338 Federal 200 Grain Trophy Ballistic Tip Reviews
Here'due south what yous need to know about the .338 Federal and .358 Winchester and how they stack up to their parent cartridge in the .308 Winchester.
Most hunters and shooters in North America are probably familiar with the .308 Winchester cartridge as well as cartridges like the .243 Winchester and 7mm-08 Remington that are descended from it. Nevertheless, the .338 Federal and .358 Winchester are also well designed brusque action cartridges descended from the .308, but are not nearly as well known.
Indeed, the .358 Winchester was one of the first cartridges designed using a modified .308 Winchester case while the .338 Federal is a relatively new SAAMI standardized rifle cartridge. Though they each have their limitations, both cartridges offering certain advantages when compared to their parent cartridge.
In this article, I'm going to do a detailed comparing of the 338 Federal vs 308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester in order parse out the differences between those iii cartridges and then you can make an informed decision regarding which one will piece of work best for y'all.
Before we get started, I have an authoritative note:
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338 Federal vs 308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester: History
Winchester unveiled the cartridge we now know as the .308 Winchester in 1952.
The product of a search past the U.South. armed forces for a new cartridge to supplant the venerable .30-06 Springfield after World War Ii, the new .30 caliber Winchester cartridge (and the extremely similar vii.62x51mm NATO cartridge the armed services eventually adopted) was well-nigh exactly as powerful as the .30-06. Nonetheless, the newer cartridges used a significantly smaller package.
Indeed, the original vii.62x51mm NATO M80 ball load fired a 146 grain full metallic jacket (FMJ) bullet at 2,750 feet per second (two,469 human foot pounds of muzzle energy). The 7.62x51mm NATO had near the same ballistics every bit the original .thirty-06 Springfield load (150 grain bullet at 2,700 feet per second) and as well fired a .308″ bullet. However, the 7.62x51mm and the .308 Winchester both accomplished that performance with a much shorter case (51mm vs 63mm) due to advances in powder technology that occurred after the development of the .30-06.
Though the .thirty-06 remains quite pop among big game hunters, the .308 Winchester has steadily grown in popularity over the ensuing decades equally well and is now also one of the most popular and commonly used centerfire rifle cartridges in the globe.
Equally is the instance with many well designed cartridges, the .308 Winchester has served as the parent for many wildcat and factory derivative cartridges. The .243 Winchester, .260 Remington, and 7mm-08 Remington are among the near popular cartridges descended from the .308 Winchester these days and utilize a modified .308 Winchester case necked down to 6mm (.243″), 6.5mm (.264″), and 7mm (.284″) respectively.
Unveiled the same year as the .243 Winchester all the way dorsum in 1955, the .358 Winchester also uses a modified .308 Winchester case. Instead of necking the case down to use a smaller bullet though, the designers at Winchester opted to use a .308 Winchester case necked up to .35 caliber.
Shooting heavier and larger .358″ (ix.1mm) bore bullets, only still fitting in a relatively meaty bundle like the .308 Winchester, the .358 Winchester had a lot of potential. The original load of a 200gr Silvertip at nearly 2,500fps was significantly more powerful than the .35 Remington and offered a like level of performance to the heavy hitting .348 Winchester.
Though the .348 Winchester was just available in the older Model 71 lever action rifle, the .358 Winchester was initially offered in the more than modern Winchester Model lxx and Model 88 rifles.
Unfortunately, the .358 Winchester cartridge never actually took off with the full general hunting community.
It initially gained a reputation as a good "woods cartridge" for hunting medium game. While the .358 Winchester certainly performed extremely well in that role, information technology was much more capable at longer ranges than many people gave the cartridge credit for.
Even so, the cartridge remained dove-holed as a "wood" or "bush cartridge" in the minds of many hunters and shooters and it never really defenseless on as an all-around big game hunting cartridge in the hunting customs at large. Though information technology'due south notwithstanding hanging around, the cartridge has profoundly declined in popularity in contempo years.
Undeterred by the fate of the .358 Winchester, Federal took a stab at building a new cartridge using a necked up .308 Winchester case in the early 2000s. Formally released in 2006, the .338 Federal was the first cartridge to carry the Federal name.
Using a .308 Winchester case necked up to use .338″ bullets, the .338 Federal is advertised equally having more muzzle energy than the 7mm Remington magnum, and shooting flatter, retaining more energy, and having less recoil than the 30-06. Oh, and the .338 Federal does all that while at the same time plumbing fixtures in a short length rifle action as well.
