I feel this round based on what it can do, not comparing it to what else is in someone's collection, is a good one for a good many average hunters, the bulk of which I would suspect are deer hunters in the US, and then a few bear/boar, moose, timber elk hunters. Someone who likes killing power but not MAGNUM blast and recoil.

The low SD bullets I feel are ok for this round if used as intended. The 180 ballistic tip for deer (a 200 B tip in an '06 version is awesome-I know.....at 2900+ fps), the 185 barnes -a different animal-solid copper, wt. retention puts it up a notch in penetration for sure, and the 210 partition.....time proven all around killer (even though in my '06, I preferred the 225 pt for best all around....do it all....If I had to used just one)

I agree with many comments above, but the 338F likely won't be a big hit with guys on this board.....but I applaud Federal for 'listening' to experienced shooters who have realized the WSM's, Ultra Mag's etc. are not all that.

The average hunter wants to do what needs to be done to the game, but not excessive on the shoulder or ears.

Why else is the 243 so popular, the 708, and even a loyal 260 following? Manageable recoil by average shooters who shoot fewer rounds a year than us, and just buy factory ammo.

I want a 338F, and may very well own one, (if I buy another 338 it will be my next ctg. in that dia.)-I will use 200 Hornady SP on deer, and a 210 PT, (would consider 185x) on anything larger.

Within 300 yds, I would not have any doubt on most game I will ever hunt. Never a fear of not slinging enough mass. Shot angle not an issue as this round is not 'marginal' as are a few smaller rounds.

Guys I stuffed a 200 b tip in a 308 case years ago and threw it in my drawer and funds to finance a new 'project' were never committed here, but a Tikka is well within reach of my wallet, and I doubt I would take too bad a beating if I change my mind.

Interesting.....at that time (just before Rem intro the 260) I stuffed a 6.5 bullet in a 243 case....and later built a 6.5/308 which was 6 mos before the 260 was intro'd and it did everything I expected and I am NOT surprised how many USERS of that round are very happy.

The third 'want to have' round was a 6BR rifle, many years ago.....get on the varminthunters.com website, OR 6BR and you will see why many are built. Truth be known, if built in a repeating bolt, and/or quality semi, it could darn near replace the 243.

And wouldn't you know it, my LONGEST deer killed, right at 400 dropped within 25 yds of hit by a 105 amax, double lunged out of my 6BR #1 Ruger.

Yet, if in timber, failing light, and not knowing angle, brush that might deflect my bullet, perhaps rain on the ground which makes trailing sometimes difficult, I would grab a 338F ALL day long over a smaller round.

But that is just me. For how, and where you hunt use what you feel comfortable with and enjoy. I don't knock 300 mags, great rounds, but personally I have no 'desire' to hear them, or feel them going off.

On the other hand, if I were facing a Griz or African animal that could do me in, a 338 WM, 375, and thereabouts would ease the 'pucker factor' and my drawers might stay a little cleaner.

Now if a quality 358 bolt were on the market, I would seriously entertain one, esp. if a 338F were not available.....but tis not the case. The 358 IS a solid round.

Somehow MARKETING i.e. Guns and Ammo, etc. etc. made an issue with SPEED and hyped it since 220 Swift came out, and the 30-06 accelerators (remember that?)..etc...now I believe we are going full circle and folks just want something that works, nothing more, nothing less. I say the proof is in the pudding and the 338F will shine in what it is intended for.....yeah I know....the 708 came out and it was SLOWER than the 280 and the 7mag......but guess what, they have sold LOTS of them, and MUCH game deer and even elk drop every year to them. The 'word' got out and it worked, was 'shooter friendly' and chambered in hot selling carbines. Oh, that 264 mag was so hot and fast, and I seem to think the 260s are out selling them, as well as 6.5x55.

Speed and performance are nice to have, to brag about, but the truth is MOST game shot, it is not always needed or wanted. Yes, if I were needing to shoot at 500+ yds, and hot 7mm or 300 using sleek bullets would be the ticket.

All about balance, and I think Federal knows this. I like moderate rounds, in moderate sized guns, that kick and blast in moderation not excess.....and that is just me. Oh, I HIT better with them too.

I did not mean to step on anyone's toes.

Enjoy the sport guys.

Obviously this "new round" wont have enough difference from the 358 to add up to diddly. That being said, just check out some reviews from owners of the 358. most of them refuse to sell their 358 Winnys, they love um!

The 338 fed isnt a whizbanger and its virtues dont appeal much to the 1/2 mile shot crowd. They will tell you that it is woefully inadequate and should have never even been concieved. But the fact is that it will easily drop an Elk at distances that 90% of them are regularly taken from. It isnt this little cartridge that is overrated, it is the velocity fettish that has overrun the rifle industry that is overrated.

