.338 Federal

.338 Federal
.338 Federal between .308 Winchester (left) and .358 Winchester (right)
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Federal Cartridge / Sako
Manufacturer	Federal Cartridge
Produced	2006
Specifications
Parent case	.308 Winchester
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	.338 in (8.6 mm)
Neck diameter	.369 in (9.4 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.454 in (11.5 mm)
Base diameter	.470 in (11.9 mm)
Rim diameter	.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness	.049 in (1.2 mm)
Case length	2.01 in (51 mm)
Overall length	2.75 in (70 mm)
Primer type	Large rifle
Maximum pressure	62,000 psi
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 180 gr (12 g) AccuBond 2,830 ft/s (860 m/s) 3,200 ft⋅lbf (4,300 J) 185 gr (12 g) Triple Shock 2,750 ft/s (840 m/s) 3,105 ft⋅lbf (4,210 J) 210 gr (14 g) AccuBond 2,630 ft/s (800 m/s) 3,225 ft⋅lbf (4,373 J)
Test barrel length: 24" Pac-Nor Source(s): Nosler Load Data, [1] Hodgedon Reloading Data Center [2]

The .338 Federal is a rifle cartridge based on the .308 Winchester case necked up to .33 caliber. It was created by Federal Cartridge and Sako in 2006 and intended as a big-game cartridge with reasonable recoil for lightweight rifles. ^[3] .338 Federal can fit SR-25 pattern magazines but requires some modification for reliability ^[4]

Comparison

The .338 Federal was designed by Federal Ammunition and it is a SAAMI standardized cartridge that was released in 2006. In the table below is a comparison between the .338 Federal and the older .358 Winchester, another cartridge based on the .308 Winchester.

.338 Federal Performance Comparison

Cartridge	Bullet Weight		Muzzle velocity		Muzzle energy		Load [a]		Recoil in 8 lb (3.6 kg) rifle
	gr	g	ft/s	m/s	ft·lbf	J	gr	g	ft·lbf	J
.338 Federal	210	14	2,630	800	3,225	4,373	47	3.0	23.42	31.75
.338 Federal	180	12	2,830	860	3,200	4,300	47	3.0	21.84	29.61
.358 Win	200	13	2,490	760	2,753	3,733	49	3.2	20.07	27.21

See also

• .338 Lapua Magnum
• .338 Marlin Express
• .338 Ruger Compact Magnum
• .338 Remington Ultra Magnum
• .338 Winchester Magnum
• 8 mm caliber
• List of rifle cartridges
• Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
• sectional density

Notes

1. Load values specify typical powder weight for this level of performance.

References

1. "Nosler Load Data" (PDF). Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
2. "Take Aim at Rifle Reloading Data | Hodgdon Reloading". Archived from the original on 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
3. Cartridges of the World 11th Edition, Book by Frank C. Barnes, Edited by Stan Skinner, Gun Digest Books, 2006, ISBN   0-89689-297-2 pp.75,104
4. "Successor to the Scout: Q's 8.6mm Fix". YouTube . 14 April 2023. Archived from the original on 2024-06-14.

External links

• Peterson's Rifle Shooter magazine reviewed the .338 Federal in a Kimber 84M in "Truly Useful: The .338 Federal."
• Chub Eastman of Guns & Ammo has an article on reloading the .338 Federal: ".338 Federal: Federal's first proprietary cartridge makes real short-action sense" Archived 2008-09-23 at the Wayback Machine (2 Feb. 2007). He also wrote of using it to hunt antelope in New Mexico.
• Chuck Hawks reviewed the .338 Federal in, "First Look: The .338 Federal Rifle Cartridge"
• Sheriff Jim Wilson of Shooting Times magazine reviewed the .338 Federal in a Sako rifle and tells of his experience hunting whitetail deer with them "In The Field With The New .338 Federal".
• Buck Pope of GunWeek reviewed using the .338 Federal in a Sako Hunter Model 85 and his use of them to harvest a 225-pound wild boar and an 8-point whitetail deer "The New .338 Federal Is Big News for Big Game"
• Buck Pope of GunWeek reviewed the .338 Federal in a Ruger Model 77 Mark II Frontier in "Ruger M77 Frontier Rifle In .338 Federal Test Report"
• Jeff Quinn of GunBlast.com reviewed the ArmaLite AR-10T in .338 Federal in "ArmaLite AR-10(T) Match Grade .338 Federal Semi-Auto Rifle" (14 Aug 2008).