Anyone interested in a .338 federal conversion?

[hellcat]

Is anyone interested in having a .338 Federal conversion for the M? I've been researching this round a bit lately, and am pretty impressed with the ballistics and possible uses for it. While at extreme long range it may not have as flat of a trajectory as the .308, few people will be shooting 1,000yds with thier XCR. From what I've read, the .338 Fed pushes a 180gr Nosler Accubond at 2830 fps, a 185gr Barnes Triple Shock X at 2750 fps, a 200gr Power Shock sp at 2700 fps, and a 210gr Nosler Partition at 2630 fps. According to a Chuck Hawks article I read, with the 210gr loading this is a 200yd Grizzly cartridge, and good for Rocky Mountain Elk at 300yds. I seen some claims that the round in general rivals the 7mm Mag at closer ranges. Best of all, its a 308 case necked up to .338, so a conversion kit should be relatively easy to make, and 19-20rd 308 mags could be used. Ammo is not terribly expensive, starting a little over 17 dollars a box online, with the highest in the low 40's.

[popups]

I think the .260 Remington is better. 6.5 bullets fly better. A 6.5 Grendel would be "better" than .308 at distance. So a 6.5mm with a larger case is better yet. But speaking to longer ranges, 600m plus.

For shorter range than I guess the 338 is better for close range just based on bullet weight. However, it all depends on the targets. Just because it has more energy doesn't mean it is the right choice. There is video out there of people using a .50 to hunt and that didn't work out like they thought.

Than you have factor throat erosion.

[dont_tread_on_me]

Different cartridges for different purposes.The .338 would be ideal for large game hunting,the.260 for long range stuff.Also throat erosion is typically worse the smaller the bore given the same case capacity equivalents.I think the .338 would be great for those looking for a big possibly dangerouse game hunter.

[hellcat]

The 338 is definitely not a long range round. However, I just looked at Federal's ballistic page which had information on cartridge performance out to 500yds. Up close it has a noticable advantage over the 308, while at 500yds thier pretty equal. Both in terms of energy and drop. All of the .338 loads have over 1,000 ft lbs at 500yds, and top out a little over 1,200 ft lbs. So all in all, not bad. In one review the guy said it shoots a lot like the 30-06, trajectory wise anyhow. I'm interested in it mainly for hogs and deer. Might try bear hunting someday, and it would make a nice, powerful carbine if I was hunting in wooded areas. If I hunt extreme long range, I'll break out my .50 BMG

[SDDuc996]

I am totally interested in a .338 Federal. But in an upper that I can mount to the CM901 when I eventually get one.

One platform, soooo many caliber and barrel length opportunities.

From what I've read as well, .338 would be good for Elk and bear which was what I was looking for. I seriously need to get into reloading.

[mjorin]

I spoke to Alex quite along time ago about conversions for the .338 Federal and the .358 Winchester. He said something to the effect that he wasn't sure the rifle could handle it. I'm not sure what he meant and I should have ask him to expound. That was a couple of years ago and maybe I misunderstood. I was a little bummed as I am a big .358 Winchester fan. I have a wicked little Mauser conversion in .358 that I bought off of a lttle old lady that used to shoot elk with it! ;D

[hellcat]

I asked Alex recently about it, and he said so long as its based off the 308, its a possiblity. If enough of us request it, maybe he'll work up a conversion.

[wombat338]

I think the .260 Remington is better. 6.5 bullets fly better. [b]A 6.5 Grendel would be "better" than .308 at distance. So a 6.5mm with a larger case is better yet. But speaking to longer ranges, 600m plus.

Not really. Here's a comparison from Hornady's website that is reasonably close to apples-to-apples (same bullet construction and barrel length):

6.5 Grendel 123 gr A-MAX®
Test Barrel (24")
Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
2620/1875 2435/1619 2257/1392 2087/1190 1925/1012 1770/856
Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 2.20 0.00 -9.00 -26.00 -52.50

308 Win 155 gr A-MAX® Match™
Test Barrel (24")
Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
2850/2795 2639/2397 2438/2045 2245/1735 2062/1463 1887/1225
Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.80 0.00 -7.60 -22.10 -44.90

308 Win 168 gr A-MAX® Superformance® Match™
Test Barrel (24")
Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
2840/3008 2647/2613 2462/2261 2284/1946 2114/1667 1951/1420
Trajectory (inches)
Muzzle 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.70 0.00 -7.50 -21.60 -43.60

The Grendel is a great cartridge for an intermediate, but it can't match the .308 in trajectory or energy -- even the weaker of the two .308 loadings above easily surpasses it.

[wombat338]

The 338 is definitely not a long range round. However, I just looked at Federal's ballistic page which had information on cartridge performance out to 500yds. Up close it has a noticable advantage over the 308, while at 500yds thier pretty equal. Both in terms of energy and drop. All of the .338 loads have over 1,000 ft lbs at 500yds, and top out a little over 1,200 ft lbs. So all in all, not bad. In one review the guy said it shoots a lot like the 30-06, trajectory wise anyhow. I'm interested in it mainly for hogs and deer. Might try bear hunting someday, and it would make a nice, powerful carbine if I was hunting in wooded areas. If I hunt extreme long range, I'll break out my .50 BMG

I like the .338 Federal on paper -- great performance out to medium range, plus mild recoil for something shooting heavy bullets. Would probably make a good addition to the -M lineup. I haven't shot one myself, but I considered chambering a scout-style bolt gun in the cartridge (until Hornady released their .338 RCM, which I went with instead). However, when you're comparing cartridges you may want to define your terms. Am not sure which loadings you were looking at on the Federal website, but all things being equal (bullet weight and construction, propellants, barrel length), the .308 will shoot slightly flatter (higher BC, and similar case capacity).

And whoever the guy in the review was, he should probably stick to his day job, assuming he isn't a ballistician.

[hellcat]

I did a side by side comparison of Federal .338 and .308 loads using Nosler Partition and Accubond, along with Barnes Triple Shock bullets for comparison. At 500 yds they were often within a couple inches or less when using the heavier .308 loads. The guy that wrote the review actually has a .338 Fed, so I'm guessing he has at least some knowledge of what he's talking about. Its been somewhat hard to find anyone with real world experience. Heres a video I found using the 338 for hunting.