338 Lapua, what can it Really Do Better?

It’s turns money into noise more efficiently than 50 BMG. Much more effective than 300 Win mag at it.

Huntolive said:

So I asked at 600 yards or less. . .

Click to expand...

Nothing.

.338 Lap is the wrong answer to anything inside 1k, and only really shines if you need 1500 yards+ and don't require the energy of a 50BMG.

More energy if you need it but 300WM is pretty stout

338 is just an expensive way to convert $ into recoil... Thought about the 338 Edge for about a week before I came to the conclusion I'd be much better served by a large 30cal.
Also.. What, prey tell, does one ever plan on hunting @ 1000yds? A mastodon? Are Dinosaurs still alive somewhere and legal for hunting? Where does this silly notion come from?

It gives a person with "small penis complex" confidence. Not belittling the .338 lapua , but as a practical man based on what I hunt do I need one, the answer is no and I don't even need a .300 mag either. Yes you can shoot further and so on but if I am hunting I refuse to shoot something so far not because I can't hit it but because I refuse to walk that far and than lug hundreds of pounds of meat on my back that far again. Would I buy one, I would if I had a place to shoot over 1500 yards, other wise no.

On a positive note, the beauty of living in this great country is you can buy whatever pleases you and if you want one, get it and the hell with what I think and anyone else too.

I enjoy mine even without the capacity to shoot at 1000+

I don’t think I have ever bought a firearm with an “intended use.”
I just enjoy the variety

As Harry Callahan said, "A mans got to know his limitations." I can't justify a 338 Lapua. In fact I sold my 300 magnums when I came to the realization that I was never going to shoot at game beyond 400 yards. And to date I've not taken a shot much over 200, but I've practiced enough to feel I could do it at 400 if conditions were right.

But for someone who wants to put in the time to develop the skills to shoot at game that far it'll get the job done. One of my wife's brothers has one and has taken several elk and mule deer at ranges exceeding 700 yards. They all died in their tracks.

If you need more than what you have, get a 50BMG. In fact, if you're even considering a 338 Lapua, just get a 50BMG. It's what you really want. We all do.

Huntolive said:

Yep jimmer 40 and I'll bet the 300 Win Mag would do the same thing at that range.
I'm talking about not hunting at all this would not be for hunting purposes.
This would be more for stopping moving objects and defeating armor and things like that not so much for hunting.

No one has really addressed my fundamental question of at 600 yards and under does the 338 Lapua function significantly better than a 300 Win Mag for an anti-material role
Or would I need to seriously jump up to 50 cal to make a big difference and then how much more does 50 cal ammo cost than 338 Lapua?
Or does it still come down even between a 300 and Win Mag and a 50 BMG or 338 Lapua strictly to a couple inches of shot placement? Or does the extra mass and energy Trump shot placement within a few inches at a certain point?
This would be intended more to vaporize things not as a hunting tool.
I already have all my hunting rifles and pistols and I know I will never need anything more than a 300 Win Mag or my 375 Ruger for hunting and usually and perfectly fine with my 308 or even 243.
Speaking of which would the 375 Ruger at 400 yards or less stop something or vaporize something as well as a 338 Lapua?
You guys have some amusing answers but you're not answering the questions I've asked

Click to expand...

Vaporizing requires certain criteria, of which no firearm I'm aware of can achieve. If you want to splater moderate size living creatures, well a .338 Lapua driving a 200-250 gr bullet at "DAYUM" would probably do the job pretty good.

Equally a 235gr speer semi spitzer from a .375 would do a fine job as well, probably better withing range limitations.

But again depends on the size and density of the splatee. I shot a 40-50lb goat with a .284 110gr sierra spitzer launched around 3500 once and had to look for pieces. The same thing wouldn't happen to a 100lb deer or sheep.

Step up to a 162gr Amax at 3200, and you'll blow chunks out of animals up to around 100lbs.


Shot a 120lb Axis buck running dead away from me at 150-175yds with a 270gr speer btsp launched at about 2850, and turned his insides up to his chest cavity into hamburger from all the bullet bits and bone shards......didn't explode, but might as well have as far as he was concerned.

Tough one. Shoots flat, hits hard but so do many others.
My best buddy had one, key word "had" . around here there is no range beyond 500 yards or so and even that's tough to come by. He sold the rifle. He left me with the dies, some powder, projectiles , brass, primers because he thought I'd use the stuff. I can not use anything but the primers - if anyone is curious I've got all that in the for sale section, posted it a couple times- no takers , no interest.

One of my buddies had one for a couple of years. He shot less than a box of rounds through it, never got it scoped properly, and finally traded it for a .308 he could actually make use of. For most people, it’s not really a useful or practical thing.

But you already have the practical, useful things. So if it gives you a warm fuzzy, then get one.

At the LGS the other day, the only rifle ammo they had in stock was .338 Lapua and a mess of .223 Rem (believe it or not), so it's obviously easier to find ammo for 338 during a shortage. What? My one experience isn't the final word? Says who?

Seriously though, take a look at some long range ballistic tables for the .338 vs. the .300 WM in the bullet weights you're interested in. Compare both momentum and energy at the distance in question. I expect the .338 will have more of both energy and (especially) momentum. Assuming I'm correct, physics says that the 338 would do more damage to an engine block than the 300 WM.

The bigger question is whether the extra damage would be significant enough to make up for the extra expense, extra recoil, etc. Your call on that.

If I lived out west where I could shoot long distance more I would maybe get a 338 Lapua. However, on the east coast I don't have a need for it.

As to your questions on penetration and power that is easy enough to look up and do a little math. The Lapua will hit harder at 1000yds and still have legs to go another couple of hundred more, now if that will matter I don't know, depends on your use case.

