.338 Federal. Your experience?

[Justabirdwatcher]

I've been looking for a .338 Federal barrel for a spare Savage action for some time now. Not sure why the cartridge intrigues me so much, but it does. Snagged a new take-off yesterday and will have it in a few days. It took me about 2 years to find one in a sporter contour. I have no idea what to expect (good or bad) but it's an itch I've been wanting to scratch since I first learned about the cartridge. Who here has experience with the .338 Fed? I'd love to hear about it.

 

[EastTNHunter]

I was intrigued by it several years back, but got distracted by something else I guess. Feels like a great rifle for just about all NA big game up to about 300yd or so

 

[MS 9x56]

I thought about it but then got a BLR in 358 winchester and never looked back. It is a great cartridge in a great rifle.

 

[CowboyLeroy]

I'm in the same boat, I don't know why I like the idea of it so much but man it just seems dastardly

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

Guess I'm not the only one who is interested in this round. There's a rare Tikka T3 in .338 Fed that is about to sell for $1300 on GB.

 

[turbobrick]

I've been circling around 338fed for a long time. I have a 8.6blk, had a 338-06, and building a 33 Nosler. I think a 338fed in a true short action with some of that Sig hybrid brass and an extra spicy load under a 210hht would be really awesome. I'm kind of on the hunt for an extra strong action to try it out.

 

[grizzly63]

I had my 338 Federal to the range this morning. Its an AR10 platform though. Just developing loads. Adjusting the gas block and looking for the load it likes. 200 gr Ballistic Tips. 2nd 3 round group was .5 at 100 yds. I think thats the one. Will load some more up and see reality at 200. More powerful than the 308 or 358 win. Just scratching the itch. Dang things too heavy to carry too far. X-Caliber 24" Sendero profile on a stag platform. Seems to cycle decently.

 

[Forkyfinder]

I've been circling around 338fed for a long time. I have a 8.6blk, had a 338-06, and building a 33 Nosler. I think a 338fed in a true short action with some of that Sig hybrid brass and an extra spicy load under a 210hht would be really awesome. I'm kind of on the hunt for an extra strong action to try it out.

How you like the 8.6?

 

[turbobrick]

How you like the 8.6?

I really like it. Started out with a Faxon Remage, shot pretty good. Then I had @p_ham put a shouldered Shaw on it, and its really showing some more accuracy promise. Shot it a ton with a Hybrid 46 can and a 9mm front cap, sounded good, but then my Q Porq Chop got approved and man is that thing quiet. Its in a Pork Sword chassis, 8" SBR. The Faxon was 12" to start, and I did a little experimenting to see how it would do with light supers. It was ok, but maybe 2100fps wasn't all that exciting to me, especially since my 338-06 would do the same projectile at 2800. So I went to 8" and subs only. The 300smk shoots really well, the 280 Discreet and 350 Maker are also coming around. The new Cutting Edge 345 is also looking good.

 

[Sheltowee]

Have been slightly tempted to build a 20-inch .338Fed as an eastern deer rifle. Interesting round, seems like it should be hell inside 300 yards (especially with the lighter Hammers or NABs). Already have a .338-06 though, so would probably just end up downloading it slightly if I wanted to take it deer hunting.

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

Have been slightly tempted to build a 20-inch .338Fed as an eastern deer rifle. Interesting round, seems like it should be hell inside 300 yards (especially with the lighter Hammers or NABs). Already have a .338-06 though, so would probably just end up downloading it slightly if I wanted to take it deer hunting.

That's exactly what it would be for me. Mature whitetail bucks around here routinely go over 300 lbs. on the hoof. Not that my .308 can't handle them, but still, an excuse for adding a chambering to my barrel collection. Plus I may decide to chase a moose with it although I have a new-to-me .300 WSM that I bought specifically for that purpose. This could be a passing interest, but until I have one, load for it and shoot it a bit, I'll always have that curiosity. For a couple hundred bucks (barrel+brass+bullets) I can satisfy my curiosity for good. .338 Fed brass is a lot cheaper than my .300 WSM brass too!

 

[Sheltowee]

.This could be a passing interest, but until I have one, load for it and shoot it a bit, I'll always have that curiosity. For a couple hundred bucks (barrel+brass+bullets) I can satisfy my curiosity for good. .

The most compelling argument for any new rig.

 

[Justabirdwatcher]

The most compelling argument for any new rig.

Not to mention the availability of $0.68/pc. brand new brass. Even hand loading, every shot I take with the .300 WSM costs nearly $3. Love that rifle, but it's not something I'm going to casually shoot on a given range day.

 

[Trapper330]

I have one in an Encore Pro Hunter and have successfully used it on a few WI black bears. It worked beautifully on them. Haven't used it much on deer, cuz the single shot platform cost me a huge buck...after a shameful miss, so it was my fault! I cannot find ammo for it and since I don't reload...yet, I've shelved it. Recently picked up a 35 Whelen for my "bear gun" as I can find ammo for it. The 338 Federal is a dandy though.

 

[elevatorman]

Why not a 338-06?

 

[D4570]

Why not a 338-06?

Longer action?
338 fed
My son has one we built it on a savage,22" barrel. OUTSTANDING!
He shot two cow elk with it this year.

 

[Sheltowee]

Why not a 338-06?

Big fan of mine.

 

[elevatorman]

Main reason I was asking was I read about the 338 federal on Chuck hawks and It strikes me as odd that the case is too short to use the long high bc 338 bullets and your stuck with short low weight/bc ones. The 338-06 i think would at least let you use 300 gr. Just a thought I had. Still a cool round. Is there anything like that for 35? 308 case based 35/short 35 whelen?

 

[elevatorman]

Longer action?
338 fed
My son has one we built it on a savage,22" barrel. OUTSTANDING!
He shot two cow elk with it this year.

Yeah, action I guess but what's the difference? A quarter inch? The bullet selection being limited would be a factor to me, especially as a reloader

 

[Sheltowee]

Main reason I was asking was I read about the 338 federal on Chuck hawks and It strikes me as odd that the case is too short to use the long high bc 338 bullets and your stuck with short low weight/bc ones. The 338-06 i think would at least let you use 300 gr. Just a thought I had. Still a cool round. Is there anything like that for 35? 308 case based 35/short 35 whelen?

I don't think you'd want to go much past 250 in a .338-06. Even those are down in the 2400fps range. This cartridge's sweet spot seems to be 185-200ish. I was getting just under 2700 with the 210gr. Barnes TTSXs out of mine.