308 Winchester vs 338 Federal vs 358 Winchester: Cartridge Sizes
The shared heritage of the .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester are obvious in the photo below.
As you can meet, the three cartridges are extremely similar in appearance: they have the same rim diameter, the same example length, and the same 20 degree shoulder bending. Though they take different overall lengths, they are still very similar in overall size and all fit in a short action rifle.
Non surprisingly, all three cartridges take very similar case capacities.
Bullet size is the biggest distinguishing factor between them. The .308 Winchester uses .308″ bullets, the .338 Federal uses .338″ bullets, and the .358 Winchester uses .358″ bullets.
Additionally, all three cartridges have basically the same maximum force per unit area.
Every bit a description, SAAMI uses two methods of measuring pressure: crusher and transducer. The pressures listed for the .308 Winchester and .338 Federal above are both measured using the transducer method while the .358 Winchester pressure was measured using the crusher method. SAAMI has published pressures for the .308 Winchester using both methods, only only has published data using the transducer method with the .338 Federal and but crusher method for the .358 Winchester.
All that being said, the .338 Federal and .308 Winchester both have the same published maximum average pressure of 62,000 psi using the transducer method. At the same time, the .308 Winchester and .358 Winchester both take the same maximum average pressure of 52,000 CUP using the crusher method.
Therefore, for all intents and purposes, nosotros can treat all three cartridges as though they have the same maximum pressure.
308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester vs 338 Federal Ballistics
Though the differences in the external dimensions of the .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester are relatively minor, there are some interesting differences in their ballistic performance though.
This is illustrated in the tabular array below comparing Buffalo Bore, Federal Fusion, and Hornady factory ammunition loaded with 150gr (.414 BC) and 180gr (.503 BC) Fusion Soft Point bullets in .308 Winchester, 200gr Fusion Soft Point bullets (.416 BC) in .338 Federal, and 200gr InterLock Soft Point (.282 BC) bullets and 225 gr Barnes Triple Shock X (TSX) bullets (.359 BC) in .358 Winchester.
All five loads used a 200 yard zero.
Non surprisingly, the 150gr .308 Winchester load has the flattest trajectory of the bunch. Interestingly, the 180 grain .308 Winchester and 200gr .338 Federal loads have almost the exact aforementioned trajectory, but the .338 Federal has more kinetic energy all the fashion out to 500 yards.
Both .358 Winchester loads have more kinetic energy than both .308 Winchester loads at short range. That advantage is specially pronounced with the Buffalo Bore load. However, both .308 loads use more than aerodynamic bullets and take a higher muzzle velocity, so they have a flatter trajectory and surpass the .358 Winchester in the energy section equally they travel downrange.
The .338 Federal seems to fit something of a "sweet spot" out of the three cartridges though and clearly offers a definite, though not gigantic ballistic advantage over the other two. It has a markedly flatter trajectory and retains more kinetic free energy at all ranges than the .358 Winchester.
While the 150gr .308 Winchester load does have a somewhat flatter trajectory than the .338 Federal, the .338 Federal has near the aforementioned trajectory as the 180gr .308 Winchester load and has substantially more kinetic energy than both .308 loads from the muzzle out to 500 yards. This is not also surprising though considering that the .338 Federal is firing a 200gr bullet 100 fps faster than the .308 is firing a 180gr bullet.
What about the claim that the .338 Federal has more than cage energy than the 7mm Remington Magnum?
Muzzle energy varies depending on the exact manufacturer and load we're talking nearly, but for the most role, yeah, information technology's accurate to say that the .338 Federal has more than muzzle free energy than the 7mm Remington Magnum.
For case, the .338 Federal load above (200 grain bullet at 2,700fps) has iii,217 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. Federal has ii 7mm Rem Mag loads in their Fusion line: a 150 grain bullet at 3,050fps (3,098 ft-lbs) and a 175 grain bullet at 2,760fps (ii,960 ft-lbs).
That beingness said, the 7mm Remington Magnum chop-chop surpasses the .338 Federal in the free energy department as the bullets travel downrange. Furthermore, that claim only applies to the standard .338 Federal Fusion load, non the Fusion MSR (modern sporting burglarize) load the company as well manufactures (185 grain bullet at 2,680fps for 2,950 ft-lbs of energy).
Ok, now lets go back to the .338 Federal vs 308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester give-and-take.
The chart below compares how much a 10 mile per hour crosswind impacts those aforementioned .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester loads out to 500 yards.
The situation is similar, merely not quite the same with current of air drift.
