338 Federal

[kamml]

Bought a Savage Hog Hunter in 338 Federal today from Davidson's. I always wanted a 338 Fed for my battery, I recent traded away my 70's vintage 444 Marlin to a friend who needed a straight walled cartridge for hunting in Ohio and I thought this would be an interesting ad accurate rifle to play with in its place. I have another old Marlin in 35 Rem that is a great shooter so the 338 is a good addition. But what really shocked and surprised me this afternoon when I was looking for a rifle was that looking on Davidson's almost everything is sold out. Page after page of "out of stock," Remington, Mossberg, Browning, Winchester, Ruger, regardless of caliber. I am flabbergasted who would have ever have thought of the scale of the rush to firearms that America is going through. I guess we have some very dangerous years ahead so folks are preparing. I mean "wow" that is all I can say.

BTW the CDC has recommended that kids do not "Trick or Treat" this year, but attending demonstrations and funerals of judges is ok. That recommendation goes to the crapper quick.

 

[EastTNHunter]

Always thought that it was a cool cartridge. Let us know what you think of it when you shoot it

 

[JCDEERMAN]

There has been a shortage on guns and ammo since March.

As far as the 338, my dad has a 338 mag and it is a beast. More gun than anything you need to kill around here. You did well with a Savage - my favorite rifles

 

[KPH]

I have a CZ in 338 Fed. need to get out and shoot it.

 

[Cull Buck Hunter]

I picked up a Remington 700 on a trade that had a Hart 338 Federal barrel installed by the previous owner and I love it. It's very accurate for a hunting gun, but it does have a bit of recoil with 200's.

 

[kamml]

Yeah that is sort of expected. I have been looking for Barnes 160's and everyone is all sold out. 33 Cal must be a popular caliber for assault rifles. :lol: I am going to try the 180gr. loaded for 2300-2400 fps first to see if that brings the recoil down to a more comfortable level. I don't look forward to 23-24 lbs of recoil force fun. I have ordered Leopold twist lock bases and rings because of the hearty recoil to use with my Viper 3-9 Vortex. I bought a box of 200gr. Fed. Fusions to get it on paper. Its hard to beat a Hart barrel, I have heard that they are very accurate and on of the best.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Always thought that would be a really cool caliber. Let us know how you like it over time.

 

[kamml]

My brand new 338 Federal turned into a brand new 338 Win Mag Hog Hunter. I have decided to keep it anyway, cause you know who ever dies with the most guns wins. Besides I need a strong medium bore for the battery. I bought some Federal 225gr and Win 200gr loaded ammo so that once I work up the courage to shoot the beast I will take it to the range. Looking at the recoil charts it ranges from the high 20s to mid 30s in foot pounds recoil. Whew, that sounds like just a bunch of fun. The same chart listed 30.06 180gr at 20 fps. I have bought 338 bullets weighing from 185 - 220 so once the newly ordered empty cases come in I can load some of the lighter bullets to 2400-2500 fps to reduce the recoil a little bit. I read one review that said the 338 200gr SST's are a good DRT load for deer. So that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

 

[Sniper]

What happened to the 338 federal? Seems like a great deer round. I have a 338 RCM that I really like. The 338 Win Mag is a classic great round and you load up or down as needed.

 

[kamml]

Well I thought that since Davidson didn't list the 338 Hog Hunter as a Win Mag it must be a listing for a Federal. I didn't pick up on the 111 designation that I know means a long action. That was the give away. So I got-ended up with the WIn Mag. But you are right its a fine cartridge and I can load it down to minimize the recoil. Curious, this is the first 111 I have seen with a blind mag. I am going to swap it over to a Boyd's long action At 1 stock I have on a built 111 Savage I put together with a heavy 6.5 cm barrel years back. I built the rifle for long range work with a Bison Works 26" tube but never really got in to it like I thought I would. Later I bought a Weatherby Vanguard (Howa) 6.5 cm that is a great shooter, so I never went back to the custom 6.5. Now I can put that adjustable stock to good use and its a quite a bit heavier than the Tupperware Hog Hunter stock too. That will help with the recoil.

 

[kamml]

338 Win Mag Hog Hunter

OK I pulled the old 6.5 cm heavy barrel out of the safe and dropped its At 1 stock. I had forgotten I had a spiral fluted bolt and tactical bolt handle on that 111 action so now I will pull both bolt handles apart and swap some parts around. The 6.5 bolt face is smaller than the 338. The Hog Hunter barrel is a 20" heavy contour so the barrel channel on the At 1 may need some barrel channel relieving but I want to shoot it first and see how accurate it is before messing with it. I bought Leopold twist lock bases for the Hog Hunter but for some reason I did not get the rear screw adjustable base. Fortunately the old Creedmoor has another type of Leopold base, the flat base that spans the action with twist locks and a Bushnell target scope. I will swap these bases out for the Viper I bought for the Hog Hunter. I am pleased this plain old 338 Win Mag may turn out to be a very neat rifle yet. Plus my Winchester empty cases came yesterday and I have 2K mag primers and plenty of powder to choose from so maybe this week I will load some 180's and 200's to try next weekend. And if the Vols win today, it will be great day despite the rain. :super: