As I sit in my deer stand and realizing that 125 yards would be a long shot it makes me want to build a 338 federal. My only problem is that I can't find any head stamped brass anymore. I already have a 338-06 but would really love a 338 federal on a stainless feather weight model 70. Do you guys think the 338 federal is dead?

Unless you have plans to take your rifle abroad where having properly headstampedbrass would be an issue, just use .308 brass. This round was available as a wildcat long before Federal introduced it. If you don't handload, I'm sure you could get ammo from any number of specialty ammo makers.

I've long been lusting after an LMT MWS with a .338 Federal barrel myself.I think it would be a perfect hog rifle here in the southern states.

Mine is still alive. This one was killed with 308 stamped brass. I don't think the hog noticed. Seriously, who cares what is stamped on the brass?

Its on my to-do list. Very nicely balanced cartridge

Armalite in 338 fed is cool.

I think it is premature to pronounce the 338 Federal dead.. I suggest waiting for a more complete recovery from the component shortage and then see where it lands. But either way it is not hard to reform 308 brass. Ive done that plenty for my 358.

I don't believe its "dead" although we certainly don't see too much about it..

Im one that would love the .338 Federal, I just know it.
for the application i would use it for would include mostly stalking forest for Sambar deer, where shots would generally be well under 200m.

a few years ago I was tossing up between the Whelen and the Federal, back then I chose the Whelen but nowadays grabbed a 308 T3 but if I had a choice I would put a 338Federal barrel on it.. and still might!


Would love to hear more from people who use the Federal, in field performance an reports mean much more to a hunter/shooter than most magazine articles imo.


cheers

WL

Where long ahots and high velocity are not an issue, the 338 Fed would be a great cartridge.

And this from a lifelong 338WM user.

This is a good thread of someone who took his to Africa. We both bought a 338 Fed at the same time and spent a lot of time sharing loading information. I've only brought mine a few times hunting but he uses his almost exclusively.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/...php/topics/8994328/1

I just bought 100 rounds of inexpensive factory ammo for $20/box to get the brass. Turns out it shoots well enough that the wife used it to kill an elk last fall. When it's all shot up I'll develop a load using 200 grain bullets and call it good.

As far as I am concerned, it was never alive! The 308 will do anything it will.

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
As far as I am concerned, it was never alive! The 308 will do anything it will.

308 can't shoot 338 bullets!

I do see your point.

Step up to African game and the .308 Win might not seem adequate. Alaskan too, while you're at it. Doubt a cow buffalo or mama grizzly in the mix wouldn't change a mind or two. For deer, here, long shots with a 7 mag makes more sense to me. And, .338 Win Mag over the Federal makes sense as well.

2 cents

It would be perect for moose but so is 8*57 too and i can find ammo for a 8*57 in any hardwarestore not so for .338F. The versability in .308w/3006 is hard to beat too 100-240gr bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by BNagel:
Step up to African game and the .308 Win might not seem adequate. Alaskan too, while you're at it. Doubt a cow buffalo or mama grizzly in the mix wouldn't change a mind or two. For deer, here, long shots with a 7 mag makes more sense to me. And, .338 Win Mag over the Federal makes sense as well.

2 cents

that's sort of how we see it, too. We can always load the 338WM down to 3000 or 3500ftlbs. Normally, we find 4000ftlbs the most allaround use of the cartridge and have so far resisted thoughts of wanting more in the 338.

We don't do cross-canyon hunting in Africa. 400 yards is just as far as one ever needs to think about shooting, and 300yards is already a relatively rare shot.

Still, if I were in a deer stand in a forest or walking through brush after pigs, I can see a 338Fed being about a perfect match of achoring power and game.

As a cautious reloader, I like a big case I can just reload at the lowest figures and still get enough power. The starting load in the 338Win mag with 3031 gave me velocities analogous with the 358 Win and recoil I could hardly feel, when I first bought the rifle and worried about flinching.

