338 Federal

[Charlie-NY]

I'd sure like to know what a 338 Federal can do that the ol 338-06 can't do better. :lol:

And if you think about it - the 338-06 is already an orphan child. The 338 Federal was doomed before it got off the ground.

If you ask me - the 338 Federal is an interesting whitetail cartridge of a new flavor. It doesn't fill a nitch, its just different. Sometimes that's good enough. We'll see.

 

[Jeff Olsen]

This cartridge has a niche is all it has. I think its pretty stupid to come out with such a cartridge. Way to make a slow cartridge even slower. I mean, I think we coulda done away with standardizing a 25-308 or something along those lines. I dont know, I guess I'll never really understand as to why to have all these short range, brush guns as I live out west and dont intend moving back east, again. Just my opinion.

2 points- as the bullet diameter goes up, the cartridge becomes more efficient so in many cases, it doesn't actually get slower, or not much, at all.

Case in point, my .358 will shoot 200-gn bullets at 2625 fps from a 20" barrel. You'd be lucky to see that with 165-gn bullets from a .308 and a 20" barrel.

2nd point. A .358 or .338 Federal is hardly a short-range brush cartridge. They have 300-yard reach. It's that perception that doomed the .358 commercially when in reality, we should ALL have one in our safes!

-jeff

 

[SJB358]

I know this is an old thread, but man, the 338 Federal is a sweet little round. I have a 358 and a 35 Whelen. Someday I hope to have a 338-06 and the 338 Federal. I hope Browning puts one out in the BLR. It would make another great medium range Big Game slayer. Kinda like the old 348 Win, but better with pointed bullets. Scotty

 

[FOTIS]

Unfortunately the 8x57mm is very underloaded due to older rifles. Now if you load it in modern brass for modern rifle such as the rem 700 classic it shows a totally different character.


THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE AT 61000 PSI

Cartridge : 8 x 57 mm Mauser (SAAMI)
Bullet : .323, 200, Nosler AccuBond 54374
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 3.250 inch or 82.55 mm
Barrel Length : 22.0 inch or 558.8 mm

Predicted Data for Indicated Charges of the Following Powders.

Matching Maximum Pressure: 61000 psi, or 420 MPa

or a maximum loading ratio or filling of 105 %

These calculations refer to your specified settings in QuickLOAD 'Cartridge Dimensions' window.
C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !

92 loads produced a Loading Ratio below user-defined minimum of 90%. These powders have been skipped.

Powder type Filling/Loading Ratio Charge Charge Vel. Prop.Burnt P max P muzz B_Time
% Grains Gramm fps % psi psi ms
--------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Winchester 760 104.0 56.1 3.64 2703 97.1 61000 9698 1.091 ! Near Maximum !
SNPE Vectan SP 11 102.5 54.0 3.50 2686 99.8 61000 9163 1.095 ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon H414 99.7 54.2 3.51 2675 97.6 61000 9440 1.104 ! Near Maximum !
Ramshot BigGame 105.0 53.5 3.47 2671 99.7 59761 9144 1.105 ! Near Maximum !
IMR 4895 100.7 49.7 3.22 2671 100.0 61000 8587 1.085 ! Near Maximum !
Ramshot Hunter 105.0 57.0 3.70 2664 97.3 57584 9633 1.115 ! Near Maximum !
Vihtavuori N550 105.0 54.7 3.55 2661 98.7 58056 9492 1.123 ! Near Maximum !
Hodgdon BL-C2 94.1 52.4 3.39 2661 100.0 61000 8854 1.109 ! Near Maximum !
Norma 203B 100.0 51.0 3.30 2661 99.8 61000 8951 1.109 ! Near Maximum !
Bofors RP11 ~approximation 99.4 50.7 3.29 2661 99.6 61000 8999 1.108 ! Near Maximum

 

[257 Ackley]

The .338 Federal is a great cartridge for someone that is looking for a medium bore rifle to hunt moose and elk. I would have one already if I didn't have a .338-06. Using the 210 grain Partition, it will work well for anything in North America except big bear IMO. One of my brothers used the .338 Federal for a moose hunt in 07' and had a one-shot kill on a 57 inch bull in northern Minnesota that weighed 1260 lbs. I agree that it is not a "plains caliber" where shots will be over 300 yards, but I have only shot that far one time in my 40-plus years of big game hunting including annual trips to Western states. I would rather have a caliber/rifle that I can handle well and place shots where they will work. Velocity is necessary to help bring down large game humanly, but bullet selection and knowing how to place shots are more important. The .338 Federal makes more sense than most of short mags that have come out in the last few years IMO.

The reason I had a .338-06 built instead of a 35 Whelen was the selection of bullets at that time and the sectional density improvement over 35 caliber bullets for comparitive weights. Both are great calibers for their intended purpose.

 

[SJB358]

I like the short 308 based cases, and man when you start getting up to the 338 and 358 calibers they seem very efficient. Out to 300 yards, which is a long shot (to me) on game, they seem to do an admirable job. I do like the big magnums also, but they all have there niche. Scotty