Whoever convinced the authorities at ATK to produce the .338 Federal deserves an award. You’ll look hard to find a more practical, versatile cartridge. You’ll find none that crams so much power into the .308 case. Handloaders can fashion this round easily from .308 brass. Rifle manufacturers (and gunsmiths) can hang .338 Federal barrels on just about any action. No, you won’t be able to watch the effect of these bullets on prairie dogs. But it’s a superb round for game as big as elk. If, like me, you hike into high places for big game, you’ll appreciate its compatibility with trim rifles like Kimber’s 84M.

Federal’s factory-loaded 185 Barnes Triple-Shock turned in the best group from Kimber’s 84M.

The Kimber 84M
Kimber’s 84M is one of my all-time favorite hunting rifles, and it’s the perfect platform for the .338 Federal. I wasted no time scoping the Classic version that arrived last fall.

True to its type, this svelte sporter weighs in at five pounds, nine ounces. Its 22-inch barrel is rifled one turn in 10 inches. The trigger breaks crisply at an even three pounds. The walnut stock has a dark, warm russet hue, with some figure. It is nicely fitted to the metal, standing just a bit proud on one side of the floorplate tab. Checkering is sharp and clean, 20 lines per inch. Glassed and pillar-bedded to the metal, the wood does not hug the barrel. But there’s no unsightly channel gap; indeed, you can’t tell this tube floats. A soft, thick, black recoil pad is neatly and properly contoured.

The rifle’s matte blue-black metal finish has a deep and uniform luster. I’d prefer more satin and less matte. Also, I’d like a straighter line from tang to comb nose so the top of the grip doesn’t fall away from my hand or leave the buttstock looking like an appendage. The root of the bolt handle needs cosmetic attention, too. Excuse my critical eye. A rifle as well designed as the Kimber 84M, so far ahead of its competition in so many ways, begs scrutiny. I find myself taking it apart as I might a custom rifle. Indeed, its origins date to classic custom sporters from the likes of Al Biesen, Jerry Fisher and Dale Goens.

The three-position safety works as it should and looks better than the original M70 rendition. The rear shroud, bolt release and Kimber scope bases are likewise intelligently sculpted. Requisite barrel and receiver stampings stay in the background until you really want to read them. A slim receiver ring catches my eye as the signature feature of the 84M. The clever heading in current Kimber catalogs, “So much less than you expect,” is an apt description of this rifle. There’s no extra bulk, no purposeless line or feature. You get everything you need and nothing more. Result: a trim, lively rifle that balances well, points itself and carries easily when you must go far to find game. Spartan. Elegant. You get the picture.

As for accuracy...well, I was hoping the 84M in .338 Federal would at least approach the precision I’d come to expect from its type. My .308 Montana weighs no more than an English grouse gun but prints sub-minute groups.

The 84M’s compact magazine holds five rounds; they all stripped reliably during the test.

To test accuracy, you need to see well, so it’s common practice to install big, powerful scopes on rifles up for review. I’ve followed this regimen only with rifles meriting such sights. Why test with a scope you wouldn’t use on that rifle in the field? Admittedly, fitting a low-power scope on a carbine or mountain rifle can handicap it at the bench. While I’ve fired many half-minute clusters with the 2 1/2X and 3X scopes I favor on lightweight rifles, more magnification can shrink groups.

I chose a Leupold Compact 2 1/2X for the 84M in .338 Federal. Given my druthers, it would have been a Leupold Compact 4X, but I didn’t have one on hand.