A few years ago, I dispatched handily a couple of deer at 240 yards, on one, and a hair more on the other, with a 338 federal in a Sako 85. Thinking it is just a 150 yard brush cartridge would be incorrect.

The 338 Fed is a cartridge that everyone that has one likes a lot and is disliked by those who don't own one. I have a hard time understanding a 358 is good and a 338 Fed is bad. I have one in a Sako and if you want a low recoiling gun with punch it is really a pleasure. It also seems to be an accurate round at least in my gun. I have shot several big (250+ pound) northern deer with mine and it hammers them.
It is a very effective woods gun up to 250 yards. I shoot Federal factory 210 grain ammo in mine and it really works!

Is it deader than the RCMs?

The 338 Fed., like most cartridges, has a place. It's low recoiling and still has adequate knockdown power. It might be the perfect moose gun. I built one for a women that didn't like recoil and was going moose hunting in Alaska. The gun had a 22" barrel and weighed 5.5# without the scope. She took a 62" moose at 185 yards with one shot. The moose didn't go over 50 yards after the shot. She loves the gun........Tom

Most everything in 338 is pretty nice.

It would have been nice to see a 338/375Ruger, but alas, they shortened the case to 338-06 power levels rather than approach 340weatherby in a standard length case.

I would hunt plains game with any of the 338's, even though we've always liked the results of the 338WM on game.

quote:

Is it deader than the RCMs?

Nope but the RCM are deservedly critically ill. I can't think of a more idiotic concept than the RCM line. The .338 Federal actually has a small but useful niche.

The RCM's are simply brain dead.

Mine is not dead and if you really need to have correct headstamped brass grafs has the 185gr fusion in stock for about $30 a box.

Matthew

Heck no its no short range round.
I love the good old .308 though , so for me the only time i would want a .338 fed would be for pigs and or black bear.
For deer hunting , the .308 is fine as far as i want to shoot...tj3006

quote:

Originally posted by scottfromdallas:

quote:

Originally posted by buckeyeshooter:
As far as I am concerned, it was never alive! The 308 will do anything it will.

308 can't shoot 338 bullets!

I do see your point.

ok, got me there!

It's kind of a very small niche cartridge.

Does it do anything that ten or twelve other cartridges won't?

Idaho-

the Fed will make a much bigger hole than a 243, quite a bit bigger than a 7-08, a little bigger than a 308, all the while paying for this in either reduced velocity or in reduced penetration if velocity is maintained.

As for niche, it strikes me like a 358Win, but with more bullet selection and potential velocity.

I never quite grasped the idea of a wide bullet selection as part of the criteria for choosing a caliber, just MV with a good soft point. 99% of the people I know just have a light bullet load for coyotes, and a medium weight for big game. The 1%-ers have a dozen partial boxes of varying bullet weights for a caliber, with 15-20 missing on a shelf.

Bullet selection, for me, has always been about getting the job done. That's Elk and Deer here in Idaho, and maybe a bear.

Distances are longer out west, so you need velocity and bullet weight; the 50/50 proposition.

My wife is small and doesn't like recoil, but she likes hunting bigger critters like elk, oryx, and bears at reasonable ranges (up to 250 or so). So for us, the .338 Fed makes a lot of sense. I had a little Ruger Hawkeye cut down to fit her frame. She is able to manage the rifle and recoil much better than the longer, heavier action/barrel of most .338 Wins. So far she's just shot the 185 grain factory loads I bought to get the brass, but I'm really looking forward to playing with the 200 grain Hot Cores I got as part of a .338 component deal. I think the little Federal is just about perfect for small-framed shooters looking for a little more punch than the standard "woman/kid" cartridges. It worked great on the 6-point bull elk she shot last fall.

