Which .338???

[06mauser]

Sorry about that I meant to say Remington style action. I guess if I want to go with a factory bolt setup that I would have to either go with a Sako or Tikka action to build the Lapua.

I still wish I would have bought a Sako TRG .338 Lapua that a classmate of mine had when I was in college down in Laramie. I just couldn't figure out how I would justify my tuition money for that semester on the rifle.

 

[Rimfire]

Another good one to look at is the 338 Norma mag. Mine runs 2800 with a 300 SMK out of a 26" barrel. Designed to be built on a Rem action.

 

[Rocky Mountain]

The 338 lapua impr or a 338-378 imp in a 10 pound walk around rifle for the mountainous country and a 338-408 imp 15-17 pound low land rilfe for the really long shots would be my pick gun)

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I had two 338 lapua trg's. They are a good lightweight rifle but not great at long range because of the very light barrel and 1-12 twist which does well with lighter bullets. Mine shoot very well with the 225 accubond at 3350 fps but only for a couple shots till the barrel heats up.

If you are looking at a custom action then look at the excalibur autorotate has been shooting. The ones off the 378 wby case also. Those would be the fastest. No sense limiting yourself if you are starting from scratch. I thought you had a remington action therefore the 338RUM or 338-300 ultramag would have been best to screw a barrel in. No sense doing that on a custom action though and limiting yourself leaving all that velocity sitting on the table. Velocity=wind drift at long range. That is the most critical element. All are equally accurate.

 

[06mauser]

SO what it all boils down to is if I want to build this rifle from a custom action or a factory action, and that decision now decides what size of .338 I want to build.

So if I want to go with a case developed from a lapua I need to go with a custom action. If i want a case that was developed from a UM then I can go with a factory action.

Plus if I want to shoot over 1000 yards I need to go with something other than a UM case design.

Guys please let me know if I am on the right track with this. Hopefully I can get this build down before April before I have to pay the baby doctor.

Thanks

 

[Rimfire]

SO what it all boils down to is if I want to build this rifle from a custom action or a factory action, and that decision now decides what size of .338 I want to build.

So if I want to go with a case developed from a lapua I need to go with a custom action. If i want a case that was developed from a UM then I can go with a factory action.

Plus if I want to shoot over 1000 yards I need to go with something other than a UM case design.

Guys please let me know if I am on the right track with this. Hopefully I can get this build down before April before I have to pay the baby doctor.

Thanks

Yes and no. Lapuas can and have been built on Rems to include factory rifles with no issues If the smith understands the do and dont. The 338 Norma is designed on a shortened Lapua case with minimum body taper and the 300 SMK seated where it belongs. This was designed to be used with a Rem action. Any of the 338's (Rum Edge Lapua Norma) are fine for shooting beyond 1K for hunting there will be a point where you want to move to a bigger case if you want to hunt at extreme range. How far, how much abuse and how much $$ is what it comes down to.

 

[AJBello]

I had two 338 lapua trg's. They are a good lightweight rifle but not great at long range because of the very light barrel and 1-12 twist which does well with lighter bullets. Mine shoot very well with the 225 accubond at 3350 fps but only for a couple shots till the barrel heats up.

New ones are 1:10" twist: http://www.sako.fi/pdf/specs/TRG.pdf

Plus if I want to shoot over 1000 yards I need to go with something other than a UM case design.

Ah, no.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/338-edge-vs-6x6-bull-elk-1308-yards-47786/

Obviously Shawn knows what he's doing with a rifle and not everyone can make that shot without a lot of knowledge / practice... but beyond 1000 is apparently quite doable for the Edge. For that matter, a standard Lapua runs about the same ballistics so short of doing Lapua Improved, 378 case, or 408 case, you're not going to gain anything just because you have a "Lapua" and a custom action. And any of those options come with increased costs, recoil, etc, with less barrel life. Obviously you'll make some big gains in velocity with those options, but they aren't free gains!

Everything's a compromise... Edge seemed like a good option for my wants / needs. If I planned on shooting less, and beyond 1000 at game regularly, I might have gone with something bigger.

 

[06mauser]

Thanks guys for your help. I still have alot of decisions to make over the next couple of months to get this build started. I still haven't decided on a cartridge yet but I have a few ideas where I can head. I do think it would be pretty cool to have a 338 that can fling a 300 grain bullet at or over 3000 fps but I also would like to have a rifle that isn't going to be half of my pack weight. Thats why I was looking at rifles at or near 10 lbs without the scope.

I am used to that kind of weight hunting. Before I started using my .264 win, I hunted with a custom 06 that weighed 12.5 lbs with the scope. My old gun smith thought that if he built me a barrel that was the size of a ford 9" axel that I couldn't blow it up.

Well guys if you have any more ideas or opionions on the direction I should go please let me know.

Thanks,
06

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

ajbello, 06 said he wished back when he had bought the trg. Back when they were 1-12 twist. The 338-300 ultramag I developed in 1998 that some now call edge and several other names will shoot beyond 1000 yards but there are better choices in the same weight category if a guy plans on shooting that far.