I see the 338 fed as a step in the right direction, and I wouldnt mind having one. Hard to justify with a 35 Whelen in the rack though.

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
338 federal offers NEAR 358 winchester power, with less energy and recoil.....

jeffe

Heh,
I've only built 4 358s, and owned about 9 more... love the round. Winchester was even offering it from their custom shop, for years and years.

best of luck to federal... hopefully they will leave the barrel thick enough for a rebore to 35, once the hype fades

jeffe

Y'see, the real need for anything new in the cartridge field was pretty much resolved (for North America, anyway!) 100 years ago, when the Army adopted the U.S. cartridge, caliber .30, Model of 1906, AKA the .30/'06. But after everyone had finally wised up and bought a .30/'06 rifle, (which didn't really finish happening until about 1930 or so), if they wanted to sell things besides ammunition, the gunmakers needed to keep on cranking out something "new and better!!" in order to keep their work forces employed. This effort, in order to succeed, needed a great sales/marketing capability in addition to skilled workers on the production lines.

The result of this has been the development of world-class sales and marketing departments every bit the equal of those that peddle new cars! So it has become a cyclical phenomenon - "new, better, super cartridges", new, better, super hype to sell them, even if there is absolutely no demonstrable need for them at all. The .338 Federal (or whatever) is a good example of this, as are the super-short magnums that arrived a couple of years back which are already on the ropes, particularly the Remington ones!

quote:

Originally posted by .366torque:
The problem with the 358 was the selection of bullets at the time. Right now I think it is a better choice than any other of the 308 cart family.
The 358=bigger holes, which = more blood loss, etc.

I sure have to agree that the .358 deserves better popularity. But, with perhaps an exception or two, it seems to me that American hunters never have warmed up to the calibers over .30 (in modern smokeless powder arms anyway.).

The .358 didn't make it, and neither has the .35 Whelen or the .358 Norma. All three exceptional rounds for big animals......

quote:

Originally posted by z1r:
The point is it offers near .338-06 performance in a short action. Short actions are very popular these days. Despite the .338-06 holding the advantage you don't see them flying off the shelves.

\
Hell, ZLR! I've never seen one ON a shelf! If I did, I'd probably have one......

I think that part of what hurt the .358 Win., and the .35 Whelen for that matter, is the way the "epp-surts" in the gun rags wrote the cartridges up. "The .358 is a woods cartridge." I was just reading in another gun rag the other day where the writer stated that the .35 Whelen was "Just a woods cartridge that kicked too hard."
One. Neither round is just a woods cartridge. Both cartridges can be handloaded to deliver better ballistics, not that they really need them. I belive that Winchester deliberately did not load the .358 to it's full potenial and I'm positve Remington did not load the .35 Whelen to what it is safely capable of producing. JMHO from loading for and shooting 5 rifles in .358 and three in .35 Whelen. Properly loaded and sighted in, a .358 is more than capable is taking deer to 250-300 yards. The same goes for the .35 Whelen.
Good bolt action rifles are out there. probably a Ruger 77 would be the easiest to find. I did find a Kodiak mauser barreled to the .358. It is going to take some playing with to improver the accuracy on that one. Winchester M70s were made but damnably scare as are the beautiful Mannlicher-Schoenaurs. I also have an early browning BLR that is so accurate that it's downright scarey. I also have a late model Savage 99 that will push the BLR very closely regarding accuracy.
When Winchester brought out the .358, they used a 1 in 12" twist rate in the barrel. Why in hell Ruger used the 1 in 16" twist when they brought the M77 out in .358 is well beyond me. I can only figure that someone had his head up his ass. My BLR and Savage 99 will outshoot my two Ruger 77s and the Kodiak mauser. They have the 1 in 12" twist while the Rugers and Mauser have a 1 in 16" twist. Guess they all like their heads in warm dark placed with bad smells.
With all my .358s and .35 Whelens, I don't think I'll be springing for a .338 Federal anytime soon.
Paul B.

Paul I would keep the 35's too if I had them. I have 2, 357 Marlin, and a 350 mag Ruger SS. Actually I would rather a 358 for what I do, than the mag, for less recoil.

I always thought that the custom shot Mannlicher M70 Winchester would have been sweet in a 358, but at $2700 or so, no way.

If I build one, it might have a mannlicher stock and a 20-22" barrel for sure. I would be happy with either caliber in a bolt.

