Does anyone shoot the 338 Lapua Magnum?

fencer

fencer

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I am thinking of picking up another bolt rifle and the 338 Lapua has got me thinking.

Does anyone have one that can offer an opinion? What rifle do you have it chambered in?

My scoped rifle now is a Rem 700 SPS in 308 and I love it but would like to pass it down to my son soon and pick up a new rifle for myself.

I've shot .270, 308 and 30-06 but never anything with more umph.

Thanks
 
fantastic catridge, ballistically. if i bought one, it'd be a Barrett 98Bravo (having seen one up close, fit and finish is impressive).

it's a tough one to justify though. that round is JUST starting to stretch its legs a bit at 1200+ yards....and the longest range within 3hours is 600yards. its massive overkill for this area of the country....especially at $6.50 a round ($4+/ea to reload, considering the brass is $2.50/ea)
 
Jasper said:
fantastic catridge, ballistically. if i bought one, it'd be a Barrett 98Bravo (having seen one up close, fit and finish is impressive).

it's a tough one to justify though. that round is JUST starting to stretch its legs a bit at 1200+ yards....and the longest range within 3hours is 600yards. its massive overkill for this area of the country....especially at $6.50 a round ($4+/ea to reload, considering the brass is $2.50/ea)
Click to expand...


Holy ammo dump Batman! Did you say $6.50 per round?! That is prohibitive to say the least.

Is there a good compromise between cost and power? How do 300 winmag and 375 stack up?
 
Jasper said:
fantastic catridge, ballistically. if i bought one, it'd be a Barrett 98Bravo (having seen one up close, fit and finish is impressive).

it's a tough one to justify though. that round is JUST starting to stretch its legs a bit at 1200+ yards....and the longest range within 3hours is 600yards. its massive overkill for this area of the country....especially at $6.50 a round ($4+/ea to reload, considering the brass is $2.50/ea)
Click to expand...

JASPER, you pretty much hit it on the head. It is a great round and the 98 is an awesome experience to shoot. When you go shoot a high end cartridge like this, you need a high end rifle. Barrett, AI, Sako- TRG, you get the picture, your going to spend 3-4 thousand on a rifle, at least and the glass will cost you half that. Hale mountain up in Shaftsbury VT will get yo out to 1000 yds. and there are a couple other ranges, but you need to play with that at 1000+ to have fun. You show up at a club with a hundred yd range and your going to have a whole bunch of folks yelling at you.
Go with the 300 win mag, its affordable, 1000 yd gun, best at 6-800, but you can reach out and touch someone far away with it. Again its big dollars for a good setup, but you can get out with a GAP 300 Win mag for around 1500 and a nice Nightforce for about the same amount and your good to go. You can pick up a box of 20 180 gr Hornady for about 40 bucks. Two bucks to 3 bucks a round.
 
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fencer said:
Holy ammo dump Batman! Did you say $6.50 per round?! That is prohibitive to say the least.

Is there a good compromise between cost and power? How do 300 winmag and 375 stack up?
Click to expand...


300 win mag is another 1000-1200yd cartridge. it's a beast, but a barrel burner. acceptable accuracy seems to dwindle (at distance) after 1000rounds or so... plus its another pricey one to shoot ($2+/round for factory ammo). i have no experience with 375H&H, but ive always understand it to be more of a big game hunting round...not a target round.

cost vs power? power for what? a round doesnt have to sound like a 16" gun on a battleship to be capable of putting down a soft target.

decide what you want a rifle to do...pick a caliber from there. paper? hunting? zombies? at what range? there are HUNDREDS of calibers/cartridges/wildcats out there. personally, if i wanted something with commercial ammo available, it'd be a 308. bullets for any application, hunting, target, etc, in weights that will work well out to 1200 yards.bucks the wind like a champ, has brass commercially available, and has been researched and tested to DEATH. requires no major homework. a little looking around, and you can have load data for any scenario...any bullet...any rifle.

dont get hung up on physical size of a bullet. it means nothing. hell I can shoot 1k with a .223. it'll do it, just gotta know how to call the wind.
 
Get a Barrett MRAD. It can be swapped between .308 / 300WinMag / and .338Lapua Magnum from what I have been reading.

