338 Lapua Magnum Vs. Other 338's

[MrMister]

I’m looking into building something big that is also legal in my state.

I have a FN Mauser action that may be my base.

I have looked into the 416 Rigby and the 50BMG, I don’t want to go that big and I don’t think they are legal here anyway.

I am leaning towards a 338 though.

What are the pros and cons of a 338 Lapua Mag and what other 338’s should I compare it to?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[LCSportsman]

I’m looking into building something big that is also legal in my state.

I have a FN Mauser action that may be my base.

I have looked into the 416 Rigby and the 50BMG, I don’t want to go that big and I don’t think they are legal here anyway.

I am leaning towards a 338 though.

What are the pros and cons of a 338 Lapua Mag and what other 338’s should I compare it to?

Thanks,

Steve

Hi Steve;

I like your post, it made me think. The 338 is a great bullet. I have wanted to have a 338mag or the ultimate in Lapua but cannot take the coil. If you are looking for a long range target or game gun, I think either one of those is an excellent choice, just my 2cents.

I have thought about the 338-06 as an alternitive because it offers serious energy, less recoil which is always a plus & lower velocity which can mean much longer barrel life.

The negative is this is a short to medium range caliber & may not be what you are interested in & this would not be the first time I have ever made a fool of myself.

I have also thought about something a little more abstract since it is not already on the market. Rem offers the 300short action ultra mag & various makers have the 300WSM's but I do not think anyones has a 338 short action...

Since the 338mag is basically a Rem 7mmmag case I thought about using one of the above cases, because they use less powder than the std mag cases, with a 338, so a 338-300WSM I guess?

RECOIL maybe the biggest issue for me but I think that combination would be a great.Not that I have helped you but again you made me think, thanks

I would love to have this combo built!

LCSportsman
N.Cal-USA

 

[MrMister]

LCSportsman,

The recoil would be an issue for me as well-I'd defiantly need some kind of brake.

As with all of my guns the intent is blowing up little fuzzy ground rats at extream range first and punching paper second.

So far the only down side I see in the Lapua is cost to shoot it, everything else just looks like fun and the idea of necking down a 416 Rigby is just too cool.

Albeit I haven't done much research on the other 338's yet.

 

[Kodiak99317]

If you are thinking about a 338, you really should look closely at this one IMO...

http://www.338wildcat.ca/

Beats the 338LM in velocity and uses less powder!

 

[overbore]

Suggest you look at the 300rum-338, semi std. wildcat called the Edge which comes from Shawn Carlock http://defensivedge.com
His rifle has the best brake for minimum recoil- I have $$$$ pin in my shoulder to protect and his rifle does it. Overbore

 

[billt]

This is my Weatherby Accumark in .338-378 Weatherby Magnum. I chose it over the .338 Lapua because I believe it's a better all around cartridge, plus brass is much more avaliable. It is also the king of the .338 bores. Using the excellent 300 Grain Sierra Matchking Bullet I get very good accuracy with WC-872 Ball Powder. I'm very happy with the overall performance with this rifle and cartridge. I have a Leupold Vari-X III 6.5-20X 40MM in Leupold Mounts and Rings. If I were to do it all over again all I would change is I would have used the excellent Burris Signature Rings with the plastic inserts. I've found they have very good holding power and will never stress or mar a scope. It also eliminates the need for lapping rings. Bill T.

 

[TheBlueEyedBear]

I am about to take delivery on my .338 Snipe-Tac. This is a 408 Chey-Tac nexked down to a 338 with an improved shoulder.
Mine is built around a LAWTON MACHINE 8000 action and a LAWTON 32 inch barrell at 11 twist. This gun was built to deliver the 300gr SMK at 3440fps MV and be effective way out there. Checkout http://www.VIERSCO.COM/ .Please Please send e-mail for photo request to barry ATT theoconnors DOT com.

 

[StevenCO]

I think you may want to describe the Mauser action you have first.

If your Mauser action is a magnum now, measure the magazine length and choose a magnum cartridge from there.

If it is a standard Mauser action, you may want to stay with the 338-06, 338-06 Improved,which I like quite a bit). Otherwise the modifications to the action to convert to a magnum, though it can be done, may be extensive.

 

[mattdienes]

If you want to talk about the Big 338's call Bruce Baer,717-349-4077)he has alot of knowledge on them.By the way the 338 wildcat mentioned above is a 338 Baer or 340 goodling,both cases are formed off the 340weatherby.

 

[Rust]

Over the last twenty or forty years I've found wildcats to be less and less desirable from a money, effort and time viewpoint. So my recommendation would be just go with the .338 RUM. Yup, got one, early production Sendero-SF.

With the 250 gr Scenar over a 89 gr or so charge of RL-25 this rifle in factory form has printed five shot groups in the .3s,at least when the barrel was a little fresher). Recoil was brisk so I added a Vais muzzle brake which made recoil somewhat more bearable. I'd say find the most efficient muzzle brake around. Brass quality has been pretty good. Stay away from gun show brass, some of it has turned out to be rejects or seconds, I get mine from Sinclair.

So, off the shelf Redding dies, off the shelf brass, off the shelf loaded ammo in a pinch that is widely available at a cost under any other large .338 magnum. Supersonic to 1600 yards with the .250 gr Scenars. I like the easy way.

 

[billt]

Over the last twenty or forty years I've found wildcats to be less and less desirable from a money, effort and time viewpoint. I like the easy way.

