I've been warming up to this medium length round lately and was wondering what you "been there, done that" folks think of it. Seems like it would make a fine hog thumper in a bolt action. CB

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Originally posted by custombolt:
I've been warming up to this medium length round lately and was wondering what you "been there, done that" folks think of it. Seems like it would make a fine hog thumper in a bolt action. CB

Almost as good as the 8X57IS.

I was looking for one in a Kimber Montana, bought a wood stock one with a 2-7 leupold compact already mounted.
Beautiful wood, shoots tiny little groups and is a delight to carry. Shot a moose and a buck with it, using 210 noslers I had on hand. I had a box of old Herters 200 grn roundnose .338's.
Loaded them back to 2300 fps for a low meant damage load and shot a buck through the lungs . Still a little more bloodshot area then I would like, but not bad.
It works so well, I'm sure I'll get bored and stack it in the corner and move on to my newest wet dream soon.

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It works so well, I'm sure I'll get bored and stack it in the corner and move on to my newest wet dream soon.

Isn't that the truth! Now matter how spectacular a rifle turns out to be, we soon grow bored and move on to the next "Gotta Have" rifle. Why do we even bother :-)

Been there. But, it's a good affliction to have. I have fun making them shoot nice groups and feed. Isn't that called J. Bieber syndrome?

I do love my rifles, for sure! I have been thinking about a 338 Federal. It's a nice, medium-bore hunting rifle, pretty similar to the 338-06, 35 Whelen, 358 Winchester, and the like. I have little interest in long-range hunting any more, so the 338 Federal would give me a bit more bullet weight than the 308 and 7x57 for times when that may be needed.

I know you said bolt but Armalite does a nice 338 Fed.

I think the .338 fed would be great in a lever gun.
...tj3006

I snagged a Ruger Hawkeye thus chambered a few years ago. I had the stock shortened to about 12" LOP for the girls in the family (Mama and my two daughters). The rifle handles nicely and shoots accurately enough with the factory 185 grainers I acquired at the same time as the rifle. To date, two elk have fallen to this rifle - the wife's 6x6 bull a couple years ago and a nice fat cow that my daughter shot last Thanksgiving break. Both elk were surely dead at the first shot, though the girls wisely followed my excellent advice to continue shooting until the critter stopped moving or went out of sight. Based on this still somewhat limited experience, I'm quite pleased with both the rifle and the cartridge. I'm looking forward to experimenting with handloads in the near future. I have a big pile of 200 grain Speer Hot Cores and would love to play with some 160 grain TTSXs. We'll see...

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I know you said bolt but Armalite does a nice 338 Fed.

Hmmm....that sounds interesting!

Considering the fact that one can load a .338 Win. down to .338 Federal ballistics but won't work on the opposite, I see little use for such a caliber, just my two bits. I see a lot of this in new calibers, just less of the same.

Using this same thinking I offed my old 338-06 for the then new .338 Win. and never looked back.

Biebs, I was thinking along those same lines. I think 250 Partitions are very efficient bullets and should be plenty of thump for the "over 300 pound class" hogs if the opportunity ever arises.

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the 338 Federal would give me a bit more bullet weight than the 308 and 7x57 for times when that may be needed.

tj How about the (rimmed) .338 Marlin Express for a lever gun? I'm not into lever guns. Just a thought. I think I read something that it was based on the .308ME and that was designed for use in lever guns.
richj Thanks but AR's aren't my thing. However, I just shot a few .223 full auto's out in Las Vegas and remember thinking that they would have been much more fun with more kick.
wj I certainly wouldn't pass on a 8X57 if I liked the looks.

Thanks ALL for the actual hunting reports. I appreciate the input.

Sure, you can loads a .338 mag down, but you are still packing a big rifle around to do it.
The .338 Fed will do nothing that many others will do. But if you like the caliber, there are some nice rifles to try it in.
A 30-06 will do everything 99% of the people out there will ever need a rifle for, but gad would that be boring!

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A 30-06 will do everything 99% of the people out there will ever need a rifle for, but gad would that be boring!

So true "theback40". .270's, '06's and .308's don't excite me anymore. There's no need for a larger bullet or even 250 grainers to kill big hogs, so I've heard. I still have yet to hunt them myself. I just want something new and different and custom. Mainstream factory rifles tend to bore me as well except for the few that have nice wood on them.

Atkinson. Thanks for chiming in as well.

One of my favorite rifles is a 338 Federal. It works about as good as 2 dozen other calibers. I do like it. Something a little different. Next up is west Texas mule deer and south Texas Nilgai.

Nice animals Scott. Nice floor too. Mesquite?

Thanks. Floor is Acacia wood.

Nice. Learned something new today.

