308 win vs 338 fed

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brybenn

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With all thats going on why not have a debate like the good old days. Ill skip the classics of 9 vs 45 and glock vs 1911 and go for the gold with the parent 308 vs the new kid 338 fed
In terms of a hunting cartridge does the 338 fed offer any real benefit over the 308? Im currently gathering parts to assemble a 338fed but several of my buddies are trying to convince me to stay with a 308
 
I was the same way, but a friend of mine who has hunted for 45 years, stated the .338 Fed had better ballistic coefficient than the .308 and 30.06 so I went with it in my BCL-102 which I can't hunt with anymore. Here is a litttle article from Ron Spomer

Shake hands with the 338 Federal. It shoots flatter and harder than a 30-06, produces more muzzle energy than a 7mm Remington Magnum, and recoils less than a 30-06. It will handle not only whitetails, but black bears, elk and moose as far away as anybody is likely to hit them. And it does it with a compact, super-efficient package
 
For a longtime hunting bud, I load for his 338 federal Tikka with 210 Nosler partition's and 215 Sierra boat tails at 2450 or so. Relatively easy to load for, not too temperamental. Sectional density of these weights are in the vicinity of 265. He loves the daylights out of it. If I never had these 358 win's, i'd have me one of them 338-08's!
 
Curtis264 said:
I was the same way, but a friend of mine who has hunted for 45 years, stated the .338 Fed had better ballistic coefficient than the .308 and 30.06 so I went with it in my BCL-102 which I can't hunt with anymore. Here is a litttle article from Ron Spomer

Shake hands with the 338 Federal. It shoots flatter and harder than a 30-06, produces more muzzle energy than a 7mm Remington Magnum, and recoils less than a 30-06. It will handle not only whitetails, but black bears, elk and moose as far away as anybody is likely to hit them. And it does it with a compact, super-efficient package
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I know! I'd love one for this Fact-

Nope, they aint a 338 Win mag, but it was never made to compete with it.

hmmmmmmmmm
 
I too am contemplating a 338 federal. I have a kimber montana in 308 . Also a take off barrel in 338 federal. I've been on the fence trying to decide if I should send it off to gary flach for the switch. The 308 shoots very well but I have several 308 rifles. Help brybenn and myself decide .. chime in on any experience you've had with 338 federal!
 
I have a Tikka T3 338 federal that I had cut down to 20”. It will be getting a Wildcat stock soon. Handy bush and stand gun!
 
joey.45 said:
I too am contemplating a 338 federal. I have a kimber montana in 308 . Also a take off barrel in 338 federal. I've been on the fence trying to decide if I should send it off to gary flach for the switch. The 308 shoots very well but I have several 308 rifles. Help brybenn and myself decide .. chime in on any experience you've had with 338 federal!
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The 338 Fed is an excellent round, I had one for a bit (Ruger Hawkeye), accurate and less recoil than I was expecting. Took one Blacktail with it, no complaints.

There’s still a few factory options out there. The Savage Bear Hunter come to mind.

(You should just sell the Montana ;) )
 
Ill be putting mine in a mdt lss gen 2 chassis. It will be a bear and moose gun in ontario. I have a 300wm and 458wm and 4570 double that i use. Just looking to fill the gap between using my double rifle and my 458wm. Medium power short action chassis style is what im looking for
 
I have owned a couple .338 Fed rifles... I liked the cartridge. But when push came to shove, I kept the .308's and .358's and ditched the .338 Fed rifles... I just have a strong affinity with .35 cal cartridges. I could easily have gone the other way and kept the .338 Fed and gotten rid of the .308's and .358's. Realistically, you can shoot 200's out of the .308 and get virtually identical performance on game as you would with 200's out of the .338 Fed, so your friends have a point. I think where the Fed has a slight edge (very slight) is shooting a 225 SP on game... it is actually a very nice combo as a deer/bear rifle.
 
Curtis264 said:
Shake hands with the 338 Federal. It shoots flatter and harder than a 30-06, produces more muzzle energy than a 7mm Remington Magnum, and recoils less than a 30-06. It will handle not only whitetails, but black bears, elk and moose as far away as anybody is likely to hit them. And it does it with a compact, super-efficient package
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Sounds magical, but in reality probably doesn't offer that much if anything over a 30-06 or 7mag for most of what we hunt and how we hunt here in Canada.

