338 lapua barrel lenght / powder choice

[buster2765]

Looking at possibly rebarreling my savage 112 magnum target to a shorter 24 inch proof research (original plan was 26). I know I will loose fps (40ish) but it would fit in my pack better, three oz lighter than there 26 inch proof. I have a McMillan game hunter ordered for this rig. I currently have two other savages in 338lm both with 26 inch barrels. I reload for them with 300gr. bergers and h-1000 & don't want to have to buy a different powder because I want a shorter barrel. I will hunt with this & absolute max would be 1200yds and that would be stretching my ethical comfort level. PS, I know I should just use a win mag but I really like my lapua.

 

[vcinri]

I recently got into the.338 Lapua for long range shooting and I love it. I wanted to make the most out of the caliber so I was looking for at least 3000fps with a 250 gr. head. After many factory and hand loads I found 96 gr. of H1000 gave me 3050fps with great accuracy. 96.5 and 97 put me over 3100 fps but the group tightened considerably as I came down a little.

IMHO, you may have to play with the H1000 a little to see what the new setup likes. All of my research pointed to H1000 as the go to powder for the 338lm. I tried R33 & IMR but the H1000
performed best, for me anyway.

How do the bergers perform on game? I loaded 250gr. Sierra game king in my hunting loads
and took some hogs a couple of weeks ago in Texas. It seemed if I didn't hit bone I had 33 cai. hole in and out. I thought the soft points would be better than the match tips for expansion
.
VC

 

[buster2765]

No experience with 300gr on game (hopefully will this fall), but do shoot whitetail with berger 180gr. out of a 7mm saum out to 600yds with excellent results. I did go with a 24 inch barrel that will be here Wednesday. H-1000 has also been my go to powder the the 338 so I have a good supply.