If all you have is one of the typical short ranges that are around here, use it with .308. If you find a longer range - or SHTF comes and you need to use your long range skills - swap it to .300 or .338. At least you would have already been training on a familiar platform.
 
Jasper said:
cost vs power? power for what? a round doesnt have to sound like a 16" gun on a battleship to be capable of putting down a soft target.

decide what you want a rifle to do...pick a caliber from there. paper? hunting? zombies? at what range? there are HUNDREDS of calibers/cartridges/wildcats out there. personally, if i wanted something with commercial ammo available, it'd be a 308. bullets for any application, hunting, target, etc, in weights that will work well out to 1200 yards.bucks the wind like a champ, has brass commercially available, and has been researched and tested to DEATH. requires no major homework. a little looking around, and you can have load data for any scenario...any bullet...any rifle.

dont get hung up on physical size of a bullet. it means nothing. hell I can shoot 1k with a .223. it'll do it, just gotta know how to call the wind.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I should have mentioned the purpose for the rifle. I have a buddy that has been in the lumber business for years and takes three or four hunting trips a year in Canada. Black Bear in New Brunswick, Caribou in Quebec, Elk in Northwest Canada, and I have been invited to go. I figure 308 is fine for Black Bear but he was saying that the Caribou hunts take place north of where the paved roads end. They fly to the hunting camp in a small bush plane that seats five plus the pilot.

The Caribou hunts are literally on the tundra. He took his last Caribou at about 600 yards with a 30-06. I am not sure that I would be comfortable taking a shot like that with my 308 and for sure nothing further.

With Elk they shots are usually not as far, but it is a big ole critter and there are lots of bears out there. I am figuring that 308 is not the right rifle for that hunt.

My buddy is 62 and these trips could be the chance of a lifetime.
 
If .308 was my only choice I wouldn't hesitate to use it.
Ive shot large animals with a .308. Animals that weigh over 500 lbs such as zebra, water buck,wildebeest,gemsbok,hippo and in the USA, black bear up to about 400 lbs.
They all went down with one shot. Some out to almost 300 yards.
Put a good quality bullet in the right spot and it will do it's job.
 
fencer said:
Yeah, I should have mentioned the purpose for the rifle. I have a buddy that has been in the lumber business for years and takes three or four hunting trips a year in Canada. Black Bear in New Brunswick, Caribou in Quebec, Elk in Northwest Canada, and I have been invited to go. I figure 308 is fine for Black Bear but he was saying that the Caribou hunts take place north of where the paved roads end. They fly to the hunting camp in a small bush plane that seats five plus the pilot.

The Caribou hunts are literally on the tundra. He took his last Caribou at about 600 yards with a 30-06. I am not sure that I would be comfortable taking a shot like that with my 308 and for sure nothing further.

With Elk they shots are usually not as far, but it is a big ole critter and there are lots of bears out there. I am figuring that 308 is not the right rifle for that hunt.

My buddy is 62 and these trips could be the chance of a lifetime.
Click to expand...

The lapua is a target round. Way too much ($) for game.
Forget the 300 Win Mag. Nobody likes to shoot it.
The 375 H&H is a great round, but it's more at home hunting large, dangerous game.
For the hunt you describe, I couldn't think of a better cartridge than the 35 Whelen.
The 30-06 will work excellent, also, but for a once in a lifetime hunt, I would need to buy a rifle a little more special.
 
If you want a .338 rifle, look at the Savage 110BA. It's under $2K and is amazingly accurate.

IMO it's the best buy out there for a .338 hands down.
 
best buy? eh....it's not a bad rifle, but when you're talking MOA accuracy @ 1500+ yards, Savage doesnt live up to Barrett, Sako, TRG, AccuracyIntl, and so forth. at that distance, you pay to play. hell the 98B comes with everything but glass and ammo!

if you're gonna buy a .338 just to say you have a .338, sure (although at that point buy a .338WinMag, its cheaper).
 
.338 Winchester Mag?

A little softer than .300 Win mag (3900 ft/lbs vs 4500 ft/lbs at 200 gr) and very easy ammo to find and reload.

I'd say this or 300 win mag is your best bet.

If you're only expecting to shoot 600-800 yds, (!), it may not be necessary to spend $6k with glass.
 
My dad recently bought a 300WinMag for potential trips out west for Elk and for Moose hunts, he used it this year for deer hunting (it was a sentimental thing the rifle had meaning and he wanted to use it). Well, that rifle barks... LOUD and definitely did the trick on a small 8 point white tail.

