.338 Federal

.338 Federal
.338 Federal between .308 Winchester (left) and .358 Winchester (right)
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Federal Cartridge / Sako
Manufacturer	Federal Cartridge
Produced	2006
Specifications
Parent case	.308 Winchester
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	.338 in (8.6 mm)
Neck diameter	.369 in (9.4 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.454 in (11.5 mm)
Base diameter	.470 in (11.9 mm)
Rim diameter	.473 in (12.0 mm)
Rim thickness	.049 in (1.2 mm)
Case length	2.01 in (51 mm)
Overall length	2.75 in (70 mm)
Primer type	Large rifle
Maximum pressure	62,000 psi
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 180 gr (12 g) AccuBond 2,830 ft/s (860 m/s) 3,200 ft·lbf (4,300 J) 185 gr (12 g) Triple Shock 2,750 ft/s (840 m/s) 3,105 ft·lbf (4,210 J) 210 gr (14 g) AccuBond 2,630 ft/s (800 m/s) 3,225 ft·lbf (4,373 J)
Test barrel length: 24" Pac-Nor Source(s): Nosler Load Data, Hodgedon Reloading Data Center

The .338 Federal is a rifle cartridge based on the .308 Winchester case necked up to .33 caliber. It was created by Federal Cartridge and Sako in 2006 and intended as a big game cartridge with reasonable recoil for lightweight rifles.

The .338 Federal was designed by Federal Ammunition and it is a SAAMI standardized cartridge that was released in 2006. It compares favorably to the 7mm Remington Magnum. Below is a ballistics table comparing the .338 Federal with other various calibers. Included in the table below is the older .358 Winchester, another cartridge based on the .308.

Sako,Kimber Manufacturing, Tikka, Savage, and Ruger offered bolt action rifles. ArmaLite,JP Enterprises, LMT and DPMS Panther Arms,Wilson Combat, offered semi-automatic rifles in .338 Federal as of November 2008.