338 caliber choices question

[harleybug]

So i picked up a rem 700 la reciever today and it has a mag bolt face so ive always wanted a 338 caliber gun but dont have much knowledge or experience with them. I really like the 338 edge but i wanted to get some other suggestions from u guys before i make up my mind. Ive read a few things on the 340 weatherby and the 338-300 wsm. Any other calibers you can recommend and how is ur experience with them. It will be a long range gun so i will be shooting 250 grain bullets and up.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I have or had: 338 Win Mag, 338-26 Nosler and 338 Edge.

Since you have included the 338-300WSM and Edge I take it your open to wildcats.

This is a list from AmmoGuide that are magnum face 338.

Cartridge Cal Shldr Body Rim Len Cap
.338 AR Short Magnum (ARSM™) .338 .541 .553 .535 1.595 59.1
.338-350 Remington Magnum .338 .491 .513 .532 2.170 70.7
.338 Ruger Compact Magnum .338 .5158 .532 .532 2.015 70.8
.338-300 WSM .338 .535 .555 .535 2.100 79.9
.338 Winchester Magnum .338 .4910 .513 .532 2.500 82.7
.340 Weatherby Magnum .338 .492 .5117 .5315 2.825 93.5
.338-26 Nosler .338 .5275 .550 .534 2.590 98.5
.338 Remington Ultra Magnum .338 .5261 .550 .534 2.760 104.6
.338 Edge / .338-300 RUM .338 .525 .550 .534 2.850 108

I would eliminate all the short ones. AR Short, 338-350, 338 RCM, 338-300 WSM. They max out with short low BC bullets. If all will be close range. OK.

If magazine length is not an issue all the rest are viable. If it is an issue then the Weatherby, RUM and Edge can be eliminated.

If you want to sling 300 grainers, forget mag length and go with an Edge.

300 grainers are not out of line in the Nosler but the RUM and Edge will throw them faster.

338 Win Mag with 225 grainers out to 500 yards is OK. 250s are a stretch but doable. I had one. Mine liked the Swifts.

338-26 Nosler with 250 grainers out to 1000 should work but I've only got do 700 and taken game at ~250.

338 Edge, well, what more can be said. Feed it anything it likes. If mag len is required work it out. Get a brake.

 

[Engineering101]

harleybug

I think you have the right inclination already with the Edge. My nephew has one built on a Rem 700 action as you mentioned you have. He hung a heavy 30" Kreiger barrel on his along with a large custom muzzle brake and a Leupold Mark 4. He is running the 300 Berger at 3040 fps using RL-33. It shoots under 0.5 MOA and is a long range hammer. He intentionally shot two pronghorn with it last season with one shot. It took a half hour of watching from 500 yards until they lined up perfectly and he let fly. He double lunged both of them and they were laying side by side!

By way of contrast, I have a full custom 338 RUM. With the 26" barrel, the best I can get out of it with the 300 Bergers is 2750 fps. Mine was built for elk and does great at that job. My nephew wanted a long range cannon and the Edge is great at that job. He doesn't mind lugging it around but I wouldn't want to carry it. Good luck with your new build whatever you decide to go with.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

harleybug

I think you have the right inclination already with the Edge. My nephew has one built on a Rem 700 action as you mentioned you have. He hung a heavy 30" Kreiger barrel on his along with a large custom muzzle brake and a Leupold Mark 4. He is running the 300 Berger at 3040 fps using RL-33. It shoots under 0.5 MOA and is a long range hammer. He intentionally shot two pronghorn with it last season with one shot. It took a half hour of watching from 500 yards until they lined up perfectly and he let fly. He double lunged both of them and they were laying side by side!

By way of contrast, I have a full custom 338 RUM. With the 26" barrel, the best I can get out of it with the 300 Bergers is 2750 fps. Mine was built for elk and does great at that job. My nephew wanted a long range cannon and the Edge is great at that job. He doesn't mind lugging it around but I wouldn't want to carry it. Good luck with your new build whatever you decide to go with.