That being said if you hit anything in the right spot it'll go down my dad and I have taken 3 Moose with .270's one shot took each animal down and most believe you can't take a moose with less than an '06.

If you're looking for a rifle for a once in a lifetime hunt with a cartridge that will definitely do the trick I'd vote a Winchester Model 70 in .300 WinMag with a nice set of leupold optics. Just one mans opinion, that setup would run somewhere in the $1200-$1800 range depending on used/new on the rifle and level of optic.
 
[grin]
I have a Browning Stainless Stalker in 338 win. mag. with the BOSS. It's left handed. I have let people shoot it at some of the NES shoots. PM me if you want to give it a try. 225 grain bullet is just under 4000 ft/lbs at the muzzle. I've got it tuned in for the 225 grain rounds and it groups very, very well. Just how much of that is the BOSS, I don't know. I think it's just a sales gimmick. But it does act as a nice muzzle break. A box of 20, 225 grain rounds was around $65 at Bass Pro Shops the last time I checked. It's not readily available around here. I bought this to go to Alaska because it's the most common round that the guys I hunt with up there use. That way if you run out of ammo, or yours gets lost, you can borrow some from somebody else. If you were looking for 338 Lapau in the bush, you'd wind up with a very expensive club in your hands.
I also have a savage 99 in .308 that can shoot groups very well. I have taken deer on Anticosti beyond 400 yards with it.
 
It sounds like 338 Lapua is not the best choice. I don't see myself spending more than 3k, and honestly wouldn't be doing it, but I am saving a fortune by tagging along.

What are you hunting in Alaska? I'd love a chance to shoot that 338 win.mag. I'll send a PM

Thanks folks
 
My 338-378 weatherby mag is the most versatile gun I own, from 300gr all the way down to 160 barnes if I told you how fast those 160s come out of that 28 inch factory barrel your jaw would drop, I don't have access to a 1000 yd range either but I am sure it would get the job done if I had the chance, also it is by far the loudest gun I own and am a little intimidated and hesitant to pull the trigger some times ya know with 125gr of powder going off a couple inches from your face, that being said I would not want to be with out it in my arsenal.
Dean
 
glide said:
If you want a .338 rifle, look at the Savage 110BA. It's under $2K and is amazingly accurate.

IMO it's the best buy out there for a .338 hands down.
Click to expand...

I've shot this gun in 300 Win Mag. Its loud but shoots softer than a 7mm Mag. Completely impractical to hunt with but its a lot of fun to shoot.
 
I've been drooling over the Accuracy International AW's for years now, but for the reasons already mentioned, I can't justify buying one, plus the longest I can say I'd realistically be shooting is the 200 yard range at Nauset.

Post pics of whatever you decide on! [grin]
 
Jasper said:
best buy? eh....it's not a bad rifle, but when you're talking MOA accuracy @ 1500+ yards, Savage doesnt live up to Barrett, Sako, TRG, AccuracyIntl, and so forth. at that distance, you pay to play. hell the 98B comes with everything but glass and ammo!

if you're gonna buy a .338 just to say you have a .338, sure (although at that point buy a .338WinMag, its cheaper).
Click to expand...

The definition of 'best buy' in this case is performance:price. So I would argue that it is.
 
I have the Savage 11/111 Long Range Hunter 338 LM. I love it. Ammo right now is about 3.80 rd. I reload, haven't started loading for the lapua yet but will when I get time and when Waynes Weaponry opens for the spring. (need a range) It shoots like a 308, but louder. Extremely accurate, I had a Rem 700 BDL 308 and at 100 yds my Savage is dead on. I'm not the best shooter but the adjustable trigger on the 11/111 is GREAT!!!
I can't say enough good things about my Savage, wish the 110BA was in my price reach but everybody knows how the economy is.
I want to tag along with somebody from Harvard to shoot out there. I'd be happy to let them try it out just PM me.
 
