.338 Federal Range Report

Well yesterday I took the Ruger Model 77 Hawkeye chambered in . 338 Federal to the range again, and I have to say the more I shoot it the more I like this cartridge.... I like so much that I have scraped my idea for a similar wildcat that I called the .325 V Tac. The .338 Federal is pleasant to shoot, and really packs a nice punch when it hits... the penetration is excellent for such a small cartridge even with the cheaper bullets.

On this trip I took some factory ammunition to try for a comparison to what I have been handloading here at Venom. I had Federal's American Eagle # AE338F factory load.. that is topped with a 185 grain SP bullet that has a Ballistic Coefficient of .378; factory stated 2,750 fps velocity... and 3106 ft. lbs of energy. My Chrony showed similar stats for the cartridge.. so similar I see no reason to list all of the readings here in this blog post. The only aspect that I see where the cartridge is lacking compared to the handloads I have been doing is the bullet... I have been using Hornady, and Barnes premium bullets that perform much better on impact. Weight retention with this load was not the best, but considering this is the bargain load from Federal it is an all around load that is worth what they charge for it....I would prefer a better bullet for hunting purposes. I am thinking that this is going to be the big difference in the Federal ammunition. Simply the more you pay the better bullet construction you are going to get, and such will give you better performance in the field.

Accuracy with this factory load was good.... I hope to have targets to show each load performance when I update the article on www.venomcartridgecompany.com  More as I go with this rifle.

I Am Amazed At My Ruger 10/22

In November of 1987 I purchased one of my first guns.... it was a Ruger 10/22 with the plain Birch stock. I still have the gun, and every time I take it out of the cabinet it always amazes me at just how well the firearm is made. Yesterday was another one of those times.... I had planned on doing a piece on Sonic cleaning is a good part of any scheduled maintenance. At Venom we can do it for around $60 dollars, and if you haven't had it done on a gun that has had a great deal of rounds through it... you should really think about it.

Since I bought the Ruger .22 I had never once had a problem from the gun, and had never done a complete take down of the firearm. Now you are thinking why didn't I do the piece on the Sonic cleaning of the Ruger? Well frankly I am a little ashamed at the condition it was on the inside... being a gunsmith I should never have let it go sooo long. I am really amazed that it still shot so well, and never failed me.

After taking the gun apart I prepared the solution, and tank for the cleaning..... usually the chemicals would have been diluted with more water, but with the parts being so filthy that it was hard to get some of the pins out of the action... I made a much stronger concentration of the cleaning fluid, and tested it on the parts to be sure it would harm the finish. I then turned the machine on, and increased the heat to well over a 120 degrees, and it took several runs through the cleaner to get the job done. After soaking in a water dispersing oil I set out to put the little Ruger back together. It is smooth as it was when I bought it, and no gritty feeling when I draw the slide back!!

If you have a gun that you really love, and want to take good care of it.... keep it properly maintained... schedule maintenance before it fails at the range..... I was lucky.... dirt, and corrosion are the biggest reason guns don't work.