Part of what makes the .338 Fed liked, I think, is the rifles they are chambered in. A .338 hole in the standard weight barrels, makes for a nice balance. When they are tack drivers too, then it's hard not to like them.

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Using this same thinking I offed my old 338-06 for the then new .338 Win. and never looked back.

Yeah . . . is there a logical case to be made against this?

(Disclaimer: When it comes to my guns, I seldom make decisions based on pure logic . . . there is a large emotional factor . . . sigh.)

I'm fairly ridiculous at filling every niche for big game hunting. Although, I always fill them with moderate velocity cartridges that shoot bullets at 2400-3000 fps depending on bullet weight. I have;

257R
6.5x55
6.8 SPC
7-08
308
338 Federal
350 Rem Mag
9.3x62

I've only actually killed game so far with the 257R, 6.5x55. 6.8 spc & 338 Federal. All were extremely effective but so far only the 338 Federal has always produced an exit. The 338 Federal is efficient and effective even if the ballistics aren't that impressive, it's becoming one of my favorite hunting calibers.

While what Mr. Atkinson says about loading down a .338WM is true, there is not denying that a lot of people still want cartridges such as the .338 Federal, and .338-06.

The only big game hunting rifle I use is the one introduced years ago as "The Alaskan" in .338WM. What makes this caliber so good is the great number of bullet designs and weights one can choose from, and how these bullets perform on game.

That said, like a lot of you in this and other forums, I often want to use a .338 Federal (former 338-08), or a .338-06. More than likely it will be a .338-06 with bullet weights up to 210 grains. I imagine that for the lower-48 States a .338 Federal would be just about perfect for hunting deer to elk with the tipped 3-Shock Barnes, from 160 to 185 grains.

Scott. What's your bullet(s) of choice for the .338 Federal? CB

My 338 Federal is a Sako and probably the most accurate rifle I own. No problems at all inside 350 yds. Had Hill Country Rifles put a McMillan stock on it. It has been to the RSA twice with me along with my 375 H&H which has turned out to be a fine battery for that country.
I usually shoot factory ammo loaded with accubonds or TSX. Sometimes I use ammo custom loaded for me by Superior.
Many times while hunting hogs on my ranch I have wished for an AR chambered for the 338 Federal !!
Accurate, hits hard, and hardly any recoil. A great combination!

I could see a 338 Fed as a great plains game guest rifle. A hunter only needs 300 yards in Africa.

It would be nice to see a Ruger American Compact in this caliber, so that smaller framed shooters would have an easy carrying rifle. The whole point of a 338 Fed is to put it in a short actioned, smaller rifle package. It a standard rifle is used, then a hunter might as well get a 338WM and perhaps load it down 20%. So what the 338 Fed needs is a nice rifle package offered in 12" to 13" LOP and a short action.

Sorry to all the fans of this caliber, but I don't get it. It's a superfluous caliber and extremely difficult to resale, which for guys like Biebs and myself resale is a huge issue.

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Originally posted by custombolt:
Scott. What's your bullet(s) of choice for the .338 Federal? CB

I used a 185 TSX on the hog and 180 Nosler Ballistic Tips on the Axis and Blackbuck. I picked the ballistics tips up from Shooters Pro Shop for $10.99 a bag a few years ago. I have a lot of 200/210 Nolsers and 200 Hot Cors as well. The sweet spot for the 338 Federal is everything between the 160 TSX and the 210 Partition. Works fine with non bonded bullets due to it's moderate velocity.

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Originally posted by mdstewart:
Sorry to all the fans of this caliber, but I don't get it. It's a superfluous caliber and extremely difficult to resale, which for guys like Biebs and myself resale is a huge issue.

As for being superfluous, would one also say that the 308 Win is superfluous? In terms of design, ballistics, and practical hunting, the 338Fed has just as much going for it as the 308Win when compared to the 30-06 and 300WMag.

For Africa, if I had a choice between a 308Win and a 338Fed, I'd go with the 338Fed, assuming an accurate rifle in a similar rifle package. But as I already stated, its niche is to fit into a short-action, light rifle . In a full-sized action and rifle, a 338WinMag is the natural choice and hard to beat for almost any big game hunting.

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Originally posted by 416Tanzan:


It would be nice to see a Ruger American Compact in this caliber, so that smaller framed shooters would have an easy carrying rifle. The whole point of a 338 Fed is to put it in a short actioned, smaller rifle package.

Ruger stopped making the 338 Federal when they released he 338 RCM. I doubt they will ever chamber it again. Hornady refuses to list load data in their manuals for the same reason. They are trying to push the 338 RCM. Any medium velocity 338 seems to be unable to break out. Savage is chambering it in their Hog Hunter with a 20" barrel and sights.

