fastest 338 caliber?Build advice?

coloradoultramag

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What is the fastest 338 caliber? The fastest I know of is the 338 allan mag then the 338edge and Laupa are very similar? I do have a 300 ultra mag so the edge is tempting. Are the prefit and chambered barrels hard to install on a remington action?
I will tell you guys what I am looking for in a gun and for what uses If you have ANY advice feel free to share. I live in Colorado so I can shoot long distance all day, if I have the right gun. In adition to hunting Colorado every year I put in to draw trophy tags in almost every western state? My dad and I have shoot many elk and deer out ot 600 yards so I am not a total rookie.
1.I want a gun that hits veryy hard way out there? 2.That way I can spot my misses and hits better? 3.The biger bullet should also help with marginal hits on big game(no one is perfect)4.I want a big eficent bulet so the wind does not effect it as much. 5. Also the big bullet should drop game more than typicall 300ultra mag 168-190g bullets. That way when I am walking all the way over to my dead trophy I know it is dead instead of thinking I hit it and hopefully taking up the blood trail whaere it enetered th trees? I am thinking 300grain SMK will help me fullfil the above wishes. But again I am open to suggestions. Do the 300SMK fit in a stock magazine or do you need a aftermarket magazine?
If I build or buy one of the above calibers to shoot a 300SMK in a 1 in 10 twist barrel and then berger comes out with a higher BC bullet or hensen gets good reviews, will I need a new barrel to handle a longer bullet? Or are the 338 caliber barrels less picky than the 284 and 30
caliber barrels?
What are you allan mag guy's paying for brass and custom dies? Will MR. Allan or Shawn Carlock send you a prefit barrel chambered for 338AM with a muzzle break or do you have to buy the whaole gun?
Do the 338calibers offer the best speed to weight to BC ratio or should I look up to the 375 calibers? I don't have enogh money to buy a gun and then find out I would of been better of with something else. Or buy a gun that is good to 900 yards but my ability is more than that.

Sorry for rattling on your eyes should return to normal in a couple of hours:D! Thanks for your advice, Gabe

P.S. If you have a caliber you would recomend tell me why you like it and if you would of had it built a little different and why? (you new in your gut that a post this long was going to have a ps)
 
You have 2 options, both of which are great. You can go with an entirely new rifle and keep the 300RUM as a backup/carry rifle (my choice). Or have your rifle rebarrelled. If you have it rebarreled, the 338 Edge is the choice. It will easily get you to 1000yds as long as the wind isn't horrible, it will hit with plenty of authority as well (2700+ ft lbs with the 300SMK at 1000yds).

If you can see your way clear for a new rifle, then go all out and have Kirby build you a 16lb 338 Allen Mag. This cartridge won't fit on a normal action, so you can't really upgrade your current rifle to the 338AM. But you will have a real hammer. With less than 5mph wind, it is absolutely no challenge to hit first shot at 1000yds with mine. It's very rewarding to hit at 1500+ too :D (targets only so far). At 1000yds, the 338AM/300SMK brings around 4000 ft lbs to the target!

Hope this helps, there are tons of pictures and discussion of the Edge and the AM's here on the forum.

AJ

ps: where are you at in Colo? I grew up on the western slope and will be out there elk hunting in October.
 
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The sky's the limit and so is the price if you want "the fastest". You could 338 Allen Mag, 338 Snipetac, or maybe some form of 338-50 BMG...barrel life would not be impressive, but the smack on steel would!
 
CUM, let us know what your budget, weight of rifle, and acceptable barrel length is and we can answer with more precision.
 
I have been shooting the Lapua version or a variant for almost 20 years. In fact am loading some fot the Slowpoke this afternoon (RL25, 7828, WMR, 870, H1000) to develop my loads for a hunt in a couple of weeks in NM at the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Never had any anmial run more than a couple of hundred feet after getting hit with the 250SMK. One of the reasons I stick with a Lapua variant is because of the brass----second to none.
 
Thanks for the replies. Anybody shooting the 338 -378Wby? I hear there pretty good long range cannons.
What bullets are you guys using?

Thanks again, Gabe
 
I Hunt Moose and Caribou in Alaska using a 340 weatherby. The Rifle is a remington 700 with 24" shillen 5-1/2 barrell. The Rifle is very accurate at the bench. It has taken moose down with one shot at 400 yards and 300 yards. I use only Barnes Bullets. For Caribou I'm loading 175 X pushing 3250 FPS using 84 grains of IMR4350. My moose load is 84 grains of H-4831 I think that is going over 2900fps. (haven't chroned that one lately). This year I'm using the 185 and 210 triple shocks. I'm sure they'll do the job nice a neat. There Seems to be a lot of new fancy 338's running around but the 340 has proved it self many of times for me. no reason to fix somthing thats not broke. What ever you decide use Barnes bullets.
Mike
 
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I have a 338/378 on a rem action with a 30" shilen and MPI stock. It was my first LR gun and I had a lot of fun learning with it. I would not go that route on a rem action again but do like the round. I have shot out to 1K on paper with the 300 SMK and animals out to 700 with BT's. I am hoping to try the new accubonds soon. I sent you a PM with more info.
 
