Craig Boddington was the senior contributing editor of our modern gun and ammunition caliber dictionary. Craig was involved in the development and testing of many of these and writes from first hand experience. This dictionary was written exclusively for Wholesale Hunter with unique information found nowhere else.
GUN CALIBER DICTIONARY
Rifle
338 Marlin Express
The 338 Marlin Express (338 ME) was developed by Hornady and Marlin in 2009 to provide enhanced capability in Marlin's tubular-magazine lever action rifle. It is based on a shortened and rimmed version of Hornady's fat 376 Steyr case, thus offering increased powder capacity over most lever-action cartridges. Hornady's FTX (Flex Tip Expanding) spitzer bullet enhances downrange performance, making the 338 ME essentially the first and only 300-yard elk cartridge in a tubular-magazine rifle. Hornady's load produces nearly 2600 fps with a 200-grain bullet; a zero of three inches high at 100 yards will be dead-on at 300 yards, a lot of capability in a traditional lever action! The 338 ME may be the most versatile cartridge ever chambered in a tubular-magazine lever action, but popularity has been limited with Hornady the primary source for ammunition; Marlin for rifles. — Craig Boddington