338 Federal?

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  • Aaronious45

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    I'm looking into a new deer rifle and saw the Savage Hog Hunter. I like them, they have good reviews and they're a bit shorter than others.
    They have them in 338 federal which is a 308 necked up to 33 cal. Since I'm a fan of bigger heavier bullets I'm kinda interested.
    Y'all shot these our have any experience with them?
     

    SAWMAN

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    I have shot an AR with a 338Fed upper. (They are the 308 sized gun) It is simply a 308Win necked up to .338". I believe that the OAL stays the same also. The recoil seemed about like a 308
    There has been some discussion/debate about the terminal performance. I believe that it is a good chambering for black bear,moose,and the bigger deer,but I also feel that it will not come close to a 338Win mag.
    I believe that it has earned a limited following because of the short action used,but looses some because of being used in the heavier AR10 sized AR's. If you wanted an AR with somewhat more energy delivery than a 308Win or all of it's "neck downs",I feel that the 338Fed would be a great chambering for a AR type gun. Especially given some of the excellent bullets to come out as of late.
    While the 338Fed is interesting,for me,in a bolt gun,I would just stick with the 308Win and go up to the 180gr+ bullets. This,if your ranges will be close to medium. If longer I would mount a scope with target turrets and do the "click ups". If I wanted a elk gun at the medium ranges there are (IMO) much better choices in chamberings.
    ADDED: I have a buddy that is a guide in Maine and he loves his 338Fed AR. He has been using his gun for 4 years now. ----SAWMAN
     

    SAWMAN

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    Are you set on a bolt gun ?? That hog hunter is still over 40 inches OAL. Maybe a lever gun in 45-70 or 444Marlin. Or even chambered in 348 or 358Win.
    Lever or bolt gun,all you need is 16 inches of bbl. Possibly 18. Cut the LOP down to "short" (13 inches max,12.5 would be better). Now you got yourself a short,somewhat light,heavy hitter.
    Or . . . . . . . ??? ----SAWMAN
     

    Aaronious45

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    Thanks saw man. I don't usually have any shots over 100 yards but I'm looking into a new camp in evergreen that I hunted in as a kid and killed quite a few at 300+ on clear cuts.
    So it's basically the same as a 308 with a heavier bullet option
     

    Aaronious45

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    Price is another issue, so lever guns other than 3030 are kind of out of the question as well as ARs.
     

    SAWMAN

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    Understood . . .
    Same only differen't. 308 that is necked up to (yep) shoot a heavier bullet. Look thru the lightest bullets offered in the .338" caliber. IIRC,around a 200 is offered. Even with this "light" of bullet the Fed would not have any advantage over a 308Win well loaded with a 165-175gr bullet. Remember also . . . you will have to buy or make some brass. For a bolt gun,about 50pcs should do. Me . . I would buy new to ensure neck thickness.
    With a 308 gun you will have tons of firearms to choose from. Take a look at the Ruger American COMPACT line of guns. The trigger of those guns are worth another $200 considering how easily they can be turned into the very best aftermarket trigger in 10 minutes.
    Another option is the 300Win mag for sale here. Those Brownings are accurate guns. (I have owned them in the past) You could always load it down,or going the other way,they will shoot a 220gr fairly fast.
    You got allot to think about sir. ----SAWMAN
     

    Welldoya

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    Unless you are a reloader and just like to "tinker" I would stick with more common chamberings.
    A good bolt rifle in 30/06, .270 or .308 is hard to beat.
     

    Aaronious45

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    Update...I found a new MVP flex in 308 so I went with it after y'alls recommendations(308)..stock comes off easily and collapses for travel and it has a crazy good trigger.uses ar10 mags... I should be able to fit it in a back pack for motorcycle hunting this coming season
     

    no woryz

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    reviving this....... Sawman... I've started looking at the .338 Fed as an alternative to the .45-70 for a 300gr subsonic suppressed 150yrds & in thumper and really only for this... talk me outta it..... why?? because I already own a .338 suppressor & dont have a subsonic lead chunker....of all the .338 wildcats, this seemed the most versitile... and the savage 110 seems like an interesting rifle... btw.... still loving your old ,220 Swift.... flat out awesome rifle.... and I do mean flat.... lol
     

    Telum Pisces

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    reviving this....... Sawman... I've started looking at the .338 Fed as an alternative to the .45-70 for a 300gr subsonic suppressed 150yrds & in thumper and really only for this... talk me outta it..... why?? because I already own a .338 suppressor & dont have a subsonic lead chunker....of all the .338 wildcats, this seemed the most versitile... and the savage 110 seems like an interesting rifle... btw.... still loving your old ,220 Swift.... flat out awesome rifle.... and I do mean flat.... lol

    You still need a 45-70!!! You can shoot mine anytime. But you need your own! No better feeling gun stomping through the woods!

    :)

    Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk
     

    SAWMAN

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    Not really an "authority" on the surpressor suff . . BUT . . just a couple of thoughts.
    The 338Fed is a great chambering. You get more "power" just by necking up the old 308Win and changing powders somewhat. In a bolt gun it should do great . . . BUT - - ->
    * You will only realize it's greatness with a long barrel. Of course for sub a short bbl is ok,but if you want this gun to do double duty as a far out killer,you want to go long. ONLY subs,stay or cut to 16 or under (SBR) for a short pkg with surpressor added.
    * Mag length ?? Any worries there ??
    * The 300 thing . . . I'm guessing they wont work sub/surp'ed. As you know the inflight stabilization of a bullet depends on several things. The weight. But really more about the length. The 300gr offerings are super long. Can you say . . "BAFFLE STRIKE !! Also getting them to stabilize on the edge of sub/super. Especially at 150yds. Guessing . . I'm gonna say . . NO WAY.
    They are also expensive and forget about any of the "no lead" offerings. They would be waaaaay too long.
    NOW . . . step down a few grains in weight. 250'ish . . . and that would be a possibility. Even further saaaay 225-235gr. And yeah !! I'd say entirely doable.
    And don't forget about the single shots. They equate to the same OAL gun but with longer bbl. (No action to speak of.) GREAT for a sup. No gas and/or mag length worries either.
    Let me know what you find out and what you end up doing. ---- SAWMAN
     
