Respect for the 338 Federal

[Thebear_78]

My buddy is building a full custom savage 99 in 338 federal. 22" douglas air gauged barrel, mpi synthetic stock on custom stock hanger so the barrel can float, whole package is going to be nitrided. NECG banded front site, adjustable rear peep with scout mount.

That might be enough to change my mind on the 338 fed vs 358 [emoji6]

For my purposes I have a very clean 99 E that hasn't been butchered with scope mount holes. It's wearing a lyman peep. I'm going for a classy old school look, the 358 fits that look.

200-250 gr 35 cal bullets are designed for this application better than the 338 bullets.

Most 338 bullets are a little too hard for the lower velocities of the 338 federal and the longer per weight bullets don't fit as easily in the 338 fed vs the stubby 35 cal bullets in the savage. Took s lot of work to get the 338 fed to feed well in the savage 99 mentioned above. Worked well with some of the shorter bullets like 210 gr Partition, and 200gr ftx hornady and 200 he Speer hot core. The 250 hornady RN fit pretty well too.

This probably won't be an issue without the constraints of the savage rotary magazine. The sako and tikka should be much easier to feed.

My buddies ultra light m7 did very well with the 185gr Barnes.

 

[Guy Miner]

I'd probably re-bore the .308 BLR we have on hand here at Camp M700, but my oldest son really likes it in .308 Win and it is supposed to be his rifle. Seems he can always find a box of 50 or so .308's in Dad's workshop...

Besides I don't want to go messing around with a nice, older Belgian Browning BLR anyway.

So... I'm probably not destined to see a .358 around here anytime soon. Hmmm. A .358 Savage 99 really does sound good though..

 

[Teknys]

All this talk on 338F. I sold a Sako 85 / 338F to a buddy as a donor. He had a 6mm Hart barrel put on. I've missed having the 338F around just because ??..??

I have been causally looking online for another maybe in a Tikka. Don't need it just a want. I had taken a few deer and a couple of elk with mine using the 200gn Fusion. I have some 210gn to load if I find a rifle again.

 

[SJB358]

I have a BLR coming in 358!

Ha! Good deal Fotis. Mine does not see the light nearly often enough.

 

[SJB358]

Guy, don't have a 338 Federal but I'm waiting for the day to hammer something with the 348 and 250 Woodleighs. Just seems like a perfect medium range combo. Love my M71.

Now, the 358 with 225 PTs is just a danged deadly combo! Hard to pick.

 

[gerry]

How much would you say your BLR 358 Win - 225 gr combo kicks, could be a great gun for my wife to carry in serious grizzly country.........

 

[SJB358]

How much would you say your BLR 358 Win - 225 gr combo kicks, could be a great gun for my wife to carry in serious grizzly country.........

I would say your wife could easily work into it Gerry. My wife has shot mine and done well with it and she does not like recoil much at all.

With a 225 PT, even around 2200 (my load does 2450) I'd think it would still be very effective. Not much different than the old 348 Winchester loads, and nobody ever thought it lacked for big game killing power.

 

[DrMike]

Gerry,

Candidly, the 358 BLR felt very similar to a 308 in my estimate. You could make it stiff; but with 200 to 225 grain bullets, it was comparable to a 308. The design of the BLR was user friendly.

 

[gerry]

Thanks guys, yes the BLR design is very comfortable to shoot and they point extremely well. Miss the BLR I had, the 30-06 version is a bit heavier but would also be a good option in this case.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Recoil from the 210 Partitions in the .338 Federal feels to me just about like a .30-06 with 180 grain bullets. I can't tell much difference between the Sako and my Win Model 70, .30-06. The Sako is about 1/2 pound lighter though.

I do not feel that anyone who has a .348 Win, or .358 Win needs a .338 Federal. They are all three pretty much more of the same thing, except of course that the .348 and .358 can be had in lever actions and the .338 Fed in a AR if you are wanting such.

 

[SJB358]

Gerry I really like the BLR. If I could figure out the trigger, I'd probably own a few more actually.

I didn't answer your first question real well, but Mike summed it it pretty well. The plain old Winchester 200 grain Silvertips are a great bullet at 358 Win speeds and recoil is fairly 308 for all I can tell.

It's a great rifle. Mines got a Burris 2x7 on it. Very nice rifle to carry as well.

 

[gerry]

I agree the trigger is the only drawback although mine wasn't too bad, need to make up for the mistake of letting it go.

 

[Oldtrader3]

My old .35 Rem Marlin 336 killed deer pretty well with 200 grain bullets at about 2000 fps. I think any .35 will kill game pretty well at any reasonable speed?

 

[gerry]

The Marlin 35 Rem is another great choice for sure.....

 

[FOTIS]

Guys do not take chit so personally. Sometimes we must agree to disagree.

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

[FOTIS]

Here is my BLR 358

Basically like new

 

[Guy Miner]

Excellent! Looks like an older model.

 

[gerry]

Nice looking gun, got to love the BLR......

 

[SJB358]

Very nice Fotis!

Yup, them danged BLRs are nice. Always wondered would stop a guy from making a 308 BLR into a 338 Federal? Seems like JES would have the answer back to you pretty quick.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Nice Fotis, that one looks like the 1970's models?