Rifles

When Federal finally introduced a cartridge with its name on it at the 2006 SHOT Show, everyone was surprised. In the past, it had always been Remington or Winchester who came in with new and interesting designs. For some reason, each has tried to make things bigger, fatter and faster almost to the point of overkill with cartridges the majority of shooters and hunters have to clench their teeth to shoot.

The new .338 Federal, however, is an eminently sensible cartridge designed for a light, short-action rifle that equals or exceeds the performance of some popular standard-length cartridges without the punishing recoil delivered by some of the latest hyper-velocity magnums. The basic design is nothing new, as RCBS and Redding have been making dies for the .338-08 for years on a custom basis. The new .338 Federal is simply a .308 Winchester case necked up to .338 with the same 20-degree shoulder angle and 2.80-inch overall length. It's very similar to the older .358 Winchester--which was an excellent midrange cartridge in itself. But the .338 Federal has a larger commercial selection of bullets available, especially for the reloader.

At present, both Sako and Kimber chamber rifles for the .338 Federal. However as shooters discover its versatility I'm sure other manufacturers will follow in short order. The .338 Federal with its 2.80-inch OAL is also an ideal candidate for a Savage Model 99 with a shot-out barrel--or any other short-action rifle that needs a new tube.

Federal offers three factory loadings for its new cartridge. First is a 180-grain Nosler AccuBond at 2,830 fps. Then there's a 185-grain Barnes Triple-Shock at 2,750 fps. Finally, there's a Nosler 210-grain Partition at 2,630 fps. When shot from a 24-inch pressure barrel, the average for each of the three factory loads registered close to 100 fps less than advertised.

With so many variables affecting performance such as altitude, humidity, temperature and barrel length, it was not that much of a surprise--nor should it be construed as a shortfall of the cartridge. When you compare the new .338 Federal with the old .30-06, the performances of equal bullet weights are very close. The advantages to the .338 Federal are that the cartridge can be used in a short-action rifle and the bullets have a larger frontal area.

For the handloader, the .338 Federal is an easy cartridge to reload--either with factory .338 Federal brass or reformed .308 Winchester. brass. If .308 brass is used, nothing more than a quick pass through a .338 Federal full-length sizer is needed. Trim to 2.00-inch length to square up the case mouth and it's ready to go. If military brass is used, it's a good idea to start the loads 10 percent under because of the difference in inside case dimensions.