 

[AJBello]

ajbello, 06 said he wished back when he had bought the trg. Back when they were 1-12 twist.

Yea, I read that... just thought the switch to 1:10" was worth noting so everyone is on the same page. You said "are a good lightweight rifle but not great at long range" in your reply to him. If I didn't know better I would think from your wording it still applied.

The 338-300 ultramag I developed in 1998 that some now call edge and several other names...

Seems like most people refer to it as such now. I realize it's gone by several names, but "Edge" has stuck. I notice you opt not to refer to it as such, for whatever reason.

...will shoot beyond 1000 yards but there are better choices in the same weight category if a guy plans on shooting that far.

Reckon that's pretty much exactly what I said here:

Everything's a compromise... Edge seemed like a good option for my wants / needs. If I planned on shooting less, and beyond 1000 at game regularly, I might have gone with something bigger.

I was also keeping in mind what he said on page 2:

Realistically I will probably not have the opportunity to take a shot over 1200 yards at anything larger than an antelope. Elk and mule deer at a distances between 750 and 1000 are more reasonable in the area that I hunt usually.

Thanks

....

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

AJ, No problem, thanks for clarifying that. They went to 1-10 twist on the Lapua very soon after the first run of rifles after everyone complained. I call the 338-300 ultramag what it is known by mostly. On here edge seems to work but worldwide there are thousands stamped 338-300 ultramag and a few out of Shawns shop and a few others stamped edge. So to make sure there is no misunderstanding what I am talking about I refer to the cartridge as to what it is. Many gunshops call a particular wildcat by there on name they give it but it gets confusing trying to remember them all so I just stick with the standard naming process.

The 338-300 ultramag was a very popular cartridge back in the late 90's and into the 2000's but with the introduction of the 338 RUM as a standard cartridge in 2001 many shops quit the wildcat because the 338 RUM will do anything the 338-300 will do. Either will duplicate any shot the other will do and the 338 RUM is over the counter. If a guy is going way long range the higher velocity 338 cartridges make more sense because of less wind estimation. Since wind estimation is a constant changing variable you want to eliminate as much of that as possible. Extra velocity does that for you. If a guy has a standard magnum action to rebarrel the 338-300 ultramag or 338 RUM are excellent choices and the beauty of the ultramags. They will make the shots but as the range gets longer and the wind gets more unpridictable the extra velocity cartridges give you a better chance for a long range fist shot hit.

I have popped rocks and animals at extreme distances with most every 338 talked about on the forum from the 338 win mag on up. But as the velocity goes up, so do first shot hit averages. That is why if I have a choice on a long range shot I shoot something off the 378 case at well over 3000 fps. My Lapua improved was very good but not quite the velocity of the big imp 378 case. Velocity goes up in small increments with the big 338's. The Lapua imp is a little faster than the 338 RUM, 338-300 ultramag, and standard lapua which are all essentially the same. Then the 378 wby case gets a little faster and the imp 378 wby a little faster still. The imp 416 rigby case and new excaliber (not the old) are also in the fast lane with these. The new version Excaliber I have not shot but from a powder capacity standpoint it should be right there with the fast boys. Autorotate on here has given rave reviews about his.

 

[06mauser]

LTLR,

So what you are telling me is that if I have to deal with alot of wind I am better off with a cartridge that launches a 300 grain bullet over 3000 fps. Therefore you need to go the bigger case size.

My next questions is at what range are you starting to see bullet drift growing exponetially between the different cartridges, 500-700, 700-1000, 1000-1300. I do understand that the higher the wind speed that these numbers will seperate even more.

I was just wondering this because if you planned on not taking shots past that a certain point, would the different cartiridges act similarly enough to make to a moot point.

Thanks,
06

 

[highridge1]

The 338 ultra and 338 edge are both outstanding long range calibers.They both are well capable of taking big game well beyond 1000 yrds.The edge will give you about 100-150fps over the 338 ultra.The 338 edge is actually booming in popularity currently with many guys having custom long rang rifles built based on this round.Easy to buy brass for,easy to load,no belt, and extremely accurate.Very tough to beat.. The faster 338's you are going to be buying much more expensive brass,burning barrels out quicker and they may not be as accurate.Plus you will be dealing with nastier muzzle blast in hunting situations and target shooting with the bigger 338's. The Edge and 338 ultra are tremendous rounds with alot of power.

 

[Rocky Mountain]

The 338 edge is very hard to beat in a standard .532 bolt face, Rem action with little case forming and is easy to load for, on the other hand the 338-416 imp .590 bolt face nesika hunter action at 3100 is also a great performer and can be built about the same weight as the edge and with a good muzzle brake is very managable making it hard to pass up to. The 338-408 .640 bolt face is great also but has some draw backs eg: heavy rilfes, long barrels and is pricey to load for, but I wouldnt cross it out it has its place and is loved by may for those really long range shots.