If you had the 30" barrel on yours you would probably only be about 75 fps behind your nephew. Not much diff between the edge and the rum. No brass fire forming needed with the rum.

Steve

 

[jonthomps]

I'd stick with the 338 edge or a 338LM (great brass).

 

[harleybug]

The 338 edge is 300 rum brass correct. Also how is the 340 weatherby, the only reason i ask is because the brass seems alot easier to find then 300 ultra. I did a quick search and couldnt find 300 rum brass but i found 340 weatherby on 4 different sights. Its more expensive but i was surprised to find more 340 weatherby then 300 rum.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

The 338 edge is 300 rum brass correct. Also how is the 340 weatherby, the only reason i ask is because the brass seems alot easier to find then 300 ultra. I did a quick search and couldnt find 300 rum brass but i found 340 weatherby on 4 different sights. Its more expensive but i was surprised to find more 340 weatherby then 300 rum.

Theoretically you could start it off as a 340 Wby and rechamber it to Edge later.

Of all my Weatherbys, I don't have a 340Wby. (yet: evil laugh, he he he)

It will surely work. Long range included (1000 yards plus). Purely based on stats and my experience with the other 3, 250s will probably be the sweet spot. Maybe 285s. Could even go "improved" with it.

I would suggest a look at the 338/300 Win Mag thread here and how that is going. Sorry it wasn't in my list. My last QL model for his rifle and load gave ~2600fps from the 300 OTM and ~2850 for the 250 OTM. Not far off an Edge. A 340 could go faster as it should have +5 grains of capacity. The 340 with things as equal as I can make shows about 50fps faster in the model. Not an Edge but no slouch.

 

[bigngreen]

With the current RUM brass situation its difficult right now, I've built quite a number of 338 Rums on the Rem plateform because they are a little easier to fit in the action and everything be all good, with a 28 inch barrel 2800 fps with the 300 gr and 3100 fps with the 250 Berger. An Edge will have 50-75 fps more normally but you can gas either one up with powders like R33 and roll out some numbers but your still in brass poor land.

It may be wise to look at the 340 Wby, till the brass comes back in I'm building way more on the lapua case which requires an action upgrade.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I'm currently running 3 338's, a 338WM, 340 Weatherby and an Edge. The first 2 are purely hunting rigs, nothing special other than B+C and H S Precision stocks, barrels are 'standard.
Honestly, the 340 gets no more than 100fps more velocity in all bullet weights over the 338.
The 338 is good for 800yrds, with the right bullet, the 340 is about the same but will show a slight edge.
The Edge is a completely different animal, it is capable well past 1200yrds.
Mine is on a 700 action with an exteneed mag box, it's still in the development stage and shows serious promise. We're having huge problems getting components here and I'm currently at a stand still with getting brass, bullets and powders suitable.
I have shot gongs at 800yrds with it and Nosler 250gr Accubonds, it is seriously accurate, but my powder wasn't the best possible choice, although it was very accurate, the velocity wasn't there.
I seriously think the 338 Edge is the best choice, but the other 2 do work, albeit a little less maximum range.

Cheers.
gun)

 

[MudRunner2005]

So i picked up a rem 700 la reciever today and it has a mag bolt face so ive always wanted a 338 caliber gun but dont have much knowledge or experience with them. I really like the 338 edge but i wanted to get some other suggestions from u guys before i make up my mind. Ive read a few things on the 340 weatherby and the 338-300 wsm. Any other calibers you can recommend and how is ur experience with them. It will be a long range gun so i will be shooting 250 grain bullets and up.

If you think a 7mm STW is expensive to load for (brass, powder, etc...), buy/build anything .338 caliber, with a case capacity larger than the .338 WinMag... Especially a wildcat that requires case forming...That's double the powder and projectile consumption right off the bat. Custom dies are about $300+ a set (of 2 dies)...A custom neck-sizer will cost you around another $150 by itself.

