Educating myself for future 338 purchase, your opinions please!

Ryan500

Ryan500

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Well I'm looking at buying a new rifle, something big, something that makes a lot of noise and sends alot of weight down range. This will be for target shooting only, no hunting, just gongs and paper. 300 yards regularly and longer when I can find a spot.

I want a 338 Lapua, not really sure about the budget yet, but I won't cheap out.

I really like the looks of the Savage 10 FCP HS, what do you think of that one?

I want something that will shoot like a champ and not require upgrades to get it shooting well.

Would I be better off to build something? (rather have it built I mean)

Is there a better factory rifle?

Lets say the limit on the gun itself is $3k? Is that reasonable for a rifle not including accesories or scope?

Thanks.
 
Funny, I just went thru this whole deal myself two weeks ago for the exact same purposes as you, just bench rest target shooting with a bang. After a ton of research I ended up

grabbing a gently used Savage 110BA in .338 Lapua. I like the tactical look and especially the Accu trigger that I already have on a Savage 12 LRP. The 110 got great reviews on line,

just bolt on some glass to the 20 MOA rail and go! They seem to run new at $2500 down to $1850 used on EE. The cost of the ammo doesn't really phase me that much as I wont be

shooting it all the time, and I reload anyway.

Hope this helps.
 
With a budget of 3000$ building a custom is an option:

action 1100
bbl 500$
Stock 1000
trigger, rail, brake etc $400

be a bit more $$ to get it all together but you'd be close
 
I am just building a custom too here.
using my donor R700 Action. if you are thinking of around $3000, you can build some decent gears.

Northshore does carry a damn quality stiller actions that i have used back in the day!

with that budget, i would rather build one and have one that i exactly wanted. pre-made savage 110, any tact rifles are good but just cant beat the feeling of an idea in your mind that is being built for you to shoot!.
 
Another option is a used TRG 42. There's always some lightly used ones around as people realize the cost of shooting 338 or that it's not practical for their 200 yard range. I know that buying a $3000 used gun doesn't sound ideal but they really are that good.
 
If it's only for paper I'd want to make sure you've got something beyond 1km to shoot at. If you can't shoot past 1km, maybe 7mm or .30cal...

If you are shooting past 1km, make sure you also know that this rifle will not be legal for F class competition, and if you ever wanted to compete with it you'd need to find a special competition.


With all that said, if I were going to build a 338, I'd build it off the .338 Norma Mag. It's a decendant of the Lapua mag but shorter and fatter for better seating the 300gn bullets to mag length. The 338 Norma mag has less case capacity and a few 100fps slower but the case is more efficient meaning less powder for relatively higher velocities. Also, barrel life is better which means the rifle will keep it's tight groups longer.

I'm not sure where the Lapua mag sits but the 338 Norma mag has a relative case capacity of 1.4gn/sqcm which is on par with the 7mmWSM (308 is 1.0gn/sqcm). Basically, the 338 NM is the 7WSM's big brother.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.338_Norma_Magnum

images
 
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338 lapua is a lot of fun to shoot
lots of hitting power when plinking on concrete blocs or rocks
what I dont understand, is the brake
the fun of shooting big guns is to feel the big kick that goes with it
why tame it down
specialy at the cost of the ammo
 
dero338 said:
338 lapua is a lot of fun to shoot
lots of hitting power when plinking on concrete blocs or rocks
what I dont understand, is the brake
the fun of shooting big guns is to feel the big kick that goes with it
why tame it down
specialy at the cost of the ammo
Click to expand...

So your of the opinion that because .338 is expensive to shoot it's not worth it unless your beating yourself up in the process? lol either that's a joke or you've never shot a hot load in .338.
 
Ryan500 said:
Well I'm looking at buying a new rifle, something big, something that makes a lot of noise and sends alot of weight down range. This will be for target shooting only, no hunting, just gongs and paper. 300 yards regularly and longer when I can find a spot.

I want a 338 Lapua, not really sure about the budget yet, but I won't cheap out.

I really like the looks of the Savage 10 FCP HS, what do you think of that one?

I want something that will shoot like a champ and not require upgrades to get it shooting well.

Would I be better off to build something? (rather have it built I mean)

Is there a better factory rifle?

