.338 lapua info

[CWLTZBEAR]

I'm looking at this beautiful piece of equipment, and wondering if it's everything that I hope it will be. Who can give me some input on the
big .338 Lapua. How does it shoot, pros and cons, that type of thing.
Thanks guys (and ladies)

 

[45Fan]

I wish I had one, so I can give you first hand experience, but if you dig a little deeper, the .338 Reminton Ultra Mag is very similar in balistics, and seems that the rifles and brass are quite a bit cheaper. The biggest con I can see to this type of setup is the massive recoil, and the weight of the platforms that the Lapua are built on.

 

[rodensouth]

What's its intended use? Punchin paper really far off?

 

[esheato]

Recoil really isn't as much of an issue as most people believe. Gun weight really cuts down on it.

It's expensive compared to normal size (308-30-06) cartridges. A pound of propellant only lasts 70-80 rounds. Purchasing brass, even once shot, is $1.85 per piece and you still have to prep it for loading. New brass is even more.

Lastly, the cost of the gun is nothing compared to the rest of the package. Rings, optics, dies, and ammunition. You can't put a Tasco on a 338. I mean, you can, but it would be pretty lame. You should match quality of optics to quality of gun. Leupold at the minimum, Nightforce or up is where you need to be.

Without a doubt, you have to reload to own this caliber...unless you're made of money.

 

[Freedom_fighter_in_IL]

^^^ what he said! With an addition. You will have a love hate relationship with that weapon. You will love to fire it but your wallet will not be happy -- <edit Sam>every time you do! Just sayin

 

[HappyHunting]

It seems to be pretty successful in the 1000 yard matches. If you have about $5000 for a setup I would recommend it.

Or if you want to just about take someone off their feet from 600 yards, through "above average" body armor... it would be good for that too.

 

[taliv]

what 1000 yrd match can you shoot 338 lapua in?

if you just want a cool toy/conversation piece, have at it. if you're wanting to get into shooting long range, it's a really bad cartridge to start on. do yourself a favor and don't make it your first rifle

 

[esheato]

I can shoot mine in informal matches here in Texas. Lots of private ranges where any caliber goes as long as you don't curse or spit on the concrete.

do yourself a favor and don't make it your first rifle

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Do this.

 

[lefteyedom]

Think of most 338 Lapua tactical rifles as light artillery. A wonderful heavy weapon that can drop a 300 grain shell on one troop over a mile away.

The Lapua secret is the way the bass is made and the top end rifles at are chambered for it.

For hunting a 20+ lbs rifle suck unless you want to set in a hide and watch a meadow 3/4 of a mile away.

340 Wby, 338RUM are all ballistic kissing cousins of the Lapua. They are mostly chambered in rifles that can be carried with out a gun barrier.

Without a muzzle break all three kick worse than a mule. What is your hearing worth? (yes earplugs at the fire range work well, how many of us wear earplug while hunting big game?)

My "little" savage 116 in 338 win mag is a perfect elk rifle. Rifle and scope set me back $750, the recoil is manageable and has been fulling my freezer for 10 years now.

 

[Zak Smith]

Here you go


article | Military .338 Lapua Magnum Rifles: the Sako TRG-42 and the AI-AWSM

.338LM should not be the first or second cartridge you build long-range rifles around.

-z

 

[HappyHunting]

Taliv. Here's that contest. This one was won by shooters near me is the only reason I know.

Actually on a second look he was shooting a .284 with Lapua brass at 600 and 1000 yards.

"Mason Parker Won the title of F-Class Junior National Champion for the second year in a row and also came away with the title of F/TR Junior National Champion. Mason is a senior at Huntsville High School (Junior shooters are under 20 years old).


Photo of Mason Parker, 2010 Junior F and F/TR National Champion

But, age was not a factor when it came to experience and Mason demonstrated his skills shooting in winds that required him to aim as far as 9 feet off the target to ensure a hit. During the five day event Mason set two new national records, one at 600 yards (15 rounds 144-5X) and the other at 1,000 (15 rounds 141-5X). In addition to the National title recognition, Mason was recognized by LAPUA on their web site."

http://www.lapua.com/index.php?id=1377&tx_mininews_pi1%5bshowUid%5d=375&cHash=fe9681735b

I'd say the .284 did just fine for him.

 

[Zak Smith]

Uhh, dude, he was shooting .308,

"In the process I was fortunate enough to break two Junior National records one at 600 yards and one at 1000. At 600 yards I was shooting Lapua brass and the 155 grain scenars. At 1000 yards I was shooting Lapua brass. As always the Lapua brass was great and the 155 scenars were exceptionally accurate and really contributed to my success. There is no doubt that Lapua is #1 in Shooting!"

F/TR is .223 or .308 only.

This has no relation to .338 Lapua.