You have gotten pretty good information on this subject.

There are basically three catagories of chamberings in the big 338 cal magnum family.

The top run are the rounds based on the 408 CT parent case. These include the Chey Tac, Sniper Tac, Big Baer, Extreme and my Allen Magnum. Those are listed pretty much from slowest to fastest when all are loaded to same pressures. The middle three are basically identical in every way so there is really no different between them. The Chey Tac is around 100 fps less then the middle three, the Allen Magnum would top out 100 fps more but all are in the same class, VERY IMPRESSIVE. Your basically looking at 3200-3400 fps.

The next step down includes the 338 Lapua Improved and its variations including my 338 Allen Xpress, the 338-378 Wby and the 338 Kahn. These rounds will get you into the 3000 fps class with 30" barrels.

The next step down includes the 338 RUM, 338 Edge and 338 Lapua. Here your looking at 2750 to 2900 fps in 30" barrel lengths.

It all comes down to a few pointed questions. These are the ones I ask my potential customers when they tell me they want a 338 Allen Magnum:

1. How far will you realistically be hunting or shooting? Many want to be able to shoot or hunt out to 2000 yards but few have a real need for that because of the area they live.

2. How heavy of a rifle can you live with for your type of hunting and shooting?

3. How much will you be shooting this new rifle?

4. Are you set up to handload your ammo?

5. What is your budget for this project? Everyone has one so be honest with yourself.

After getting this information its much easier to recommend what would be best for you and your needs.

If your going to be shooting from 0 to 800 yards realistically, there is really no need for a 338 based on the 408 case other then just having one of the biggest 338s out there.

As far as the 338-50BMG, its really a dead stick. Not practical and the 408 CT based rounds will get surpisingly close to that chambering in performance and offer practical barrel life and will not require a BMG receiver to build on.
 
MY answers to your questions;
1. Yes a big .338 hits hard way out there with the right bullets, but with the right bullets so does your .300RUM.
2. A big .338 bullet does make hits/misses easier to spot, if you have a spotter or the terrain/vegetation allows.
3. A bigger bullet or more power is not the answer to poor marksmanship.
4. The wind does not effect a 300gr SMK as much as commercial hunting bullets.
5. A properly place "smaller" bullet will drop game just as fast as a properly placed "bigger" bullet, refer back to #3.

My 300gr .338EDGE loads will not fit in my factory magazine.

You also wrote,"That way when I am walking all the way over to my dead trophy I know it is dead instead of thinking I hit it and hopefully taking up the blood trail where it entered the trees?"
Make sure it is down before you get up off the weapon. If it runs (and they can, even when hit with a 300gr bullet) stay on it as long as possible to see if it goes down or maybe you can hit it with another shot.

My friend I don't want to sound like a know it all or be preachy but I read your post several times and a flag kept going up. A big .338 is NOT a magical deer/elk slayer. Most people get big magnum rifles because they think that when they pull the trigger something magically just dies. I too went through that stage about 15 years ago as a teen. What I learned is this- A poor shot from a .300mag (Win or Weatherby) will not kill as fast as a well placed .223. There is no magic bullet, the closest I've seen is a 750gr A-Max fired from a .50cal BMG.
 
Bravo 4, I agree in general with what you are saying and I am on the same page with you. But I have got to look at #3 and 5 closer. I agree a bigger bullet and more power is definitely not the answer to poor marksmanship and a well placed bullet from a 300 ultramag will kill anything in North America. But the massive wound channel of the big 338 can give you a slight edge (no pun intended) with massive tissue or bone destruction and will give you a much better blood trail to follow if the animal doesn't go down right there.

In #5 I agree the animal is just as dead with a well placed shot but they don't go down the same. I mentioned in an earlier post about shooting caribou with the 300 ultramag. They would run 200-400 yards and fall over just as dead but maybe in the water or a terrible place to pack them out. The same shot with my 338-378 and about all you see is the feet flying up in the air and the first thing that hits the ground is the top of their back. In other words let the animal walk to where you want to dress it, then shoot and go dress it there. That really helps in some hunting situations. I have noticed through the years that elk/moose size animals that don't go down right away are in such shock they just hunch up and then fall right there, where with smaller calibers they will take off running or trotting for a few hundred yards then fall over just as dead.

I like to hunt with all my rifles in all the calibers but I have noticed a definite difference when the animal is hit.
 
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