338 lapua, is this popular with benchrest shooting

[xdshooter]

curious if 338 lapua is or becoming popular with benchrest shooters

 

[artbosco]

curious if 338 lapua is or becoming popular with benchrest shooters

In short range BR, 100 to 200 yards, the most popular is the 6PPC and the 30BR.

 

[4xforfun]

For 1000 br...
Short answer....no.

Long answer....no.

Several problems with the big 338's.....

First, they kick like hell. The gun is most likely going to upset in the bags, slowing the speed to which you can fire your string. Most people shoot as fast as they can in order to get thier string on paper before the wind switches. The trend is actualy going down in size, at least for 1000 br.

Second....Good bullets. It is widely accepted that it is tough to find good bullets. Untill a year ago, there was only really 2 choices for bullets...the Seirra MK, and the Lapua Senar. Your gun either liked em or it didn't, and the quality wasn't there, for the most part.

Third....it just costs a bunch more to shoot them.

Now, there are guys out there shooting them...and winning, but most of these guys have a huge amount of loading and shooting knowlege. IMO, the big 338's are not for the beginner.

Again, just my .02...for what it's worth

 

[bozo699]

xdshooter,
I have a friend that builds precision .338 Lapua's as a matter of a fact he advertises on this forum and there scary accurate I have shot several of them but even with a brake there not a easy gun to shoot. 4xforfun said it nicely this of course is just my .02 worth also.
Wayne.

 

[deadlyswift]

Seems like the 6 dasher, and 6BRX is kicking everythings butt in 1000yrd BR...on the east coast! A far cry from the 338s. However I'm just a Fclass shooter myself so what do I know! ;D
Mark

 

[Outrider27]

Concur with the above posts. Mine is fun, but the muzzle brake necessary to make the recoil tolerable for more than 3 or 4 shots makes it loud enough to wake the dead - you wear shooting muffs over your earplugs.

4xforun summed it up nicely.

 

[gary0529]

Could not agree with the previous postings more.


I love my 338LM but even with the brake it is a handful and those within 2 lanes on either side of you need to be warned as the blast is quite unsettling for those not anticipating it.
Waaaay too expensive for me to shoot enough to become good enough to compete and my old body resents the pounding it gets from it.
Much prefer the 6 mm BR for me and competition.

Just my opinion.

Gary

 

[people]

I cannot see anyone using it for BR. I do not participate in long range BR for reasons I have stated before.

 

[Steve Blair]

Smaller rounds do it just as good or better. It is only a target you are shooting at so all you need to do is generate a hole in it. It does not take a super mag to make a hole in paper at 1k.

Its ability to buck the wind is amazing. Wind that will shut me down with my 300WM with a 220gr SMK at 3000 fps is almost an easy shot with the 338lm.

Aren't these two statements contradictory? The point is to make holes in paper in specific places. So, wind bucking ability is important in long range BR. That said, all the other factors mentioned above make it an unpleasant, expensive and, ultimately, unsuitable round for BR competition. But ballistic performance is the one favorable argument. The .338 Lapua is a good example of diminishing returns.

 

[82boy]

The only way I could see someone shooting a 338 Lapua mag in BR competition it would have to be in heavy gun. (Over 17 lbs, 5 inch wide forarm.) I would not go out and say no one is doing it, but no one that is competitive is doing it. About the closest thing I can think of is Tom Starver shot a 1000 yard record shooting a 300 Hulk, wich is a necked down and shortened 338 lapua mag. In heavy gun you will find about anything and everything being shot, but most heavy gun competitions are won with a light gun. (Under 17 lbs 3 inch wide forarm.) Most light guns are 6 dasher's, 6x284's, 6x47 lapua, ETC.

 

[memilanuk]

In heavy gun you will find about anything and everything being shot, but most heavy gun competitions are won with a light gun.

Is that because the lighter calibers are really better, or because most people are shooting one rifle in both classes due to the cost of having a separate HG rifle built?

