338 Federal should be about dead by now

[Drilling Man]

It is not about a .30-06 either! I am sorry, I am not buying that the same weight of bullet, with a similar construction at the same velocity it much better shot from a mistical .30-06. How many bears have you shot with the .338 Federal to come to your conclusion. Again, I don't have one, but I really don't believe they are any better or worse than anything else when shooting the same weight and construction of bullet down range as any other round.

  I've shot enough big game including big bears with the .338-06 to know what happens when a .338" bullet hits the animal at different velocities, includeing reduced velocity.  Wouldn't that slower .338" bullet be equil to the federal?  Bottom line is, you need heavier bullets than 200 grain in .338" to perform like a 200 grain .308" NP.

  You are ASSUMEING that the .308" NP is of similar construction to the .338" bullet, (it isn't) yet you are dismissing how the increased diameter of a .338" bullet, affects the bullet.

  Go out and shoot a few big bears like i have, and then come back and report your findings, like i have.

  DM

[Harry Snippe]

Well
I do hunt with a 338 Federal and am pleased how the cartridge performs . I am not asking it to take down a huge bear nor kill an animal over a great distance . That job may go to the big Mags .
As far as here  the eastern bush , I feel the cartridge does as well as the 308/358 Winchester offering @ moderate ranges for which it was intended . We do not ask the 30/30 to harvest a deer beyond 150/175 yards , so Why does the 338 F need to kill a 2000 LB beast in the eastern bush?
I am not prepared to take the 300 WM anywhere where the shots would be from 75 to 200 Yards nor would I take a 30/30 on a moose hunt with in that range.
The 338 F gets the nod and the job done .Think you need to first hand see what the cartridge can do.
After that if you rather have a 338 WM or the 338/06 , then be my guest . If I was out in the plains I would probably carry a 300 WM or a 300WSM  for mule dear and a 505 Gibbs for those things that go creep creep in the night .

[nomosendero]

Why not just shoot a .338 WM then. I would be curious how the .30-06 shooting a 200 grain NP @25-2600fps so out performs the .338 Fed shooting say a 215 Swift Scirocco @ 25-2600fps, which both will do.   How many bear have you shot with the .338 Fed compared with the .30-06 with bullets of similar construction? I have never hunted bear, I have no problem admiting, but I think I would lean to the .375 Ruger/ H&H if I was hunting something that thought that I was food! FYI in the Finnland and Sweden the 6.5 X55 kills more moose than any other round, so it does not take a cannon to kill a moose.

Well, that's an easy one. With bullets of equal const, the higher Sectionl Density (SD) wins. The 338 Scirocco is a 210 actually, anyway the SD is .263 & a 200 gr. 30 cal is .301, the difference between .263 & .301 is dramatic!  Also, the Scirocco is designed to expand wide, which limits penetration even further, so no contest on this one.
Also if you want a fairly flat shooter, a 338 Scirocco with a BC of 507 isn't bad, but the BC of the 200 Accubond at .588 spanks it major!


DM is right, to do better with a 338 bore, you need more powder.

 But for Harry's application it's fine.

[swifty22]

Sorry, got in on the end & didn't read all but, I have used a 338-06 and a 340 Wby for over 20 years and there are a lot of similarities and differences. They both kill very well as I have never lost any animal w/either and have used 260g cast LBT's @ 2000 FPS and 250g X bullets in both as well as from 180 NBT's to 275g Speer's from 3200 down to 1800 . The only reason I use the 340 is that I love it! @ 11# and shoots 1" w/most anything. I't is a kicker in lighter rifles so my HVA 338-06 @ 7.2# scoped gets carried a lot more, but if you load it up w/heavy bullets it kicks. If I was going to have a light rifle in this bore the 338/08 or whatever would be my choice now. One thing they do do is leave a good blood trail to the beast, no matter how big it is or from what angle it is shot. I'm pretty sure a 338 Fed w/225 Nosler PT's will do the same thing. Still have a week of late buck in NE WA, hope to tag out the last day in the late afternoon and the bullet will be .338 (maybe 8mm) or larger and a minimum of 225 gr, cast or jacks. Long live Elmer Keith!-Muddy