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    no woryz

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    Not really an "authority" on the surpressor suff . . BUT . . just a couple of thoughts.
    The 338Fed is a great chambering. You get more "power" just by necking up the old 308Win and changing powders somewhat. In a bolt gun it should do great . . . BUT - - ->
    * You will only realize it's greatness with a long barrel. Of course for sub a short bbl is ok,but if you want this gun to do double duty as a far out killer,you want to go long. ONLY subs,stay or cut to 16 or under (SBR) for a short pkg with surpressor added.
    * Mag length ?? Any worries there ??
    * The 300 thing . . . I'm guessing they wont work sub/surp'ed. As you know the inflight stabilization of a bullet depends on several things. The weight. But really more about the length. The 300gr offerings are super long. Can you say . . "BAFFLE STRIKE !! Also getting them to stabilize on the edge of sub/super. Especially at 150yds. Guessing . . I'm gonna say . . NO WAY.
    They are also expensive and forget about any of the "no lead" offerings. They would be waaaaay too long.
    NOW . . . step down a few grains in weight. 250'ish . . . and that would be a possibility. Even further saaaay 225-235gr. And yeah !! I'd say entirely doable.
    And don't forget about the single shots. They equate to the same OAL gun but with longer bbl. (No action to speak of.) GREAT for a sup. No gas and/or mag length worries either.
    Let me know what you find out and what you end up doing. ---- SAWMAN

    thanks for the thoughts.......great insight.... I was looking to capitalize on already having a .338 supp so I was interested really just in subsonic.... I hadnt considered the lenghts of the 300gr in .338 so didnt yet realize the problem it would be but i do see your point...as far as lighter bullets, i can already shoot 220gr sub in a 300 blackout I already have so I'll keep looking for a 300gr option....as far as platform, no AR style.... like a bolt rifle but did see the Henry single shot and that looks pretty doable also.... I'll do some more digging and post some options... thanks for the advice...
     

    SAWMAN

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    There are members here like Bruce and Ken that have a bunch of expierance with sups/subs. Not sure if they have done anything over .308" or not though. And not sure how a 220gr 308 compairs to a 300gr 358.
    As stated,the slower you go,the more bullet length matters. Twist rate is another consideration. The 338's are 1:10 IIRC. If you could build a sub/sup dedicated gun with 8 twist (~) bbl,you could easily shoot the 300's.
    Same with most any chambering/caliber.
    If I wanted a dedicated sub/sup gun it would be a single shot,throated for the 220-250gr,chambered in 308Win,with a 1:8 twist.
    If you did this on an T/C Encore frame you could actually have multiple bbls in different chamberings. Especially in the bigger bore guns (>.308") the twist rate is everything if you plan to use a heavy for caliber bullet. Your velocities are predetermined,so bbl twist is all that is left. ---- SAWMAN
     

    FrommerStop

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    I wonder what was wrong with the now old 358 winchester which was also based on the .308 winchester case. I have always been partial to the 30-06 with 1 in 10 twist that worked with 110 to 220 grain slugs. I guess the USA just needed a .338-308 based round which is fine. The thing is that few people ever wear out rifles and the best way to sell new ones is invent new cartridges that they convince people that they must have in a new rifle of course.
     

    SAWMAN

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    Yeah . . . great example are the 6 and 6.5Creedmoor.
    Answer to a problem that never existed given the 234Win and 260Rem. --- SAWMAN
     

    FrommerStop

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    Yeah . . . great example are the 6 and 6.5Creedmoor.
    Answer to a problem that never existed given the 234Win and 260Rem. --- SAWMAN
    I do not have an AR10, but I thought creedmore cartridges were designed for optimal function in these semiauto rifiles. But you are certainly right about these being very similar and many are using these in bolt guns that work just fine with the 243 and 260 and a lot of other similar rounds.
    While I do not own a .243, i think it is an excellent cartridge, especially for hunting here in the south.
    Most people just follow the crowd and the hype.
     

    SAWMAN

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    Never heard the thing about the 6.5C being "designed for optimal function" in a large AR frame. I do know the the 6.5C fanboyz have pushed and pushed until about every weapons manufacturer offers one in a bolt gun or three. Many more bolt guns than AR's that's for sure.
    It is really starting to get "old" hearing about the ballistic effeciency of both the Creedmoor chamberings. Frankly,anyone that knows even just a little about ballistics knows the truth.
    And another thing (and this is a REAL good one),how many Creedmoor shooters will EVER (!!) shoot their guns out to 1000yds ??How about even 600 or 300yds ?? Hey doooode,I got a Creedmoor and that's all that counts,right.
    Please understand . . . if you desire a Creedmoor,for whatever reason . . . buy one. Shoot it. Have fun with it. Hug it. Kiss it. Have sex with it. But please don't try to convince everybody that it is the end to every ballistic problem that could ever come your way.
    Another good one - - -> I am hearing some civilian police SWAT snipers are wanting/useing the 6.5C. What's up wit dat ?? I suspect that the departments have their chiefs convinced it is for those 1000yd sniper shots. --- SAWMAN
     

    FLT

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    Yes Sir , I think that about covered it. I was starting to think I was at a big disadvantage not owning a Creedmoor.
     

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