I like the option of a nice bolt 338F, but the BLR 358 gets lots of rave reviews.

typo, CUSTOM SHOP M70

6.5 br You can get a .358 win. bbl pre threaded and chambered for a savage 200 at Midway USA for 129.00 I'm going to rebarrel a Stevens 200 with one.

Jeff would you please e-mail me ? I would like to talk with you about some .358 loads. Thanks

Hard luck

51grs(max) of Varget under a 200gr Hornady Spire point gets sub MOA out of my BLR. A really great powder for the .358 is Ramshot's Exterminator but i cant get it around here, gonna have to put in a big powder order.

El Deguello pretty much figured it out: it's called marketing. Envision a perceived need then concoct something to fill it.

Give it some time and the 338 Federal will just be a question in Trivial Pursuit, or an answer on Jeopardy.

The .338 Federal is just a .338-08 that's not longer a wildcat, and I bet that .308 hunters and shooters will like the idea.

There is a nice article about it in the NRA's August issue "American Hunter."

The factory loads for it so far are as follows:
180-grain Nosler Accubond at 2840 fps,
185-grain Barnes 3-Shock at 2760 fps,
210-grain Partition at 2630 fps

Ammo availability is what will keep this cartridge going. Those who have used the .338-caliber 210-grain Partition already know how well this bullet works on game, so in my view that's a plus to .308 and .358 shooters and hunters.

As far as I can tell, two things:

One: seems like enough hunters would be interested in larger-than-30-cal rifles.

Two: manufacturers worth their salt are already set up to handle .338 cal barrels.

Could they just give the .358 cals a chance? Yes, but then they have to make special considerations and make .35 cal barrels and stocks opened up for the larger barrel. With .338 cal barrels and magnum contour stocks, all the need is to mate them with a short action and viola! Something to sell with their own name on it!

Personally I like the Federal idea, but then I would rather have a .358 Winchester (especially on a Ruger 77II Compact!!!)

The heaviest factory loaded bullet seems to be a 210 grainer for the 338 Federal. It then begs the question what a 338 Federal can do with a 210-grain Nosler Partition bullet that a 35 Whelen cannot do? The original question was ... "what's the big deal?"

The action weight and length of stroke differential between a "short" action and a "standard" length ation is not realy something that will convince me to make a decision soley on these criteria.

The prime reason for going bigger on bore size is to step bullet mass up for a given length of bullet and still have adequate magazine length to house the bullet.

The 338 Win Mag is fairly flexible both in available bullet weights and can be down loaded for those that reload. For those requiring even less velocity with the same bullet weight (say 250 grains), the 338-06 is ideal in my opinion. If more velocity is needed in the 338-06 one can drop down from from 250 grainers to say 210 grainers. I just cannot see any compelling reason to fire a 210 gr bullet from a short case, such as 308 Win.

More important issues for me would be things like bullet fit and the twist rate needed, operating pressures, availability of components for reloaders and/or the limitation of factory loaded ammo, if the user does not want to reload. When in Africa these factors can swing one's choice easily. The 9,3x62 mm today, with the multitude of available bullet weights, is more flexible in my opinion - from 180 grains to 325 grains. If increased velocity is required to turn this short-range caliber into a long-range rifle then the 180gr Impala and 230gr GS-HV bullet is there to satisfy that need far better than a 338 Federal could.

Chris

If I could get one of those Midway barrels to Australia, I'd give the 338Federal a try on a Stevens 200. I already have a 358Win and wouldn't part with it for anything ... but the 338Federal is an interesing cartridge in itself. Odd that nobody talks about reloading it using the 225grHornady or a 250gr RN. Seems like the perfect "featherweight" rifle for hunting elk sized game out to respectable hunting ranges. The 358Win is still better though , but the 338Federal will atleast be available to purchase in a rifle from your local store.
Cheers...
Con

I think the 338 Federal is a "marketing thing", just to stimulate new rifle sales. I feel the same about the RSUM's and the WSM'S.
While not strictly an American thing, we seem to crave the "New Model".

Medium velocity, medium bore cartridges have traditionally not done very well here [USA].
Here velocity is KING.

However I also think that cartridges like the 35 Whelen, 358 Win, 356 Win, 350 Rem Mag, 338/06, 338 Federal, 9,3x57, 9,3x62, and the 9,3x74R are actually some of the best hunting calibres on the planet. I say this after using a 350 Rem Mag a little and a 9,3x74R quite a bit.
They offer quite a bit of smackdown killing power with mild recoil.

For African use the 9,3x62 and the 9,3x74R are the best choice, they are great choices for use in the US too, however for strictly North American use with proper bullets for the game being hunted any of them are good choices IMHO.