338 Fed Weatherby 307

[thatguySHM]

I love the 338 Federal round, decided to try a 20" compact rifle on a new Weatherby 307 action. I have a Ruger m77 338 Federal that shoots 180gr AccuBond very well, but it doesn't do that great with many 200gr+ bullets. I looked at the numbers and decided I wanted a faster twist to see what happens when you get the 200-225gr bullets to 338 Win Mag RPMs, so I went with an 8 twist barrel from Preferred Barrels at 20" with a barrel nut. It's in an MDT Flagstaff stock and I'm using their 3 round ACIS magazine, pretty nice set up. Topped with a Vortex Viper 2-10.

The rifle is just a touch heavier than I'd like, but I'm happy with it for a little deer thumper.



I broke in the barrel with 200gr HotCor and TAC, averaging 2550 fps and averaging an inch for three shots across four groups after sight in and initial break in. Three shot groups then clean were great, one group opened up to 1.5" but the rest stayed at or below an inch.

Then I ran the Speer 225 BTSP. Finally shot the load this week and was pleasantly surprised. 2400 fps and three touching. Now to see if I can do it again.

 

[JD338]

Nice looking rig, congrats.
That’s a deer thumper

JD338

 

[NYDAN]

That is a sweet set-up. Nice shooting.

 

[SJB358]

Cool build and that Speer 225 should be amazing at 338 Fed speeds.

 

[RL338]

Well done. Those Preferred Barrels are shooters. , my son has one in 223 Wylde.

 

[thatguySHM]

Thanks! I'm very pleased with how things turned out. I tried some 225gr SSTs, but I had to load over 0.050" off to fit in the magazine, but they were all over the place, pattern more than grouping.

It does seem the barrel is faster than the factory Ruger, the original concept goal was 2350 fps with that Speer 225gr while keeping my RPM over 200,000. So without much effort getting to 2400 was a happy surprise. I'm unsure if I'll see much measurable velocity increase after I get over 100 rounds or so down the barrel, and I'm not even compressed with the TAC, but I can't beat the results.

 

[Blkram]

Appears to be a successful start to using heavier bullets! (Gotta love it when a plan comes together!)
And being short, will be handy in the thick timber!
Will also work great on bear, moose and elk, should you get to hunt them too!
Other great bullets to try would include the 200 and/or 225 gr AccuBonds, and the 215 and/or 225 gr SGKs. And the Speer 225 gr Hot Cor.

Loving the performance of my 338 Federals! I am hoping to find a good load for the 200 gr AB in my Sako. To date I have taken caribou, moose, and stones sheep with mine, with the Federal 210 gr Partition ammo, the 200 gr Uni-Cor and Trophy Copper ammo.

 

[thatguySHM]

I plan on using it mainly in the woods, not quite sure it has enough for moose where I'll be hunting them this fall. Plenty of opportunities for 300+ yd shots, so I have a feeling it will stay at home for that hunt.

I've always had best luck with H335 and 2000MR for powders, but TAC is working so well I haven't tried anything else. I plan on finding a load for 200gr CT ballistic tips, I have Accubonds in 180/200/225, 200gr Fusion/Etips/HotCor/Interlock/SSTs, Barnes in 160/185, 225 Deep Curl.

I think there's a few others to try, but that plan was derailed by hitting all the benchmarks I wanted with the bullet I wanted it to right off the bat. Honestly I really wanted to try the silvertips but why burn them up when I have a great load already? I loaded up another 20 of the BTSP yesterday to try next range trip for confirmation and to just keep getting familiar with the rifle. Not sure I like the Box TacSport trigger.

 

[Blkram]

Your current 225 gr BTSP load that is shooting so nice has the following ballistics (assuming cooler weather 59F and an elevation of 2200 asl):
Muzzle = 2400 fps, 2877 ft lbs of energy
100 yards = 2245 fps, 519 ft lbs of energy, +2.7" for a 200 yard zero
200 yards = 2096 fps, 2195 ft lbs of energy, point of aim
300 yards = 1953 fps, 1905 ft lbs of energy, dropping 10.5"
400 yards = 1815 fps, 1646 ft lbs of energy, dropping 30.1" (while this velocity may not reliably expand this bullet, the retained energy is still enough for moose (1500 ft lbs of energy the recommendation)

This load will reliably expand and penetrate at 300 yards on any big game, and has enough retained energy to cleanly and quickly take moose or elk when the bullet is placed accurately in the vitals. And on such large animals, you'll always be holding on hair to do so!

For your 200 gr Hot Cor load, your ballistics are:
Muzzle = 2550 fps, 2887 fps
100 yards = 2356 fps, 2466 ft lbs of energy, +2.4" for a 200 yard zero
200 yards = 2172 fps, 2094 ft lbs of energy, point of aim
300 yards = 1995 fps, 1768 ft lbs of energy, dropping 9.8"
400 yards = 1827 fps, 1482 ft lbs of energy, dropping 28.1"
I would suggest limiting your shots to 350 yards, where you should still have just over 1900 fps for reliable expansion, and approx. 1620 ft lbs of energy, and have dropped about 17.7" from the 200 yard zero. This is good enough for moose, as they are not as tenacious of life as whitetails or elk. And with a hold on the top of the back, your bullet should land right in the double lung area for a clean, quick kill (if you are using a normal duplex reticle vs a BDC type).

My 338 Federal shooting the Federal 200 gr Uni-Cor ammo (also a Speer bullet similar to the BTSP), gets 2687 fps from my 22" barrel, and carries 1898 fps and 1600 ft lbs of energy at 400 yards, where it drops 26.1" from its 200 yard zero. It has worked on caribou, moose, and stones sheep to date, with the longest shot being on the caribou at 150 yards. But I would not hesitate to shoot a moose with it out too a max of 400 yards, if I could not get any closer. (Our moose are the Canadian subspecies, and large bulls can weigh over 1000 lbs. Not sure where you are, but I know that the Shiras moose is a smaller subspecies, and IIRC weigh about 700 lbs.) Now, the Alaska/Yukon moose is another story as they can weigh in excess of 1500 lbs!
I still would not hesitate to use your 338 Federal, but may limit the shots to the 225 gr BTSP load and 300 yards...but if you are hunting in the rut, calling them in to this range and closer will be half the excitement of the adventure! And it will be handy in the timber and thick willows.
For the record, in 39 years of hunting, my furthest shot to date on a moose has only been 225 yards, with my average shot distance on all game being just 132 yards!

Hope this helps!
Enjoy your new 338 Federal, and best of luck on your moose adventure!

 

[thatguySHM]

Hey thanks, lines up with what I looked at too as far as energy. It's still going to sit for the moose hunt, I've been putting in 20 years for this chance.

I am bringing a pair of 30-06s with me I believe. One is my go to critter gitter and the other hasn't missed a moose it's been pointed at, and was my first big game rifle (Mossberg ATR100), so I have to bring it at the very least. My Christensen has a CDS that I've used plenty with a 180gr AccuBond turret ready to go and tested rigorously.