338 Snipetac vs 338 EnABELR, Which route should I go? This is going on a Pierce 10X action that I'm currently using for my 375 Cheytac. Going to use a 36"-38" Lilja 8T running Warner Flatlines 285 solids., Hoping to get around 3250-3300 fps.
SnipeTac or EnABELR?
- Thread starter Mike TackleBerry
- Start date
the max i would go is 33xc, which is already way overbore.
if i were to build a 338 elr rig it would be a 338 lapua improved. with a long barrel it would have plenty of speed behind it.
I can get 3,100 with a 300 grain berger hybrid out of a 28" barrel with n570 if i step on the gas.
with a 36-38" bbl i don't see why you couldn't run a comfortable 3,150-3,200 fps, all the while using 50 grains less powder to get there within 100 fps.....
edit: i used to own a 338 cheytac (non improved). with a 34" barrel i was able to get 3,350 using almost 150 grains of 20n29. unfortunately i couldn't really get it to shoot until i backed it down to the 3,150 range.
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This is more of a range toy than anything. I have a Cheytac for heavy class and a 300 PRC that I use for light class. If i went with the XC, i'd have to buy a Lapua bolt for the 10X, and that's another 600 bucks.
i'd opt for the enabelr, i don't have any experience with it but it has to be better than a 338-408 cheytac for effiency
You'll be a couple steps ahead if you go with the package. Having brass, reamer, and dies align is a big head start. Especially if you can start with 33 caliber brass.
After figuring out a path through the dimensional issues, the Snipetac would be a neck down + blow out. Increasing case volume while maintaining consistent internal volumes is problematic. Figuring out the right combination of false shoulder placement and neck turning takes some effort. I made a dummy chamber from a barrel stub to set things up. The die adjustment won't be the same as a resizing bump. Neck turning is mandatory with that level of neck down and depending on where you locate the bullet in the neck and the neck clearance you run will require regular touch ups.
The BC spread on those bullets is pretty bad. The BC is tempting, but they just don't score well.
Overbore levels this extreme were more popular 10 years ago when ELR was taking off and scope elevation adders were not available. I did a few based on the 338 Lapua case including a 7/338 Improved. A shooting buddy was experimenting with a 338 Snipetac at the same time. He went through 3 barrels at 250 rounds each before switching to the 375 Snipetac. Watching his experience with even the 375 Snipetac, I'd skip the improving process. It doesn't pick up enough case volume to justify the effort. Even more so with that case in 338.
Build it and get it out of your system. After testing it, you'll be able to focus more on things you probably already know will improve scoring. You'll be disappointed in how little your scoring improves over your light gun and even more disappointed in how few rounds that small improvement lasts. Test at 2000-2500 yards. A 300PRC light gun at 500 rounds will likely outscore the 338 Enabelr at 250 rounds.
I was able to clear your velocity goals with that bullet in a 32" 33XC from a 32" barrel using N570 and steep pressures. The barrel went 350 rounds and the last 100 were a long denial phase. I retire barrels on vertical spread on a 2300 yard target.
I have no intention of competing with it. It's going to share the same action I use for my ELR Heavy and will be used sparingly. I have my 300 PRC for the ELR Light class, and it's been fantastic.
I picked up that this was a range toy and you understood that long competition strings weren't an option. My point was more that you already have competition equipment and ideas about what ELR performance looks like. I'm suggesting that doing this exercise will be useful, not for the performance gained, but for the perspectives it'll give. That's how it went for me anyway.
In addition to the 7/338 Improved, there was a 30/338Improved with the 198 Flatlines at nearly 3600 fps using N570.
There is definitely the raw entertainment value. Our practice targets are free hanging 1/4" mild steel suspended halfway to the center of the plate to improve their responsiveness. They were always intended to be semi consumable, but punching holes through them with the massively overbore cartridges at 1200 yards was entertaining.
In addition to the 7/338 Improved, there was a 30/338Improved with the 198 Flatlines at nearly 3600 fps using N570.
There is definitely the raw entertainment value. Our practice targets are free hanging 1/4" mild steel suspended halfway to the center of the plate to improve their responsiveness. They were always intended to be semi consumable, but punching holes through them with the massively overbore cartridges at 1200 yards was entertaining.
i'd def go with the enabelr, there is a guy named chase stroud who swears by it, so there must be something to it.
i can't say i ever saw someone say they swore by a 338 chey/snipetac
i can't say i ever saw someone say they swore by a 338 chey/snipetac
Ryan Cheney was a big proponent of the Snipetac. That's where my idea came from.
I kinda like the enabler case design.
Be interesting to see how you like the flatline 285.
Badlands bullets closed shop and stopped making their 285 and I have a 1-7.5 barrel for them.
Between the 2, the EnABLER for sure. As has already been pointed out you are already in extreme overbore territory.
For what you will spend in barrels and frustration the 338 LAI is most likely a better option.
If you go with the EnABLER, you can increase barrel life significantly by not shooting the barrel when it is hot. One of the reasons we burn barrels out so fast in ELR competition is the 10 round strings of fire in the 5 or 6 minutes you have to shoot them.
For what you will spend in barrels and frustration the 338 LAI is most likely a better option.
If you go with the EnABLER, you can increase barrel life significantly by not shooting the barrel when it is hot. One of the reasons we burn barrels out so fast in ELR competition is the 10 round strings of fire in the 5 or 6 minutes you have to shoot them.
The 198 Flatlines have been phenomenal for me in my 300 PRC. Granted, I've only tested 100 of them so far, but they're a very capable bullet. Hope the 285s are the same.
100% agree that it's going to be extremely overbore, but to get a Lapua bolt for my Pierce 10X, it's going to cost me another 600 bucks, and I can use that for the brass and bullets. I have contemplated a 33XC, as a friend of mine has one and has the resizing dies that I could use for the time being, but I'm still stuck on the need for a Lapua bolt.
that $600 is gonna be cheap when you are killing $1,000 barrels in 300 rounds lol
I just contacted Jim at Pierce Engineering and ordered a Lapua bolt. Gonna run the 33XC as Peterson makes brass for it.
I’ve seen what a 285 badlands at 3K can do (it’s impressively flat shooting) and can only imagine what another couple hundred FPS XC could do.
16ish mils to hit 2000 yards is quite fun
XC case makes the RUM case look like a runt
That’s a 37XC
It does look like a big RUM.
Makes that 300 Norma mag look like a runt.
ok i thought it was because the shoulder looked a smidge short.
how are you liking it?
I’m still building my 37XC but people I know that run it are liking it.
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