Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 338 Lapua recoil?

I have no experience with this round and was wondering If anybody that has one could tell me what the recoil is like.

I'll preface my question by saying that a friend of a friend has one that he's looking to unload to help pay for a new boat. The rifle in question weighs 8.8 lbs naked and has a muzzle brake. It shoots 225 gr. Accubonds.

Thanks,

MB

With a brake, it would be easy.

I agree, a brake will tame the beast. Go for it!

WS

The .338 Lapua is basically a .340 Weatherby with an extra 100 fps. ZThe case looks huge but the brass is very heavy, cutting down on powder room. It isn't a recoil terror, but for most people a brake helps--just as it does with the .340.

MasterBlaster,

I have a friend who is an outrageous rifle man. He purchased a .338 RUM with a brake. He was getting 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards. I suggested he hold it like a BB gun when firing it. Instantly his groups went to 1/2". Brakes work.

But back to your question. If you can get it for a good price and you want it, do it.

Recoil is brisk without a brake but with a good one it's quite manageable. The one I shoot is over 10lbs. Reloading for these is not easy on the wallet. I highly suggest you price out components before you purchase.

Recoil is manageable,depending on the type of brake.
The Arm lite AR-30 has recoil similar to a 243. but it's LOUD.
My 338L gets a little busy but very manageable at~13#'s and running a DE brake.
After the cost of brass, it really isn't that terrible expensive to reload.

300 grainers are a bit more sassy than the 225s............

I've fired a couple thousand rounds of 338L over the last few years, several times shooting 140+ rounds in a day, and would prefer not to shoot the rifle you reference more than a couple times. Granted, almost everything I shoot is a 300 gr bullet and most of it has been suppressed. Lighter bullets and a really good brake will certainly help, but that rifle is going to move, nonetheless...

Should be worth several man points, if nothing else!

Thanks for the feedback guy's. I'm going to get a chance to shoot this thing before I have to make a decision.

Drove this one for a decent portion of 2008 down in Helmand. With the suppressor it was quieter than a M4 or AK. A very nice system. If I were building one for me I'd most likely just build a 338 UM and shoot the tard out of it.

Own a 338 RUM and have shot a friend of mines 338 Lapua alot. Both have custom brakes. Would venture to say that the recoil is about like my 264 mag. Seems you feel the pressure from the gas out of the brake more then you feel the recoil. My son killed a deer with my 338 RUM when he was 7 years old. Was shooting off of shooting sticks, and said he seen the bullet hit through the scope. Both my 9 yo, and my 6 yo can run my 338 RUM without any issues, and love it.

Toby Joe

My youngest shooting my .338LM a few years back. It has a Badger FTE brake. Recoil feels less than a nine pound .270. I wouldn't want to shoot a 10-12 pound Lapua much without a brake.

MB-I have to start off by saying I've not fired a 338 LM round. But, I have worn out 2 barrels chambered in .340 and am part way thru the 3rd. The rounds must be sort of close when it comes to bump. I'd think...?

My first .340 weighed in @ 8.25 lbs with a 3-10 Leo in Conetrols on top. I had it magnaported cause the mzl jump would sneak me from time to time as I tend to hold a rifle fairly light. This was on my 700 with a Brown stock on it that's fairly light, 26 oz's if I recall right. I shot it a ton on chucks and pd's from the prone and it never bothered me much.

My next .340 was on a M70/Pre. It came with a brake, and weighed in about 8.5 lbs scoped with the same 3-10 Leo. The brake soon took a hike and I shot the dog beanos out of it. (my 3rd barrel is also on this rig).

Long and the short if the barrels got some weight to it, and the guns in the 8.5 range with scope I don't find it to be any biggie to work with.

I'd think it'd be a good one and a fun rig to work with.

I love the big (and lil 33's).

Dober

I should qualify my talk about the big 33's by saying that I'm less entralled with them that I once was.

My Mashburn has been my Big gun for some time now, and my lil 6.5 Panther is rapidly becoming a fav as well.

Dober

Dober, how much louder did the Magnaporting make your first .340? Did it give you the pressure face-slap that brakes can give you?

Thanks.

Not any face slap at all, I spect it made it louder but in all honesty I didn't notice it. I hear people say that they're louder but I don't really think so. For dang sure nothing like that of a brake.

Dober

Thanks, man! I've been kinda toying with a .340 build on an M70 or 700 (whichever donor I find first) for a while now, and have been a little concerned about muzzle jump.

KDK,

Just to let you know what kind of free recoil velocity the .340 generates I will tell you an unfun story.

Before I installed a scope on the .340 Weatherby Mark V, I fired it. The bolt knob went into the webbing between the thumb and index finger. It wasn't hard to get it out, but I still had to take it out. Once I installed a brake I developed a Nosler 210 grain load that normally ran 3/4" at 3,212 feet per second.

.338LM case: 339grs. Holds 111grs. IMR7828
.340 WBY case: 225grs. Holds 96grs. IMR7828

.338LM cases are extremely strong in the web area. The case is based on the 416 Rigby design, only beefed up to withstand a lot higher pressures.