In any case, .33 caliber is not outlawed by NRA-HP Long Range rules (although ranges may have caliber limits which affect those matches); however, basically nobody uses it in NRA HP LR matches due to recoil and marginal benefits over hot 7's at 1000 yards (since muzzle brakes and suppressors are outlawed in NRAHPLR). F/TR is a sub-category of NRA Long-range rules that has more restrictive rules.

 

[vaupet]

I have been thinking about the same, but even Lapua does not range their 338 as a sporting or hunting cartridge but as a "special product". It is a purpose designed military system.
quote from their website:
The original .338 Lapua Magnum.
During the years the .338 Lapua Magnum has received a steady foothold in many western hemisphere armies and similar organizations.
Our much-copied paragon of quality and accuracy has an effective range up to 1500 meters. Despite this, the .338 caliber rifles are about the same size and weight as the 7,62 mm rifles. The .338 caliber weapon system is considerably lighter than the .50 BMG system.
Complete selection of ammunition.
Lapua offers a complete selection of .338 Lapua magnum ammunition including Ball, Armour Piercing, Armour Piercing Incendiary, HPBT, Blank and Drill cartridges. The trajectory of the bullets is tailored to match, so there is no need to change the sight setup when changing a bullet type.

For me, I will go for the 308 and the Grunig & Elmiger rifle (won a large part of the medals at the Munich worldchampionschips). But it will take some time, I still have to clear the "wife" problem.:banghead:

 

[scythefwd]

I have no experience with this caliber, but I will relay what I was told about it.

"It's like shooting slugs out of a shotgun in the prone". I take it that the guy meant it hurt.

 

[Zak Smith]

For a period of time, Sako sold their TRG-S (a hunting rifle) chambered in .338 Lapua.

The .338 LM was designed first as a military round, no question. But so were many of the great rifle cartridges.

 

[Bobarino]

I had looked into a bit and then realized that it's more expensive to buy loaded .338LM ammo than it is to buy .50BMG. Crazy.

 

[bgeddes]

A good friend of mine paid nearly $8k for a Sako in .338 Lapua. He knew the costs, and he has the bank to cover it. Practical for North American game, nope. OK for African plains game, probably, and that's why he bought it.

For most practical points, there are better choices. However, if you want one, and have the means, then rock on dude. As long as you have it figured that it is multiple dollars for each squeeze of the trigger, then do whatever you choose.

 

[Zak Smith]

If you reload it's about $1/round. A new SAKO TRG-42 runs about $3400-4000 depending on options.

 

[Tx40X]

Just picked up an AR-30 in .338 Lapua w/one box Black Hills ammo, about 200 rds of brass, case and bipod for $1475. Good or bad deal?

Also, any reccomendations on a load using 300gr Sierra HPBTs?

..For shorter ranges, also have Remington 40Xs in .308 and .300 WinMag

 

[Zak Smith]

Good deal!

 

[taliv]

man, very nice deal!

lapua brass is on sale at midway now for $233/100, so that's $466 worth of brass you got. You've got less than a grand in the gun.

those AR-30s are hella ugly. but the ones i've seen shoot surprisingly well.

 

[unwise11]

i personally think that a .338 lapua magnum has little purpose outside of killing people from over a mile away, and i would choose a nice remington 700 custom build in 300 wm over this, for one, price and two, i dont think you need to have a gun that is too powerful for anything in north america, unless you are a military or police sniper/sharpshooter.
or you are a millionaire

 

[Zak Smith]

Luckily we are free to pursue happiness including shooting .338 Lapua Magnum for whatever rational or frivolous reasons we want to, regardless of future army ranger.

If you want to argue you can get 95% of the long-range performance with something half the cost that's great. If you want to condemn cartridges because you think they are only useful for "killing people from over a mile away" then we have a big problem.

Please tell us how much experience you have shooting .338 Lapua Magnum at over 1000 yards.

 

[unwise11]

my experience with a .338 or even 300wm is none, but i love the rounds. and when i enlist in 4 years i hope they have developed a mass produced 338 lapmag rifle like they did the m24 and m40 for a bolt .308, but if youre shooting 1000 yard matches you would benefit from this cartridge, and god bless america we can get it. but the longest 7.62 nato kill was from 1250 meters using the m24. so, i believe that a very experienced shooter with a 300wm or .308 would beat an average shooter wether his choice be a .338 lapua .408 cheyac or even a .416 barrett. so what i meant is its not a nessessity for any civilian
again this is just my opinion and i am not telling anyone what to do.

 

[Zak Smith]

By all means experience and skill trumps equipment to a large degree, but that's not really the proposition.

so what i meant is its not a nessessity for any civilian

The same could be said for any shooting sport, or even hunting considering we can buy all the meat we want at the supermarket.

Also, you should get some experience with the cartridges and distances you're referring to before making recommendations.