Reloading suggestions for .338 Lapua
- Thread starter LayinItDown
- Start date
Help Support Long Range Hunting Forum
LayinItDown
Active Member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2011
- Messages
- 28
If my measurements are correct, the jam length in my 110 fcp and the 300 grain Berger was right at 3.80". I had the bullet loaded with a light load of RL-25 at 86.5 grains. My OAL was right at 3.76" when I shot the one time group of 1" at 400. That puts me about .040" off the lands. I tried 3.75" so it would fit my mag better, and my accuracy went to hell. That's when I tried the Hornady 285. Groups are pretty good now. 1/2 MOA at 300 yards for now. Work in progress........
Someone asked about our spring bear hunt: It went pretty good. It was slim pickens in the Castle Mountains of Montana. We ran across one bear and one of the other guys in the group took him at 750 yards. It was a great shot. I was the spotter on this one as I didn't trust my gun yet for a shot like that.
If we could ever get some rain and cooler weather, I could finish my loads for this gun. Right now we have firearm restrictions. Very frustrating........ I tell my wife this is my therapy and right now I'm going bonkers not being able to shoot.......
Texas Republic
Well-Known Member
Harpy...
Glad to hear its working well in yours as well. I may try yours to see how it changes mine. My load that I posted was what the OCW test I used. I havent had much time to fine tune it yet.
You went with 87.0 gr while mine was 87.7gr I believe.
My OAL of 2.680" is .054 off my lands while yours is .020.
My average FPS on mine was 2658 fps. Dont recall the air temp, but it was HOT. Probably around 101.
How did your primers look? Any of them flat?
I went to my range a couple days ago. The good news is that after I dialed in my data for my steel target 1085 yards away, I was able to get two consecutive hits on it without a single miss. I cant say what the group was because the target is on top of a cliff and I havent had a chance to drive up there yet. But the target size is 2ft x 2ft. That bullet does well against the wind. I hit the same target with my .308, but it took 4 shots figuring out the wind. Not the lapua. First and second shot found their mark. I was happy.
However, I finally had someone who knows their rifles look at my bolt extraction issues. I was fortunate enough to have a former marine scout sniper helping me spot and dial in follow up on my 308 shots. I let him shoot my lapua and he definitely thinks I have extraction issues with my bolt. He looked at my loads and said my ammunition has nothing to do with the problem. So I called savage and they want me to send in my bolt for them to look at. I reluctantly sent it to them today. So that means several weeks without my lapua. I will let yall know what happens with it.
Charliee
Member
110 fcp .338 lapua
80F
215m primer
89.6 gr retumbo
C.O.L. 3.675"
100 yards .339" 3 shot
300 yards 1.040" 3 shot
just starting to play with COL now. Hornaday brass is sticky but i have trimmed the cases down to 2.720 instead of the recommended 2.724" seems to help but i still have a hard click at the top when i eject a fired round.
80F
215m primer
89.6 gr retumbo
C.O.L. 3.675"
100 yards .339" 3 shot
300 yards 1.040" 3 shot
just starting to play with COL now. Hornaday brass is sticky but i have trimmed the cases down to 2.720 instead of the recommended 2.724" seems to help but i still have a hard click at the top when i eject a fired round.
fastfire57
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2012
- Messages
- 51
Charliee
Member
250 smk
i want to move to the 300smk for the higher BC and the fact the gun is a 1 in 9 twist. im thinking that i can up the pressures and hold the accuracy with the larger bullet.
i want to move to the 300smk for the higher BC and the fact the gun is a 1 in 9 twist. im thinking that i can up the pressures and hold the accuracy with the larger bullet.
Texas Republic
Well-Known Member
. Below is exactly what I sent savage along with my bolt.
---------------------------------------------------------
I am having issues with bolt extraction of a fired case. Chambering the round is fine. Extracting the round before firing is fine. Upon firing, the bolt becomes very stiff and does not seem to grasp the base of the brass casing. The fired brass will eventually extract after several attempts and by applying more pressure to the bolt.
I have fired several types of ammunition and brass without success and feel confident that ammunition is not the cause of the problem. I have shown the problem to a long range shooting instructor and he agrees that the problem lies with the bolt, not the ammunition.
The load which I shoot most often is the following:
Sierra Match King BTHP 300 gr. bullet
H1000 87.7 gr.
Federal 215 primer
Lapua Brass trimmed to 2.15"
Brass is always full legnth sized
OAL 3.650" (.54" off of lands)
-------------------------------------------------------
I actually spoke with savage today. They replaced several parts of my bolt, including the rear baffles and some other part I dont recall. I dont know much about bolts. I thought it was kind of weird that they never contacted me or notified me it was being shipped back. The lady on the phone said she couldnt be exactly sure what the problem was because they only had my bolt and not rifle. Well they only asked for my bolt.
