Really appreciate all the opinions gents. Thank you.
What Desert Tech had in mind when offering .338 LM in an 18" Barrel I am not sure.
I will try find someone over here with Quick Load and run some numbers.
Not sure about America but here in UK shorter Barrels would seem to be in Vogue. Even the Manufacturers are following this route. For instance if you buy a Tikka T3 over here that is Factory Threaded for a Moderator it will have a 20" Barrel. Even in Cartridges such as 25-06 or 270.
Brit.
I think we are in different terrain than you guys and shorter ranges are the norm. Any round can be
placed behind a short barrel , But overall velocity and energy will suffer with some cartridges.
At 600 to 1000 yards velocity loss is not that big of a deal as long as the energy is there for good
terminal bullet performance.
So I feel that using a cartridge like the 338 Lapua in a short barrel limits it's potential performance
and that there are better cartridges suited for short barrels.
If you want a short rifle for carry that's one thing, but if you want to squeeze every ounce of performance from a cartridge like the 338 Lapua you will have to start somewhere around 26"
of barrel minimum.
Short barrels require efficient powder burns, and large cartridges require large amounts of slow burning powder to keep the case density up to a safe level. You can shoot any factory cartridge in
a short barrel safely , but you end up wasting a large portion of the powder and the velocity in the big cartridges when it burns outside the barrel.
The right cartridge in a short barrel can produce as much or more performance than a big cartridge
in the same barrel. It just doesn't have the bragging rites or the Impressive name.
Just My Opinion
J E CUSTOM