.338 WM vs .338 RUM vs .338 Lapua

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roche1982

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Got to admit I am a huge fan of the 338 and have been so ever since I first shot one as a kid. Question is, I have never had the chance to handle or fire the .338 RUM. Anybody currently shooting this caliber and how do you like it? Seems like the cons to the RUM is ammo, but re-loading can eliviate this somewhat, although still a more expensive proposition then a WM but less then a Lapua. Looking to start a nice .338 caliber discussion thread :)
 
I think the 338 rum is probably the better deal out of the two"big" 338s for the rifle and ammo. both do the same job. The 338 wm is also a great round, it just dosent shoot as flat. If you plan to shoot beyond 500 yards go with the 338 rum of lapua, if you plan to keep distances to 500yards and shorter then the 338 wm is a great option. Ive had the win mag and lapua and both were great rounds but the 338 wm is alot nicer to shoot without a muzzle break.
 
The intended purpose for the rifle for would be the biggest factor for deciding.

If you're just going to hunt deer/moose/bear with it in NS, the 338WM would be the best choice by far. Hunting ranges are not far here in the Maritimes.

If one is going to be shooting long range steel, than one of the other two might be a better choice.
 
I have a Remington 700 LSS in .338 RUM. May just be the most accurate rifle I have ever hunted with. Incredibly flat trajectory and hits like a freight train. I use it for just about all my big game hunting.
 
The 338 RUM/Edge hold the advantage that it is far easier to do as a build than the Lapua, given that it shares a boltface and similar dimensions to standard magnums.

However now that there are several affordable Lapua platforms it reallybecomes whatever floats you boat.
 
You're missing the best 338 of all time...........the 340 Weatherby does everything the RUM will do, brass is easier to come by (just make 'em out of 375 H&H), holds an extra round under in most rifles and it works with a standard .532 bolt face and doesn't require the super size magnum action of the Lapua. I have used one extensively and can highly recommend it on all game NA has to offer, very few calibers on the planet kill like the 340 Wby.
 
Ahhhhhh ya don't have to be much of a hunter to kill stuff with those options... a real man uses the runt of the litter to produce the same results, at face slapping range ... the .338 Fed.
 
As an admirer of the .375 Ultra, I must assume then, that one of the .338 versions (Ultra or Edge) by default is a marvelous cartridge. I question, at least in theory, that the .340 Weatherby has the same ballistic potential, as the Ultra case has more volume, so if both are loaded to equal pressure, the Ultra should produce more velocity all things being equal. I'm sure Douglas will point out that the venturi shoulder of the Weatherby design makes up for any difference in powder capacity, but I'm also sure that any difference in the terminal performance of any one of the 3 Ultra, Weatherby, or Lapua would purely theoretical, and could be detected by neither game nor hunter. Sure, you can stuff more .340s in a magazine, but that's because it holds less powder, for the same reason that the .338 Ultra rifle holds more rounds in the magazine than either the .338-378 or the .338 Lapua. I haven't had any difficulty obtaining RUM brass, but finding .340 Weatherby brass might be an issue if you aren't inclined to use .375 H&H brass.
 
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The 338-404 imp or 338 Edge has a design flaw and will not live up to it's potential, regardless of increased case capacity. Which is why Rem shortened it in an attempt to hit the powder capacity sweet spot............they didn't. Those of us who have played with this case for over 30 years as I have, have known this for 30 years. The 35-404 Imp is amazing but the 33-404 Imp will not improve on the Wby even though it does have significantly more case capacity. This is a syndrome the 8mm Rem Mag suffers from too, and it never lived up to it's potential either or rather couldn't live up to it's supposed potential. Some cartridges have this bore/case capacity flaw and they will not exceed similar cartridges with less capacity. I can and did everything an 8mm RM would do with a 300 Win mag with the same bullet weights, 200 and 220 grns, when both loaded to the same pressure the several 300 WM I have had have outdone the big 8 every time. I cannot tell you why, but I can tell you that Ackley knew this as well, and so did Roy Weatherby I suspect, hence the radiused shoulders on his cases.
Anyway I may have to but this on my project list and build a 338 WM load 'er up, then chamber out to a 340 Wby and load 'er up, and then chamber out to the 338 RUM, and then the Edge and see how they compare in the same exact barrel.............I have done this before but not in the 33 bore.........The only true honest comparison of same caliber different capacity case/velocity potential.
 
