338 federal

quoting chuck hawks here...

Federal took their new .338 in a different direction than the .338x57 O'Connor, choosing to maximize performance rather than control recoil. This will make for better advertising copy, which we are already seeing: "200 feet per second more velocity than a standard .308," and "provides the energy of a 7mm Rem. Mag."


How else can a 338 be driven at 200 more fps than a 308, unless it has more powder? I am not talking about handloads, this is factory. If you want to talk handloads, we can, but since the fella askin about the round didnt say he handloaded, i didnt assume as much.
 
You all know none of this is new.
30/06-270-35 whelen-338-06;

308-7mm/08-358-33-08/or 338 federal-

lots of others too.
My rule of thimb is; up to 165 grain/308 case is fine for me,180 and up, I want a 06 case. that is just for my use, I am not saying the others aren't just fine. and am not bad mouthing a big bullet in the 308 case, just not for me.
CD
 
My understanding is that the 338 Federal is loaded to higher pressure than the 308. The 308 case will not hold any more powder when necked up, but specs allow it to be loaded hotter.

edited to add: I looked everywhere, and found specs of 62,000 PSI maximum on Speer's website.
 
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You have to be carefull that both specs are equivalent. Most 308 specs are in CUP which is not readily convertible to PSI. If they are both in PSI no problem.

Jack
 
I think the pressure makes more sense to what I am trying to say, I know the case sapacity is the same, but it would make sense that something has to be changed to get the higher velocities.( i am sure no expert when it comes to reloading and such) As far as recoil goes, if it is a more powerfull round, in the same weight gun, its going to kick harder. Now, for those that shoot a ton, a 308 doesnt kick at all, i know mine doesnt. its about like a 30-06, i can shoot em all day long. but you step it up with the bigger bullets, and increase the pressure, or powder (assuming the factory loads are not maxed out) it will kick more. Can it still be manageable, sure, but everyone handles recoil differently.
 
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