338 lm loads

wasp · #1 11-27-2011, 10:01 PM

Anybody care to help me out and give me there pet loads for the 338 lm with the 300 gr Lapua bullet. The best I have tried so far is 81gr of N 165 and its nothing to brag about after you get get past 500 yds it does ok at 300 yds. I have Lapua brass with federal gold 215 primers shooting out of a 26 inch shilen barrel.

liltank · #2 11-28-2011, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wasp

Anybody care to help me out and give me there pet loads for the 338 lm with the 300 gr Lapua bullet. The best I have tried so far is 81gr of N 165 and its nothing to brag about after you get get past 500 yds it does ok at 300 yds. I have Lapua brass with federal gold 215 primers shooting out of a 26 inch shilen barrel.

Right around 90-92 grains of H1000 should hook you up.

Tank

ranger160 · #3 11-28-2011, 01:44 PM

you might also wanna try 87.0 grains of RL 25. It works in all of mine!

bowstryder · #4 11-28-2011, 01:55 PM

what is the twist rate of your barrel?
I would try vit n570 at about 91 gr. 81 gr of 165 is not what I would call a good load for the Lapua (not trying to be rude). The load density is way low and it's not a great powder for this particular case. hth
retumbo is a great powder for this cartridge as well. Keep in mind it's a bit more temp sensitive than some others but at a safe 93-94gr MAX it'll light a fire in that bullet. (no pun intended).

wasp · #5 11-28-2011, 05:48 PM

Its a 9.3 twist. Thanks fellows for the info. Here is what I have tried so far 89. grs of h 1000 the speed was 2610. 86 grs of N560 speed 2720. 90 grs of n 170 speed 2680 the best group was n 560 but was not was I was looking for 500 yds plus. Then someone told me I was loading to much powder then he said 81 grs of n 165. Any how I will try what you all said. Would it be better to test the loads at 300 yds rather than 100? I got a .338 barret if anyone wants to relieve me of it.

bowstryder · #6 11-29-2011, 09:15 AM

the twist rate is perfect for the big pills so that's a plus. But having a 26" tube you will be good to get in the upper 2700's without maxing it out. Also have you tried any different types of bullets?
As to the 100 vs 300 yd question. If you are doing load development you can learn a lot at the 100 mark, however, like many have already noticed it takes a little more time for these to fall asleep and you could actually get the same size or slightly smaller groups at 300. This is a true long distance round so the further out you go the better you can discern the data.

ken snyder · #7 11-29-2011, 10:58 AM

I've been shooting 338 LM since they were just a rumor and special order brass was difficult to get. I have never liked the Scenar bullets or Vihtavouri powder in them. Its my opinion that they will digest any suitable powder, primer or bullet with very good results. I load them with mid range powder charges and strictly stay away from the higher charges with them. I work on reducing the largest group size that I am likely to get, which in actuality is quite a bit different than working on the smallest. 150 fps does not make any difference when the total drop and drift is considered because it will never benefit from a few inches of difference when we have yards left to deal with. It is a very good heavy bullet cartridge but perhaps needs to be dealt with a little differently than most will think!