As you tin can see, both .358 Winchester loads drift in the wind a whole lot more than than the .308 Winchester or .338 Federal loads. The 180 grain .308 Winchester load comes out on top hither, followed by the 150 grain .308 Winchester load, which is in turn followed closely by the .338 Federal load.
At present lets talk about recoil.
The table below compares the recoil produced by the loads compared in a higher place for those cartridges when fired from a 7.three pound rifle. I used Nosler's own reloading information published online for the .308 and .358 Winchester (available hither and here) and Hornady data for the .338 Federal (p651 of the 10th Edition Hornady Reloading Manual).
I'thousand not aware of whatever rifles that are currently manufactured in all 3 cartridges, then in the interest of making as close to an "apples to apples" comparison as possible, I simply decided to make the comparison with a hypothetical rifle that weighs exactly the same for each cartridge.
Felt recoil will vary from shooter to shooter and rifle to burglarize, but free recoil energy is notwithstanding a useful way to compare cartridges.
Equally y'all tin run into, the .308 Winchester has the least recoil out of the bunch, with recoil progressively increasing with the .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester. The .338 Federal and especially the .308 Winchester have a pretty manageable corporeality of recoil that almost shooters and hunters should be able to handle without also much trouble.
However, recoil does increase by a off-white amount from the .308 up to the .358 Winchester.
Remember though, the figures here are for a 7.3 pound rifle. The Browning BLR, which is the nearly popular rifle chambered in .358 Winchester these days is quite a bit lighter at only 6.5 pounds. That same load in the lighter Browning BLR produces 32.51 ft-lbs or free recoil energy, which is closely approaching .300 Win Magazine levels.
Even and then, this may not exist a big issue for most hunters, simply information technology's certainly something to go on in heed.
Now let's talk most some additional areas we need to discuss as it relates to ballistics: bullet caliber and bullet weight.
The .308 Winchester uses .308″ bullets, the .338 Federal uses .338″ bullets, and the .358 Winchester uses .358″ bullets.
The .308 Winchester has the smallest frontal surface expanse (also known every bit cross sectional area) of the agglomeration at .0745 square inches. The larger bore .338 Federal has nearly 20% more cross sectional area at .0897 square inches. The .358 Winchester uses the largest bore bullets of the agglomeration and has a frontal surface expanse of .1007 square inches. This is about 35% more cross sectional surface area than the .308 Winchester and almost 12% more cross sectional area than the .338 Federal.
All other things being equal, a bigger bullet volition make a bigger pigsty, cause more tissue damage, and result in more blood loss.
This is a pregnant reward for the .338 Federal vs the .308 Winchester and an fifty-fifty bigger advantage for the .358 Winchester.
With regards to bullet weight, the majority of .308 Winchester factory loads shoot bullets in the 110-180 grain range. 150 grain, 165 grain, 168 grain, and 180 grain bullets are by far the near common.
On the other hand, the .338 Federal factory ammo is normally offered with either 185 grain or 200 grain bullets. 200 grain loads are most pop for that cartridge.
Finally, the majority of .358 Winchester factory loads shoot bullets in the 180-225 grain range. Of these, 200 grain and, to a lesser extent, 185 and 225 grain bullets are about common. Though information technology's not readily available equally factory ammunition, many reloading manuals take loads for up to 250 grain bullets.
So where do we stand up with each cartridge?
Shooting smaller diameter and (generally) lighter bullets than the other two cartridges, the .308 Winchester has the flattest trajectory, the all-time resistance to air current drift, and the least recoil of the agglomeration. Virtually loads for the cartridge also deport more free energy downrange than typical .358 Winchester loads, just not quite as much as the .338 Federal.
The .338 Federal shoots bullets larger in diameter and heavier than the .308 Winchester, just lighter and smaller than the .358 Winchester. Typical 200gr .338 Federal factory loads have a trajectory that's almost identical to 180gr .308 Winchester manufactory loads, only the loads for the Federal cartridge also take more kinetic energy all the way out past 500 yards. The .338 Federal is non quite every bit resistant to wind drift as the .308 Winchester though and it does have more than recoil than the .308 Winchester as well.
The .358 Winchester shoots the largest diameter bullets of the bunch. It's also capable of using the heaviest bullets of the group. Those bullets are typically not very aerodynamic and are not shot at a very high velocity though. The .358 Winchester also has more recoil, a more arching trajectory, and less resistance to wind drift than the other two cartridges.
With that in heed, typical .358 Winchester loads have more kinetic energy than typical .308 Winchester hunting loads out to around 100-200 yards, but the faster and more aerodynamic .308 Winchester bullets apace surpass the cartridge equally range increases. Near .338 Federal manufactory loads have more than kinetic free energy than the .358 Winchester at all ranges.
