338 Lapua reloading questions

[RockyMtnMT]

Phil,
What are the lands you are speaking about. I have 300 grain Lapua bullets and they are smooth.
Also how do I go about checking pressure? I am shooting thru an AI .338 LM and I do not have a chronograph.
I am using the nossler 8th edition manual and it calls for a case length of 2.74 ( is that max or min) I also have lapua brass that is shorter( between 2.715 and 2.722)

Thanks, Ty

Ty,

Are you new to reloading? Figuring out how to load with a wildcat is a bit tough. You don't really have any guidelines out there with published data. The only thing for sure I can tell you is you should be using pretty slow powder, H1000 and slower.

I see you are in MT, you are welcome to come and work up a load with us some time if you like. Where in MT are you? I will be working a load today for the same chambering.

Steve

 

[barefooter56]

Phil,
What are the lands you are speaking about. I have 300 grain Lapua bullets and they are smooth.
Also how do I go about checking pressure? I am shooting thru an AI .338 LM and I do not have a chronograph.
I am using the nossler 8th edition manual and it calls for a case length of 2.74 ( is that max or min) I also have lapua brass that is shorter( between 2.715 and 2.722)

Thanks, Ty

TY,
The lands and grooves are in your rifles barrel. They are what impart the spin on the bullet. The lands are the "high" part. Grooves are the lower part. Hammer made you an offer to help. You should contact him and take him up on his offer . It will keep you out of trouble and help you immensely. Learning to reload on a large cartridge like this is like being thrown in the deep end of the pool and not knowing how to swim. Get help from Hammer on this. And I suggest you get a rifle chambered in .223 to practice and learn your reloading skills also. Much cheaper to reload and everything you learn can be applied to your .338 AI LAPUA. We are all here to help you Ty. And we all never stop learning. [email protected] is the place to contact me any time.

 

[gohring3006]

There is a lot going on besides speed when you reload. I don't even use my chrono till I find the most accurate load. I start at book min and work my way up .5gr at a time until I get the first sign of pressure. Then move back to the next one down. Or lower if one of those was more accurate. Then I see what the speed is. I feel it's the safe way to do it when you start out so you are not chasing speed looking for max. Rember if you set a goal of 2900 you may feel the need to push it a bit. Barrel length matters to so you may never get to your number with a shorter barrel. Reload to what the gun is telling you and you will be safe. I have several that allow me to go over book max by a bit. I also have several that will badly flatten primers way before book max. Just depends on the gun. Good luck.

I agree, one thing about the 338 cal 300 grain bullet, is it doesn't have to be hot rodded to perform at distance. Aiming for the highest velocity just cost you more, brass and barrel life mainly. If you can get 2750 fps out of a 26" barrel and find accuracy, you will be good to a mile..

Another thing, asking Hornady brass to give you 2900 fps out of the Lapua is going to cost you primer pockets and sticky bolt/cases. Sell it, trade it what ever you have to do, but get rid of it..

 

[FDLT406]

Ty,

Are you new to reloading? Figuring out how to load with a wildcat is a bit tough. You don't really have any guidelines out there with published data. The only thing for sure I can tell you is you should be using pretty slow powder, H1000 and slower.

I see you are in MT, you are welcome to come and work up a load with us some time if you like. Where in MT are you? I will be working a load today for the same chambering.

Steve

Thanks Hammer. I will send you an IM

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Had a great phone conversation with Ty yesterday. The AI in his first post was for Accuracy International not Ackley Improved. So he has good solid published data to work with. Also it is not his first rifle to load. He has been loading a 308 and 7mag successfully prior to the big 338. Turns out the only real problem he was having was with off brand brass that he has collected from different ammunition manufactures not being consistent in size. He has quite a bit of Lapua brass on hand so getting rid of the others and just working with the Lapua will make a big difference for him.

Steve

 

[barefooter56]

Had a great phone conversation with Ty yesterday. The AI in his first post was for Accuracy International not Ackley Improved. So he has good solid published data to work with. Also it is not his first rifle to load. He has been loading a 308 and 7mag successfully prior to the big 338. Turns out the only real problem he was having was with off brand brass that he has collected from different ammunition manufactures not being consistent in size. He has quite a bit of Lapua brass on hand so getting rid of the others and just working with the Lapua will make a big difference for him.

Steve

Very nice Steve !

 

[FDLT406]

I appreciate the time you took to speak with me yesterday Steve. You answered a lot of questions on items I was not concerned with on my previous loads.

Hope to be able to shoot some of your stuff in the future and see how my stuff compares.

Had a great phone conversation with Ty yesterday. The AI in his first post was for Accuracy International not Ackley Improved. So he has good solid published data to work with. Also it is not his first rifle to load. He has been loading a 308 and 7mag successfully prior to the big 338. Turns out the only real problem he was having was with off brand brass that he has collected from different ammunition manufactures not being consistent in size. He has quite a bit of Lapua brass on hand so getting rid of the others and just working with the Lapua will make a big difference for him.

Steve

 

[alaska]

In my 338 Lapua

250 SMK.....3000 FPS
300 Berger Hunting VLD.......2750 FPS

H1000 powder
Lapua Brass
Fed 215M primer