338 Lapua cost of ownership

[AbitNutz]

So like all red blooded Americans I've had a hankerin' for a 338 Lapua.

The only affordable one, at least considering my wallet, is Savage. There are always a ton for sale, always advertised with low miles.

Is the reason that they are always quite a few for sale is:

a) It was an impulse buy and there is no where to shoot it.

b) The recoil is such that it may be more comfortable standing in front of it than behind it.

c) You realized that you're not shooting bullets so much as 10 dollar bills.

d) Your wife got you a prescription for Viagra and you no longer need it.

e) All of the above.

 

[sixgunner455]

I have one friend who had one. It wasn't uncomfortable to fire - it's plenty heavy for that. But the ammo cost + the added expense of a scope that's worthy of the cartridge and tough enough for the cartridge meant he hardly shot it beyond function checking, and eventually sold it to fund something he could afford to shoot.

 

[Casefull]

I have one I reload for. Biggest cost is almost 100g powder each trigger pull. I have mine to have it. I probably will never "need" it. I do not shoot it a lot...but I have lots of rifles and pistols that fit that bill. I like to get them dialed in and then they tend to sit a lot. I am down to hunting with my 308 rifles.

 

[mavracer]

I quenched my hankering for a 338 Lapua by buyin a Savage in 300 win mag sure I can only reach out 1500 yards but I'm loading for under $1 per round

 

[cat_IT_guy]

My bet is cost & where to shoot it.

I love the idea of them, but I also have a limited budget for guns and ammo. A few rounds with that thing would eat up my budget in a hurry.

Additionally, I'd bet that even on this shooting forum, the majority of us dont frequent a range long enough that even a .223 would be considered a disadvantage. All of the ranges in my area max out at 200-300 yards, where even my .308 could be considered overkill (the paper doesnt react any different and steel targets just clang a bit louder). That doesnt mean it wouldnt be fun, just that it wouldnt really add an accuracy edge.

If I had a bigger budget AND a place to really enjoy the benefits of a .338, I'd love one. For now they will remain a fantasy for me - something I'd love to shoot a few times, but unless my situation changes drastically, not anything I'll be looking to buy.

 

[horsemen61]

Well I want one for sure

 

[MCMXI]

Biggest cost is almost 100g powder each trigger pull.

The biggest cost for me is the bullet ($0.61) which is more than twice the cost of the powder ($0.28). I have thousands of .338 bullets and Federal match primers but only enough powder to put together 1,200 rounds.

AbitNutz, if you reload it's not that expensive to shoot .338 LM once you've purchased the brass which runs around $2.50 each (cheaper if you use coupons, sales, etc). Here's what I use:

250gr Lapua Scenar: $0.61
95 ~ 100gr H1000: $0.28
Federal GM215M primer: $0.03

So that's $0.92 per round for top quality reloads ... not bad really. If you factor in the cost of the brass and assume you only use each case five times that works out to $0.50 per load (worst case) for brass so that would put each round at $1.42. Again, that's not bad compared to buying factory ammunition.

 

[AbitNutz]

That's 92 cents a round without the brass....wow.

I desperately want one but....

The cost of the rifle is no more than anything else but the price of decent glass is likely to be more than the rifle. I also have no where to shoot it with less than a 3 hour drive...Camp Perry. Everything else has hardly more than a 100 yards

Why do I want one? Well doesn't everyone?! I ran across this youtube video of the Savage people shooting prairie dog with one. Yes, prairie dogs. It was similar to incoming artillery but still awesome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soJTQA82B60

Would they even let you use a 338 Lapua on a guided prairie dog hunt? Can you imagine bolting up a round next to a guy shooting a 17 Hornet?

 

[rim]

Wow..sticking to Mr AR...

 

[.338Sako]

I have one I reload for. Biggest cost is almost 100g powder each trigger pull. I have mine to have it. I probably will never "need" it. I do not shoot it a lot...but I have lots of rifles and pistols that fit that bill. I like to get them dialed in and then they tend to sit a lot. I am down to hunting with my 308 rifles.

Same here, I have it, it is dialed in and ready to go...