308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester vs 338 Federal Ammo
The .308 Winchester is by far the about pop out of the bunch. In fact, that cartridge is certainly one of the Top 10 best selling rifle cartridges in the United States each year, if not in the Top 5.
For that reason, pretty much every ammunition manufacturer of note like Barnes, Browning, Federal Premium, Fiocchi, Hornady, Nosler, Remington, Swift, Weatherby, and Winchester (just to name a few) produces a broad variety of ammo for the .308 Win.
.338 Federal ammo and .358 Winchester ammo are MUCH less common than .308 Winchester ammo.
As far as I know, only Federal Premium mass produces .338 Federal ammo. As of late 2019, the company produces .338 Federal armament as role of their Federal Fusion (200gr Fusion Soft Point), Bays Bonded (200gr Trophy Bonded Tip), Ability Shok (200gr Nosler Ballistic Tip), Trophy Copper (200gr Trophy Copper), American Hawkeye (185gr Jacketed Soft Betoken), and Federal Fusion MSR (185gr Fusion Soft Point) rifle armament lines.
Fifty-fifty though only ane company articles .338 Federal ammo at this point, it's not too difficult to detect. Some of the smaller sporting goods stores may not keep .338 Federal ammunition in stock, but about of the bigger stores besides equally a number of internet retailers sell ammo for the cartridge.
On the other hand, .358 Winchester ammo is even more rare. I'thousand simply aware of three options for factory loaded .358 Winchester armament at this signal: a 200gr InterLock Spire Point as role of the Hornady Custom Ammunition line, a 225gr Sierra SPTZ-BT from Buffalo bore, and a 225gr Barnes TSX from Buffalo Diameter.
It's withal possible to discover .358 Winchester ammunition if you look difficult enough, but it's by far the to the lowest degree common and most hard to obtain out of the three cartridges.
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Reloading components for all of these cartridges are bachelor.
The .308 Winchester uses the extremely popular .308″ bullet size that'due south likewise used by the .30-xxx Winchester, .30-40 Krag, 300 Remington Ultra Magnum, .30-06 Springfield, .300 Winchester Magnum, 300 WSM, and 300 PRC (among others). The .338 Federal uses the aforementioned .338″ bullet size too used by the .338 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua. The .358 Winchester uses the same .358″ (9.1mm) diameter bullets as other .35 quotient cartridges like the .35 Remington, the .35 Whelen, the .350 Remington Magnum, and the .358 Norma Magnum.
But like with factory ammo, there are a Bunch of dissimilar .308″ bullets for reloaders to cull from. Since information technology's probably the single most popular caliber in the The states, virtually every major style of bullet is available in .308″ like the Barnes TTSX, Berger VLD, the Hornady ELD-X, GMX, InterBond, InterLock, and SST, the Nosler AccuBond, AccuBond Long Range, Ballistic Tip, E-Tip, and Partition, the Remington Cadre Lokt, the Swift Scirocco and A-Frame, and the Winchester Power Point (just to name a few).
There is all the same a pretty good selection of .338″ bullets out there (including most of the higher up), but they're non quite as common as .308″ bullets. One time again, there are even fewer .358″ bullets than .338″ bullets, but there is even so a decent selection of them.
That reason, combined with the relative scarcity of .358 Winchester factory ammo, makes that cartridge an peculiarly highly-seasoned choice for handloaders.
358 Winchester vs 308 Winchester vs 338 Federal Rifles
The burglarize situation is very similar to the ammunition state of affairs with these cartridges: .308 Winchester is by far the most pop with the .338 Federal and .358 Winchester, in that order, following far behind the .308.
Among many others, Browning X-Bolt, CZ-550, Kimber Hunter, Mossberg Patriot, Nosler M48, the Remington Model 700, Ruger American, Ruger Hawkeye, Fell eleven/111, Tikka T3X, Weatherby Mark V and Vanguard, the Winchester Model 70, and the Winchester XPR are all bachelor in .308 Winchester.
The .338 Federal was initially offered in rifles manufactured past Sako. Over the years, Ruger, Kimber, and Tikka (among others) take all produced rifles in that chambering. Currently, Savage and Wilson Gainsay are the two primary options for hunters wanting a new bolt activity rifle or carbine chambered in .338 Federal.
Winchester manufactured the .358 Winchester in the Model 88 lever action rifle and the Model 70 bolt activity rifle for a time. It was also available in the Savage Model 99, the Ruger Model 77, and a few rifles past Mannlicher-Schoenauer. At this time, the Browning BLR (Browning Lever Action Rifle) is the only rifle currently manufactured in .358 Winchester.
