Price of .338 Lapua Ammo

Tancred

Tancred

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Forgive me if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't really find anything doing a search.

I can't help but notice that there are a fair number of precision rifles out there on the EE and at gun shops in .338 Lapua. Last I checked, a box of .338 ammo was in the $90-100 range. I would love to own something in .338, but have already determined that the price of ammo is extremely prohibitive. So, are all these people who own a .338 Lapua rifle rich or do they just minimize costs by reloading? What is the cost of a reloaded cartridge compared to the $5 per round new? Will we ever see .338 cartridges at a more affordable price as more people adopt it, or does it demand a premium no matter what because it is a more exotic purpose built sniper round? I realize that .338 should cost more, but I'm not sure why it is 5x more expensive.

My next rifle purchase will be a precision rifle at some point, and I have already come to terms with the fact that it will probably have to be in .308 and not .338 due to ammo cost.
 
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If you load your own I think you can cut the cost in half, depending on the powder you choose and times you reuse the brass.
 
The main reason for high cartridge cost is it takes lots of raw materials in comparison to smaller rounds, it is a low production cartridge compared to rounds like .308, and ammo manufacturers only load it as cheap plinking or hunting loads (compare federal "blue box" .308 to their premium line... It's usually double the cost for premium factory ammo... they don't make an equivalent to "blue box" .338 Lapua either).

As mentioned, you can get it close to $2/round if you reload... but that's still very expensive, especially when you figure that you can reload .223 for under $0.40/ round.
 
This is a handy calculator so you can see what it will cost you per round/box if you reload.

http://w ww.10xshooters.com/calculators/Rifle_Reloading_Cost_Calculator.htm

Using this I figure that if I get 20 reloads out of my brass and i'm now on reload 10, then I will be at about 1.38/rd. This does not inlcude the cost of the dies but it's still a whole lot better then 5 bucks a round.

It's a fun cartridge, it's nice to have a big gun but be prepared. Unless you are made of money, or dont plan on shooting more then two or three times a year, you must reload for this rifle (or if you don't, please send me your brass).
 
I am really trying to baby my brass as much as I can. Powder I get friends to pick it up when they are in the city so I save on shipping costs, primers, well I have 1000 of them. I bought the 300gn smk's in bulk (500) to get the cost per bullet down a bit. The way I figure it, it will be no worse than firing factory (decent quality) 30-06 or what have you ammunition.

You take big hits quickly like buying 500 SMK's is not cheap, but it helps get the costs down in the end. Plus when your load developing, you go through components quickly.
 
My cost per rnd is about $2.72.

That is using;
1xf Lapua brass
H1000 powder
Federal GM215M primers
Hornady 285gr pills

So a box of relaods costs me about $54.40, approx half of factory shells.

It is not for the faint of heart.......

I figgured out the minimum cost to get into a 338 LM is just under $5000. That will get you a Remington 700 P, a decent scope, a set of dies, 200 brass, 500 projectiles, 1000 primers and a 8lb jug of powder......... Incidently that is the way I went.

You could do it for less. $2200 for a Savage, $800 for a bushnell scope and 5 boxes of shells for $500, puts you at $3500.

After I had a g-smith do a bunch of tweaking; Bedded the factory HS Precision stock, Timney trigger installed, trued the bolt face, printed the action and Bedded the 20 MOA rail I really didn't have much left for a scope. I was able to squeeze a Bushnell 4200 tactical in 6-24x50 into the budget but it was pretty obvious that there are better units available for about 2x the $$. The bushnell, for now, it is suiting me just fine out to 500y.

I imagine I will replace the Timney trigger with a Jewl, and the Bushnell scope with a NF..... But that is going to have to wait for a bit.

Cheers!
 
Must have been quite the commitment to buy 500 of the same projectile. I've got 6 different boxes of bullets for my 223, going to test them all lol!

I think if I had a 338, I'd be more interested in using Lapua bullets, but that's just me.


If I were to get into 338, I would first need a easily accesable range with at least 600 yards, and even then it wouldnt be worth the investment unless I could really entertain myself and shoot out to a mile. Assuming I had this, which I don't, I'd go balls out, sell every firearm I own and get something custom from ATRS and spend close to $10,000 on the rifle and scope. Then try to find some 1F brass and used dies lol.
 
