.338 Lapua reloading help!

olopokram

olopokram

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Hey everyone,

So I've finally taken the plunge and have gotten into reloading. I've bought all the equipment, bullets, dies, primers ... I'm all set! So ... now what? LOL I'm starting off by reloading my .338 lapua. I was suggested Hornady 200 gr FTX to start. In regards to powder, I have NO CLUE what to look at. I bought the Hornady reloading book and it states a few options. Any suggestions from experience about types of powder and loads would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks in advance!
 
If you are shooting a lapua I would suggest a heavier bullet. It was originally designed for a 250 gr bullet. I'm using a 300 gr bullet because my twist will support it. The heavier bullet is better for longer range shooting. As for powders my gun likes h-1000 and rl-19 but I mostly use h-1000. I tried us869 and retumbo along with a imr powder but i cant remember the number. The other popular options all work well. Every gun likes a little different powder. Try it with what you have on hand first then try other powders.
 
Something heavier would be a good idea..... 250 even 225s would be better than 200s. Unless of course you are shoot at ranges under 300y......

I use H-1000 for 250s, 285s and 300s. I have used IMR 7828 and US869(?IIRC).

I had the best results with H-1000, next best was 7828. 7828 was good but wasn't temperature stable.....

Good luck!
 
I plan on shooting 500 yards, not sure if I'll be able to shoot further than that. If I'd be shooting further, I'd go heavier, that's why I'm guessing I was recommended the 200 gr?

notsorichguy said:
Something heavier would be a good idea..... 250 even 225s would be better than 200s. Unless of course you are shoot at ranges under 300y......

I use H-1000 for 250s, 285s and 300s. I have used IMR 7828 and US869(?IIRC).

I had the best results with H-1000, next best was 7828. 7828 was good but wasn't temperature stable.....

Good luck!
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Isn't the 200 grain FTX "meant" for the .338 Marlin Express? If I were to shoot something that light, I'd go with the 200gr SST, 225gr Interbond, 225gr SST... 250gr SMK... or ACCUBONDS!!! I've worked up a load with 250gr ABs with 97gr of Retumbo @ ~2800fps with great results.

SL
 
Hey everyone!

Thank you for all your input! I'll be sure to exchange the 200 gr bullets for 250 or 285 gr tomorrow and I'll pick up some H1000 (if it's in stock). Any other tips you can think of would be appreciated!

Thanks again!
 
Ive been working up loads for my 338 110ba as well and just got back from the range. I found the best group (3/4 inch @ 200yards) came from 92gn of H1000 with 300gn SMKs. However, they are extremely scarce at the moment. I grabbed some Berger 300gn today and loaded with H1000 but struggled to group them well. 91gn @ about 2 inches was the best. Great gun tho, lots of potential.
 
I get almost all of my reloading data from the winchester/hodgdon/IMR reloading center.

You can mix and match bullet weights to powder and make comparisons and also get starting loads.Very extensive resource.
 
H-1000 definitely works, as well you may want to try Rl 25. I used 215gr Sierra Gamekings in my TRG 42 with some pretty good success although I didn't ever try them at long range. My long range bullet was the 250gr Lapua Scenar, it worked well out to a mile.
 
Nothing less than 250gr bullets will yield better results. I run 285 & 300 gr in my .338LM because of twist rate. Best results I have to date are with H1000 & H4831 / H4831SC. After developing a good load for YOUR rifle and some decent practice you will find 500yds to be easily obtainable :p
 
Boomer686 said:
Nothing less than 250gr bullets will yield better results. I run 285 & 300 gr in my .338LM because of twist rate. Best results I have to date are with H1000 & H4831 / H4831SC. After developing a good load for YOUR rifle and some decent practice you will find 500yds to be easily obtainable :p
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+1

For my hunting load I use Barnes LRX 285gn bullets and H4831sc with great results. One thing I learned is that the lighter the bullet the faster the powder you should use. This is a GENERAL rule I found. Now the big question is, for a given weight bullet, how much faster should you go? This is where testing and being careful comes into play. I gave up on the 250gn bullets because I could not get them to group. This was early in my testing and I was using H1000 and Retumbo with them. Now I know others have gotten them to shoot great with those powders but I could not. This was before I got the 285gn LRX to shoot well, and before I tried the H4831sc. So now I will go back and try them again but with a faster powder then H1000 which is my go to powder for the 300 SMK's.

Test, experiement, shoot! But be safe! Look for signs of over pressure. Find the powder and charge that works for you then start playing with OAL and you will have a great load for YOUR rifle.

Once you find your load and it's accurate, make up a ballistic chart from JBM or if you have a iPhone get iSnipe. Go find a spot where you can safely shoot out to 1000 yards and put up a chunk of steel, dial in your elevation and pull the trigger. I bet the steel will ring!
 
Be careful with those FTX bullets, I don't think they are designed to be used in a cartridge like the Lapua, you will be launching those at over 3000fps and the FTX is a levergun bullet that is prob designed for under 2500fps. I would send Hornady an email and find out before you try them.
I have gone almost exclusively to 300gr bullets in mine other than trying a 285 once in a while.
So far for me my best results have been with US869 and Retumbo. There are many powders out there that work well with the Lapua but only experimentation will find the one that works for your barrel.
Other than intitial sight in don't waste your time doing any load development testing at anything less than 200yds. I found that at 100yds my groups were inconsistent and once I went out to 200yds things settled down.
I would also strongly suggest buying the most expensive scope you can, If you are on a budget the minimum I would recommend would be a Sightron SIII. If you can afford it spend more, otherwise you will just want to upgrade later. I've also heard good things about the Vortex Viper PST series but I would still go with Sightron for the money.
Also do all your development from a rest or sandbags, a bipod is not stable enough for doing load development.

