Is there still hope for the.338 federal?

Probably dead. You might look at the new 8.6 Blackout. It is somewhat similar to 338 Federal (ie same caliber) but the shoulder is moved back to allow use of longer heavier bullets while still fitting in standard 308 magazine length.

Readily available cases, bullets, and powder. Long ways from dead.

Maybe the burden is beyond your interest, but certainly, the 338 federal isn’t dead.

To true, I am still nursing 30 Remington AR along.

"No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it." William Turner

Undoubtedly a good round, but hair splitting differences between a 308 Win and a 358 Winchester. While these infinitesimal differences are hyped as wider than the Grand Canyon on cartridge rollout, there is absolutely nothing in terms of ballistic trauma testing from the ammunition companies. The only information I see is from consumers:



Sales hype emphasizes things easy to pontificate about on paper, however unless there is a significant improvement in wound cavity size and depth, why waste your time on a cartridge about to topple in the ash heap of history?

If you really want a 338 Federal just go for it. Stock up on lots and lots of brass and bullets. And don't forget the sizing dies and seaters. When the cartridge companies drop these cartridges, it can be decades between new cartridge batch runs. It took around a decade to find new 257 Roberts brass, and then the scalpers on Gunbroker had cornered the market. This situation is more common than not for niche cartridges.

Lee Reloading dies ($41.00) and a Lee Hand Press Kit ($60.00)... will let you reload your own ammo sitting at your desk or kitchen table . Midway USA or Midsouth Shooters Supply or Titan Reloading ... Place an order and the tools arrive at your door step .
When others wont do it for you ... some times you just have to do it yourself !
Gary

MISportsman said:

Yesterday I stopped into my lgs and the owner told me that .338 federal was dead and not to bother with it. Is there any hope left for the .338 federal?

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Brass is easily formed, .338 bullets are plentiful.

It's interesting cartridge and IF I wasn't already invested in my .350RM M7, I'd have one. In my mind it'd make the prefect woods rifle/carbine that may occasionally need to reach out some.

Pretty good article and video:

https://www.ronspomeroutdoors.com/blog/338-federal-cartridge

The only concern would be factory ammo.. Since I'm already working with a boatload of wildcats, obsolete cartridges, and have never shot a head of big game with a factory load, it's not something I loose sleep over.

IF I found either a BLR or Rem 760/760 pump in .308 at a reasonable price, I'd have it bored out to .338 Federal in a heartbeat.

MISportsman said:

Is necking up a .308 case to .338 as simple as using the sizing die that comes with the die set?

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As long as you have a tapered expander. Here's a decent thread from another board:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...topics/3782963/338_Federal_Reloading_Resizing

and a video, in the video he uses a mandrel, but a tapered expander works just as well.



Normally when I do any necking up I anneal first to reduce any chance of splitting necks.

The 338 Federal is a handloader's cartridge just like the 338-06. Components are readily available and it is easy to load for. Ammunition can be loaded just a cheaply as a 308 Winchester or 30-06. I don' t have a 338 Federal but if I did I would probably load it with 180 grain Nosler AccuBond's because they work really good in a 338-06. 47 grains of Reloader 15 would give it about 2600 fps. I have formed cases for my 338-06 running 30 caliber cases through a standard 338-06 full length sizing die but I now use a Sinclair mandrel like the one shown by Chuck R in post #9. Both of my 338-06 rifles have 22 inch barrels and that should work with a 338 Federal. I don't think you would be disappointed with a 338 Federal.

MISportsman said:

Is necking up a .308 case to .338 as simple as using the sizing die that comes with the die set?

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I MUCH prefer to fireform them up, I've had too many times when a tapered expander would leave one side of the neck thicker on one side, than it was on the other.

DM

MISportsman said:

Is necking up a .308 case to .338 as simple as using the sizing die that comes with the die set?

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Yes Sir ... Lee Dies have a tapered expander , lttle lube inside the 308 case neck and a trip through the 338 Federal Full Length Sizing die and ... Wah - Lah ... 338 Federal Case as pretty as you please.

I find that if you polish the tapered expanders of any/all brands of dies and use lube inside the case neck it realy makes sizing easier and reduces the pull of the expander ball ... chuck the rod in a drill and polish all parts super smooth .
Gary

OP, I feel your pain. In an AR its a nice thumper, but there is nothing I hunt here in Texas that would really benefit from something larger than the .308 and I already have all the big bore AR15s. I'm very partial to the .450 Bushmaster for hogs and general thumping duties but do most of my hunting with a lightweight .350 Legend or 6.5 Grendel in the deer woods.

I guess, as others have said, we will see if the 8.6 Blackout gains much traction. Still lots of .358 Win factory ammo around, and I have not noticed a big difference between the .338 and .358 when shooting them.

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/358-winchester

There are still plenty of AR barrels in .338 to be found (not sure if you were wanting a different platform) and components are still available so get em while the gettin' is good if you go that way. I thought long and hard on it earlier this year and took a pass.

Anything the 338 Fed does, a 308 does better. Look at your thumb. The thickness of your thumbnail is how much larger in diameter .338 is compared to .308. After bullet expansion there will be zero difference in the size of a hole in a game animal. Even with FMJ and no expansion I just can't see 3/100" making any difference.

The 338 Fed is a handloaders cartridge. You rarely see 308 factory loads with anything heavier than 180 gr bullets, but you can handload both 200, even 220 gr bullets in 308 to match the same bullet weights common in 338 Fed. The 308 doesn't top out with 150 gr bullets. You're going to have to handload for the 338 Fed too.

If you compare 200 gr bullets in a 338 Fed to 200 gr handloads in 308 the 338 will leave the muzzle a little faster and looks better on paper at the muzzle. But the more aerodynamic 200 gr 308 load catches up pretty quickly downrange and will match or beat the 338 bullets penetration at any range. And do it with less recoil.

