Hi, I have a LMT Mars 308 20" barrel in 308. On a whim, I bought a brand new barrel in 338 Federal....still not sure why I did it but knew that just about anything LMT at a decent price is rare. So, I have this barrel and was waiting for the seller to send some ammo I bought from him....never sent it. Long story short, after several months of BS, I finally got my money back. Since then, ammo has gone through the roof and I'm unsure what direction to take with this.

I bought the barrel because I thought it would be good for hunting and I guess that argument still applies but considering ammo costs, am I just better off hunting with 308 or my 7MM Rem Mag and getting what I can from the barrel? Or, do do I see enough upside to break down and buy some ammo? I did find 500 rounds for $1K which for 338 Federal, seems to be a great buy.

So, is 338 Federal worth the added investment or do I cut my losses?

Thanks in advance y'all.

Nice cartridge, but it never took off.  Had a T/C barrel in .338 Fed right after it came out.  Shot well, decent accuracy.  Just couldn't find much ammo on the shelf.  I reload, so for a while, things were OK.  Properly marked brass became impossible to find and I didn't want to start making my own bass out of .308.  I like the round, but it became more trouble than I cared to deal with.  Sold the barrel and moved on.

I'll wait for some more feedback but thanks for that. Pretty sure I'll either have an expense kayak anchor or a lot less money back on what I spent. Luckily, I didn't spend a lot so it won't be the most expensive lesson learned but stings nontheless.

There was/is so little demand for .338 Federal that there isn't any reloading information for it in any of the major reloading manuals that I have. If I remember right, it's just a .308 case necked up to .338. My neighbor has 5 boxes of it - Federal Premium too, good stuff - but nothing to shoot it in. I knew someone looking for some .338 and took the neighbors ammo to him without realizing it was NOT .338 Win Mag. He just gave it back to me and I returned it to the neighbor. Frankly, I had never even heard of the round. If you're going to shoot your gun with that barrel I fear you'll have to reload whatever shoot.

Hornady, Speer, and Nosler all have reloading data. As for cases, just run a 308 win case in a 338 fed size die. Personally I would anneal the neck and shoulder very well, lube inside of the neck and size slowly.

Speer and nosler are online free

I'm not a reloader and lack the time/space to even think of starting.

Let me know if your neighbor decides to part with his. thanks!

Then you are wasting your time with 338 Federal. And even if you reloaded, you're still probably wasting your time.