338 federal bullets

I don't have one but a friend has a Kimber. He bought it for his wife; so I recommended 185 grain Speer at reduced velocity. The rifle is really nice and weighs only 5 pounds.

I've used the 200gr Speer. NOT the 185gr Hornady.

I like the Speer. I use it in a .338/06. Loaded over RL15 for 2,800fps. I've shot several deer and it did nicely. BTW, it's the least expensive big-game bullet for the .338. It's also a VERY good bullet. No problem with expansion, no over expansion or separation.
I could get along nicely with only this bullet. Only in Alaska would you need more/better/heavier. It's as accurate as anything I've shot in my rifle.

However, you might be better served by the 180gr Nosler AccuBond. Faster, flatter trajectory. More powder room in the limited.338Federal case. My rifle likes the similar discontinued 180gr Ballistic Tip. I bought out Ga Arms when I found their stock.
Also, don't overlook the 200gr Hornady FTX. It's profiled and cannelure set for the .338ME, but it has an outstanding B.C., and expands readily at 1,700-2,500fps impact speeds. I've used it in my two .338ME. Ignore the cannelure. It shoots well in my .338/06, too,
For large game, the 210gr Nosler is outstanding and is the single most destructive bullet I've ever shot a deer with. More than a 180gr Remington Corlokt from a .300RUM at 3,300fps.
It's also the only bullet you'll ever need for a .338Federal. Use the 200gr Speer over same powder charge for practice/deer. Use Nosler for elk, or bigger.

I also liked the Sierra 215gr BTSP. The most accurate bullet I've ever fired from my .338/06 is the 225gr Sierra ProHunter. I bought several hundred about 12yrs ago from Grafs, as over runs from a commercial order, CHEAP!
Sierra now offers it as a regular catalog item.
Besides, I've got odd boxes of various 225's and 250's I've picked up on close-outs, going out of business, flea markets, yard sales. AND, I've got two bullet molds for 200,220gr .338". Lifetime supply on hand...

I'd recommend you lay in a good supply of TAC powder. It's "THE" powder for the .338Fed.

IMO, the .338Fed is the only/last hunting rifle you'll ever "NEED".
Want, is an entirely different matter...

WHY buy a .338 and load it with the lightest bullets available?

Built a .338-06 twenty years back...basically similar to the Federal round. With 250 gr NP's it killed everything I hunted in RSA in 2000 cleanly, with zero drama. From 80 pound Impala to a truly large, Livingston Eland. With blue and black wildebeest and waterbuck in between.

The next year I killed the largest elk in all my years with the same rifle and 225 Nosler Partitions, at 335 yds.

I think the key to the big bores is a heavy for caliber bullet, at a modest velocity. But, no arguing that todays bullets, of any weight are so superior to standard old cup and core slugs of a generation ago. I just don't get building/buying a medium bore, then turning it into a thirty caliber with 180/200 gr bullets.

WHY buy a .338 and load it with the lightest bullets available?

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Good point that a lot of people don't understand. With similar bullet weight in different calibers the smaller caliber always wins. With 150 gr bullets a 270 easily beats 30-06 with 150's. The 30-06 doesn't see any advantage until you go to 180's. Same when you go up to 33 caliber. If you're shooting 180-200 gr bullets you'll get better results in the 308 than 338 Fed. You don't see any advantage until at least 225 gr bullets are used.

In the same, or similar bullet weight the larger diameter bullet is shorter and with less resistance inside the barrel is capable of a little more muzzle velocity with similar powder charges. But at the same weight the smaller diameter bullet is longer and will always penetrate deeper on game. It is also more aerodynamic and will make up that speed within around 150-200 yards.

As far as making a bigger hole, the difference between a .308" hole and a .338" hole is about 3-4 sheets of paper.

FN and jmr are going back to Elmer Keith's day when a large simple soft nose was pretty much The Answer to big game. The gimmick bullets of that era didn't work very well. Today's gimmick bullets are more effective, so when you get tired of being kicked around by 250 gr bullets, you can kill game with a 180.

Me? I think North American hunting rifles pretty much peaked out with the .30 Army and the .300 Savage.

Jim Watson said:

FN and jmr are going back to Elmer Keith's day when a large simple soft nose was pretty much The Answer to big game. The gimmick bullets of that era didn't work very well. Today's gimmick bullets are more effective, so when you get tired of being kicked around by 250 gr bullets, you can kill game with a 180.

Me? I think North American hunting rifles pretty much peaked out with the .30 Army and the .300 Savage.

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Guilty as charged...I surely worshipped at the altar of KEITH as an impressionable youngster. Funny thing was, as I gained years and hunting experience...most of what he preached ended up being TRUE.

The funny story on my .338-06...

I finished my .338-06 literally hours before we left for RSA in 2000. Barrel was late getting in, it finally arrived and my Smith put it all together just before we were to leave. I loaded up some 250 NP's using data from a book. Shot them at night to sight it in, using the spotlight on my patrol car. Couldn't get a chrono to read so went with the top load from my available data. Several hours later we were on a plane. Get to RSA, tip over everything we shot at with one shot.

Get home and find out my 250's were coasting along at BARELY 2400 fps. And they killed just fine.

I started shooting a .338-06 in the mid 70's, (.338 mag. and .34o Wby. before that) and I've shot a lot of big game with that round, from brown bears and moose on down...

200 Speers are fine for deer and caribou, but for what a .338-06 was made for, (brown bear and moose) I like 270 Speers and 250 NP's...

I shot this moose two times with 250 Speer Gran Slams,



both bullets came apart... G slams are in NO WAY comparable to an NP!!

As for how it does at 3 or 4oo yards, I have NO idea because I'm a "hunter" NOT a "sniper" and I absolutely will NOT snipe at big game, period!

DM

The problem with heavy bullets in the .338Federal, is limited powder space, making heavier bullets too slow to expand at impact velocity at normal hunting distances.
i.e.: 100-300yds.
Nosler and Speer don't list data for the .338 Fed over 225gr.
Top speed capability with a 250gr bullet is about 2,300fps with a 24"bbl. most have 22" or shorter barrels, hence perhaps 2,200fps m/v. Most 250gr .338" bullets are intended for the .338winmag, at 2,500fps m/v.
With a 250, the .338Fed would be limited to about 150-200yds for reliable expansion. Which rather defeats the purpose.

I can tell you from experience that .338" bullets don't just bounce off anything.
Frontal area increases by 1/2(3.14)radius-square. In other words, the .338 isn't 10% bigger than a .308, it's 30% (or 1/3) bigger (frontal area).
The momentum of a 200gr bullet at same speed as a 150gr is significantly greater. Not noticeable on a 150lb deer, but quite noticeable on a 500lb animal.
Again, everything else equal, bigger is better...
Or, as Jack O'Connor once wrote, "it tends to make them flinch a bit more when hit"...(.270 vs .30/06).
My "little" .338's are two Marlin .338MarlinExpress. Case capacity is slightly greater than the .338Fed, but pressure limitation is lower due to Marlin action. (45,000psi +/- vs. 57,000psi). I get 2,600fps from 24" MXLR, (24"stainless) 2,540fps from MX (22"bbl blue) with 200gr FTX. The closest factory loaded cartridge are the .338Fed or European loaded 8x57 Mauser.
Not exactly "tossing nerf balls"...

Anyone who has read my postings on this forum knows that I am a devoted 30-06 user and I don't think you can find a better all around rifle for big game. I also have 25 and 27 caliber rifles but they do not have the knock down power of the 30 caliber. I do think there is a place for a larger diameter bullet and I also use a 338-06. The rifle is a pre 64 Model 70 with a 22 inch barrel. The total weight with scope and sling is 8 1/2 pounds which makes it easy to carry. I knew when I planned this combination that recoil would be noticeable so my plan was to use only 180 and 200 grain bullets and I have stuck to this plan. My current load is the 180 grain Nosler AccuBond with 54 grains of IMR 4064. This rifle will shoot a 180 grain bullet at least 100 fps faster than a 30-06 and still have manageable recoil. My primary use is for deer and hogs but we do have elk in our area. My other load is the 200 grain Speer HotCor and they will work for anything. You can't go wrong with either of these bullets. It's interesting that the extra recoil of this light rifle is felt in the trigger hand. It whops the front of the trigger finger into the front of the trigger guard so it's good to wear a glove. This doesn't matter because I only use the rifle for hunting. Great caliber.

sage5907 said:

My current load is the 180 grain Nosler AccuBond with 54 grains of IMR 4064. This rifle will shoot a 180 grain bullet at least 100 fps faster than a 30-06 and still have manageable recoil. My primary use is for deer and hogs but we do have elk in our area. My other load is the 200 grain Speer HotCor and they will work for anything. You can't go wrong with either of these bullets.

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I don't think I would go so far as to say "anything", but perhaps "anything" YOU have in YOUR area...

DM

I use Nosler 210 grain Partitions. The cartridge was originally optimized to work best with 210 grain bullets though heavier work just fine.