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Originally posted by mdstewart:
Sorry to all the fans of this caliber, but I don't get it. It's a superfluous caliber and extremely difficult to resale, which for guys like Biebs and myself resale is a huge issue.

Well, that would make sense to a firearms dealer or seller, but not to a person who wants to use one for hunting. Keep in mind that wildcatters had been building and hunting with the .338-08 long before "Federal" made it "Federal." Now it's much easier to buy or have one made, and there is ammo for it in the stores.

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Originally posted by scottfromdallas:

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Originally posted by 416Tanzan:


It would be nice to see a Ruger American Compact in this caliber, so that smaller framed shooters would have an easy carrying rifle. The whole point of a 338 Fed is to put it in a short actioned, smaller rifle package.

Ruger stopped making the 338 Federal when they released he 338 RCM. I doubt they will ever chamber it again. Hornady refuses to list load data in their manuals for the same reason. They are trying to push the 338 RCM. Any medium velocity 338 seems to be unable to break out. Savage is chambering it in their Hog Hunter with a 20" barrel and sights.

That's because these companies are pushing for their individual rifles and ammo. But that won't hold Federal and other ammo manufacturers from producing ammo for it, nor anybody for that matter from reboring a .308. As long as ammo, or just reloading components are available for it, people will continue using this Cartridge regardless of being Federal or just the former .338-08.

Federal alone produces around 6 loads for it, and Nosler a few more. Then, Savage is not pushing calibers over other calibers:
http://www.sportsmansguide.com...tlist?k=.338+Federal

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Originally posted by Ray Alaska:
As long as ammo, or just reloading components are available for it, people will continue using this Cartridge regardless of being Federal or just the former .338-08.

Federal alone produces around 6 loads for it, and Nosler a few more.

I agree with you. I reload so there will always be 338 bullets and 308 brass. I've said in prior posts, it's one of my favorite hunting cartridges. The 200 grain Fusion factory ammo is about as perfect as it gets for 338 Federal. I just like to tinker.

I never paid much attention to this caliber until I saw Johannsen offering it in a short action length on one of their light weight mountain rifles. I think it would be fine and dandy for my niche, big hogs. Thinking a .338-06 was "the one" for hogs for at least the last couple years, this round peaked my interest because of the shorter action and well....it just seemed like the perfect match for this style of rifle. The other calibers, a snore.
Sure wish LEE made a collet die for this round. I prefer to leave the case bodies fire-formed. Thanks all.

Love my Kimber 84M in 338 Federal! Pleasure to carry, pleasant to shoot. Only taken one buck with it, DRT with 160 grain Barnes.

Only issue I have is reaching the lands in the rifle has me at a COAL in excess of the magazine.

Would recommend it, lots of fun, just ran 308 LC match brass through the 338 Federal dies, loaded and shot. Nice small groups.

My approach to loading a .338 Win down, wherein you can't load a .338 federal up, is just my personal approach, not and ultimatium...I shoot a Ruger African in .338 Win that's light and handy, and I have a long throated Mauser also..I apply this thinking to several calibers these days as opposed to buying more guns, I already have too many.

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I already have too many.

I have not arrived there yet but you do have few years on me.

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Originally posted by 416Tanzan:
I could see a 338 Fed as a great plains game guest rifle. A hunter only needs 300 yards in Africa.

All of Africa?

Acacia -a large family of hardwoods , locust, koa, mesquite and others here .In Africa it provides a good food for animals from the seed pods .
Often has beautiful grain for furniture ,musical instruments etc

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Originally posted by JabaliHunter:

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Originally posted by 416Tanzan:
I could see a 338 Fed as a great plains game guest rifle. A hunter only needs 300 yards in Africa.

All of Africa?

Most traditional 'plains game' hunting is in East and South Africa where much of the land is relatively flat (especially compared to North American hunting in the western mountains). Because of trees and undulations, shots rarely need to be over 300 yards. that is not an absolute, of course. I remember a roan that I shot at 400 yards (338WMag [which is a better tool for that job than a 338Fed would be]), and a dorcas gazelle at 400 yards with a 270. But those were the rare exceptions. If someone is hunting little antelope in wide open brushy desert like Chad, then a 270 would beat a 338Fed, but most of traditional Safari plains game hunting could be covered 98% of the time with a 338Fed at 300 yards and under. The old African adage rings true: if given a choice between adding speed or bullet weight, add weight. I would say in addition: add caliber. Diameter counts for something and modern monolithic, non-disintegrating bullets allow lighter sectional densities than in the cup-and-core days.

Just stirring!
I agree, .338 calibre is a great choice and the milder cartridges are ideal for bushveldt even where you can stretch the range out a bit. If the .318 Westley Richards had been a .338 instead of .330 calibre it would still be going strong and there would have been no need for the .338-06.