i'm thinking of getting a 338 fed. barrel for my tc encore .and wanted to hear from some people who shoot and hunt with that caliber.


who has a rifle in 338 fed?
who reloads the 338 fed?
and what kind of recoil are we talking about?
thanks

I won a T3 tikka in a .338federal last winter at a banquet, already owning a 338wm I didn't really need so i sold it to my hunting partner. I have shot this gun a bit and its recoil is not bad IMO. To draw a comparison like a 06 with 200 gr bullets, no where near my win mag that's for sure. So far we have found it shoots 200gr hornady's with varget and RL15 powder. It'll better MOA out to 200 yards, 300 it opens up but still respectable. Have not shot beyond that and that is not his intend for this rifle any way. MV is around 2600fps, not a barn burner but an effecient hunting cart out to 300. No kills besides paper to date but he's hoping to change that in the next few weeks chasing bear and then elk opens the 15th.

Only pee off here is finding head stamped brass for it...we have resorted to forming 308win brass to the 338 federal specs. Not a problem for him as he doesn't own a 308 but may be for one who does...of course finding the proper brass may not be an issue either.

Hope it helps.

I have the TC Pro Hunter SS 338 Fed. Love mine. I have mine topped with a Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44. Shoots better than I do. I have a 338 Win Mag, and the recoil is not comparable. Recoil on 338 Fed more like a 270 or 308 imo.

I have the dies for it but haven't had time to work out a load for it as of yet. Have been shooting the Barnes 185 g TSX Federal Premium Ammo. They grouped really well and as always terminal performance was beyond what I could expect. Barnes bullets is all I hunt with for many years now. Bull Elk I shot had complete pass through with this bullet/load combination.

As for source of brass and range practice ammo the Fusion's shot well for me, and recently picked up some of the generic American Eagle made by Federal haven't had a chance to shoot them yet though.

thanks for the info. keep the updats coming. i would like to hear somemore real world hunting performance stuff.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/...3/m/4461093631

Here's a link to a lot of discussion on the .338 Federal.....some good humor too!

still have 2. One on a savage action and one sako 85 in a McMillian stock. I wouldn't trade mine for nothin. To be fair I HAD a tikka that would shoot 1/2 MOA that kicked like a mule and the muzzle jump was in line with a high jumper. That one went on it's marry way. I've shot 4 deer with them. a doe that went maybe 15 -20 yards, a 8 point that went 20-25, and a 8 and a 9 that were DRT. I would be prepaired to reload if you don't already. Someone mentioned brass, just neck up 308 or if you don't like that neck down 358 win it's available from midway as a seasonal run every now and then

thanks for the info. i do reload alot and i am looking forward to hunting with this round this year. i have quite a few calibers in the stock pile to choose from, but i ALWAYS go to my old 30/06. it has put more meat in the fridge and heads on the wall then all my others combind.

It like kills them really dead. Not just dead, but like 50 BMG dead. Puts a hole in em that is like 38/1000's bigger than a '06. Every numbnuts that owns one is going to say how great it is. Every guy that sold one will say it didn't amount to squat.......