New cartridge - .338 Federal

M

Mike Irwin

Staff
This is a cartridge that I've been dreaming about for years!

A .338 bullet seated in a .308 case!!!

http://www.federalpremium.com/default.asp?pg=31

The specifications indicate what I always knew about such a cartridge -- that it has great performance capabilities and will make one hell of a hunting cartridge.

The most recent issue of American Rifleman has an article on the new cartridge, and it's already making quite a buzz on the internet.

A few days ago I mentioned a .338 wildcat based on the .300 Savage case, and there have been .338-08 wildcats in the past, as well. They've all offered excellent performance in compact guns, and I've always wondered why no one has run with the concept given the popularity of the .338 Magnum, and the .340 Wby's cult following.

I now have a new dream project...

Obtain a fairly recent Savage 99 in .308, and have it rechambered...
 
F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
Mike, ya been under a rock? Not really brand new, but ok, "new". Sure does look like a good, efficient hunting round, with reasonable recoil.
 
M

Mike Irwin

Staff
Freedom,

No, I realize the concept isn't new. If, however, you mean that word has been out on the street about the .338 Federal for awhile, no, I didn't hear about it until I opened the recent American Rifleman.

The concept has been around since probably the 1950s, when a few people started seating .333-dia. bullets in expanded .300 Savage cases, paralleling the work that Elmer Keith was doing with what would become the .333 OKH.

When .338 bullets became available, along with the .308 Winchester, any number of wildcats sprang up.

I have for years felt that a .338-.300 or .338-08 would come very close to being the PERFECT Eastern hunting cartidge. Federal's ballistics bear that out...

I first became aware of the .338-.300 Sav. wildcat in the late 1970s/early 1980s. A friend's father built one in the 1960s, and it was a GREAT performer.

Back in the early 1990s I was with American Rifleman I tried to pitch this concept to representatives from Savage and Remington. To say they weren't interested is, well, a HUGE understatement.

I'm very happy to see that Federal has the guts to try to legitimize this cartridge.
 
J

Jack O'Conner

New member
I recently bought a used Browning BLR in 243 for a good price. Planning to have it rebarreled for this new 338 cartridge after the first of the year.

Jack
 
O

orsogato

New member
Yep, .338-08 is a great woods cartridge. The wildcatters have known this fo a while now.

You may also want to think about re-bbling the Savage 99 to .358 Win. I'm not sure why this cartridge is becoming less popular to American shooters but its a good one.

Orso
 
M

Mike Irwin

Staff
Orso,

You may want to read Bryce Towlsey's write up on the .338 Federal in the most recent issue of American Rifleman magazine.

He gives a GREAT explanation as to why the .358 never really made it.
 
Z

ZeroJunk

New member
After some expansion problems with well placed,high speed .284 and .308 bullets.And some great success with.430 bullets poking along at 1700 FPS .I am slowly wandering toward the "fatter" bullet philosophy.Should be perfect for eastern deer hunting,the 35 Whelen being a little much.
 
W

Wildalaska

Moderator
99E drilled and tapped 18 1/2 inch barrel (has been cut down), ya want it rechambered too :)?

WildithinkwehaveareameronorderAlaska
 
F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
Yeah, there's been a few threads on the .338 federal in the past 6 months or so. But they're still getting the word out on it. Hmm, a Savage 99 in this round - yes, yes, that would rock.
 
P

P-990

New member
I'm thinking a .338 Federal barrel for a TC Encore, about 20-22" long should be about right. Have it throated to take 210gr Partitions seated WAAAAY out and top it with a low-power variable. Hmmmm... I have an Encore, wonder if Fox Ridge has a reamer? :p

Yeah, I like the looks of this one. It's either this or a standard .308, but I'm not really a "standard" kinda rifle-crank! :cool:
 
F

FirstFreedom

Moderator
Here ya go:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=201967&referrerid=36767

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213489&referrerid=36767

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211851&referrerid=36767

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208784&referrerid=36767

http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/am...ew-cartridge-338-federal.html?referrerid=6134

http://www.glocktalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=475060&referrerid=49164

P.S. If you search at www.boardtracker.com , instead of using TFL's search, and then grab the advanced search and limit the domain to thefiringline only, it works better than TFL's search. That is to say, it works. Correctly. :)
 
P

pesta2

New member
Ruger

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR), is proud to announce two significant additions to the family of Ruger® Target Grey M77 Mark II Frontier rifles. The compact, fast-handling Ruger M77 Mark II Frontier rifle, with its distinct barrel rib for forward-mounting of intermediate-eye-relief scopes, is now available in the new .338 Federal and tried and true .358 Winchester
 
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