First "LR" Rifle

[live2huntmt]

I have saved my pennies and am FINALLY ready to buy my first Long Range Hunting rifle.....I have narrowed it down to either a Savage 10/110 FCP HS Precision 338 Lapua or a Weatherby Accumark 338-378. I plan on hunting out to 1200 yards and would like to smack steel at 2000 yards. I am an avid reloader and will only be shooting handloads out of either rifle. What do you all recommend?

 

[MudRunner2005]

If you are considering this route, look into the Accumark in .30-378 Wby as it is a very formidable round at the distances you mentioned.

 

[live2huntmt]

I already have a factory Rem 700 LSS in 300 Ultra and want to step up to a 338 cal to fight these terrible MT winds.....30-378 wby is very impressive though! Thanks for the input!

 

[idaho elk hunter]

I own all three of the calibers. There are a lot of personal preferences out there and I will have people disagree on my recommendation. That is for sure. The Weatherby action is a far superior action in strength and accuracy. The barrel is far superior and freebored allowing more velocity for the reloader. The bullet choices that are accurate in the Accumark on all of my Weatherby rifles, to of which I have shot every conceivable powder and bullet combination in SEVERAL Mark V and accumarks for accuracy and hunting are the 250 gr accumark with 111.5 gr of reloader 25. The Barnes 265 lrh with RL25 or Rl33. The 280 gr Barnes with RL 33. All with Win Mag primers. These are all over loads from the books but the bolt is easy to lift and I get 3 reloads out of the cases. The other calibers can not even come close. To compare performance. You should expect 3200+ fps out of the 250. With the factory barrel. Groups under a half inch. Two great scopes to put on it really depends on your budget. Both are rarely mentioned on this site. Burris Eliminator 3 and the Shepards. This is a true long range fire are that many customs can not out do for triple the price.

 

[live2huntmt]

I assume you meant 250 gr Accubonds....too many accu's to deal with! I used to be a huge Barnes fan because of the awesome accuracy, but have been disappointed by them in my last 3 elk.....entry holes .308 diameter and exit holes .390 diameter through both lungs....all long and minimal blood trails.....I have since switched all my 30 cals to accubonds & ballistic tips....same bc & sd. 210 Hunting VLDS only shoot well past my max magazine OAL in my rem 700 300 RUM. Thank You for your input Idaho Elk Hunter!

I own all three of the calibers. There are a lot of personal preferences out there and I will have people disagree on my recommendation. That is for sure. The Weatherby action is a far superior action in strength and accuracy. The barrel is far superior and freebored allowing more velocity for the reloader. The bullet choices that are accurate in the Accumark on all of my Weatherby rifles, to of which I have shot every conceivable powder and bullet combination in SEVERAL Mark V and accumarks for accuracy and hunting are the 250 gr accumark with 111.5 gr of reloader 25. The Barnes 265 lrh with RL25 or Rl33. The 280 gr Barnes with RL 33. All with Win Mag primers. These are all over loads from the books but the bolt is easy to lift and I get 3 reloads out of the cases. The other calibers can not even come close. To compare performance. You should expect 3200+ fps out of the 250. With the factory barrel. Groups under a half inch. Two great scopes to put on it really depends on your budget. Both are rarely mentioned on this site. Burris Eliminator 3 and the Shepards. This is a true long range fire are that many customs can not out do for triple the price.

 

[Prieto9000]

I already have a factory Rem 700 LSS in 300 Ultra and want to step up to a 338 cal to fight these terrible MT winds.....30-378 wby is very impressive though! Thanks for the input!

If you´re shooting a 300 RUM i´d step up and rebarrel it for a.338 EDGE. I´m more than happy with mine. Haven´t had the chance to hunt past 500yd and performed extremely well with the Berger 300gr OTM´s and have been smacking steel out to 1200yds with no problems. With the .818 BC doping the wind is much easier than with any .308 bullet.