 

[lynn]

It is because of the extra costs involved.You can't build two rifles for the cost of one rifle and a true heavygun requires a seperate rest system as well.
If your club is real windy and your building a real heavygun were recoil is not an issue you'll probaly place higher with a 338 than you will with a 6BR.You need to keep in mind that your score counts as much as your group does.
If your club is wind free most of the time the 338 wouldn't be my first choice.
Lynn

 

[Laurie]

I know it's not benchrest, but F Class has similarities. We had several people try .338LM in the early days of the discipline in the UK. None stuck with it for more than a season. While the cartridge's wind-bucking abilities are fantastic, it just didn't seem to deliver the scores that were expected. Too much recoil and rifle disturbance on the rest and bags I suppose. One person tried it in 1,000yd BR at Diggle for a while, but I'm told struggled to get single figure groups, so only had a chance of a good position on the really rough days - not a custom built rifle though, rather shooting it in Factory Sporter class. Nobody's tried the cartridge since.


It's mostly academic here now anyway as rule changes have outlawed the cartridge on all UK Ministry of Defence ranges and that includes Bisley which is regulated as such, and which provides the venue for a third of our national league rounds. There are I think 12 MoD ranges that are all parts of large and unpopulated areas and which the large calibre users hire to play with their .338s and suchlike at 1,200 yd distances and up.

Laurie,
York, England

 

[82boy]

In heavy gun you will find about anything and everything being shot, but most heavy gun competitions are won with a light gun.

Is that because the lighter calibers are really better, or because most people are shooting one rifle in both classes due to the cost of having a separate HG rifle built?

I would say that it is because the lighter calibers are realy better. Look at your top shooters, most of them shoot light calibers in a heavy gun. Sam Hall has a heavy gun, guess what it is chambered in 6 Dasher, same as his light gun.

 

[lynn]

The big 30's have won more 1000 yard Benchrest matches than all the other cartridges combined.
The 6's are shooting very well and will continue to do sne day they might overtake the big cartridges but as of today it hasn't happened.
My 6 Dasher called The Pumpkin Smasher dominated lightgun group at the rain shortened 1000 yard nationals in october so I like the 6's but lets not get carried away here.

As to the 338 and recoil involved in Palma,F-class or other high power shooting sports that are not benchrest that is apples to oranges.
In benchrest were the average real heavygun comes in at 3 times the weight of the heaviest gun allowed in highpower recoil is not an issue.

Tom Price became a national champion using a 338 Lapua in the Reno,Nevada zephyrs(wind) shooting 93-95 grains of Retumbo under a 300 grain Sierra and single digit groups were not an issue.

Bullet selection is its limiting factor and that is something that is constantly changing.
Lynn

 

[Laurie]

As to the 338 and recoil involved in Palma,F-class or other high power shooting sports that are not benchrest that is apples to oranges.
In benchrest were the average real heavygun comes in at 3 times the weight of the heaviest gun allowed in highpower recoil is not an issue.

Lynn,
point taken - we rarely see these monsters here. It's nearly all Light Gun and Factory Sporter in our bench rest meetings.
Laurie

 

[digrazir]

I have a Sako TRG 42 in 338 Lapua. For what ever its worth, even though I have plenty of reloading components, I rarely shoot it. The recoil with the muzzle brake is manageable at best, but the blast from the muzzle is fierce. After 20 to 25 rounds I usually wind up with a headache. Getting involved with a 338 Lapua was one of those deals that seemed like a good idea at the time. Hope this helps Ray

 

[Cheechako]

...Tom Price became a national champion using a 338 Lapua in the Reno,Nevada zephyrs(wind) shooting 93-95 grains of Retumbo under a 300 grain Sierra and single digit groups were not an issue.

Lynn

Don't give Tom too much credit for that Championship.

1. I made his dies for him, so I deserve some of the credit.

2. We shot on the same bench but he had the relay with no wind while I sacrificed and took the zephyr rely, so I deserve more of the credit.

3. When I was shooting he stood behind me the whole time, giggling. When I finally hit the paper, he quieted down a little, but by then I was so distracted that I never hit it again.

4. He is one of the luckiest shooters I know. Every match that he goes to it's nothing but luck. I hate guys like that! :

Ray

 

[lynn]

Cheechako
Rumor has it he won the title the only year they drew cards for the prizes and he went home with a box of bullets after being named the national champion.
I hope you didn't draw his card for him?
Lynn

 

[RAGGED]

Getting involved with a 338 Lapua was one of those deals that seemed like a good idea at the time. Hope this helps Ray

Very true, but its all worth it on those few days you drag it out and touch off 93 grains of Retumbo ;D