Good luck
 
I've exchanged the bullets for Hornady 250 gr. and bought H1000 powder. I'll be moving shortly, so as soon as I move I'll be setting up my reloading station and will start experimenting from there. I'll post the results as soon as I have them!
 
I think the OP is just starting to reload so he/she needs to learn about all the steps to reloading, from preliminary case inspection/primer pocket cleaning and flash hole prepping all the way up to bullet seating. it may be quite helpful to get someone to personally assist in getting started. reloading is kinda like driving, you can read all the books,and they do have a lot of info,but the actual process is definitely hands on. I would assist if you are moving into north central Alberta.
 
barsik said:
I think the OP is just starting to reload so he/she needs to learn about all the steps to reloading, from preliminary case inspection/primer pocket cleaning and flash hole prepping all the way up to bullet seating. it may be quite helpful to get someone to personally assist in getting started. reloading is kinda like driving, you can read all the books,and they do have a lot of info,but the actual process is definitely hands on. I would assist if you are moving into north central Alberta.
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Good point,

OP where are you moving to? Maybe one of us can meet with you and get you started off on the right foot.
The 338 isn't normally a cartridge people choose to learn to reload with but it isn't any different than any other except that you are using a lot of powder per charge and you will be better off if you buy a magnum press so you can get the case and unseated bullet in easily. You are going to go through a lot of powder and expensive bullets so you want to make the most of the rounds you build. My advice is that you decide on a bullet and stick with it until you find a good load or decide that it isn't working for you. I have about 6 or 7 different bullets in my drawer for the 338 and find that I am trying too many combinations. I recently decided to go with Berger Hybrid 300gr OTM and am sticking with them till I find a powder charge and seating depth that works.

Do you have any other rifles like a 308 or 30-06 or something you can start with till you get the process down before you jump into reloading 338?
Make sure you visit http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp for additional reloading data. I have the Hornady 9th edition and it's great if you want to use Hornady bullets but it doesn't have any data for 300gr bullets and you will probably end up using them.
Good luck and if your moving anywhere around Edmonton send me a PM and I can give you a hand.
I am willing to share reloading data with anyone that is interested but I do not guarantee what works in my rifle will work in yours. More of a starting point to get you going. I have used 300SMK's quite a bit and have some 300gr Bergers down the pipe now. I didn't have much luck with the Barnes 285 TSX and H1000 combination but that was in my last 338 so maybe they will work in this one. My last rifle also liked 300SMK's and Reloader-22 but the new one doesn't seem to be as fond of it.

View attachment 5159
My DTA SRS :D
 
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cr5 said:
Good point,

OP where are you moving to? Maybe one of us can meet with you and get you started off on the right foot.
The 338 isn't normally a cartridge people choose to learn to reload with but it isn't any different than any other except that you are using a lot of powder per charge and you will be better off if you buy a magnum press so you can get the case and unseated bullet in easily. You are going to go through a lot of powder and expensive bullets so you want to make the most of the rounds you build. My advice is that you decide on a bullet and stick with it until you find a good load or decide that it isn't working for you. I have about 6 or 7 different bullets in my drawer for the 338 and find that I am trying too many combinations. I recently decided to go with Berger Hybrid 300gr OTM and am sticking with them till I find a powder charge and seating depth that works.

Do you have any other rifles like a 308 or 30-06 or something you can start with till you get the process down before you jump into reloading 338?
Make sure you visit http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp for additional reloading data. I have the Hornady 9th edition and it's great if you want to use Hornady bullets but it doesn't have any data for 300gr bullets and you will probably end up using them.
Good luck and if your moving anywhere around Edmonton send me a PM and I can give you a hand.
I am willing to share reloading data with anyone that is interested but I do not guarantee what works in my rifle will work in yours. More of a starting point to get you going. I have used 300SMK's quite a bit and have some 300gr Bergers down the pipe now. I didn't have much luck with the Barnes 285 TSX and H1000 combination but that was in my last 338 so maybe they will work in this one. My last rifle also liked 300SMK's and Reloader-22 but the new one doesn't seem to be as fond of it.

View attachment 5159
My DTA SRS :D
Click to expand...

Not to get too OT but I didn't have luck with the 285gn LRX and H1000 either. But once I tried them with H4895SC and seating them at .100 off the lands they shot great. I posted the progress my self and another guy had with testing them on another forum but I dont know if I'd be breaking some sort of rule by posting a link to another gun forum here. PM me if you want details.
 
personal_aviator said:
Not to get too OT but I didn't have luck with the 285gn LRX and H1000 either. But once I tried them with H4895SC and seating them at .100 off the lands they shot great. I posted the progress my self and another guy had with testing them on another forum but I dont know if I'd be breaking some sort of rule by posting a link to another gun forum here. PM me if you want details.
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No worries, I have 4831sc and a box of TSX 285's when I get around to trying them again I'll give it a shot.
Thanks for the tip.
It's not really off topic since everyone can benefit from the info and he was asking for reloading advice.
 
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