 

[mooosie]

338 lapis is cool but I have a 338 win mag not comparable but how manny 338 does one guy need I think if I was going to spend a lot of money I would get a 50 bmg upper from safety harbor

 

[lapuabob]

I have one. To answer your question. A. And C... I believe it is probably the reality of what it takes to shoot accurately past 1000. There is a lot to it. I find it vary rewarding but when I talk to my friends and family... Well ELR shooting a lonely hobby. It takes true dedication and at $1.50 per bullet and about 10 minutes to build each truly perfect bullet. I think most just give up.

After all that you can't read wind, you need a super range finder, and some sort of altimeter, thermometer, barometer, compass. Now what the hell do I do with all that?
... Sell!!!

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I thought about one for a long time, then I settled into a home which I'll be in for a long time and realized I just didn't need it. The expense of the ammo and glass I would want for it pushed me off of it and I went with a 300WM.

The Lapua is a great round but it's pricey to burn that many components.
Not that 300WM if running on pixie dust but it is much cheaper and is going to do what I need it to do.

I think many buy them and then realize it's not something they need so they look to turn it over for something which they can/will shoot more.

Now, if I was out west where I could shoot a long ways easily and had the $$ for ammo I would look at it differently maybe.

 

[wilbur2]

Heck - why not a Cheytac? Or a 50BMG.

We're all grown up here. If we want something, and we've earned the $$ to pay for it - why not?

A plane ticket out west to shoot it once a year is just part of the "cost of ownership."

 

[CB900F]

Fella's;

I looked into one for sheer curiosity's sake. When I balanced the cost against any practical advantage over the .338 Winchester magnum, I stayed with my Winchester magnum. In my mind, the Winchester is a far more practical hunting cartridge for my purposes. It'll do for anything in North America & I have no itch to go to Africa.

900F

 

[dubbleA]

The biggest cost for me is the bullet ($0.61) which is more than twice the cost of the powder ($0.28). I have thousands of .338 bullets and Federal match primers but only enough powder to put together 1,200 rounds.

AbitNutz, if you reload it's not that expensive to shoot .338 LM once you've purchased the brass which runs around $2.50 each (cheaper if you use coupons, sales, etc). Here's what I use:

250gr Lapua Scenar: $0.61
95 ~ 100gr H1000: $0.28
Federal GM215M primer: $0.03

So that's $0.92 per round for top quality reloads ... not bad really. If you factor in the cost of the brass and assume you only use each case five times that works out to $0.50 per load (worst case) for brass so that would put each round at $1.42. Again, that's not bad compared to buying factory ammunition.

Not pinching pennies here but......You must have purchased the H1000 when it was $19 a pound for the powder to be $.28 a round.

One must have to figure in the cost of the brass regardless unless it's free as it is a component. The $.50 per load is an fair price for the brass if using actual Lapua.

The sad fact with shooting most LR stuff is that you have to use premium bullets for the best results. Lapua Scenars are great as are the Sierra MK's and Barnes VLD's .

No doubt that handloads are cheaper than factory rounds and can be tailored to your firearm.


Back to the OP.... I think it's A, B and C

You need a place to stretch it's wings.

Recoil and muzzle blast isn't pleasant shooting prone.

It does get expensive in quantities to be proficient.

 

[MCMXI]

Not pinching pennies here but......You must have purchased the H1000 when it was $19 a pound for the powder to be $.28 a round.

Powder Valley has H1000 for $159.50 for 8lb.

As someone who owns and really likes .300 Win Mags (have two, used to have three) the cartridge is no substitute for the .338 LM.

I'm able to shoot my .338 LM out to at least 1,250 yards and probably 1,500 yards. I will be shooting from private timberland back on to my property. I'll need to hike for 45 minutes from 3,200 ft to 4,100 ft but it's good exercise. Here's the view from one of the shooting positions. Bullet flight time is around 1.8 seconds.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

Great topic! The .338 Lapua is an awesome round but I think overkill for almost everyone. It's expensive to shoot, for sure. And most people lack the skill to take advantage of the range it offers. I suppose the recoil puts a lot of people off. And I imagine that buying the cheapest possible rifle defeats the purpose of choosing a round that's usable at distances of a mile.

 

[Hereld]

If option A applies to a person, they make WAY too much money, or they wouldn't have ~$2k to throw down on an impulse buy. I know from my younger days people inclined to impulse buy also tend not to have $2k sitting around.
I am average size and the recoil is very manageable, so it seems safe to rule out option B.
Option C seems the most likely to me, if not slightly exaggerated.
No comment on option D.