Here are a couple of useful links:
AccurateShooter.com 6mmBR.com -- Best Guide to Precision Shooting and Precision Rifle Accuracy lots of info on long range precison cartridges
Sniper Central
Sniper's Hide
JBM - Calculations a good ballistic calculator program

Finding a caliber that is 1. accurate & effective past 1000 yards 2. relatively inexpensive to shoot 3. doesn't burn out the barrel in a 1000 rounds or less and 4. doesn't kick the crap out of you isn't easy, tends to narrow the field down rather quickly.
If I build a long range rifle, I am mostly likely going to build it around the 6.5x55, mild recoil, inexpensive to reload, very good accuracy, long barrel life and the 6.5mm bullets out there are very efficent. The 6.5x55 has been very popular in Scandanavia for Elk & Moose. Very good penetration according everything I've heard.
 
I picked up a used savage 110 in 300 win mag. the gun was cheap ( 300) I added a good scope, not great( Nikon Monarch) and the gun shoots 1/2 in grps. I found that the 150g loads are easy to shoot, feel the same as a 30-06, but some of the 190-220g loads do kick the crap out of you. I have shot a .338 and it kicks MUCH worse even with a Brake, and I have seen guys with .338 with a brake asked to leave the range due to the excessive blast. If you want to just punch paper at extreme ranges the 300 using a good hand loaded 208g A-Max bullet will shoot better than a .338, just not have the hitting power at those distances. Pick up a copy of Sniper magazine. They have a complete article about buying and setting up a Rem 700 in 300 win mag for Sniper comps with shots past 1500Yrd. The other bonus is the Privi makes a nice 150g factory load that is light recoil and only is about .90 a shot and the brass is great to reload
 
PatMcD said:
The lapua is a target round. Way too much ($) for game.
Forget the 300 Win Mag. Nobody likes to shoot it.
The 375 H&H is a great round, but it's more at home hunting large, dangerous game.
For the hunt you describe, I couldn't think of a better cartridge than the 35 Whelen.
The 30-06 will work excellent, also, but for a once in a lifetime hunt, I would need to buy a rifle a little more special.
Click to expand...

I use a .338 Winchester Magnum. 225 grain for plains game and 270 grain for bigger stuff. Barnes TSX seem to be deadly in any caliber and have seen living (dying) proof.

I just stepped up to the .375 H&H in case a Cape Buffalo hunt is in the future.

Do you have an opinion of the .338 Win Mag.? I originally bought it for Alaskan moose hunts. My friend that lives there said it's all his crowd uses and if you lose your ammo., everyone else will still have some.

Seriously, I would value your opinion on this caliber because I'm thinking of trying it at a 1000 yard range out west.
 
jarhead66 said:
I use a .338 Winchester Magnum. 225 grain for plains game and 270 grain for bigger stuff. Barnes TSX seem to be deadly in any caliber and have seen living (dying) proof.

I just stepped up to the .375 H&H in case a Cape Buffalo hunt is in the future.

Do you have an opinion of the .338 Win Mag.? I originally bought it for Alaskan moose hunts. My friend that lives there said it's all his crowd uses and if you lose your ammo., everyone else will still have some.

Seriously, I would value your opinion on this caliber because I'm thinking of trying it at a 1000 yard range out west.
Click to expand...
I really have no experience with the .338 WM. I know a lot of people love them, but they kill on both ends.
I DO have experience with the .375H&H, though. Love that caliber for anything you wish to carry it for. For bear and moose, I can't thnk of anything better. I shot a deer with mine (when I had one). It stayed dead.
 
cekim said:
It's fun watching other people do it... [laugh]
Click to expand...

Some years back, a friend brought his Blaser R93 in .300 Win Mag to our club's turkey shoot. Several folks shot it. I was standing some distance away, pushing my ear protection hard against my head. I wanted nothing to do with it, thank you very much.
 
I had a Savage 110BA 300 win mag. Good gun for the money (sub $2000). Big brake on it kept it easy to shoot. I didn't have any distance to shoot it so sold it. I now have a Sako TRG-22 in .308 and am much happier. But the TRG will set you back $3000 w/o optics.
 
If all ya want is to punch holes at log distance go with something that isnt gonna beat ya to death and is some what affordable to shoot.6 NORMA BR,6.5 Creedmore,308 Palma,alot of great long distance rounds out there that wont beat ya and are fun to shoot.Big power does no good if theres no place to use it.
 
No votes for the. 300 RUM?

Great round. You can load from 30-06 power levels up to full house RUM loads.

It can drive a 200 grainer at 3200 fps.
 

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