Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Looking for info on a long range type rifle in 338 lapua

This was my 338L

errrr.... huh....

I thought you were serious about this.

Cocadori, what are the other 2 barrels? Just new 338 Laps?

2 7WSM's

This was a switch barrel ;-)

LOL err huh i have seen several guns in and under the 2000.00 range and scopes pop up all the time for under 500.00 so not sure what this post was for. Savages 110BA can be bought new in that range much less a nice used one for a good bit less.

Very nice looking set up.

Have seen a bunch of stuff die with the 338 lapua. My hunting partner has one. I have a 338 RUM. Have also killed many, many animals with it. Both are great guns, and very accurate long and short range killers. In the long range department, they really shine. They are expensive to shoot, but reloading is the only way to go. Prepare to buy alot of powder. But they are an absolute ball to shoot.
JMHO, I would go with the 338 RUM. If for some reason you ever get in a bind, you can usually buy factory ammo. Not easy to find, but alot of places usually have a box or 3.

Toby Joe

Not sure what this post was for? Are you serious?

I've come up with a better solution, if you can handle single loading...

Read my first post..... The above reply was to the fact that a nice rig can be had for the price range I stated. my OP said I am thinking about buying one and know very little about this type of long range shooting or setup. I might or might not buy one I am still looking. I will pick up my new hunting rig today and while at the gun shop look and see what they have to offer there. Thanks to those who offered your opinions!

The 338LM slows to 338WM velocities in 100 yards if they are both loaded to 60kpsi and have the same length barrel.

Any rifle that is light enough for me to hunt with, will do better for 600 yards with 7mmRemMag than either of the above 338s.

.338LM's will shoot a ways......1260M = 1377 yards.

If you're only shooting 600 to 800, I would get something less.

Dude! What is that, like a 6-7" 5-shot group?!

Yeah but you can see the powder burns on it again he's sandbaggin!

I have a 338WM, a reamer, a rifle, and I have been to the range.

I have a 338LM barrel and a receiver for it, but I have never shot it.

I do have quickload and a lifetime supply of 250 gr Nosler partition Gold, H4381sc, 29" barrel:
338 LM at 1377 yards looks like 1022 fps and down 59 moa from a 200 yard zero.

The 338 WM at 1377 yards looks like 991 fps and down 65 moa.

My problem is that I have never killed ANYTHING with more than 8moa adjustment from a 200 yard zero.

I have never killed any big game without at least 1800 fps.

And I prefer to carry a rifle, scope, sling, bipod, and magazine full of ammo that all weigh less than 9 pounds.

Given the cold bore first shot accuracy dial a trajectory record, the 338 WM would have a range for me of 480 yards, while the 338LM would have a range of 505 yards.

While the 7mmRM would be 590 yards with 140 gr Nos Bal Tips.
The 270 130 gr Bal Tip would be 560 yards.

I am trying really hard to increase my kill range from 500 to 600 yards, and the 338s are not going to do it for me. I am building more 7mmRemMag rifles.

A couple more things you might want to think about...I think I posted this information somewhere else at least once.

The case capacity of the Lapua and the Rum are VERY close...and can be almost identical depending of which brand of cases you happen to weigh. LM ~115gr H20 and RUM 108gr H20, probably for SAAMI minimum case specs...but all you have to do is have a reamer cut to SAAMI MAX specs and you can gain quite a bit more volume with EITHER case...so the ACTUAL case volume depends on the fired case size and overall case length, seating depth, bullet design, etc...and that can be HIGHLY variable.

The are both loaded to similar LISTED COALs, which really doesn't mean much if you are optimizing the cartridge for a specific bullet ogive length, throating for that length, and maximizing the internal case volume. LM case length 2.72", Rum 2.76"...AND if you really want to maximize things you can go to the full length, blown out Rigby case and get to 2.85" case length and ~135gr H20 or the 2.85" RUM case blown ut and get to ~115 - 120gr H20. It all depends on whether you want to stay "standard" or WFO.

You DON'T need to muck about with a larger OD bolt face with the RUM as it is semi-rebated to 0.532" same as ANY magnum bolt face which make a lot of excellent receiver nothing but a rebarrel.

Arguably the cases are just as strong as the other, but the Lapua case is slightly thicker in the walls and the solid base portion is slightly longer...depending on the brand again.

A "Lapua Mystique" has grown up around the 338 Lapua that is so mysterious as to completely blind a whole lot of people, to the realities of the physics of ballistics. This is not to say the Lapua is somehow "BAD" except in the sense that "BAD" is very good.

It basically boils down to an accurate rifle and shooter, tossing Hi-BC bullets at relatively high velos at distant targets. There are MANY highly accuracy rifles in several large calibers that can and do the same thing, but the 338 Lapua and the .338 cal bullets have grabbed many in the nether regions and tickled them so good they don't want it to stop....Hahahahahaha

I think "338 Lapua" SOUNDS BADDER AND COOLER than 338 RUM does and so do most of the rest of the "Lapualovers".

And there is always the "Elitist" stuff...I can shoot umpteen umpteen yds/M with my super deluxe, totally tricked out, highdollar scoped out dida-dida.......but if you shoot shorter distances, then stay with the rest of the bourgeois, unwashed masses, common, ordinary factory, cheapo scoped hohummmm.

Not that anyone would actually THINK that.

Me too.

Me three on the 7mm Mag!!

I am trying really hard to increase my kill range from 500 to 600 yards, and the 338s are not going to do it for me. I am building more 7mmRemMag rifles. [/quote]

The 338 wont do it for you????

Im running a 338 RUM and 5-600 yds is a chip shot if I do my part.
Not trying to flame anyone, but that just dont make since to me.

Toby Joe

Those lower priced scopes may work well for you and they may not. A long range scope needs to be extremely reliable and repeatable each and every time that one adjusts the turrets for the yardages of that shot and the scopes needs to do this repeatably over time. IMHO Nightforce is an excellent place to start and S&B is as good as it gets and neither of those scopes are 500 dollars even used



My 338 Lapua built on the M-700 action



A 300 SMK or the 300 Berger is way ahead of any 250 grain bullet in the Lapua for long range use