Tell me your 500+ yard .338 Federal kills

[megastink]

I'm thinking this caliber will be my next build. I'm thinking Rem700, grayboe Trekker, carbon fiber 24" barrel and brake. Going for Ultralight killing power. I'd like to hear about your deer, bear, and elk kills with the .338 Federal past 500 yards. I know the round will do well inside of that. Pictures are a bonus.

This rifle has the potential to replace my current Savage 111 .270 win as everyday carrying rifle. I also have a heavy 7mm Rem Mag, and 6.5 Swede that likes lighter bullets. I think I'd get a barrel with an aggressive twist rate for 215+ gr pills. Looking forward to hearing from the community.

 

[WeiserBucks]

What makes you think that you need an aggressive twist for 215+ grain bullets?

 

[megastink]

What makes you think that you need an aggressive twist for 215+ grain bullets?

Because I'm not sure exactly what size bullet I want to shoot yet. But I know I want the energy down range that that size and larger delivers.

 

[adam32+P]

Because I'm not sure exactly what size bullet I want to shoot yet. But I know I want the energy down range that that size and larger delivers.

You won't push a big .338 bullet fast enough out of a Federal casing to take advantage of a faster twist barrel.

If you want downrange energy, step up to a bigger cartridge.

 

[WeiserBucks]

You can stabilize a 300 grain bullet with a 10 twist, but the 338 Federal isn't suitable for bullets that heavy.

 

[AkBirder300]

I don't know about hunting deer but my hunting partner LOVES the 338 federal, he has 3. His family has killed multiple Alaskan animals with them, caribou, Buffalo and dall sheep, but none were at your intended range. When he had to take a long shot (621) on a moose he didn't grab the Fed, he picked up his 300WM.

YMMV but there comes a point where it's just not worth stretching the ballistics beyond what a round was designed for and it's time to step up in cartridge size. My friend is now doing a 338 Sherman Max to overcome the limitations of the Fed.

I find this gentleman's work very enlightening, you might consider his excellent write up on the 338 Fed., which I agree is an under rated cartridge overall, but not really suited to "long range".

.338 Federal

.338 Federal history, power and performance

www.ballisticstudies.com

 

[Jonoton]

At that range and target game, a WSM in 300, 7, or 270 make more sense to me.
I do love the idea of a light and compact 338Fed, though! I just think that the cartridge is a bit limited in what it can do at range due to sectional density, velocity and BC.

 

[MZmoose]

My friend has killed several elk and black bears with his. He loves the cartridge and shoots a 210 ttsx. But he says it's a 300 yd or less load

 

[bamban]

For my buddy from Slidell, LA I turned down and chambered (what a pain to do in a manual lathe) a 338 Federal M1a barrel from a blank for his swamp hog hunting. He plans to take it to KY to shoot Whitetails on those long power line clearings. His favorite killing field is right up to 600 yards where deer were previously taken with 300WM at that spot.

 

[Wolf76]

There isn't enough powder in the case to make a 338 federal a 500+ yard hunting gun (especially for big game). If you want a 500+ yard 33 cal cartridge, you should start at a minimum of 338 winchester. There is zero chance of this being the right tool for the job you described.

 

[ofbandg]

My wife shot .338 Federal for years. It was a Tikka T3 and it was very accurate and light to carry. I loaded the 185 Barnes for larger game, moose and elk, and the 160 Barnes for deer size game. The 160 grain load could be steamed up to 3000 fps but it doesn't really have the BC for long range carry, although it might exceed 500 yards.

 

[chutinlead]

There isn't enough powder in the case to make a 338 federal a 500+ yard hunting gun (especially for big game). If you want a 500+ yard 33 cal cartridge, you should start at a minimum of 338 winchester. There is zero chance of this being the right tool for the job you described.

I've tried 400yd shots with my 338WM(with only an untuned BDC reticle) and that was tough. I would think the .338Federal would be about like expecting to kill stuff at 500yds with a 300Blackout.

 

[nwhunter]

If I were trying to make a 338 federal shoot 500 yards, I would probably try to load it with the 175 grain hammer hunter load as fast as you can push it, seems like 3000+fps should be possible.

 

[peaceje]

You won't get a 175 to 3000fps, but the 160 will get there. 185s run around 2700-2750. As mentioned earlier the 160 doesn't have the bc for long distance work and the velocity drops too fast for effective opening with a Barnes. I have played with the 230 Eldx in a 338 fed tikka and it has the potential for 500 yards, but my gun didn't like the combo and then I ran out of 230 eldx's There is a great thread on this site on the 338 Fed reloading and you may have seen it but it's worth a read. Highly underrated caliber IMO. I just picked up a savage AR in 338 fed that should make a good bear stand gun for my son using 210 partitions.