I freely and readily admit to being a fan of the older cartridges. And I especially feel that way when the subject under consideration has to do with hunting rifles. It doesn't bother me one whit that the .30-06 is celebrating its 100th birthday. It's not that I'm against all of the new short magnums and other innovations; they are surely on the cutting edge of new technology and performance. It's just that I still haven't learned all that I want to learn from the .30-06, the .308 Winchester, the 7x57, the .257 Roberts, and the .270 Winchester, just to name a few. They've served me well, and I was taught to "dance with who brung ya!"

A recent Texas deer hunt, however, has caused me to give serious consideration to a new cartridge that is just being announced. I'm talking about the .338 Federal cartridge. It is an impressive cartridge and fits quite nicely into the category of "using" cartridges with which I do most of my hunting.

As Shooting Times reported last month, the .338 Federal is the first sporting rifle cartridge to carry Federal Cartridge Co.'s name. The .338 Federal is the .308 Winchester case necked up to .338.

In its product information sheet, Federal Cartridge Co. (Dept. ST, 900 Ehlen Dr., Anoka, MN 55303; 800-322-2342; www.federalcartridge.com) points out that the new .338 Federal cartridge has increased velocity over the .308 cartridge and heavier bullet weights. In addition, it produces muzzle energy that is greater than a .30-06 and is right up there in competition with the 7mm Magnum.

Initially, the .338 Federal will be offered in three loadings: the 180-grain Nosler AccuBond bullet (rated at 2840 fps with 3223 ft-lbs of muzzle energy), the 185-grain Barnes Triple-Shock bullet (rated at 2760 fps and 3129 ft-lbs), and the 210-grain Nosler Partition (rated at 2630 fps and 3225 ft-lbs). For comparison, the 180-grain .338 Federal load is about 200 fps faster than a standard 180-grain .308 Winchester load. In fact, both the 180- and the 185-grain .338 Federal offerings generate more velocity than the standard 180-grain .30-06 loading.

One important word of caution is necessary with the new .338 Federal cartridge. There are a number of rifles already in existence that are chambered for some sort of .338-308 wildcat cartridge. Because of probable differences in neck lengths and shoulder measurements, it is not a good idea to fire the new .338 Federal in these rifles. In fact, it could be dangerous.

Federal has partnered with Sako to bring out this new cartridge, and Sako is starting to chamber rifles for it. I used this combination of .338 Federal ammo and a Sako bolt-action rifle on my Texas deer hunt.

For this particular hunt, I was using the 185-grain Barnes Triple-Shock loading. The Barnes Triple-Shock is an all-copper bullet that is nontoxic and extremely accurate. The sighting-in session on the ranch had satisfied me on that point.