Aside from cost (hope you reload) there is also the platform and your ability to shoot well with the recoil. Most .338L's are pretty large and heavy, the lighter you go the more they recoil of course. Big and heavy shoots easier but you pay for it when you're toting it around.

So my question is what about for anti-material purposes like an engine block or things like that?

Click to expand...

I would use my 50 BMG and the API or AP rounds I bought back when they were only $1.25 ea. They were made for such targets.

1” thick plate steel, AP right/left, API center.

A 338 Lapua will out perform a 300 Winmag in anti material roles. That's why it was adopted by the militaries around the world.

But if you are after anti material, the 50 BMG is in another class. Ammo cost is actually somewhat comparable because of milsurp BMG ammo. Match grade 50 is insanely priced though. Also a good 50 rifle is significantly more expensive than the 338 Lapua rifles. The single shot Barrett and Armalite are over 3k dollars, maybe closer to 4k, while you can get 338 Lapua rifles for around 2k.

I recently shot a MRAD 338 Lapua out to a bit over 1000 yards. Cool rifle and gives you the ability to change cartridges so you aren't stuck with a badass rifle that costs to much to shoot.

If I were you I'd get the 338 over the 50 though. That way if you get the chance to shoot 1500 plus yards you can do that too. Milsurp 50 easily gets past 1500 yards but it's not terribly accurate.

Just an FYI though.... a well built 300 Winmag shooting 210-220 grain bullets is pretty solid out at a mile too. For far less money.

A 338 Lapua will out perform a 300 Winmag in anti material roles. That's why it was adopted by the militaries around the world.

Click to expand...

Some militaries did adopt the 338 LM. And while the US military did experiment with it, they ultimately settled on 300 WM. I'm not an authority on the topic, but apparently they felt pretty good about the 300.

js8588 said:

If you need more than what you have, get a 50BMG. In fact, if you're even considering a 338 Lapua, just get a 50BMG. It's what you really want. We all do.

Click to expand...

This and the post by jmorris.

Huntolive said:

No one has really addressed my fundamental question of at 600 yards and under does the 338 Lapua function significantly better than a 300 Win Mag for an anti-material role

Click to expand...

I think you are trying to compare apples to oranges. If anything the 300 win mag is closer to the 338 winchester and I believe that the 300 win mag holds a little more powder than the 338 winchester because the shoulder sits further ahead. The 300 also is a .308 whereas the 338 winchester and Lapua are both .338. Given that a 200 grain bullet from the 300 winchester delivers 20 to 30 foot pounds of energy less than the .338 winchester pushing a 225 grain bullet at 500 yards, but when it comes to the 338 Lapua this bullet is a beast pushing a .270 grain bullet just shy of 1000 foot pounds of energy more than the 300 magnum at 500 yards. So to quote you does "it function significantly better than a 300 win mag" is quite an understatement . Developed as a sniper round it has been known to penetrate body armor at 1000 meters so yeah it is better. With each caliber there might be an overlap but each has distinct uses and pros and cons. Just my 2¢.

the 338 Lapua this bullet is a beast pushing a .270 grain bullet just shy of 1000 foot pounds of energy more than the 300 magnum at 500 yards. So to quote you does "it function significantly better than a 300 win mag" is quite an understatement .

Click to expand...

338 wins by 814 at the muzzle and 903 ft/lbs at 500 with that data.

But it’s 9073 short against the 50 BMG at the muzzle and 6339 ft/lb behind at 500 and that’s 1571 ft pounds more than it started with at the muzzle.

“The Hornady products cited above make this point. The .338 Lapua Magnum (285 grain) has a muzzle energy of 4,768 foot pounds (ft-lbs.) . After traveling 500 yards, it still has an energy of 3,064 ft-lbs, which makes it more powerful than almost all rifle cartridges. But not all.

The 750-grain .50 BMG blows the competitions away. It has an unprecedented muzzle energy of 13,241 ft-lbs! After 500 yards, it is still flying with 9,403 ft-lbs. “
https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/lodge/338-lapua-vs-50-bmg/

Out to 700 yards looks like the 300 has a flatter trajectory than the 338.

@Huntolive, I have four Accuracy Internationals chambered in 6.5x47mm Lapua, .308 Win/6.5CM, .300 WM and .338 LM. If I had to sell one it would be the .300 Win Mag. The .338 LM does everything better at every range when compared to the .300 Win Mag. When I did load development using 250gr Lapua Scenars and H1000 powder I did it exclusively at 400 yards because it was too darn accurate any closer to see meaningful differences in group sizes. The load I settled on will shoot 1/4 moa at 400 yards and hits the reactive target so hard that I had to drive stakes into the dirt to prevent the 3/4 sized IPSC target (~40lb) from flipping over. Nothing else I have or shoot comes close. I have steel targets at 1,000 yards so have a place to use it. I've thought about working up an LRX hunting load to use on elk but it's not a priority.

If you handload the .338 LM can be fairly affordable, and the recoil of the rifle shown below is way less than many of my hunting rifles. I've had a number of 100lb women shoot it prone and really enjoy it, some out to 900 yards making multiple hits on an IPSC target. I guess they must have really small dicks.

I once shot an ULA chambered in .33 G&A which is basically a .338 LM in a 6lb rifle. To this day it's still the worst recoiling rifle I've ever shot and the only one that "knocked me out" for a fraction of a second.

This thread needs a rifle photo or two ... here's my Accuracy International AWM known to British forces as the L115A3.

Huntolive said:

what does the 338 Lapua do better than the 300 Win Mag?

Click to expand...

It detaches retinas better..............