new build...338??

Here is my 2 cents worth

Decide what you want for a rifle / how much you want to spend

Factory like a TRG-42/ AI etc then 338Lapua is not a bad choice

Custom with Factory Action - Edge, 338LM, 338LM AI . Your though of going Edge because you can use a factory action is not the best logic. IF you add up the cost for the barrel / chambering / trueing up etc, probably want a new trigger, new stock....before you know it you should have just bought a custom action ( Sturgeon , Nesika , Stiller etc )

Custom with custom action - 338LM, 338LM AI

I am not trying to be disrespectfull, but your really should NOT have brass cost / availability etc as a deciding factor. I shoot lots off not to common cartridges. When you set yourself up, buy lots of brass. So what if your local store doesn't have 338 LM brass

Secondly, the brass cost of 338LM over 300UM should not be an issue if you can afford to build a long range rifle anyways. BTW comparing Lapua / Norma brand brass to Remington is an apples to oranges comparison. For example, if you think 308Win brass from Lapua is the same as the Win ( the Lapua is far more expensive BTW ) then you have not handle both

Lastly, don't forget you are going to spend some serious change on optics / mounts anyways. Keep in mind, your are not finding the 25MOA / 45MOA sloped base at your local gun store. Scope choices become much more narrow to ( need lots of adjustment for what you want to do...so like a NF NSX that has over 100 MOA etc ) When you are all done the last thing you are worried about is brass / powder / bullet cost

When you start tooling up your loading gear with all the higher end dies like the Redding Competition bushing etc the brass cost becomes irrelevant

If you also do the cost calculation on how much you would spend over the years shooting this long range gun you are building, barrel life discussions are splitting hairs. Again, if you can afford to do this, you can afford to rebarrel every couple of years

I think you should decide what you want for a rifle / what your budget is first before trying to analyze ( especially over the internet ! ) what the best if 338LM / AI / Edge is the best. \

AS you can see these discussions always get sideways

Lastly, if you think you will ever go hunting with this rifle don't get too crazy on barrel length. I lug a 26" 338LM and 28" 30-378 in the Rockies every year and it sucks
 
mysticplayer said:
Isn't ADRENALIN a wonderful thing.

I am thrilled that you have a kid that loves to shoot. It doesn't look like I will be so lucky.

However, damage is damage and young kids should not be subjected to hard hits whether it be hockey, football or shooting.

Sorry, but your thought process on this one is pretty flawed.

Jerry
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Dude I don't know what planet you grew up on or how hard your son plays, but my son subjects himself to massive shock loads and impacts that make a 338 Win impact redundant. He calls these impacts play!

He also plays hockey, soccer, football, and rides motocross on a KTM85SX and on an insane little KTM 105SX. Ever watch the fast kids ride motocross?

Lecture me on motocross, but the little 40 pound pat a 338 gives him is nothing in his world.
 
X-fan said:
Dude I don't know what planet you grew up on or how hard your son plays, but my son subjects himself to massive shock loads and impacts that make a 338 Win impact redundant. He calls these impacts play!

He also plays hockey, soccer, football, and rides motocross on a KTM85SX and on an insane little KTM 105SX. Ever watch the fast kids ride motocross?

Lecture me on motocross, but the little 40 pound pat a 338 gives him is nothing in his world.
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I'm sure you have a kid who's plenty tough X-Fan, however, handing him a rifle whose cartridge is easily capable of 5,000 lbs. of muzzle energy is not only ill-advised, it's borderline child abuse. :p
 
2bad4u2 said:
I'm sure you have a kid who's plenty tough X-Fan, however, handing him a rifle whose cartridge is easily capable of 5,000 lbs. of muzzle energy is not only ill-advised, it's borderline child abuse. :p
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I'm having to bite my tongue here.....

I fail to see where 36fpe of recoil has the ability to do physical damage to anyone? Experience is not the issue as he shoots 50-100 or centerfire rounds a month (more than 90% of the hunters I know). I cautiously monitor his shooting (and safety) while hand feeding him every round. If he flinches or makes a bad shot he will rack the gun and grab something smaller for a while. I no longer even tell him to do this.
Did you really think I just handed him a powerful gun and let him "have at it"?
I'm curious how you and your son manage his growth as a shooter (if you even have children)?

Never in the course of shooting any rifle has my son ever received a bruise, cut, or any sort of physical damage.

There are lots of guys on this board that know me and my son. They all love having my kid at the range and love watching him embarrass the "box a year hunters" with his shooting ability and his ability to manage recoil.

As you may be able to tell in my world the sun rises and sets on my little boy and he is everything that is anything to me.
For you that doesn't know me or my son to suggest that I would place him in harms way??

WTF do you really think you know?
 
X-fan said:
I'm having to bite my tongue here.....

I fail to see where 36fpe of recoil has the ability to do physical damage to anyone? Experience is not the issue as he shoots 50-100 or centerfire rounds a month (more than 90% of the hunters I know). I cautiously monitor his shooting (and safety) while hand feeding him every round. If he flinches or makes a bad shot he will rack the gun and grab something smaller for a while. I no longer even tell him to do this.
Did you really think I just handed him a powerful gun and let him "have at it"?
I'm curious how you and your son manage his growth as a shooter (if you even have children)?

Never in the course of shooting any rifle has my son ever received a bruise, cut, or any sort of physical damage.

There are lots of guys on this board that know me and my son. They all love having my kid at the range and love watching him embarrass the "box a year hunters" with his shooting ability and his ability to manage recoil.

As you may be able to tell in my world the sun rises and sets on my little boy and he is everything that is anything to me.
For you that doesn't know me or my son to suggest that I would place him in harms way??

WTF do you really think you know?
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Apparently, you missed my :p. Grow up and don't take s**t so serriously. I could care less if you let him fire the rifle with the stock firmly bedded in his nut sack.

I'm sure you're proud of your boy. You should be.
 
If the extra weight is of that much benefit when handling recoil, simply wearing a bacpack with 70 pounds in it should help a lot. Quite often, lighter, less solidly constructed people will handle recoil better simply because there is some give. For the same reason, heavy recoiling rifles are more comfortable shooting offhand or from a sitting position than they are prone. The shooter is able to move with the recoil.
A few years back, I did some shooting with a 500 A-Square. This rifle was launching 650 grain bullets at about 2500 fps, as I recall, and it kicked harder than anything I've fired. At six feet and about 195 pounds, I found it necessary to take a step back with each shot. If I had had someone stand behind me and brace me against the recoil so I would not move, I promise it would not have felt better. Another fellow who was here the same day was able to shoot the rifle without the step back. His 250pound frame did enable him to absorb that energy. I can't say he was actually happy about it though.
It should follow that today, with my greater mass, I should handle recoil much better than I could 35 years ago when I was weighing in at 155 to 160. Alas, this does not seem to be the case.
To shoot at extreme ranges, I think one can do as well with a 6.5 or a seven millimeter as he can with a 338 when it comes to hitting a target. Or a 30 if he must. If he wants to hit at extreme range with more authority ( to stop a runaway Buick or something, I guess) he might as well step up to a real Buick stopper. Regards, Bill
 
2bad4u2 said:
Apparently, you missed my :p. Grow up and don't take s**t so serriously. I could care less if you let him fire the rifle with the stock firmly bedded in his nut sack.

I'm sure you're proud of your boy. You should be.
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Ya...missed the :p
Sorry about that!:redface:

Sorry for being touchy...With all the anti's that live in my area I'm always defending everything I do.....My apologies.
 
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