I suggest my own problem as option F.
As a preface disclaimer I'm not trying to hate on Savage... They have a reputation for accuracy that had to have came from some basis in reality to be so wide spread. I have no personal experience with Savage rifles save for the 110BA I purchased about a year and a half ago. My problem is mostly option C, but like Casefull and 1858 I exclusively reload so I'm at approximately $1 - $1.5 a shot... And IT JUST ISN'T WORTH IT. I would swallow the cost if I could get what would seem to me to be worthwhile value (accuracy) for my money. I am an experienced reloader, and can usually wring expected accuracy out if I try hard enough, but the best I can get out of my 110BA is .4 to .5 MOA. This seems fairly typical from what I read, and probably is "good enough" practically speaking... But for my $1.50 per trigger pull I seem to expect quarter minute or better. I have been spoiled by a couple extremely accurate rifles, but I don't think for my approx. $5k invested (rifle, scope, brass, dies, ect...) that quarter minute is unreasonable. I've come to believe that my Savage, and on average most 110BAs aren't capable of that goal.
I've decided to have my 110 professionally re barreled with a premium barrel to (hopefully) achieve that goal.

 

[AbitNutz]

I would end up shooting one at my local state 100 yard range. Can you imagine that? An entire line full of AR's and AK's and I show up with an artillery piece. The muzzle blast from the comp would sweep the shooters on either side of me away...the benches are that close.

You realize that we're all talking common sense here and using words like overkill. This is the same misguided logic that governs gun purchases. I own more than a few guns, as I'm sure everyone here does as well. I don't hunt (although I would like to P-Dawg shoot). I don't carry...all I do is shoot at paper or some inanimate object. Doing that could be accomplished with a nice S&W Model 41 as it could with a 44 magnum...or one of the new super magnums.

 

[jehu]

I have and shoot both a Sako TRG 42 in 300win mag and 338 Lapua. The secret to enjoying shooting the 338 is putting a suppresor on it. Takes out most of the recoil and noise.

 

[aubie515]

I can tell most of the posters have never shot or owned a 338LM because there are some nonsense comments.

If you ever owned/shot a 338LM, you would know that most are running either a brake or a suppressor. My Sako TRG 42 with the Sako factory brake is mild recoil. If you add a suppressor, you woul also get mild recoil and reduced sound.

As far as cost, most centerfire is going to be expensive these days.

To me, the biggest cost was buying brass as new from Lapua you are looking around $2.50 per piece. Thankfully, Lapua and Norma offer the best brass, so you will get some life from that expensive brass.

The key to saving money when reloading and getting into an "exotic" caliber is to buy in bulk. I bought once fired brass in bulk and powder and bullets. That is the only way you are truly going to save money.

That being said, I have a 300WM as well and that's not exactly inexpensive to feed either. The brass is less expensive, but the brass isn't nearly as good as 338 Lapua brass.

OP, go add up all of the money you have tied into all of your firearms. You would be surprised how much money you have into your hobby. If you want 338LM, you can afford it...you may need to sell off some items, but I'm pretty sure most of us have thousands tied into our firearms.

 

[MCMXI]

If you ever owned/shot a 338LM, you would know that most are running either a brake or a suppressor. My Sako TRG 42 with the Sako factory brake is mild recoil. If you add a suppressor, you woul also get mild recoil and reduced sound.

Exactly! I have AI AWMs in .338 LM, .300 WM and .308 Win. All come with factory brakes and the rifles are somewhat heavy. My .338 LM weighs around 18lb with the scope and I can shoot it all day long without any recoil or blast issues. When shooting steel at 500 yards I'm able to see the popper fall while looking through the scope so recoil isn't bad at all. I also have suppressors for my AIs but have yet to shoot any of them due to a shim fiasco that still hasn't been resolved.

On a side note, I've shot (once) a 6-1/2lb rifle (includes scope) chambered for .33 G&A which is a wildcat .338 LM and it was BRUTAL!!

 

[mavracer]

As someone who owns and really likes .300 Win Mags (have two, used to have three) the cartridge is no substitute for the .338 LM.

It work's for me since I really only have access to 1000 It's more than good enough and S/B good enough to 1500 and I'm loading for 1/2 the prices you guys are talking.

Besides now that I have the 300 I think the next logical step is 408 Chey tech.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Love my 338lm. Recoil is mild with a brake, bit noisy but a blast to shoot and tune loads for