bucks. That's a ridiculous price!!

Go get the Sako in .338 federal, you won't be disappointed.

CLB

I own a Sako 85 LSS "grey wolf" in .338F. I owned both synthetic and the current laminate stock for it. As far as recoil goes, I can't tell it from a .30-06 with 180's. I'm sure there's a difference but my shoulder can't tell.

As for the Model 85...BUY IT! And post pic's when you're done .