Best .338

sestoppelman said:

Curious what apples and oranges comparison leads you to the conclusion that the .338 Fed will outshine the 9.3 at 3-400 yds out. If you take a 250 gr, light for caliber slug in the 9.3 and drive it easily to 2500 fps you have, given a bullet of about .490 BC, a Nosler: you have a 300 yd drop of 9.8 inches and remaining energy of 2220 ft,/lbs. Take a 225 gr .338 slug, about max useful for the little .338 Fed, drive it to 2400 fps, given a BC of about .470, you have a remaining 300 yd energy of 1800 ft./lbs and a drop of 10.8 inches. At 400 yds, the 9.3 still shows a distinct advantage. Perhaps the .338 may make up some ground well beyond normal shooting ranges for the hunting field but so what? Most of us have no business sniping animals with hunting rifles beyond 300 yds anyway. So where is the advantage to the Federal in either bullet drop or remaining energy? Even if you use the heaviest normal weight in the 9.3 of 286 grs, it still holds it own way out there.

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Lbarr265 said:

Which is why I said "will have the potential for greater cavitation" Energy transfer of a bullet is a function of speed (aka initial energy), bullet cross sectional area, bullet initial shape, material encountered, and bullet construction. With the number of bullets out there, and variety of game, and the difference in shot placement it is impossible to set enough variables to make quantitative statements about energy transfer between the two rounds. One round may pass between the ribs of an animal, encounter a minimum of muscle tissue and only really hit lung tissue which is mostly air, whereas one may hit several bones in the shoulder and stop before leaving the animal. I was merely agree with the previous gentleman that a .416 can kill much faster than a 338, but it has a much greater potential for destruction to start with so it is not as straightforward of comparison like two different .338 caliber rounds would be.

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Mark R said:

Can't see why anything other than a 338 Win Mag is required...... In something like a Model 70 Super Grade would be about perfect I think.... Mine is a Ruger.

Cheers,
Mark.

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JakeH said:

At least using factory loads, the 9.3x62mm, .35 Whelen, and .338 Federal are all close enough with their heaviest weight loads to not worry about the difference. The 9.3 hits the hardest, but the .338 Federal catches up with it past 300yds and has a flatter trajectory.

As for the .338 Federal vs the .338 Win Mag, I've started looking at that comparison like that of the .30-06 vs .300 Win Mag. You gain 100yds extra yards of performance by switching to the Win Mag, but your shoulder is gonna pay the difference.

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Michael Dean said:

Tomorrow morning I'm going to the range, one of my objectives is to fine tune my 338 federal. 98% of all shots are taken at ranges under 300 yards. The 338 federal will do everything any other 338 will will do in this range. The 210 Nosler AccuBond is a wonderful bullet and is perfect for the 338 federal. The federal delivers a great bullet at the ranges that most hunters hunt. I don't understand why people beat themselves up with the recoil of a 338 Winchester Mag when they can accomplish the same goals shooting a rifle that's a pleasure to shoot. One of the biggest effects to accuracy is recoil, excessive recoil adversely affects way too many shooters. This is but one of the many reasons I've chosen the 338 federal for my medium weight gun. There are 101 different elements that affect accuracy, when you can eliminate one without sacrificing anything it's a pretty easy decision to make.

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brettp said:

338 federal definitively cannot deliver what a win mag can. A 210gr bullet at 2,630 is not at all the same as a 250gr at 2650.

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Michael Dean said:

A 210 grain bullet cannot deliver what a 250 grain bullet at comparable speeds will deliver. That being said, a 210 grain bullet will penetrate a Moose or Eland leaving a wound channel that will effectively and cleanly kill said animals. What I'm saying is a 210 grain bullet will deliver everything and more, the animal will be just as dead as with a 250 grain bullet. Accuracy is far more important than the extra weight of the bullet. What I'm saying is the average hunter will shoot a 338 federal more accurately than they will a Winchester Mag.

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kudukid said:

View attachment 202072

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brettp said:

I've shot a lot of 338 win mag. I'm looking to build a 340 wby now. I want the extra thump in Africa.

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brettp said:

I've shot a lot of 338 win mag. I'm looking to build a 340 wby now. I want the extra thump in Africa.

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JakeH said:

I'd go with the .338 Win Mag. With 200gr Trophy Bonded Ballistic Tips you're getting .270 trajectory but delivering more energy at 200yds than the .270 has at the muzzle!

The .338 is a remarkable round that carries a number of factory loads in a variety of bullets. I wouldn't hesitate to own one, and if I didn't intend to hunt Africa I'd have one before I had a .375.

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