Load Specifications
Load data in caliber .338 Federal with .338 | 160gr | Barnes TTSX BT bullet and 46 powders. The key underlying parameters are shown in the table above. The recommended powders for this cartridge and bullet combination are SNPE Vectan SP 10, ADI AR 2219 and ADI AR 2207.
Important Notice: DO NOT go below Minimum Charge or above Maximum Charge. Since we have no control over the equipment and components used, any responsibility and liability for the results achieved is rejected.
Only powders/loads that match the current filter criteria are displayed: max pressure of a load ≤ 90% of max. standardized pressure, fill rate ≥ 80% and propellant combustion ≥ 95%. Use the sliders above the tables to adjust these thresholds.
Charge: Powder weight in grains. Start with the minimum load and work up carefully.
FR (Fill Rate): Case fill as a percentage. Values above 100% mean compressed loads.
MaxP / %: Maximum chamber pressure in bar and as a percentage of the standardized maximum for this caliber.
V(0): Muzzle velocity in feet per second (fps) at the standardized barrel length.
z (Powder Burn): Estimated propellant combustion percentage at bullet exit.
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Max Load - Barrel Length: 24"
| Powder | Charge | FR | MaxP | % | V(0) | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate 1680 | <<locked>> | 90% | 54,215 psi | 90% | 2749 fps | 100% |
| Accurate 2015ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 45,977 psi | 76% | 2717 fps | 99.4% |
| Accurate 2460ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 51,387 psi | 85% | 2815 fps | 98% |
| Accurate 2495ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 33,605 psi | 56% | 2562 fps | 97.5% |
| Accurate 2520ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 44,411 psi | 74% | 2746 fps | 96.3% |
| Accurate LT-30 | <<locked>> | 96% | 54,462 psi | 90% | 2749 fps | 99.3% |
| Accurate LT-32 | <<locked>> | 94% | 51,822 psi | 86% | 2713 fps | 97.6% |
| ADI AR 2205 | <<locked>> | 82% | 53,084 psi | 88% | 2612 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2207 | <<locked>> | 94% | 53,084 psi | 88% | 2792 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2219 | <<locked>> | 96% | 51,996 psi | 86% | 2851 fps | 99.1% |
| Alliant AR-Compᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 42,554 psi | 71% | 2743 fps | 100% |
| Alliant Reloder-10xᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 53,287 psi | 89% | 2844 fps | 100% |
| Alliant Reloder-7 | <<locked>> | 92% | 52,127 psi | 87% | 2762 fps | 100% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 106 | <<locked>> | 96% | 52,533 psi | 87% | 2743 fps | 99.3% |
| Hodgdon Benchmarkᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 49,385 psi | 82% | 2730 fps | 95.9% |
| Hodgdon H322ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 53,084 psi | 88% | 2867 fps | 99.2% |
| Hodgdon H335 | <<locked>> | 98% | 51,039 psi | 85% | 2838 fps | 98.2% |
| Hodgdon H4198 | <<locked>> | 92% | 53,461 psi | 89% | 2756 fps | 98.9% |
| Hodgdon TrailBossᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 31,154 psi | 52% | 1660 fps | 100% |
| IMR 3031ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 40,509 psi | 67% | 2717 fps | 97.9% |
| IMR 4198 | <<locked>> | 98% | 52,098 psi | 87% | 2776 fps | 100% |
| IMR 4227 | <<locked>> | 88% | 53,650 psi | 89% | 2726 fps | 100% |
| Lovex D060 | <<locked>> | 82% | 53,214 psi | 88% | 2759 fps | 100% |
| Lovex D073.4 | <<locked>> | 94% | 52,953 psi | 88% | 2844 fps | 97.6% |
| Lovex D073.5ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 51,764 psi | 86% | 2818 fps | 96.8% |
| Lovex S053 | <<locked>> | 88% | 51,692 psi | 86% | 2671 fps | 100% |