c-fbmi said:
The 338-404 imp or 338 Edge has a design flaw and will not live up to it's potential, regardless of increased case capacity. Which is why Rem shortened it in an attempt to hit the powder capacity sweet spot............they didn't. Those of us who have played with this case for over 30 years as I have, have known this for 30 years. The 35-404 Imp is amazing but the 33-404 Imp will not improve on the Wby even though it does have significantly more case capacity. This is a syndrome the 8mm Rem Mag suffers from too, and it never lived up to it's potential either or rather couldn't live up to it's supposed potential. Some cartridges have this bore/case capacity flaw and they will not exceed similar cartridges with less capacity. I can and did everything an 8mm RM would do with a 300 Win mag with the same bullet weights, 200 and 220 grns, when both loaded to the same pressure the several 300 WM I have had have outdone the big 8 every time. I cannot tell you why, but I can tell you that Ackley knew this as well, and so did Roy Weatherby I suspect, hence the radiused shoulders on his cases.
Anyway I may have to but this on my project list and build a 338 WM load 'er up, then chamber out to a 340 Wby and load 'er up, and then chamber out to the 338 RUM, and then the Edge and see how they compare in the same exact barrel.............I have done this before but not in the 33 bore.........The only true honest comparison of same caliber different capacity case/velocity potential.
Click to expand...

This would be very interesting...
 
A mate of mine has owned both a 340Wby and a 338RUM (he is a 338 nut) and their is no comparison in accuracy.

The 338RUM is one of the MOST ACCURATE rifles he has ever ever owned.......(in fact he's had two, his PH wrangled the first one off him on his second visit to Africa).

I bellieve that he settled on the 231grain Lapua Naturalis load and it is a KILLING MACHINE..............

I think alot about .338" (thanks to my mate). When I get a thought about "what if" and "more" I usually go past the 340Weatherby, past the 338RUM/338Edge, and all the way to the 338 Lapua. That is truly more.

I could easily be talked into a 338/375Ruger (capacity like the 340Weath), too, except that I don't want to put out the extra money for reamers and barrel replacement on a donor platform myself. (Let Ruger make one and sell one 'off the shelf')
 
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Kudu.............All the 340s I have had, have been very accurate, I won't say they shoot everything well as some cartridges do, but I have been able to find sub moa loads for all of them with bullets and velocities that I want. My last Mark V shot 250 Parts into clover leafs consistently at 100 mtrs at 3100 fps over an Oehler 35P and my current rechambered Win Super Grade does "bug holes" as my buddy who shot it a lot likes to say, at 3200 and change with 225 ABs and I'm now working with 240 RBT Matrix for it but haven't had the weather to shoot and chronograph, so the test loads are sitting on the shelf growing mould.
I consider the Lapua and the 338-378 to be specialty cartridges and not really hunting cartridges. Of course one can hunt with them, as well as a 50 BMG, but it is not really their design criteria or intended purpose. The 338 RUM/Edge is about the largest practical case for a hunting cartridge/rifle in 33 cal. You will also find that neither one actually does a great deal more than the 340 Wby, and certainly not enough within practical hunting ranges to overcome the cost of shooting them and the drawbacks of working with the super size cases. In fact when all are used in a 26" barrel the extra powder capacity is almost a moot point and increased performance is not realized to any great extant. With 28"+ barrels there becomes an edge for the big cases however where is the practical limit for a hunting firearm?
 
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