Well said! I couldn't agree more. 40 years ago with the limited powders and calibers that were available back then, not to mention bullets, wildcats not only made sense, but were an outright necessity if you wanted a really high performance rifle. Today that is simply not the case at all. The .338-378 Weatherby, and or the .338 Lapua offer just about everything you could possible want from a .338 bore rifle. Wildcatting rounds like the .338-.416, and several others are, in my opinion, taking the long way around the barn to get to the same place. And far more costly. There has never been such a large array of cartridges to choose from in todays firearms market. Wildcatting, simply put, as outlived it's time. Why try and reinvent the wheel when one already exists in every size imaginable? Bill T.

 

[StevenCO]

Over the last twenty or forty years I've found wildcats to be less and less desirable from a money, effort and time viewpoint. I like the easy way.

Why try and reinvent the wheel when one already exists in every size imaginable? Bill T.

When asked why I do something wild and woolly with a cartridge, I generally have only one answer...Because I can. I enjoy tinkering with a gun and cartridge as much, or more than I like shooting them. Once I get one where I like it, I have a tendency to move on. So, to each his own.

Pretty much everything has been tried, but I haven't tried everything.

 

[Rust]

Yeah, "becasue I can" used to work for me. The .300 Ackley,about the equal of the .308 Norma Magnum, the .300 Apex long magnum,about the equal of the .300 Weatherby), .375 H&H Ackley, 22-250 AI, 6mm Rem AI, 24-06,that's right, it used to be 24-06, not 6mm-06) 7mm-300 Weatherby, 30-06 Ackley and a bunch of other stuff.

Get to a certain age though, you gotta wonder if you've got the time to finish too many more projects. It'd piss me off to no end of I started another high end long term project and dropped dead before I could shoot it. Talk about a disappointing turn of events. Even worse, some undeserving %$#*&,*#@@ that normally I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire might end up owning it. I would be spinning in my grave, really.

 

[2RECON]

I would go for the .338 Lapua.

TOP-class Brass,...Top-class Bullets, Lapua, Sierra...mayby Berger will do some too ) a real lot of powders work, Norma MRP, VV´S, ...)
Everything you need.

I´ve one and shoot prone-matches out to 1300 Meters..
simply TOP

Best

2RECON

 

[Rust]

OK, let's define a few things here. You stated that you wanted to build it off of a mauser action. Military or commercial, standard or the big magnum action?

The .338 RUM is based on the .404 case, the .338 LM on the Rigby case. IMO taking the standard mauser action out to the diameter required for a .338 LM doesn't leave quite enough metal. Yeah, it's been done. No, I wouldn't do it.

If you must have a .338 LM, the least expensive route would be to get the CZ double square bridge magnum action with the .416 boltface which may be had in the white from Brownells and other sources. Enough meat to the action. Otherwise stick with the smaller case diameters like the RUM.

 

[chrisj]

I would go for the .338 Lapua.

TOP-class Brass,...Top-class Bullets, Lapua, Sierra...mayby Berger will do some too ) a real lot of powders work, Norma MRP, VV´S, ...)
Everything you need.

I´ve one and shoot prone-matches out to 1300 Meters..
simply TOP

Best

2RECON

You shoot the 338 Lapua in Prone matches? Are these Prone with sling? If so..you are quite a man.,not being fecitious) Since prone matches don't allow muzzle brakes normally, the rcoil has to be pretty damn rough. But good 4 you if you can handle it.

Chris

 

[mysticplayer]

I too am shy to recommend the use of a Mauser action especially if a converted WWII action. Just the cost of mucking with it makes getting a Savage so much easier, cheaper and possibly stronger.

For a bit more money, you can have a oversized custom action that will handle the work load and give you an accurate platform to hang that pipe.

For simplicity and price, the 338 RUM will almost duplicate what the 338 LM will do. The 338-300RUMs reg or improved will do more. All three will have no issue reaching the mile.

longrangehunting.com has alot of info on these wildcats as they are very popular for this application.

Some really exciting LR bullets coming from a Cdn boutique source that will make any extreme range shooter sit up.

If you really want big, the 338-408CT based wildcats will extend your reach well beyond 2000yds. Some have broken 3000yds effectively.

If this is more LR plinking then 'material destruction', have a look at a 7mm pushing 180gr Bergers to 2900/3000fps. A mile is no problem and likely 2000yds is just a few more clicks then a moderate cased 338.

That'll work in a Mauser....

Jerry

 

[TheBlueEyedBear]

This is my 338/408 build by Dave Viers at VIERSCO
A while back I had a 338 Snipe-Tac built by Dave Viers at VIERSCO.COM . Dave is a great guy and does great work. His .338 Snipe-Tac is built on a .408 Chey-Tac necked down to .338. My configuration :
LAWTON 8000 Action
LAWTON 32 inch CM barrel
1-11 twist rate.
Manners carbon fiber Tactical stock
JEWELL Trigger
Limbsaver recoil pad
And Dave's custom BRAKE,this thing really works)
The gun is topped with a Nightforce 5.5x22x56 NSX
Badger Ordinance 50MAX scope rings.
AND, finished with a custom paint job.

I am currently shooting a custom 265gr Aluminum Tipped bullet that I chronographed at 3496fps. The ME is beyond imagination.

 

[cliffe]

are you using those 338's for target or hunting? how far do you normally shoot and how accurate are they? they look pretty nice and pretty expensive. i thought 6.5x284 where supposed to be hard on barrels, how is the barrel life on a 338? cliffe