338 Federal vs 338-06

hope you laugh just as hard when someone calls a .338-08 a .338 federal.

first person to make ammo for it gets to name it right? well, A-Square made ammo....
 
Here is an interesting excerpt....

Prior to A-Square standardizing the .338-06, the cartridge existed in several versions that were all related to one of the many pioneering ideas of G&A's own Elmer Keith. In 1945 Keith, along with Charlie O'Neil and Don Hopkins, developed the .333 OKH, which was based on the .30-06 case necked up. It was one of Keith's favorite cartridges, and it gained a good deal of popularity among wildcatters for more than a decade despite the fact that .333 bullets and barrels were not easy to obtain.

Then in 1958 Winchester introduced the .338 Winchester Magnum. As manufacturers introduced bullets and barrels in the new, slightly larger diameter to support a surge of demand, wildcatters simply abandoned the .333 OKH for a nearly identical wildcat--the .338-06.
 
Here is some Factory load data for the 338 Federal..
P338FA1 - 180 grain Nosler AccuBond at 2830 fps.
P338FC - 185 grain Barnes Triple-Shock at 2750 fps.
P338FB - 210 grain Nosler Partition at 2630 fps.

and some handload data for the 338-06

200 Nosler Btip RL 15 50.5 54.7 2,725 --
200 Hornady SP 58.5 62.8 2,705 Compressed
215 Sierra SPBT IMR4350 56.5 60.7 2,649 Compressed
225 Speer SPBT H414 CCI 200 Wby. 56.5 60.5 2,61
225 Barnes XLC Big Game 54.5 58.9 2,606
225 Speer SPBT Big Game 55.5 59.8 2,627
250 Sierra SPBT RL 15 46.5 50.4 2,464
250 Nosler Part. H414 52.5 56.8 2,475

not really any significant difference in the velocity... the only advantage I see is the ability to shoot 250 grain bullets because of the longer neck and powder capacity in the 338-06...:confused:
 
BigRedd pretty much summed it up there. 200 fps gap, 338-06 holds a bigger edge when shooting bullets over 225 gr.
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exactly. and the point of shooting light .338 bullets is?

if I wanted to shoot a 180gr bullet out of a .308 case I'd shoot a .308 bullet and take advantage of the higher SD & BC

don;t look at the factory #'s for the .338 fed, look at the YEARS fo handloading data for the .338-08 and see why it was a flop as a wildcat.
 
Amphibious said:
hope you laugh just as hard when someone calls a .338-08 a .338 federal.

first person to make ammo for it gets to name it right? well, A-Square made ammo....
Click to expand...


Yeah....A-Square!! HAHAHAHAHAHah:p

(Actually, it's who registers it with SAAMI first...Of course there are other organizations like SAAMI, too)

Any A-Square ammo available in Canada?
 
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BIGREDD said:
Here is some Factory load data for the 338 Federal..
P338FA1 - 180 grain Nosler AccuBond at 2830 fps.
P338FC - 185 grain Barnes Triple-Shock at 2750 fps.
P338FB - 210 grain Nosler Partition at 2630 fps.

and some handload data for the 338-06

200 Nosler Btip RL 15 50.5 54.7 2,725 --
200 Hornady SP 58.5 62.8 2,705 Compressed
215 Sierra SPBT IMR4350 56.5 60.7 2,649 Compressed
225 Speer SPBT H414 CCI 200 Wby. 56.5 60.5 2,61
225 Barnes XLC Big Game 54.5 58.9 2,606
225 Speer SPBT Big Game 55.5 59.8 2,627
250 Sierra SPBT RL 15 46.5 50.4 2,464
250 Nosler Part. H414 52.5 56.8 2,475

not really any significant difference in the velocity... the only advantage I see is the ability to shoot 250 grain bullets because of the longer neck and powder capacity in the 338-06...:confused:
Click to expand...


Those numbers are all on the low end of what is possible with the 338-06

Of all the manufacturers I find Hornady has the best data for this cartridge.

I get 3000 with a 175 "X" ; 2850 with a 200 Ballistic Tip; 2740 with a 225 Hornady and 2500 with a 250 TBBC. This puts the 338-06 almost directly in between the 338-08 and the 338 Win Mag when it comes to performance. Also if anyone looks hard they will see the performance of the new 325 wsm is virtually identical to the 338-06.
 
I like the idea of a 338-08 as a moderate range cartidge for hunting anything in North America. 358 Win has a good following, and that is because it shoots a big fat bullet at mild speeds and just plain KILLS inside normal hunting ranges of 250 yards and closer.

A 180 gr. Ballistic Tip or Accubond @ 2830 fps shoots flat enough for shots out to 300 yards or a bit more. Sighted 2" high at 100 yards, it drops 7.6" at 300 yards, where it lands with 1845 ft-lbs of energy. Those numbers mirror a 30-06 180 gr. load.

A 338-08 has enough case capacity to shoot a 225 gr. @ 2450 fps. That is what a 30-06 will shoot a 220 gr. at. Energy at 200 yards would be 2200 ft-lbs with the 225 gr. 338-08.

I see this 338 'Federal' as being a good fit for bigger game like bears, elk, and moose when you wont really need the extra reach past 300 yards. Its best with bullets no more than 225 gr., but with todays super bullets (like a 185 gr. X bullet), you really dont need the bullet weight and sectional density for penetration these days, not like you used to.

I'd bet a 338-08 with a 185 gr. Triple Shock X bullet would penetrate as deep as a 225 gr. Partition out of either a 338-06 or a 338 Win Mag
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I see it as an impressive little cartridge, especially when housed in a svelte platform such as a M7 LSS.

I think it will do well as a woods cartridge (dark timber elk, and eastern deer woods) but it will be no slouch out to 300yds either... which is further than 99% of game is taken anyhow.

Really hard to argue with such a cartidge in a fast handling carbine IMHO.

280_ACKLEY
 
I tend to agree with bartell and Ackley.... a short action, big bore carbine with enough steam for Bears in the bush and more than modest reach for Moose or Elk.
I think the .338-08 will do well now that Federal has reinvented the cartridge as its own.
Even swamp stompers in the east will see the benefits of this all around thumper.
 
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