Lets say the limit on the gun itself is $3k? Is that reasonable for a rifle not including accesories or scope?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I think for targets the 338 Lapua is a waste of money. Very expensive in every aspect.

I would prefer a smaller caliber and a smaller case, but you want something big, something that makes a lot of noise and sends a lot of weight down range.

Built it as light as you can, no brake and put a hard pad on it...
 
It's going to be a 338 for sure, not to worried about the cost.

Thanks for the input all, I think I will end up getting someone to build me one.
 
338 Lapua isn't that expensive to reload for and it's definitely not a waste of money. You're looking at way less than $2/round if your brass lasts 10 reloads (which it will). This is a hobby, you're doing this for your own personal satisfaction, so it's hard for me to understand why anyone in this hobby would say that this cartridge is a "waste of money". I say build it as heavy as you can and definitely instal the meanest loudest brake on it...and let'er rip.
 
Saw a video on here of someones mom shooting a 338 PGW, it was awesome, the brake blew her hair back. Thats what I'm after....

Not only do I want the performance of the big gun, but I want others at the range to go WTF?! Then see the gong swinging like a swing in a playground.
 
I made the jump to a 338LM just about 2 yrs ago.

All in after building a load for the rifle that looks great at 300y (I have yet to try it further) I'm in for $5000 including brass projectiles etc.... The rifle has never seen a factory load either.

I started with a Rem 700p in 338 LM, I had the action true'd, bedded the action into the factory HS stock, added a 20moa rail and had it bedded to the action, added a second magazine then topped it off with a bushel 4200 6-24x50. To be honest after everything else that was all the glass I could afford.

I still want to upgrade the scope to ????? I don't know, I still haven't decided. I also plan a barrel change (probably not for 1000 rnds or so) at which time I plan to go with an improved chamber.

YMMV

Cheers!
 
I too am looking into a long range rig of similar configuration.

I was also nudged in the direction of the .338 Edge thanks to some fellow CGN'ers suggestions.What it allows is the use of a standard magnum bolt face which opens up options in the way of rifles, actions, barrels, etc........

Another benefit is the availability of brass, it is made from 300 RUM.

So, you could go with MANY rifle options and re-barrel and be well under your budget and have one heck of a rig for the dollars invested.

I have not yet made my decision either but at this point I am leaning slightly towards the Edge.
 
Kelly Timoffee said:
I too am looking into a long range rig of similar configuration.

I was also nudged in the direction of the .338 Edge thanks to some fellow CGN'ers suggestions.What it allows is the use of a standard magnum bolt face which opens up options in the way of rifles, actions, barrels, etc........

Another benefit is the availability of brass, it is made from 300 RUM.

So, you could go with MANY rifle options and re-barrel and be well under your budget and have one heck of a rig for the dollars invested.

I have not yet made my decision either but at this point I am leaning slightly towards the Edge.
Click to expand...

From what I understand the quality of the lapua brass make the 338 lapua the way to go... ballistic wise they are very similar.
 
300 Norma mag is another option. It's the 338 Norma necked down and Norma make brass for it. I believe you could get around 3000 fps with the 230 Berger. Except for ft/lbs of energy it's almost right there with the 300 Berger in a lapua ballistic wise. You should get out to about 1600 yards or so at sea level before starting to go transonic. Load data is a bit scarce to find though
 
armorman said:
This is a hobby, you're doing this for your own personal satisfaction, so it's hard for me to understand why anyone in this hobby would say that this cartridge is a "waste of money".
Click to expand...

That wasn't quite what was said...
It was, "I think for targets the 338 Lapua is a waste of money. Very expensive in every aspect."

It doesn't take all that powder and a 250 grain bullet, and the expense of a 338 Lapua rifle to shoot a target at long range. (target shooting only, no hunting, just gongs and paper. 300 yards regularly and longer when I can find a spot.)

A long range target rifle can be built for half the cost of a decent 338 Lapua and reloading for a smaller cartridge can be done for half as much as well. That is where I think the waste is. Gongs and targets are not hard to kill.

It shouldn't be that hard to understand. I am not condemning him for building/buying what he wants... I just gave an opinion as requested.
 
I'm in the same boat, but have it narrowed it to .338 Lapua or .338 Lapua Improved. I've got some good short actions that I shoot all the time, but there's something about the big brother!!....
 
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