Choosing Caliber... question for you reloaders

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Opar

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Probably a common theme, but since i've yet to purchase my precision rifle, let me ask you fellas...

When it comes to reloading, what is an average cost for a .338LM. On the other hand what is the average cost for a .308 reload?

For the types of loads, i'm thinking more of target loads for learning on.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks guys!
 
You do not want to "learn" with a 338 Lapua. That's nuts. All you would learn is how to flinch and spend money. (~$3.00 per round minimum + brass)

Assuming you have the reloading equipment and dies, the cost for 308 match rounds would be .60-1.00 per round depending on volumes and brands.

Do yourself a favour and think quality rather than quantity and think about a 223. These can be loaded for well under .50 per round and you will learn far more from the experience.
 
Ditto....learn small!!!!! 223 would be a great pick to get in the game....I spend alot of trigger time on Rim fire too.......
 
No matter what, a 308 will be cheaper to load for. Here are some of my cost calc's:

I load 110 grain Frontier CMJ's with 13 grains of RedDot in my 308's for $0.17 per round. Accuracy is fairly sloppy (about 3 1/2 inches at 100 meters), but it's plenty accurate to bang the steel plates at the range with. For an extra $0.07 per round, I sometimes use 110 grain FMJ's intended for 30-carbine use, and these are actually remarkably accurate - sub-2 inch at 100 meters.

I also load Hornady 150 grain FMJBT's with WC-735 for target practice for about $0.28 each. (compare at $0.30 a round for 17HMR in your rimfire!!!). Groups are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch bigger than when using Varget for fuel, but as they are still well under the 2" mark, they work great for target practice.

Same bullet/primer/brass as above but substituting Varget for powder gets me about $0.37 each, and gets me into the 1 inch accuracy neighbourhood.

But, when precision counts, I load 168 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip's and 44 grains of Varget for for about $0.64 per round. In my stainless Tikka, these will generally make the holes touch at 100 meters (these loads also work superbly for deer hunting).
 
.30 cal match bullets --->~$40 for 100
Primers ---------------->$4 for 100
Cases------------------->$30 for 100pcs of Winchester
1 LBS of Varget/BLC2----->$30 (does about 130-150 pieces)

------------------>cost per round $1 each for MATCH quality component built round
 
.338 is substantially more to reload then .308 but most of the cost lies with the brass. I should know I am starting to reload both - .338 brass is about 3bucks a pop (new) vs .308 (.50-70/case). Bullets are a little more expensive (.32/bullet .308 Lapua Scenar vs .60/bullet .338 lapua) and powder is about 2x/charge (46 grains vs 100 grains of powder) Primers are pretty much the same. Average cost for match (initial with case: .308 ~1 buck/shot .338 ~5/shot; with cases already bought: .308 .50/shot and .338 $1/shot) I would recommend that you start with a .308 as it is a capable cartridge out to 800m and then step up to a .338 when you have the experience to shoot to 800-1k.
 
With respect, your posting sounds a little like "I am going to get a driver's license. How much does it cost to drive a Ferrari?"

The 338 is a very specialized round. Very load. Lots of recoil. Lots of expense. And don't foregt 25 to 50 cents a shot for barrel wear, too.

223 (80 gr Sierra) and 308 (155 match) have about the same accuracy out to 1000 yards. Lot's of fun and not very expensive.

For some reason I enjoy shooting bulls more with the 223.
 
eg6ajk said:
.30 cal match bullets --->~$40 for 100
Primers ---------------->$4 for 100
Cases------------------->$30 for 100pcs of Winchester
1 LBS of Varget/BLC2----->$30 (does about 130-150 pieces)

------------------>cost per round $1 each for MATCH quality component built round
Click to expand...


For the first round. When you reload the same brass it is .70ish for the remasining life of the brass.
 
Brass lasts a very long time for .338 LM but probably only a little bit better then comparable .308 brass. I am guessing but you could probably get ~10 loads if you aren't going hot on the loads. The high cost of brass is partially offset by the quality (Norma or Lapua) but it is still high nonetheless.
 
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