Every bit you lot can see, there'southward a wide disparity in availability between the three cartridges. That existence said, a serious hunter should yet be able to find a high quality hunting rifle that suits his or her needs well regardless of the cartridge called.
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338 Federal vs 308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester: Which Is Right For You?
Do y'all primarily chase medium sized game animals similar deer, feral hogs, or black behave at ranges within 200 yards? The .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester are all wonderfully suited for hunting medium game like black comport, mule deer, blacktail deer, whitetail deer, roe deer, and fallow deer. They have similar trajectories within of 200 yards and volition become the task done on a wide variety of game. Get with the .308 Winchester if you lot want the cheapest or easiest to observe factory ammo or if y'all're sensitive to recoil. Go with the .358 Winchester or .338 Federal if you desire the hardest hitting cartridge.
Are you looking for a keen cartridge for hunting game similar pronghorn or deer in open up country where you might need to take a shot at several hundred yards? With typical hunting factory loads, the .308 Winchester has an reward over the others in this regard with a flatter trajectory, the most resistance to current of air drift, and still enough of ability at extended range. Though neither the .338 Federal or .358 Winchester are long range cartridges, they're still much more capable in this role than many give them credit for.
Are you sensitive to recoil? Though most hunters should be able to handle the recoil of the .338 Federal and .358 Winchester, the .308 Winchester has the least recoil of the bunch. This is specially true with lighter 150 grain bullets.
Are y'all looking for a great cartridge for sheep, mountain goat, or tahr hunting where you need a heavy hit cartridge with manageable recoil in a lightweight and easy to carry burglarize? Though information technology's not usually thought of as a sheep or mountain hunting cartridge, the .308 Winchester wins hands down due to its flatter trajectory, more resistance to wind migrate, and lighter recoil even in lightweight rifles.
Are y'all a handloader? If not, and then yous should probably stay away from the .358 Winchester (unless you're fine with just a couple brands every bit factory ammo options) and get with either the .338 Federal or .308 Winchester. If you are a handloader, all 3 cartridges are by and large good options for reloaders.
Practise yous want a cartridge well suited to hunt large game like elk, moose, red stag, or kudu in North American or on an Africa or New Zealand hunting safari? In addition to all being excellent choices for deer sized game, these cartridges are also suitable for bigger creatures under the right circumstances. This is an expanse where the .358 Winchester (at shut range) and .338 Federal really shine when compared to the .308 Winchester. Specially for shots inside 200 yards, both cartridges are fantabulous choices for bigger game with their larger diameter and heavier bullets. Though I'd prefer a bigger bore similar a .375 or .45-70 for use on large bears, the .338 Federal and .358 Winchester volition also probably get the job done in those circumstances likewise.
The .308 Winchester is no slouch though, especially when using heavy, premium quality bullets (like the Nosler Division). In fact, at longer range, the .308 Winchester is a better option every bit the reward the .338 Federal has in kinetic energy narrows considerably and the advantages the .308 Winchester has in terms of trajectory and wind drift become more than pronounced.
The .308 Winchester, .338 Federal, and .358 Winchester are all bang-up rifle cartridges. While there is a large amount of overlap in their capabilities, each one does offering certain advantages. You need to carefully clarify your potential needs and choose the one (338 Federal vs 308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester) that you recall will fit them all-time.
All the same, no creature will never know the departure if your shot is placed in the right spot. Get a good hunting rifle chambered in the cartridge that you call up fits your needs the best, larn to shoot it well, utilise quality bullets, and you'll be all prepare for most hunting situations.
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Would you like to larn more almost another extremely capable deer hunting cartridges like the .308 Winchester? Check out the article beneath.
eleven Best Deer Hunting Calibers
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The Lyman 50th Edition (p241-245, 290-291, 311-312), Speer Number 10 (p290-292), andHornady 10th Edition (p474-484, 650-652, 686-688) reloading manuals were used as references for the history of the cartridges. The data used to compare the trajectory and wind drift of the cartridges was obtained from Buffalo Bore (here), Federal (here, here, and here) and Hornady (here). Case capacities and reloading data were obtained from Kwk, Hornady (p651 of the tenth Edition Hornady Reloading Manual), and Nosler (hither and here). Maximum pressure obtained from SAAMI (p19 and 31). I used the Hornady Ballistic estimator and ShootersCalculator.com to compare trajectory, air current drift, and recoil for the cartridges.
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