That I can definetley confirm! That rifle is like a little freaking lazer!
"best" version of the .338?
- Thread starter logan1080
- Start date
That I can definetley confirm! That rifle is like a little freaking lazer!
I can get to 3000fps with my Improved setup & 300gr Lapua Scenars. I'll probably back off a bit and load to around 2975fps. Had the rifle put together this fall and was waiting on a die until last week.
The 3000fps load was just starting to show an ejector mark and that was it. That's with a 28.5" tube.
What are the specs on your rifle......interested in the .338 Imp.
- Stiller TAC338 repeater <--- on sale at North Shore Barrels right now I do believe
- Broughton, 5C, 1 in 9.3 twist, SS, fluted, 1.300" for 3" at the breech, straight taper to .900" at 28.5" (it's heavy)
- APA Fat Bastard brake
- McMillan A5
- Seekins "Lapua" DBM with 3 round mags. Good for 3.900" in the mag.
- Shilen trigger set at 2lbs. with a Rifle Basix safety
Chambered the rifle with the Dave Manson "338 Lapua AI" reamer. AC Douglas Gunsmithing, Craige Douglas in Saskatoon, Sask. put it all together.
I would recommend you find dies first before going any further. There is a few variations out there. Redding & Hornady aren't making custom dies at the moment.
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As far as dies go check out Widden Gunworks, just as good as redding and cheaper, plus they will make anything you can dream up.
http://www.whiddengunworks.net/reloadingdies.html
http://www.whiddengunworks.net/reloadingdies.html
Yep, there's a few others out there too. I got my Redding Type S die cheaper than a Whidden. For the seater die, I had a standard 338 Lapua Forster die that Craige reamed the sleeve out with the Manson reamer.
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WOW.....that's a beautiful rifle!!
That is pretty much my 'perfect build' list right there down to the colour of the metal and stock swirl colours.
Been keeping an eye on Sean's inventory.....hmmmm
Ballistic superiority? That will depend on the projectile... Heavier bullets (typically) will have better ballistic coefficient and higher sectional density. This advantage of reduced drag means that heavier bullets that have lower muzzle velocity will "outrun" lighter, faster bullets that have more drag. There is a point, a certain distance, where a "heavier slower" bullet will be moving faster than a "lighter faster" bullet, which will produce a flatter trajectory down range for the heavier, slower (but more efficient) projectile.
The book by Brian Litz, "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting" has some good chapters on this nsubject.
And what do you consider "long range"?
Best deffinition I've seen is 'the distance to which a bullet remains supersonic'.
For the .338 this would be approximately 1300 yards at sea level.
Extended long range shooting is when you shoot beyond the trans-sonic range. If your terminal velocities will be subsonic, it's important to use bullevts that will retain stability through the sonic transition and to use drag curve moddeling that accurately represents the projectile (G1 vs. G7 standard).
The book by Brian Litz, "Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting" has some good chapters on this nsubject.
And what do you consider "long range"?
Best deffinition I've seen is 'the distance to which a bullet remains supersonic'.
For the .338 this would be approximately 1300 yards at sea level.
Extended long range shooting is when you shoot beyond the trans-sonic range. If your terminal velocities will be subsonic, it's important to use bullevts that will retain stability through the sonic transition and to use drag curve moddeling that accurately represents the projectile (G1 vs. G7 standard).
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Better crunch your numbers again. Should be around 1800m or so at sea level.
I just automatically assumed 300gr. Funny how the 250's have almost become an after thought, at least for us civies
I don't know what numbers you guys are using but my own experience has shown me that the 250's will shoot flatter and get me more range in the standard Lapua vs. the 300's. Both 250's and 300's cross the sound barrier at roughly the same distance but at that point the 300's require a lot more elevation than the faster/lighter 250's. The only way to shoot the 300's effectively is by pushing them faster than 2700fps....which means improving the chamber. That being said, I was going to Improve my 338 but the modest 10% gain still leaves me at a disadvantage when playing with the big dogs. The standard 338 Lapua will get you to 1 mile easily. After that you might as well pony up and start shooting something based off the Cheytac case or a 50BMG. Anyway, just my opinion...
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If you're using 1050 fps as the "supersonic" cuttoff then yes it's over 1400m. The transonic range is ballparked at 1300 fsp, where the bullet starts experiencing the steep increase in drag coefficient. Guess I should have specified "remains supersonic" as above the transonic range not just the textbook 1050 fps sound barrier. Bullets start experiencing adverse drag BEFORE they reach the sound barrier. I was citing approximate data for average .338 LM loads.
Wow there's some picky princesses on this post! The whole example was to help quantify what the OP considered "long range" shooting. If you think that 500m is long range, then just get a .308 Win. If long range is 1km, then start thinking 300 WM or .338 LM. Want to keep it supersonic to 1.8km, that's gonna take a fairly hot loaded .338 with excellent ballistic coefficient and shooting at high elevation. Would someone just hurry up and make a .338-700 Nitro?
