which 338?

[saskhunter]

i originally wanted to turn my 300wsm into a long range gun but after joining this website it sounds like the a 338 cal is the choice. my question is which 338 to go with? lapua, ultra mag, edge. which bullet to use for a hunting bullet. thx for any input.

 

[royinidaho]

i originally wanted to turn my 300wsm into a long range gun but after joining this website it sounds like the a 338 cal is the choice. my question is which 338 to go with? lapua, ultra mag, edge. which bullet to use for a hunting bullet. thx for any input.

First choice - ultra - off the shelf with all of its benefits, ease of loading and very similar to the Lapua in performance.
Second choice - Edge - will do anything the Ultra will do and if custom made will out do the Ultra by at least 150 FPS with a more assurance of accuracy. Down side is that it has to be built which is much better in the long run.
Third choice - Lapua initial cost is more, would propably want a bit longer than factory offerings thus it becomes same as the Edge for time and money.

I have the Ultra and can't justify changing to the edge or Lapua basing things purely on ballistic performance. I shoot only the 300 SMK.

Any of the three will do the job at LR. There is a slight difference in the size of the rainbow trajectory.

 

[Broz]

I have to put a vote in for the 338 Lapua Magnum. I get 2850 MV with 300 SMK's and have taken game over 800 yards many times and twice over 1100 yards. The ney-sayer say it is expensive to load for due to the initial price of brass. Well , I am loading my brass for the 7th time and have not lost one piece yet. I am very pleased with the .338 Lapua Mag.

gun)gun)

Jeff

 

[royinidaho]

Jeff,

The value of the Lapua brass far outweighs its cost in $. If one were doing a value engineering assessment, the Lapua would most probably come out on top due to the quality of the brass.

If one could get 2850 out of a RUM the brass wouldn't last 3 rounds until one broke out the finger nail polish and/or super glue to hold and seal the primer.

The next time I get a 270 cal Allen Mag, its gonnal be the 277 AM which is based on the Lapua case v.s. the Remmy RUM case.

 

[Broz]

Jeff,

The value of the Lapua brass far outweighs its cost in $. If one were doing a value engineering assessment, the Lapua would most probably come out on top due to the quality of the brass.

If one could get 2850 out of a RUM the brass wouldn't last 3 rounds until one broke out the finger nail polish and/or super glue to hold and seal the primer.

The next time I get a 270 cal Allen Mag, its gonnal be the 277 AM which is based on the Lapua case v.s. the Remmy RUM case.

I agree Roy, a good friend of mine just had a very nice rifle built with a Mcmillan hunter stock, phoenix action with fluted bolt, 27" #5 contour fluted Lilja and chambered in 338 RUM. We stopped with a load just over 2700 MV and I would expect the primer pocket to last 2 or 3 loadings. The rifle weighed in at 11lb 4 oz topped with a 5.5x22x56 NXS. I was amazed when I took it out and busted a 14" wide target at 1162 yards center mass cold bore. I jacked another one in and stuck it right next to the first shot. Nothing wrong with the 338 rum if you don't mind preping new brass.

Jeff

 

[darrindlh]

Why does the brass not last as long? Does nosler make brass for the 338 rum? I know that they make brass for the 338win.

Darrin

 

[geargrinder]

Why does the brass not last as long? Does nosler make brass for the 338 rum? I know that they make brass for the 338win.

Darrin

Because about your only choice for brass is Remington which is generally regarded as being fairly soft.

Soft brass allows the primer pockets to loosen earlier than harder brass.

 

[Chas1]

i originally wanted to turn my 300wsm into a long range gun but after joining this website it sounds like the a 338 cal is the choice. my question is which 338 to go with? lapua, ultra mag, edge. which bullet to use for a hunting bullet. thx for any input.

True there is alot of 338 discussed here-but, don't let that decide for you. What do you need/want? You may want to consider the 300RUM, Good ballistics and can pack a wallop.

 

[jmden]

Why does the brass not last as long? Does nosler make brass for the 338 rum? I know that they make brass for the 338win.

Darrin

Do some research into the history and development and construction of the 338 Lapua Magnum case and you'll start to see why it's regarded as highly as it is by many folks. Very uniform and stout case designed to take more pressure that other cases. It's fun learning about this stuff. I started to learn about the Lapua case 6 years ago when I joined this site and have waited that long to have a rifle built on that case. I'd like to spend more time shooting and less time doing case prep on my RUM brass for one and as Roy says, I believe a cost analysis would likely put the Lap brass at least on par if not more cost effective than the RUM brass in the long run due to how tough it is. JMHO and there are others who'll disagree.

 

[J E Custom]

i originally wanted to turn my 300wsm into a long range gun but after joining this website it sounds like the a 338 cal is the choice. my question is which 338 to go with? lapua, ultra mag, edge. which bullet to use for a hunting bullet. thx for any input.

There are a lot of different choices for the 338s and I would first decide what you want.

A standard chambering where loaded ammo was readily available and lots of factory rifles
are also available. IF SO ,I would consider these 338s in order of power/velocity= 338 WM,
340 Weatherby,338 RUM and the 338/378 Weatherby.

If you want to build a custom any of these will be great shooters.

If you want to wildcat a 338 my choice would be the 338 lapua (very close to the performance
of the RUM but has better brass life. The 338 excalibur (A Square) this is the bad boy of the
338s with more case capacity than the 338/378 by 10+ grains.

There are more wildcats but these would be my choices.

I still think the standard factory rounds will out perform most shooters and only the best long range shooters can take advantage of the super high performance 338s.

"BUT" if you want one it's only money.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Chas1]

The 338 excalibur (A Square) this is the bad boy of the
338s with more case capacity than the 338/378 by 10+ grains.

Doesn't the 338AM have a greater case capacity than Excaliber?

 

[Thekid76]

allong with Saskhunter on this one. I just purchased a 550 magnum 416 rigby originally and would like to make a long range 338, but am having trouble deciding which one to go with. would like some help on this one. marc,, the new guy from Oregon.

 

[Chas1]

allong with Saskhunter on this one. I just purchased a 550 magnum 416 rigby originally and would like to make a long range 338, but am having trouble deciding which one to go with. would like some help on this one. marc,, the new guy from Oregon.

Commercial Factory rounds such as 338 Win Mag, 338 RUM, 338 Lapua, 338-378 Weatherby OR wildcats such as 338 Edge, 338 Allen Xpress, 338 Allen Magnum. These are a few, all are generally very good. What might help narrow it down a bit might be to consider such factors as: What will you be shooting, distances, cost, do you plan on reloading or not, availability and so on.

 

[saskhunter]

ill be mostly shooting elk and mule deer with this rifle. i am going to reload and would rather do a semi-custom or custom. i want something that will give that shok appeal when i pull it out of the gun case. i have decided that my 300wsm will be my everyday kinda of hunting rifle. i want this one to be able to sit on a hill, spot and shoot. i would like to have a detachable mag if that helps. what makes the edge so accurate?