OTOH ..... A real gun-nut never lets things of a practical nature get in the way of a good time. :)
 
As good as the 308 is, I just find it unappealing to me, as everyone has one.
I am also a big fan of the 338 caliber, having never been a big fan of the 30 caliber. I also have 338-06 that I like very much and is very accurate. It is just heavier than what I want to pack in the thick brush. I also have a LH Sako AV Laminate in 338 Win Mag that will be here soon. Have used the 338 cartridges on a number of game from bear to bison over the years and they all work very well.

I have/had 3, 338 Federals (a rebarreled Win Model 88, a LH Tikka T3 and just sold the stainless RH Ruger Hawkeye back to the gentleman I bought it from here on CGN that missed it more than he thought he would! It was a great shooter - 1/2" groups with 180 AB's and 210 Partitions - and I hope he enjoys it for many more years to come!). The Model 88 isa lot of fun and will not be going anywhere. My Tikka is up for sale, as I have bought a LH Sako Finnlight II in 308 and am ordering a carbon fibre barrel for it to be chambered to 338 Federal. Should make for a great brush rifle, but still have the wherewithall to handle any longer shots on big game when needing to stretch out further across meadows or ravines where I hunt bear, moose and elk. Had thought of getting a Cooper Classic, but really like the Sako's and went that route instead.

I also have a 358 Win (BLR) that is a great cartridge and has been my back-up guiding, archery and atv rifle for the past 17 years and has taken its fair share of game, and my daughter used it on her her first big game animal harvest almost 10 years ago.

I think you'll be very happy with the 338 Federal!
 
well i have a few 308's a fed 338 and a 338 06. my take is if you want to shoot a fast 150 grn the 308 is my choice. if i want to shoot 200's to me its the fed all the way. there is no way i can shoot 200's in a 308 as fast as i shoot them in the fed. if i want to move up to 225's i go with the 338 06. in reality either one works for hunting most things.
 
I do have 3 308 Win's a 338 FED and i Like both Cartridges ! if I could only have one and it was for hunting ONLY it would be the 338 FEDERAL ! BUT for a combo hunting target gun i would take the 308 win More bullet selection and less recoil !

My 338 Federal is a Tikka T3 SS with a a 21 Oz Wildcat stock ! 160 TTSX ers at 2950 fps ! Pretty IMPRESSIVE out of that little Cartridge ! RJ
 
joey.45 said:
I too am contemplating a 338 federal. I have a kimber montana in 308 . Also a take off barrel in 338 federal. I've been on the fence trying to decide if I should send it off to gary flach for the switch. The 308 shoots very well but I have several 308 rifles. Help brybenn and myself decide .. chime in on any experience you've had with 338 federal!
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ahha dude! i have a Montana in 7mm-08 but have a .308 Win barrel for it too :)

wanna swap 338 Federal somehow? haha
im actually going to settle for just a 308 when i re barrel, i had intentions of making one of them barrels a "284 variant" which would give the 308 a bit more sting as a 30-284 hot on the heels of a slow WSM...... OR make the 7mm barrel a .284 as its Tween a 7Rem mag an a 7-08, without a bit fat belted rim an 2 and a half inches of brass to fill with powder...


My only hangfire is the Game i persue, they are Elk for sake of this convo....... my 7mm-08s doing them like dinners as is under 300m , chambering a 308 wont change that fact either but it will allow for a heavier 180gr for full rut winter stags up close and personal.... the 7-08 V 308 debate is on par with the 300wsm V 300 WM and 30-06 V 308 arguement...

being the little mtn gun it is, 400m is a max on any day if i can hit where im aiming, i dont think itl matter much if its 7 or .30 however it can be a bit easier out yonder with a "284" case behind them...

back to the fed......... big enough bullets at moderate enough pace.... for moderate ranges, sounds perfect. as the 358 is a bit big an a bit too moderate for the 250+ without good solid rest and range finder, having those items im sure its capable at 300m withot major drop..

when we start playin with these 308 cartridge variants, it soon sorta stacks up that /308 is THE size for it. imo.
 
SuperCub said:
Sounds magical, but in reality probably doesn't offer that much if anything over a 30-06 or 7mag for most of what we hunt and how we hunt here in Canada.

OTOH ..... A real gun-nut never lets things of a practical nature get in the way of a good time. :)
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I think it was you that once said if we were all practical we'd be hunting with a Stevens 200 in 30/06?
 
john-brennan said:
I am trying to find a 338 Federal in a L/H Tikka T3x if anyone has one. I love the 338 caliber ballistics.
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Took me forever to find a LH one. Ended up buying the barreled action, then the stock and mag. Just waiting for a scope to show up and it will finally get to play.

I ended up cleaning out Prophet River and got 18 boxes of Federal Vital Shok with the 180gr AB's.

Very excited to try them out
 
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