| Norma 200 | <<locked>> | 96% | 53,461 psi | 89% | 2828 fps | 100% |
| Norma 202ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 41,176 psi | 68% | 2671 fps | 96.2% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 14ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 30,850 psi | 51% | 1696 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 36 | <<locked>> | 88% | 53,171 psi | 88% | 2759 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 40ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 52,866 psi | 88% | 2838 fps | 97.5% |
| Rottweil R 901ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 44,991 psi | 75% | 2707 fps | 96.9% |
| Shooters World AR Plus | <<locked>> | 94% | 52,953 psi | 88% | 2844 fps | 97.6% |
| Shooters World Buffalo Rifle | <<locked>> | 82% | 53,214 psi | 88% | 2759 fps | 100% |
| Shooters World SOCOM | <<locked>> | 82% | 54,317 psi | 90% | 2733 fps | 100% |
| SNPE Vectan BA6 1/2 | <<locked>> | 92% | 52,576 psi | 87% | 2526 fps | 100% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 10 | <<locked>> | 96% | 52,272 psi | 87% | 2851 fps | 98.3% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 3 | <<locked>> | 98% | 51,459 psi | 85% | 2805 fps | 99.5% |
| SNPE Vectan Tubal 3000ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 45,368 psi | 75% | 2644 fps | 96.9% |
| Somchem S335ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 43,236 psi | 72% | 2638 fps | 97.5% |
| Vihtavuori N110 | <<locked>> | 84% | 53,896 psi | 90% | 2615 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N120 | <<locked>> | 94% | 53,229 psi | 88% | 2743 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N130ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 51,184 psi | 85% | 2749 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N133ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 44,338 psi | 74% | 2651 fps | 99% |
| Vihtavuori N135ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 36,303 psi | 60% | 2592 fps | 97.9% |
| Vihtavuori N140ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 39,349 psi | 65% | 2605 fps | 96% |
Recommended = one of the top powders for this cartridge and bullet combination.
Start Load - Barrel Length: 24"
| Powder | Charge | FR | MaxP | % | V(0) | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate 1680 | <<locked>> | 80% | 38,899 psi | 65% | 2503 fps | 99% |
| Accurate 2015 | <<locked>> | 86% | 29,414 psi | 49% | 2379 fps | 95.4% |
| Accurate 2460 | <<locked>> | 92% | 38,957 psi | 65% | 2605 fps | 95.3% |
| Accurate 2495 | <<locked>> | 94% | 27,340 psi | 45% | 2411 fps | 95.2% |
| Accurate 2520 | <<locked>> | 98% | 41,278 psi | 69% | 2690 fps | 95.4% |
| Accurate LT-30 | <<locked>> | 80% | 33,243 psi | 55% | 2369 fps | 95% |
| Accurate LT-32 | <<locked>> | 86% | 40,437 psi | 67% | 2516 fps | 95% |
| ADI AR 2205 | <<locked>> | 80% | 49,922 psi | 83% | 2569 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2207 | 35.3 gr | 80% | 34,156 psi | 57% | 2477 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2219 | 41 gr | 84% | 34,548 psi | 57% | 2523 fps | 95.1% |
| Alliant AR-Comp | <<locked>> | 82% | 24,047 psi | 40% | 2280 fps | 95.2% |
| Alliant Reloder-10x | <<locked>> | 80% | 28,369 psi | 47% | 2362 fps | 96.3% |
| Alliant Reloder-7 | <<locked>> | 80% | 35,766 psi | 59% | 2477 fps | 98.8% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 106 | <<locked>> | 82% | 33,373 psi | 55% | 2398 fps | 95.4% |
| Hodgdon Benchmark | <<locked>> | 98% | 46,601 psi | 77% | 2684 fps | 95.3% |
| Hodgdon H322 | <<locked>> | 88% | 35,766 psi | 59% | 2549 fps | 95.6% |
| Hodgdon H335 | <<locked>> | 90% | 38,899 psi | 65% | 2621 fps | 95.4% |
