.338 Federal or 9.3x62mm Mauser

J

JellyCannon

New member
Hey guys, I'm thinking of buying a Sako 85 Stainless Laminate Varmint in 338 Fed or Bavarian in 9.3x62mm, which do you think would be better? Ranges will be at max 250yards and will be used on Pigs, Sambar deer, up to Scrub Cattle and possibly buffalo.
 
With the bigger cattle and buffalo, I'd lean towards the 9.3. Load up, or get your hands on, the heavier bullets (like 286 grain Nosler Partitions or Barnes) and have at 'em. The lighter bullets like the 250 grain Nosler Accubonds should work well for pigs and deer. The .338 Fed was developed for 200/210 grain bullets, which limits you somewhat for the larger animals you have an opportunity to hunt.
 
I agree with DesertRam, when adding feral cattle and buffalo to the mix, I think I would appreciate the extra bullet weight that the 9.3x62 allows. I would be happy to take the 338 Federal after elk that rarely hit the thousand pound mark, but larger, tougher, and more unruly game would make me wish for a bit more bullet.

My own experience is with the 35 calibers; 35Rem, 358Win, 350RemMag and 35Whelen. The 35 calibers split the difference nicely, with the 338Fed/358Win and the 35Whelen/9.3x62 being very comparable to one another. With half ton game on the menu, I would choose the 9.3x62. Heavier bullets combined with a case length to get the greatest useful powder capacity would make it my choice.
 
You may want to look at the .338winmag-out performs both of those, and is offered by Sako. Don't know what ammo availability is like in AUS, but here it is much more common than 338fed or 9.3x62.
 
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I'll be hand loading and luckily the 9.3x62 is well known enough that even our teeny tiny LGS has it readily available, it's a very popular cartridge for our Sambar Deer, Scrub Cattle, and buff. 338 Win Mag ammo in my town is $95 for 20 factory, 9.3x62 is $45. I don't have a want or need when a smaller regular cartridge will ultimately do the same job at the ranges that I wish to shoot at. If a .458 Lott comes my way though I wouldn't turn it down lol.
 


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