Whats the difference between 338 lapua and 338 winchester?

[datruth]

I'm thinking about a bolt action purchase in remy,savage or weatherby chambered in 30-06 , but I also see a rifles from all three makers in 338, I don't know too much about the rounds or round and I hear about it in long distance shooting, is it good for hunting, can someone explain a little bit about the rounds or round(338 winchester and/or Lapua), this seems to be the place to receive good info, thanks in advance

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The .338 Lapua is a humongous round with way more power than most people need or can control. The .338 Winchester is as powerful as you need for any critter in North America, at least. Generally speaking, the .338 Winchester is about equal to the .375 H&H and shoots a bit flatter.

The .30-06 is generally considered the most powerful round the average man can be trained to shoot well.

A beginner would be well advised to stick with the .30-06, and not try the .338 Winchester (let alone the .338 Lapua) until he's sure of his shooting and his ability to deal with recoil.

 

[datruth]

been around firearms all my life thanks to my late father,

is the recoil that violent, i have the shot the 500 S&W but thats a wheelgun not a bolt action rifle, what is the 338 lapua used for primarily, what type of effective range we talking and what could it be used for(hunting/competition shooting,) and is it totally unadvisable to get my first bolt action rifle chambered in it, i was shooting 12 gauge 3" mags long before shooting the m16 im issued now(us army), not bragging by any means and not trying to be a mall ninja sniper wannabe, just trying to get educated on a somewhat foreign round and make a good purchase and I know this is one of the better forums to help educate myself

 

[Big Az Al]

Lapua closer to 340 Weatherby, HOWEVER!!!

The 338 Lapua and the 340 Wweatherby are similair cartridges, with one being a belted Mag the 340, and the Lapua 338 being beltless. The 340 headspaces on the belt, while the 338L headspaces on the shoulder,

THIS DIFERRENCE MAKES IT UNSAFE TO INTERCHANGE THEN!

Other then not being interchangeable, what one can do the other can do, with very similair if not the same ballistics and performance.

The 338 Win is case capacity wise in the class of the 264win mag, 7mm Rem mag, 300win mag, being that they have the same head size, about the same capacity for powder, and will work thru a standard lenght action.

The 30-06, my favorite, is very versital, whether your a one load for everything hunter (me), or a change the bullet wieght for everything, this round will handle all game in North America, from rabbits to Mouse.

The advantage of being a one load hunter, is that no matter what shot or cittuation, and you have shot the gun enough, there is no doubt about where the bullet is going if I do my part. Some rifles don't seam to care about bullet wieght, and others the change in the POI is extreme.

Al

 

[trueblue1776]

The Lapua is nearly in .50 BMG range.
.338 Win is a mule deer round.

The .338 Lapua is a sexy sexy beast.

 

[datruth]

I would not make the mistake of loading the wrong round in the wrong gun i

I would not make the mistake of loading the wrong round in the wrong gun, im very safe, but accidents do happen to the most seasoned gun experts and beginners alike, i like to stick to the fundemental gun saftey rules, so what is the 338 lapua all about?

 

[kcmarine]

You have to duct tape trauma plates on to your back and chest to stop the Lapua.


I wonder if anyone will get this joke?

 

[another okie]

According to Lee's modern reloading:

.338 Winchester Magnum
.338 caliber bullet
200 grain bullet at about 2700 feet per second
250 grain bullet at about 2500 feet per second

.338 lapua is not listed, but here's what I found elsewhere:
200 grain bullet at 3200 feet per second
250 grain bullet at 3000 feet per second

Both of those are a lot of power, but the lapua is significant step up both from the Winchester and the Remington .338 ultra mag, and even seems to be a little hotter than the Weatherby .340 magnum, all of which use .338 bullets.

If anyone has any experience with loading the Lapua I'd be interested to know if you can use the same bullets as the .338 Winchester, or if that is too much velocity for them.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The .338 Lapua is a sexy sexy beast.

Reminds me of a spoof on an old TV cigarette commercial, "Nine out of ten doctors who have tried Camels prefer women."

The .338 Lapua may be sexy, but I doubt many men who own them shoot them a lot -- even if they can afford the ammo.

 

[Will Learn]

.338 Lapua ammo is really expensive if I remember right, I think its more than 50bmg. I'd just go for the 50bmg if I was in that price range. For a starter bolt rifle I would suggest one chambered in .308, a Savage or Rem 700 or something. The .308 can reach out to 1000yds and has more available(cheaper) ammo. Just remember, the money you save on the rifle can be spent on optics and mass amounts of match ammo. You might want to look into reloading as well if your looking to shoot the more expensive ammo.

The .338 Lapua is a very capeable round and can reach out past 1000yds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.338_Lapua

 

[Zak Smith]

Another okie's numbers are on for 338 Lapua.

From Military .338 Lapua Magnum Rifles Compared, the SAKO TRG-42 and AI-AWSM

In the early 1980's, the U.S Navy sought a new cartridge for long-range competition. Research Armament Industries (RAI) developed a .338 caliber wildcat using a rimless .416 Rigby case. After a few years of testing the .338/.416, U.S. Armed Forces lost interest and chose to focus on the .50 BMG instead. Lapua picked up the pieces, strengthened the case design, and created the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge.

The .338 Lapua splits the difference between .308 sniper rifles and .50 BMG anti-materiel rifles, with an effective range of 1500 yards against man-sized targets. Rifles chambered in .338 Lapua are the same size and weight as other long-action calibers like .300 Winchester Magnum, or about half the weight of a .50 BMG rifle. This makes a dramatic difference in mobility for shooter and spotter teams.