 

[J E Custom]

So i picked up a rem 700 la reciever today and it has a mag bolt face so ive always wanted a 338 caliber gun but dont have much knowledge or experience with them. I really like the 338 edge but i wanted to get some other suggestions from u guys before i make up my mind. Ive read a few things on the 340 weatherby and the 338-300 wsm. Any other calibers you can recommend and how is ur experience with them. It will be a long range gun so i will be shooting 250 grain bullets and up.

There are many good 338s that will fill your needs. I would recommend you take a practical look at what you need and will actually use. Being honest with your self, decide the absolute max distance you would shoot at game (Most of us like the sound of a rifle that will shoot from county to county)
but in practice will limit the max range of a shot to somewhere around 1400 yards or less.

So once you decide what is your max hunting distance, you will find lots of 338s that will do the job very well without having $8.00 to $10.00 brass and special actions needed to handle 150 +grains of powder.

I have been down this road and all it cost is lots of money and sometimes difficulty. (Nothing wrong with having the biggest and badest, but most of the time it is not necessary for the job.

I think the 338 win mag is a great place to start for long range hunting using the 338 bullets. With the receiver you have there are many choices for you based on component availability, cost, performance, ease of loading quality ammo and minimum action mods.

All brass is becoming a problem to find, so I would recommend something that is not hard on brass
and try to find 200 to 300 rounds of the one you decide on and don't push it to hard. I like the durability of the 338 Lapua brass but it is suited for larger bolts because of bolt loading.

If you intend to use 250+ grain bullets, I would recommend something with a powder capacity of 95+ grains. with a well made rifle with a quality barrel a custom rifle will shoot very well with factory ammo at reasonable ranges and once you acquire enough brass you can load for accuracy
at long distances.

So Make a list of what you need, and expect of you rifle and you will come to a decision that best suites you.

Just some thoughts on choosing the cartridge for your custom rifle.

J E CUSTOM

 

[harleybug]

I already have a great long range hunting gun in 7 mag. Ive always wanted to do a 338 thats why im starting this build. I figure if im going to do a big 338 i might as well go big with it. I do like the 338-300 wsm but then i worry if ill be happy with a medium 338 caliber. The 338 edge looks awsome and has really peaked my interest. truthfully this will not be my main hunting gun so the cost of ammo and components is not my main concern. Now finding the brass worrys me a little but then again this build will probably take me a year to put together so it gives me alot of time to build up brass. Im sure the 7mm stw god mudrunner will have something to compare to his beloved 7mm stw again though. Obviously u did not understand me comparing the 7 mag and the 7stw, i dont remember the edge in that comparison on the other post.

 

[pyroducksx3]

I was going to build an edge but ended up going to a custom action so I decided to go to a 338 lapua Improved. However if you decide to go edge I have the redding s die for 338 edge bushing die and a 338 rum (which will work fine for the edge) micrometer seating die for sale for 225$. I bought these prepping for my build and then changed so they are brand new never used. If you are using a 26" tube go 338 RUM if going 30" tube 338 edge.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I already have a great long range hunting gun in 7 mag. Ive always wanted to do a 338 thats why im starting this build. I figure if im going to do a big 338 i might as well go big with it. I do like the 338-300 wsm but then i worry if ill be happy with a medium 338 caliber. The 338 edge looks awsome and has really peaked my interest. truthfully this will not be my main hunting gun so the cost of ammo and components is not my main concern. Now finding the brass worrys me a little but then again this build will probably take me a year to put together so it gives me alot of time to build up brass. Im sure the 7mm stw god mudrunner will have something to compare to his beloved 7mm stw again though. Obviously u did not understand me comparing the 7 mag and the 7stw, i dont remember the edge in that comparison on the other post.

I never compared it to anything except the price. You might want to go back and re-read my comment. lightbulb

As for the Edge not being in that comparison, you are right, but I never compared them in any way except for the cost of components, so your comment is irrelevant.