| Hodgdon H4198 | <<locked>> | 80% | 36,782 psi | 61% | 2457 fps | 95.5% |
| Hodgdon TrailBoss | <<locked>> | 80% | 22,742 psi | 38% | 1480 fps | 100% |
| IMR 3031 | <<locked>> | 94% | 33,388 psi | 55% | 2556 fps | 95.7% |
| IMR 4198 | <<locked>> | 80% | 30,835 psi | 51% | 2372 fps | 98% |
| IMR 4227 | <<locked>> | 80% | 41,887 psi | 70% | 2543 fps | 100% |
| Lovex D060 | <<locked>> | 80% | 50,053 psi | 83% | 2710 fps | 100% |
| Lovex D073.4 | <<locked>> | 88% | 42,670 psi | 71% | 2677 fps | 95.5% |
| Lovex D073.5 | <<locked>> | 96% | 44,875 psi | 75% | 2710 fps | 95.3% |
| Lovex S053 | <<locked>> | 80% | 40,915 psi | 68% | 2507 fps | 100% |
| Norma 200 | <<locked>> | 80% | 31,937 psi | 53% | 2441 fps | 98.3% |
| Norma 202 | <<locked>> | 98% | 38,696 psi | 64% | 2625 fps | 95.5% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 14 | <<locked>> | 80% | 22,626 psi | 38% | 1516 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 36 | <<locked>> | 80% | 41,307 psi | 69% | 2572 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 40 | <<locked>> | 94% | 43,337 psi | 72% | 2680 fps | 95.5% |
| Rottweil R 901 | <<locked>> | 96% | 39,842 psi | 66% | 2608 fps | 95.5% |
| Shooters World AR Plus | <<locked>> | 88% | 42,670 psi | 71% | 2677 fps | 95.5% |
| Shooters World Buffalo Rifle | <<locked>> | 80% | 50,053 psi | 83% | 2710 fps | 100% |
| Shooters World SOCOM | <<locked>> | 80% | 51,111 psi | 85% | 2687 fps | 100% |
| SNPE Vectan BA6 1/2 | <<locked>> | 80% | 38,029 psi | 63% | 2320 fps | 100% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 10 | 44.4 gr | 88% | 39,653 psi | 66% | 2631 fps | 95.6% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 3 | <<locked>> | 84% | 33,054 psi | 55% | 2461 fps | 95.8% |
| SNPE Vectan Tubal 3000 | <<locked>> | 96% | 39,871 psi | 66% | 2546 fps | 95.6% |
| Somchem S335 | <<locked>> | 94% | 36,071 psi | 60% | 2500 fps | 95.6% |
| Vihtavuori N110 | <<locked>> | 80% | 48,022 psi | 80% | 2536 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N120 | <<locked>> | 80% | 34,374 psi | 57% | 2444 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N130 | <<locked>> | 80% | 27,615 psi | 46% | 2287 fps | 95.6% |
| Vihtavuori N133 | <<locked>> | 88% | 30,618 psi | 51% | 2372 fps | 95.6% |
| Vihtavuori N135 | <<locked>> | 94% | 30,008 psi | 50% | 2444 fps | 95.8% |
| Vihtavuori N140 | <<locked>> | 98% | 36,782 psi | 61% | 2552 fps | 95.1% |
Recommended = one of the top powders for this cartridge and bullet combination.
ᴾ possible press load - work up slowly to this load while watching for signs of excessive pressure.
This overview compares 46 powders for .338 Federal loaded with the .338 | 160gr | Barnes TTSX BT. Hodgdon H322 delivers the highest muzzle velocity at 2,867 fps; across all powders the maximum-charge window runs from 1,660 fps to 2,867 fps. Accurate 2015 gives the best case fill at 100 %, and 46 of the 46 powders fall inside the usable 80–100 % fill window.
Relative to the caliber's maximum pressure (415 MPa), the top charges use 51–90 %, leaving at least 10 % headroom. The 160.0 gr projectile in 0.338" calls for a 1:14.0 twist; slower twists will usually not stabilise this weight. Accurate 2015, Accurate 2460, Accurate 2495 reach 100 % fill or more at maximum charge, so these are compressed loads: they need a long drop tube to seat cleanly and react sensitively to the case capacity of your own brass lot. SNPE Vectan SP 10, ADI AR 2219, ADI AR 2207 rank at the top here: for .338 Federal with the .338 | 160gr | Barnes TTSX BT they combine a high case fill with complete burn and sit in the upper velocity band. Always begin at the start load and work up in small increments while checking case and primer for pressure signs.