New cartridge ".338 Federal"- any opinions??

DONDALINGER

I was reading about a new cartridge recently developed called the .338 Federal. It is a .308 necked up to take a .338 bullet. According to the article, the trajectory is nearly identical to the 30-06 using 180 grain bullets. Anybody know anything about it? I am considering one for my son. I'll either get him the .338 Fed or the 30-06. I prefer the .338.

dcloco

Are you going after dangerous game?

If not, stick to the 06. Has the largest number of available factory loaded ammo and largest selection of bullets if you reload.

Pinhead

There is nothing new about the .338 Federal except Federal's name on it. It's been around for a few years and Federal just now decided to put their name on it. It should make a good round for heavy cover stuff and maybe pigs. The old .358 Winchester would do for that also. Its one of those cartridges that really isn't needed but will probably develope a following. The 30/06 will do just fine for me.

temblor

They have been wildcating the 338-08 for years. It's a decent round but nothing special. I prefer the 338-06 myself. -- If you want something similar that would be cheap for your son to practice with alot just get him a Remington 700 Classic in 8mm Mauser ( 8x57). It's .323" diameter vs .338" for the Federal cartridge, and in the strong 700 action it can be loaded up to it's potential. Case capacity in similar. Plus you can buy cheap surplus ammo and practice/plink cheap. After you wear the bbl out it is easily rebarreled to a host of other calibers with the huge supply of popular Remington parts availible........food for thought................[8D]

He Dog

Another wildcat someone decided to offer commercially. .30-06 is prefereable for greater variety and availability of cartridges. If you need a .338, get a .338.

DONDALINGER

Thanks for everyones input. I have a 30-06 and a .338 RUM and reload for both, I just prefer the larger diameter bullets for some reason. Thanks temblor for the 8mm info. I am not real familiar with that cartridge and will do some reading on it. I have an article from Ken Waters about the 8mm that I have never read. I was interested in the new .338 because I felt my son (soon to be 17) could handle it better (recoil) than the bigger .338's. He is an excellent marksman and I don't want him to develop a flinch from the harder kicking guns. He has been using a .44 Deerfield and a 7.62X39 bolt action with good success, but has been asking for something bigger, so I think this year I'll get him something. I'll probably end up getting him an 06 for versatility.

Ray B

There is an article on the Wildcat 338/08 in either Rifle or Handloader 3 or 4 years ago. as expected it performed a little less than the 338/06. I don't see a great deal of use for it- since depending on what I'm chasing I'm probably going to prefer a 308 or a 338/06 or other cartridge.

ern98

Where the 338Fed might be really good is in a custom Savage M99. It would probably be a little better then the 358win and if you could come up with a ratted out .308win M99 the conversion shouldn't be all the tough. A fast handling M99 in that bore size might be just the ticket for thicker cover situations while still having good reach for some midlen long shots, say 150yds or so. It would depend on the combo of velosity vs bullet weight that it was loaded with.

leeblackman

A .338cal bullet in a .308 case. Like everyone else pretty much said, its been around as a wildcat cartridge for a while. I'm glad someone finally made it an offical standardized cartridge. I really like the idea of the .338 winchester short mag better. Same action length more case capacity.

leeblackman

Of coarse if you really want a .338cal rifle with some power get yourself a nice .338/50 talbot. Its a 50bmg case necked down to a .338cal bullet. Will slap a 250gr bullet at 3700fps with 7625ft-lbs. Now thats a dangerous game rifle...