20" barrel on 338 Lapua

[seidersjoden]

Hi,

I have a very specific question, will some PM with a phone # that has experience shooting a 338 Lapua with a 20" barrel. I know there are a lot of people against such a short barrel for this caliber, but please refrain from soap box opinions, i just want to chat over the phone with someone that has experience. Thanks a lot! Feel free to text or call me as well

Joden
757-701-6266

 

[Litehiker]

You can never get all the powder in that large .338 LM case to burn in a 20" barrel. Plus you will lose a lot of velocity and defeat the advantage of that cartridge. It's called "internal ballistics".

Get at least a 24" barrel for a .338 LM.

Eric B.

 

[seidersjoden]

You can never get all the powder in that large .338 LM case to burn in a 20" barrel. Plus you will lose a lot of velocity and defeat the advantage of that cartridge. It's called "internal ballistics".

Get at least a 24" barrel for a .338 LM.

Eric B.

Thanks for the advice Litehiker, will consider 24" instead.

Joden

 

[el matador]

There was a guy on here selling an 18" 300 win mag a while back. The velocities he reported from his rifle were surprisingly good.

I doubt there are many folks that have shot a 20" 338 Lapua but you might get lucky. I can tell you from experience that short barreled rifles are much more efficient with light-for-caliber bullets, and they produce a lot more muzzle blast than longer barrels. I would think you'd get pretty good velocity from a 20" 338 LM using 200-225 grain bullets.

 

[el matador]

I thought I remembered reading about this somewhere:

338 Lapua Magnum: Barrel Length Versus Muzzle Velocity (30-17 inches) – rifleshooter.com

 

[yorke-1]

Hi,

I have a very specific question, will some PM with a phone # that has experience shooting a 338 Lapua with a 20" barrel. I know there are a lot of people against such a short barrel for this caliber, but please refrain from soap box opinions, i just want to chat over the phone with someone that has experience. Thanks a lot! Feel free to text or call me as well

Joden
757-701-6266

I have a fondness for Specialty Pistols, so I have an 18" barreled 338/375 Ruger and a 20" barreled 338 SnipeTac pistol. Your velocities will be higher than you'd expect with the right powders selection. The 18" 338/375 Ruger easily matches rifle performance of a 338 Win Mag and the 20" 338 SnipeTac is a dead ringer for a long barreled 338 edge or Lapua.

I'll shoot you a PM.

Andrew

 

[seidersjoden]

I have a fondness for Specialty Pistols, so I have an 18" barreled 338/375 Ruger and a 20" barreled 338 SnipeTac pistol. Your velocities will be higher than you'd expect with the right powders selection. The 18" 338/375 Ruger easily matches rifle performance of a 338 Win Mag and the 20" 338 SnipeTac is a dead ringer for a long barreled 338 edge or Lapua.

I'll shoot you a PM.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew!

 

[johnnyk]

Your velocities will be higher than you'd expect with the right powders selection.

+1, My first thought. Gotta try.

I wonder how many people told Thomas Edison the incandescent light bulb would never work?!

Good luck. JohnnyK.

 

[yorke-1]

Thanks Andrew!

I can't PM you, so shoot me an email when you get a chance.

[email protected]

Andrew

 

[Scottytuned]

I have a 338 Lapua in Savage LRH, and happy to say I cut it down to 20". Many people ask why, say it's a dumb idea, etc. Frankly, I love it. I think overall I'm sacrificing about 150-200 fps, but my experience is that it was worth it. I now have a more handy rifle (there is still a 10" suppressor on the end mind you), that I am more willing to trek around and use. So my perspective is I have a better gun. After all, a rifle that is 150 fps less than a longer one is still better than one that sits in a safe because it is unwieldy. Accuracy was unchanged, and even with my "poor velocity" I still have a bullet going over 1500 fps, with over 1500 ft lbs of energy at 1000 yards. That's a win in my book, but YMMV.

PM me if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

 

[seidersjoden]

I have a 338 Lapua in Savage LRH, and happy to say I cut it down to 20". Many people ask why, say it's a dumb idea, etc. Frankly, I love it. I think overall I'm sacrificing about 150-200 fps, but my experience is that it was worth it. I now have a more handy rifle (there is still a 10" suppressor on the end mind you), that I am more willing to trek around and use. So my perspective is I have a better gun. After all, a rifle that is 150 fps less than a longer one is still better than one that sits in a safe because it is unwieldy. Accuracy was unchanged, and even with my "poor velocity" I still have a bullet going over 1500 fps, with over 1500 ft lbs of energy at 1000 yards. That's a win in my book, but YMMV.

PM me if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

Thanks for advice, I went with my gut and what I will be using the gun for as far as backcountry hunting, so I went with the 20", I think I'll be happy. In your guys' experience, is it imparative I get a muzzle break that doesn't have top holes in order to prevent carbon hitting my scope?

 

[dk17hmr]

My Lapua has a 26" barrel for what I do with it that's fine for me. My shooting buddy has a 20" Accuracy International 338 with a TBAC can to go with it. It is very capable at 1000, and rather pleasant to shoot while being short enough to hunt with, if you want to pack it.

 

[seidersjoden]

My Lapua has a 26" barrel for what I do with it that's fine for me. My shooting buddy has a 20" Accuracy International 338 with a TBAC can to go with it. It is very capable at 1000, and rather pleasant to shoot while being short enough to hunt with, if you want to pack it.

Glad to hear DK17, looking forward to shooting it.

Thanks
Joden

 

[redbullitt]

I have fired a 20 inch 338 lapua barrel on a desert tech rifle. Fat bastard brake on it. I also have experience with a 26 incher with TBAC brake, and a 29 incher with a badger thruster brake.

I will say the shorter barrel rifle offered a good bit more BLAST and concussion when fired, but it was much handier than either of the longer barrels. I could see a use for it where you need to hit heavy, but maneuverability is most important.

The 26 incher in the DTA was blasty as well, but noticeably less so. The 29 inch was even less blasty than that.

All three barrels could smash steel at 700 yards (longest target here), obviously with the shorter barrel having a little more drop, but not so much that it was a problem. I will say that the 20 inch barrel would probably become a handicap if you are shooting LONG... but then I doubt you would pick a shorter barrel if thats the goal lol.

A 24 or 26 inch barrel will probably be much less specialized and much better suited for most situations I can think of fwiw.