Ok why is the 338 excalibur not more popular as the edge?I mean the 338 ex kills all other .338's even the edge ???.Ok next question any one here have a 358 sta?.I like .35 caliber(.338 seems to marginal compared to magnum 30's) I want a 358 sta on a m98 action etc
338 exacalibur.358 sta 2 questions
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Fiftydriver
Official LRH Sponsor
Simple,
Brass is hard to get, VERY EXPENSIVE, and the performance advantage is not all that great over the 338 Lapua Improved versions or 338-378 Wby. At least not enough to justify the extreme cost of getting set up for one. Not sure what you are referring to about it "Killing" all other 338s. That is certainly not the case. Its only marginally higher in performance then the 338 AX or 338 Kahn.
In fact, a 338 wildcat based on a 408 CT case will far out perform the Excalibur and is much less costly to get set up for.
As far as the 358 STA, I agree, its a great round but the 35 cal is about as popular as the 8mm in the US. It just never has or ever will gain any real popularity. Its to bad because its a great round. I built one for my brother based on a Ruger M77 MkII modified to accept a full length Rem 700 mag box. Turned out very well, a very lightweight, HEAVY HITTER. I believe he is using the 280 gr Swift A-Frame and it is a serious performer that will even out perform the great old 375 H&H.
Back to the reason its not more popular, simply because its based on a very unpopular caliber size, nothing more, nothing less.
Brass is hard to get, VERY EXPENSIVE, and the performance advantage is not all that great over the 338 Lapua Improved versions or 338-378 Wby. At least not enough to justify the extreme cost of getting set up for one. Not sure what you are referring to about it "Killing" all other 338s. That is certainly not the case. Its only marginally higher in performance then the 338 AX or 338 Kahn.
In fact, a 338 wildcat based on a 408 CT case will far out perform the Excalibur and is much less costly to get set up for.
As far as the 358 STA, I agree, its a great round but the 35 cal is about as popular as the 8mm in the US. It just never has or ever will gain any real popularity. Its to bad because its a great round. I built one for my brother based on a Ruger M77 MkII modified to accept a full length Rem 700 mag box. Turned out very well, a very lightweight, HEAVY HITTER. I believe he is using the 280 gr Swift A-Frame and it is a serious performer that will even out perform the great old 375 H&H.
Back to the reason its not more popular, simply because its based on a very unpopular caliber size, nothing more, nothing less.
358sta
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure I agree with the statement that 338 Excalibur brass is hard to get. The two times I've purchased brass I could get it from Midway or A-Square directly. But it is rather expensive at $3.90 to $4.00 a piece. My father has a Ruger #1 built using the Excalibur for elk. He went with the Ruger #1 so he could use a longer barrel and keep the overall firearm length reasonable. He shoots 250 gr. Hornady or Nosler's at 3150 fps easy and we just started experimenting with Swift's 275 gr. A-Frame. With the Swift, we are getting 3050 fps easy and can push it to 3100 fps if we really wanted but recoil starts to really become an issue at that velocity level. Case cost is probably the number one reason for the Excalibur's lack of popularity as compared to the 338-378 Weatherby or 338 Lapua/Imp variants.
One of the first rifles I had built was an STA. Had it put together right after Layne Simpson did a write up in one of the gun magazines. I even used his loading data initially which was wayy hot for my rifle. I shoot 250 gr. Speer and Nosler bullets at 2950 fps from a 26" barrel. I use it as my elk rifle. I didn't intend to make it a lightweight rifle but it ended up that way as it only weighs 7.5 lbs. with scope. Shooting it off the bench isn't real fun but I do get use to the recoil after shooting for a time. As to its lack of popularity, Fiftydriver said it best - 35 cal. is sort of like the 8mm, just not a popular caliber here in the states.
Kevin
One of the first rifles I had built was an STA. Had it put together right after Layne Simpson did a write up in one of the gun magazines. I even used his loading data initially which was wayy hot for my rifle. I shoot 250 gr. Speer and Nosler bullets at 2950 fps from a 26" barrel. I use it as my elk rifle. I didn't intend to make it a lightweight rifle but it ended up that way as it only weighs 7.5 lbs. with scope. Shooting it off the bench isn't real fun but I do get use to the recoil after shooting for a time. As to its lack of popularity, Fiftydriver said it best - 35 cal. is sort of like the 8mm, just not a popular caliber here in the states.
Kevin
Long Time Long Ranger
Well-Known Member
My 338-378 wby gets 3300 fps with a 250 grain bullet and my 338 lapua imp. before I sold it got 3250 fps with a 250 grain bullet. I would take either one of these over the excaliber. It doesn't kill the other 338's.
I looked at the Excaliber and decided against for two reason : cost and at least from my checking there didn't seem to be a lot of information generally available...I'm guessing due to a limited number of folks that use it...but, not sure.
