need data and suggestions for 338 lapua

ragman · #1 02-12-2010, 01:56 PM

Have a Sako trg-42 with 10-1 twist. want to start reloading. i wil use this for hunting and want a good bullet i.e. accubond etc. 250 grain. need powder,primer, bullet and reloading data for best accuracy. also a good place to get dies.

jmden · #2 02-12-2010, 03:12 PM

Alot of guys on this site use the 300g Sierra MatchKing (SMK). It has a proven track record of game taking. Retumbo or H-1000 would likely be good powders to look at. Retumbo in the mid to upper 90's (grains) and H-1000 probably in the lower 90's, from what I recall. I'm sure you'll get more help here soon. Good luck.

Tikkamike · #3 02-13-2010, 10:21 AM

I am building a 338 Lapua and your thread caught my eye, I was hoping you would have more answers. Here is what I have been thinking. I plan on using a 350 grain Tripple shock with Federal 215 primers and a nice slow burning powder. Little side question. what scop do you have on your TRG and what distances are you shooting?

jmden · #4 02-13-2010, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tikkamike

I am building a 338 Lapua and your thread caught my eye, I was hoping you would have more answers. Here is what I have been thinking. I plan on using a 350 grain Tripple shock with Federal 215 primers and a nice slow burning powder. Little side question. what scop do you have on your TRG and what distances are you shooting?

Do you mean a 250g TSX? ...with a G1 bc of .425, acc'd to Barnes?? Or a 225 TTSX with a Barnes derived G1 bc of .514. Often manufacturer bc numbers are derived at velocites of 3K and so the bc number is only good for that velocity and drops off substanially at lower velocities important to long range hunters due the distances bullets are traveling in a long range hunting sceneario.

G1 bc of the 300 SMK is (averaged) about .745. Potentially, quite a difference to the long range hunter from the Barnes bullets. Litz's experimentally derived data shows a G1 bc of .802 at 3K and above, .769 at 2.5K, .742 at 2K and .665 at 1.5K fps.

Tikkamike · #5 02-13-2010, 12:33 PM

JMDEN,

OOPS yeah i meant 250 gr I was holding my daughter and she likes to help me make posts on here. she is only 6 months but loves talking guns...Anyway, The reason I am leaning toward the 250 tsx is I am a advocate of bullet weight retention. BC does not mean everything to me. I realize it is a vital part of the equation but I dont think it is everything. With a good bullet drop compensating optics system it really broadens the selection of good bullets and weights. you can use. I am thinking about trying the SMK's because it sounds like too cool of a bullet not to try.

D.ID · #6 02-14-2010, 08:42 PM

of course the higher bc bullets retain velocity longer and reduce wind drift. I still have a lot of work to do determining wind speed at distance so less Wind drift is always better. With modern optics and an accurate rifle the wind is the biggest obstacle left but I'm working on it.

Long Time Long Ranger · #7 02-15-2010, 12:57 PM

TikkaMike, When the lapua first came out a few of us around the country got our best results with 250 grain and lighter bullets with winchester WMR. They have now discontinued that powder but I bought up about 250 pounds before supplies ran out. I have quite a bit of it if you want to try some. I have tons of load data with it and the lapua. You are not that far from me. I go through Basin regularly and might could help you out. With the 250 grain I was getting over 3100 fps with spreads less than 10 fps out of a 26" barrel. Got other data with other powders also. The big bullets kick like a mule out of hunting weight rifles so I focussed more on the lighter stuff. They do very well inside a 1000 yards where I do most of my shooting.