Hey Idaho--I hear you and think the 338WM is great and a 338Ruger would have been even better. But--for hunting up to 250 yards the 338Fed would be just fine. Everyone makes their choices. As for bullets, people tend to value different aspects and make different choices. I tend to like medium weight with higher BC and guaranteed penetration. Some like heavy for calibre, others like fast for calibre, etc.

For DesertRam, Ruger made some cute little Ruger Compact Magnums 2-3 years ago. Those would work great, too, and could be downloaded if desired. But if you already have a 338Federal--then enjoy it. It is a great little cartridge and can hold its head high, especially considering the wide appeal of its smaller sibling the 308.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I never quite grasped the idea of a wide bullet selection as part of the criteria for choosing a caliber . . .

When you go 35 cal (35 W or 358 Win) you have cast bullet and pistol bullet options. You can get a lot of practice in this way.

I bought one for my son because it was a deal I couldn't pass up. $399 for a new Ruger 77 Hawkeye All Weather stainless. It certainly did the job on a small mule deer buck a couple seasons ago with a handloaded 180 gr Nosler Accubond. And I suspect it will work just as well with a 210 gr Nosler Partition if he can get within 300 yards of an elk. In my opinion it kicks less than a 30-06, and is far more interesting. If he needs a longer range cartridge for more open country, there is a new Lilja barrel on my old Model 70 Super Shadow that finished out at 27" chambered in .270WSM. Another cartridge verbally abused by shooters who don‘t own one or even tried one.

when all is said and done, it is nothing, more or less, than a marketing ploy to get someone to fill a need the marketing dept created to sell a few new rifles.

I think this round suffers the same problem that the .358 win, 35 Whelen have, the misconception that bigger cal. equals poor trajectory and that they are only short range "woods" guns.

The 338.210g NP and the 200g Woodleigh bullets both have BCs around .400, launch these at 2550-2600 fps and you have a trajectory that matches most .308 win 150g loads, or at worst is about an inch or so lower at 250 yards.

For deer it doesnt matter, but if you want more killing power for bigger animals, and like a light short action rifle, there is nothing to lose with the .338 fed.

quote:

I think this round suffers the same problem that the .358 win, 35 Whelen have, the misconception that bigger cal. equals poor trajectory and that they are only short range "woods" guns

Strange, I have never heard that about the .35 Whelen.

quote:

Originally posted by 416Tanzan:
Idaho-

the Fed will make a much bigger hole than a 243, quite a bit bigger than a 7-08, a little bigger than a 308, all the while paying for this in either reduced velocity or in reduced penetration if velocity is maintained.

As for niche, it strikes me like a 358Win, but with more bullet selection and potential velocity.

+1

Never fired one and dont know anybody that has but I like the idea of the little Federal round. Would rather go 9x57 or 9.3x57 but thats me.

I believe the Whelen, which would make a great one rifle for all North American hunting from coyotes up to big bears, got a bit of a bad rap because most of the large(r) game hunted with it is in the West and Northwest is encountered at shorter ranges.

One guy says, I shot eight mule deer and eight Elk, and six bears with the Whelen and 250gr bullets; and none over 200yds. Never took a shot over that distance, and never needed a second shot. That story mutates from "never needed to..." to "wouldn't..."

In the old days, guys could stalk and get close, today's crowd is mostly take a week vacation, and ab-so-friggin-lutely HAVE to Kill an Animal. Couldn't stalk if their lives depended on getting within 200yds. Super Magnums, laser rangefinder scopes, and extend the take a shot range.

There is nothing wrong with the 338 Federal. It just does not do anything special, that fifty or sixty other cartridges wouldn't do as well, or a bit better.

I just took out my Kimber in 338 fed. Shot some tiny groups that would make a varmint rig proud.
It weighs next to nothing and the kick is very mild. Whats not to like?

Gotta jump in on this.

So 30-06 would solve most people gun needs, but we all know that cartridge is old outdated and no longer useful for any kind of hunting or target shooting.

Luckily there are 20-30 other cartridges out there to fill the niche left with the demise of the lowly aught six.