I don't currently reload, own any reloading equipment or possess any reloading knowledge. Also, I never really considered the length of the range being used. The one I go to is 100m, so there probably isn't really any point in shooting .338 there. There are a couple other ranges around here that go to 200m and 300m respectively, but are not as convenient to get to. I guess I'll just keep dreaming about the cool factor of owning a precision rifle in .338 for now.
 
Tancred said:
I don't currently reload, own any reloading equipment or possess any reloading knowledge. Also, I never really considered the length of the range being used. The one I go to is 100m, so there probably isn't really any point in shooting .338 there. There are a couple other ranges around here that go to 200m and 300m respectively, but are not as convenient to get to. I guess I'll just keep dreaming about the cool factor of owning a precision rifle in .338 for now.
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You'd be wasting your money, time, and effort. In the end, your rifle would likely join the others on the EE as the realization would sink in that you've got a mountain of $$$ tied up into something you seldom use and can't afford to shoot.

I'd love to have a .338 LM and have wanted one long before the cartridge went mainstream, however, like you I realized that given the range limitations of where I shoot, using .338 LM to punch paper is pointless.
 
I see the cool factor in the 338 Lapua, but I don't see the practical factor unless you are shooting extreme distance. Even if you have a 1000 yard range, there are other cartridges that will get you there for a whole lot less money. Try the 7mms and the 6.5 mms to start. But hey, I will qualify this by saying I know very little about long range shooting in general and I would consider my self a complete novice when it comes to reloading too, so the free advice I just gave is worth exactly what you paid for it! ;-)
 
The.338 caliber is awsome!......but....
I shoot the 300Win Mag. In a Savage110BA, and can shoot much cheaper.
With the savings I can buy more components.
To get good at 1000+, you need to shoot ALLOT!
I cant imagine how much it would cost me to shoot the .338lapua!

Shooting the 300 Win Mag. Makes it more fun. I'm not thinking $$$$ every time I squeeze the trigger! The win mag Is good out to 1760yds. So it does evetything I could possibly need.

That being said, if the .338Lapua was even close to the same price as the 300 Win Mag. To shoot, I would own the .338, and leave the .300 Win Mag at home, and stretch it out to 2000yards+
 
Haagen_Dazs said:
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If you load your own I think you can cut the cost in half, depending on the powder you choose and times you reuse the brass.
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HAHAHAHA. I love that poster!

When I was working out the cost, it did drop quite a bit below half, after the dies and brass had been paid for.

Still enough to keep me from purchasing one....
 
Tancred said:
I don't currently reload, own any reloading equipment or possess any reloading knowledge. Also, I never really considered the length of the range being used. The one I go to is 100m, so there probably isn't really any point in shooting .338 there. There are a couple other ranges around here that go to 200m and 300m respectively, but are not as convenient to get to. I guess I'll just keep dreaming about the cool factor of owning a precision rifle in .338 for now.
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unless yor made of money, buying .338lm ammo isnt for the faint of heart. IMHO a .338 is pointless to shoot less then 1000 yds (other then load development) there is cartrages that are WAY cheaper to make it out to that distance, hell take a look at Mysticprecissions thread about taking the .223 to 1000yds, hes getting some awesome results..


and really! i think its much more impressivce to wing a 223 out to 8-1000 yds accuratly then it is to blast a .338 to the same distanace. iv got 1000yd + rifles, and am currently putting together a 338, and to be honest, i get a a hell of a kick shooting my .22 out at 300yds that i hardly touch my centerfire rifles when i have my 22 with me
 
Haagen_Dazs said:
Where the heck did you find a place to shoot 1000 yards in Victoria?
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straight down douglass, start up by the canadian tire, and set ur target up at the lights by douglass and saanich :rockOn:


but i think u miss read me :p i said i think its pointless to shoot less then 1000 with a 338lm, i never said i had a spot in vic that reaches out to 1000
 
ultimate_monkey said:
straight down douglass, start up by the canadian tire, and set ur target up at the lights by douglass and saanich :rockOn:


but i think u miss read me :p i said i think its pointless to shoot less then 1000 with a 338lm, i never said i had a spot in vic that reaches out to 1000
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I guess we did. But you have 1000 yrd+ rifles, you're building a .338, and you live Victoria, so we're assuming you've got somewhere to shoot them.

We're asking you to give up your secret long distance shooting spot, man! Come on, cough it up! :D
 
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