But if you just have to have one, I'm sure brass can easily be made from 308 brass. I had a 338-06 for a few years and had no problems making brass from 30-06 cases. I'm sure 308 to 338 Fed would be just as easy.

Done and gone as a factory offering but will live on forever at the reloaders bench. I have been holding out for years trying to find a DPMS G2 Hunter in 338 federal. I even have about 800 185 grain federal fusion bullets I bought when the factory ammo was discontinued and they cleared them out.

Well, a member from another forum I frequent, recommended 338 Fed. when another member made a thread asking about doing 308 Win or 260 Rem. The first gentleman seems to think and even said, “The 338 Federal is the most well rounded cartridge of the entire 308 family” To which I responded, stating I don’t understand how that can be with only a few choices of loaded ammunition or bullet choice for reloading. Not to mention, the choices of bullet weights are basically 185gr or 200gr. It’s a great hunting round, sure! But so are 308, 260, 6.5 CM, etc., & etc. Also, the later 3 ALSO make very good Mid-along Range target rounds, where the 338 Fed is NOT. Great hunting round? Yes… One Trick Pony? Oooh yeah.

If the .338 Fed is dead then so is my .358 Win, which is to say neither are dead…..

….if you reload.

The only thing dead is any creature unlucky enough to find themselves on the receiving end of either of these cartridges.

.......you just have to BELIEVE!!!!!!






and reload like everyone else said lol.

MISportsman said:

I have been looking at the ballistics of the .338 federal lately and they look to be pretty decent. That paired with the light handy rifles they were made it it looks like it would be one heck of a woods gun. I

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The op was asking for comments about a woods gun. Having used several calibers for big game hunting including both 30 and 338 I find it hard to believe that more woods hunters haven't found the 338. Those bigger bullets are really efficient game takers.

I'd probably go with a 358win if I wanted "bigger than a 308".

If you're gonna go bigger, go bigger. It'll still reach out to pretty respectable ranges as well. I like the 338, but I like the 358 more.

If you are set up to reload , Lee dies and Lee Hand Press Kit , you are set up to take advantage of a good deal on the not so popular / hard to get ammo for rifles that pops up ...
I have always thought the 338 Federal was the perfect balance and I would jump on a Bolt Action deal so chambered . I like bolt guns because there is more reloading flexibility in them .
I didn't care for the AR concept in 1968 and still not a fan ... I'm a Bolt Guy and can't help it .
Gary

sage5907 said:

The op was asking for comments about a woods gun. Having used several calibers for big game hunting including both 30 and 338 I find it hard to believe that more woods hunters haven't found the 338. Those bigger bullets are really efficient game takers.

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^

This!

Just for chits and giggles I ran the numbers in Strelok as I built a "test rifle" just for doing comparisons like this.

Using Nolser Accubonds:

.308 200 grn at .588 BC muzzle velocity of 2450FPS taken from the Hodgdons site
.338 200 grn at .411 BC with a MV of 2700 taken from a couple different articles

The .308 200 grn does catch the .338 Federal at 450yds, which I guess fits the definition of "catching up pretty quickly downrange" for some guys. By then though both are down in the 1830 FPS where expansion might be iffy depending on the bullet. Woods distances, the OPs intended usage... moot.

Till 450yds the .338fedral has the advantage in velocity and energy. IF we are talking about a rifle for woods hunting, lets say a max range of 200, then at that distance the .338F is carrying 2328ftlbs Vs. 2029 for the .308. Cut back to 100yds (more realistic IMHO) and it's 2748 vs 2363 in favor of the .338F. Go up to a .338 225 Vs a .308 220 and the difference gets greater as the .308 looses more muzzle velocity. Bottom line, due to expansion ratios, the .338Fed will push the same bullet weights faster, whether or not the higher BC bullet even matters is a question of distance.

And IF you're one of those guys that worships on the alter of high SD, then use something like an A- frame or a Partition or a monolithic bullet. Then you can ask yourself "at what point when the bullet exited the animal did the lower SD matter?" because IMHO bullet construction trumps some mathematical formula based on diameter and weight... IF I really sweated SD I'd run around punching holes in animals using solids.

For all around, I'd go with a .308, but if I had those bases covered and I wanted something to thump animals up to the size of elk in a woods setting the .338Federal is a great cartridge. Going with an 8" TGT (reasonable for elk) and a 225 grn it's got a MPBR out to 275 yds and carries 1500 lbs out to around 450yds. Not too shabby for a short action woods cartridge.

338 is going to be a handloaders proposition. So what. For most of my life I have only owned one rifle that you could just run in anywhere and by ammo. That is a 30/06. Everything else has been best served by hand loading. 250 Savage, 257 Roberts, 300 Savage, 22 hornet, 7x57, 45/70. Yeah I know there are a ton of loads for the 45/70, but, there wasn’t when I had one. Finally have another center fire rifle that I can easily purchase ammo for. Bought a Ruger No 1 in 44 mag for hunting in the pistol cartridge only area and to add a touch of “ class” to the gun safe.

I havn't shopped for factory ammo in 15 years. When I am picking a cartridge I only look at brass and bullet availibility.

big fan here-have used for hog hunting and it smacked the crap out of them

Have a Savage msr with 18” barrel (big fan of it as well, very light for an ar10)

150 Fusion msr round out of my 16” barrel 2721 fps/2465#
185 Fusion out of the 18” barrel, 2764 fps/3137#

Devastating at any range Id ever use it for as a hog round

Recoil as far as i’m concerned is negligible vs 308

imo what’s not to like? i like to hit the hogs hard and it does that very very well