Who loves the .338 Fed?

S

squirrelshooter

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I have a dream. I want a MDT LSS with a 16 inch barrel chambered in .338 Fed. What rifle do I buy for the action? I was looking at 783’s or a Savage for cheap parts but I see I can make this work with a ruger American as well. Now I’m not sure….
 
Got one built off a Winchester 88 action. Great caliber imo. Have only taken a few deer with it.
Wouldn’t hesitate to take a moose or elk with it. I have a rem 700 22-250 I don’t use I might
I might build into another one.
 
I just took a 8 point buck yesterday with my rebarreled LH Ruger Scout. To be honest though, it sends a 215gr Sierra out at 2600fps but a double lung shot through the chest it still went over a 100 yards before piling up, same as most other calibres.
 
I had a couple... Ruger M77 Mark II Frontier with 16.5" barrel in Target Grey finish, but I also had the same rifle in .358 Win and the .358 was much more consistently accurate (for whatever reason), so I sold the .338 Fed. A few years back I also had a M77 Hawkeye stainless in .338 Fed, but traded it before I ever fired the rifle. In reality, heavy pills of 200 or 220 grain from a .308 will net pretty much the same result.
 
hoytcanon said:
... In reality, heavy pills of 200 or 220 grain from a .308 will net pretty much the same result.
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"pretty much the same result" I guess that's relative, but it really depends on what you want to do with it.

If you assume reasonable reloading work, there is a lot more versatility with heavy bullets for 338 Fed than with 308 Win. You run into case capacity issues pretty quickly with those long, heavy bullets in 308.

It's the exact opposite for lighter bullets: There just aren't many (any) choices for lighter bullets in 338.

I love the idea of the 338 Federal, and I'd build one if I had the funds available. But if you're hunting with it you've got to be careful with bullet selection - Many (most?) 338 bullets are designed with magnum velocities in mind, and that's clearly not going to happen with this cartridge.
 
alpining said:
... But if you're hunting with it you've got to be careful with bullet selection - Many (most?) 338 bullets are designed with magnum velocities in mind, and that's clearly not going to happen with this cartridge.
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And, there's the rub with the 338 Fed unless you stick with factory ammo that is designed for its velocity range.

Not only is the velocity much lower than that from magnums, but more importantly the rotational speed of the bullet is also considerably lower. This has the very real effect of reducing the expansion of bullets on impact.

Ted
 
I shoot federal premium 210 Noslers . The deer I’ve shot with it have been
Between 70-90 yards, all in the lungs and hit the dirt. The bullets I recovered mushroomed perfectly. That being said I also
Like the 308 win and I shoot federal premium 165-180 Noslers and 180 rem corelocks.
I’ve gotten the same results with those as well.
I think the 338 fed is a great cartridge for what it is.
 
I have a Tikka stainless with barrel cut to 20”. It shoots 185 ttsx very well. Nice rifle. Works good in the thick stuff or from the stand!
 
remington jim said:
AH Thxs I will try that load and RADAR it too ! RJ
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I loaded this one for accuracy not speed. Most shots with it are under 100yards. The 185’s shot pretty much hole in hole, others I tried were not good at all; 1 1/2-3” groups. I really need to use that rifle more. Its a great cartridge, especially for my application.
Jim, is your Federal factory barrel length? 22”?
 
I wouldn't take a 338Fed over a 308. Too many more bullets in 30cal that are designed to work properly in a 308.

Nothing to be gained with a 338Fed.
 
I used to have one in a Tikka T3. It was an awesome rifle, accurate, fast handling and hit game like the hammer of God !! I used Federal Premium 180 Barnes Triple Shock loads in it and was extremely happy with it, but then Federal discontinued that load, and I tried reloading for it but no matter what recipe I used, I could never get anywhere's close to factory velocity/performance. So.. I sold it.
 
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