Accuracy International (AI) was established in 1978 by World Champion rifle shooter Malcom Cooper along with Dave Walls and Dave Caig. They produced one of the first modern sniper rifles, the Precision Marksman (PM), which was adopted by the British as the L96 in 1985. AI modified the rifle to work better in arctic environments and this Arctic Warfare (AW) model was adopted by the Swedish Army in 1990. They had a vision for a multi-purpose long-range sniper caliber and this idea came to fruition in the Arctic Warfare Super Magnum (AWSM) sniper rifle chambered in .338 Lapua, which was adopted as the L115A1 in British service.

338 Win Mag is basically a big, slow round for wholloping game.
338 Lapua is a long-range "sniper" round.

datruth- This article describes caliber selection for long-range shooting
PRACTICAL LONG-RANGE RIFLE SHOOTING - PART I: THE RIFLE & GEAR

 

[Zak Smith]

With regard to recoil--

The .30-06 is generally considered the most powerful round the average man can be trained to shoot well.

I more or less agree with this if we are talking about conventional 7-10# hunting rifles without muzzle brakes. When you go a little heavier or add a good brake (or suppressor), this is easily expanded to include the 338 Lapua.

The TRG-42 weighs about 13-14# and comes with a brake. It can be shot "all day" without recoil fatigue-- concussion fatigue is another story (and that's why I shoot with suppressors nowadays).

Also, about the 338RUM-- it will give very close results to the 338 Lapua. You'll see more difference in velocity within either of them based on chamber dimensions and bore tightness than you are likely to see between the two calibers.

-z

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I more or less agree with this if we are talking about conventional 7-10# hunting rifles without muzzle brakes. When you go a little heavier or add a good brake (or suppressor), this is easily expanded to include the 338 Lapua.

When we're trudging up a 45-degree slope at 11,000 feet after elk, my gunbearer, Ujangbu, whimp that he is, says my custom '03 Springfield is too heavy.

 

[lamazza]

I've shot .338 Lapua and didn't think that the recoil was horrendous or brutal.

 

[slzy]

vern,the camel spot sounds like something steve allen may have said.

 

[jmr40]

No personal knowledge, but I have a brother in law who had a custom rifle built in 338 lapua. He uses it to elk hunt with. He claims it is a legitimate 600 yard elk rifle. Next time I see him I will to get more info.

 

[rangerruck]

PRICE!!!! get you a 300 winmag, shooting 180 grainers about 3000 fps, and thisll will do just about anything you want.

 

[Limeyfellow]

The .338 Lapau is a bit cheaper than .50bmg and thats why its used by some nations military to save money since .50bmg is considered too expensive. Both are great for hunting lightly armoured trucks though.

 

[Alphazulu6]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6 x 70 mm or 8.58 x 70 mm) is a specialized rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for military long-range sniper rifles. The Afghanistan War and Iraq War made it a combat-proven round with ready and substantial ammunition availability. The .338 Lapua is a dual-purpose anti-personnel and anti-material round; however, its anti-material potential is limited, due to the bullet's lower kinetic energy compared with that of the .50 BMG's 35.64 to 55.08 gram (550 to 850 grain) projectiles. The loaded cartridge is 14.93 mm (0.5878 in) in diameter (rim) and 93.5 mm long. It can penetrate better-than-standard military body armour at ranges up to 1000 meters and has a maximum effective range of about 1750 meters.

.338 Lapua

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The .338 Winchester Magnum was introduced in 1958. Some say this cartridge is too powerful for anything but the biggest bruins in North America, while others say it is a fine cartridge for long range shooting of deer and elk. The .338 Winchester Magnum cartridge is able to push a 225 grain bullet to velocities of 2,780 ft/s, generating 3,860 ft·lbf of energy resulting in zero drop at 200 yards

 

[nyresq]

You have to duct tape trauma plates on to your back and chest to stop the Lapua.


I wonder if anyone will get this joke?

it helps if you have the special boots that allow you to climb the walls

 

[kcmarine]

Quote:
You have to duct tape trauma plates on to your back and chest to stop the Lapua.


I wonder if anyone will get this joke?

it helps if you have the special boots that allow you to climb the walls

YOU ARE CORRECT SIR!!!

 

[CDignition]

338 Lapua parent case is .416 Rigby(When it was Wildcatted,etc).

I suggest 338 Edge. It is a 300 Ultra Mag Case necked up to 338. Case capacity is 4% More than 338 Lapua, and Brass is 1/3 the cost of 338 Lapua.

I was shooting 300 SMK at 2950 out of my 338 Lapua all day long, Ops Inc Brake, AiCS. Was nice. Suppressed would be the ticket.

 

[fal 4 me]

Big Az Al wrote: The 30-06, my favorite, is very versital, whether your a one load for everything hunter (me), or a change the bullet wieght for everything, this round will handle all game in North America, from rabbits to Mouse.

Obviously a typo, but one of the funnier ones I've seen lately

Wife: "Hunny there's a mouse in the basement again."

Husband: "Don't worry baby. I'll get the 30-06.

 

[datruth]

I just decided on a 30-06 savage

thanks for the advice thus far, you all are very helpful and there is a wealth of knowledge on this site, thanks for your help so far I see you treat soldiers with a lot of dignity on here thank you very much

 

[Came2ride]

If you like the 30.06 but want a .338 then look at the .338.06 its a 30.06 cartrage necked up