Anyway....They replaced several parts on it and sent it back. I am anxious to see it though because I begged them to see if they could place a 110HSP bolt handle on it instead of the smaller one the 111 came with. The lady said they replaced my bolt handle sooo....maybe I got lucky.
Ill let you know how it shoots once I receive it. Guess I better do some reloading soon for its homecoming. gun)
---------------------------------------------------------
I am having issues with bolt extraction of a fired case. Chambering the round is fine. Extracting the round before firing is fine. Upon firing, the bolt becomes very stiff and does not seem to grasp the base of the brass casing. The fired brass will eventually extract after several attempts and by applying more pressure to the bolt.
I have fired several types of ammunition and brass without success and feel confident that ammunition is not the cause of the problem. I have shown the problem to a long range shooting instructor and he agrees that the problem lies with the bolt, not the ammunition.
The load which I shoot most often is the following:
Sierra Match King BTHP 300 gr. bullet
H1000 87.7 gr.
Federal 215 primer
Lapua Brass trimmed to 2.15"
Brass is always full legnth sized
OAL 3.650" (.54" off of lands)
-------------------------------------------------------
I actually spoke with savage today. They replaced several parts of my bolt, including the rear baffles and some other part I dont recall. I dont know much about bolts. I thought it was kind of weird that they never contacted me or notified me it was being shipped back. The lady on the phone said she couldnt be exactly sure what the problem was because they only had my bolt and not rifle. Well they only asked for my bolt.
Anyway....They replaced several parts on it and sent it back. I am anxious to see it though because I begged them to see if they could place a 110HSP bolt handle on it instead of the smaller one the 111 came with. The lady said they replaced my bolt handle sooo....maybe I got lucky.
Ill let you know how it shoots once I receive it. Guess I better do some reloading soon for its homecoming. gun)
sharplikestump
Member
- Joined
- May 5, 2012
- Messages
- 5
Ya make me wonder if I should be calling Savage. There are times when mine is pretty stiff on extraction, but my main concern is with CLOSING the bolt. Irregardless of the cartridge....new factory, Lapua, Hornady, it takes serious effort to close it. I am thinking it is pretty stiff even w/o a cartridge in, but will recheck that. I HAVE come to see what people have been saying about using HDY brass. At first, I thought maybe they were just being picky. Not so. Where I see it is when I am resizing FL w/ my Forster dies. I have pitched a few HDY cartridges rather than risk seizing them. These were even soft loads. Another worry is that I can fire the pin when the bolt is nowhere near fully closed! Yup, think I need to call them.
I popped for the 500ct. box of SMK 300s, and am working my way up on them. I know this is not the popular powder, but I am using IMR 4831. I have also used that with 250 gr. Lapua Scenar, as well as 285gr. HDY Match. and been very happy with all. Still pretty new to this rifle, but the gong or steel bowling pin at 1,000 plus is not that hard. Fantastic caliber, just need to get it a little better sorted.
I popped for the 500ct. box of SMK 300s, and am working my way up on them. I know this is not the popular powder, but I am using IMR 4831. I have also used that with 250 gr. Lapua Scenar, as well as 285gr. HDY Match. and been very happy with all. Still pretty new to this rifle, but the gong or steel bowling pin at 1,000 plus is not that hard. Fantastic caliber, just need to get it a little better sorted.
Homer Oz
Active Member
G'Day Fella's,
Texas Republic, whilst I own a Rem 700 MLR, I don't have a heap of reloading experience with the .338 Lap Mag!
I have been told that the these cases, lengthen quite a bit and need to be Trimmed Regularly!
What can happen (with other cartridges cases), is that the case neck gets longer and can bind on the front of the neck portion of the chamber!!!
Not only will this binding cause you problems but it can also INCREASE CHAMBER PRESSURE, as this acts as a crimp on the bullet!!!
Because of this, you need to trim the cases!
Hope this helps
Doh!
Homer
Texas Republic
Well-Known Member
I am also pretty new at reloading. I am FL sizing and trimming my lapua brass after every shot.
I actually loaded some 22-250 for my dad the other day and I thought my reloading batches were mixed up because I didnt need to trim any of them. I didnt think I trimmed these already....but then realized that I hadnt trimmed any of them. They just didnt need to be trimmed yet after the first shooting. Thats the first cartridge that I have reloaded that I didnt have to trim every time. It was NICE.
I should have my bolt back next week. It finally dawned on me that I doubt Savage, or any other rifle company for that matter, will openly state that "your bolt is fixed". This is mainly due to liability reasons, etc. Law suits.
Homer Oz
Active Member
G'Day Fella's,
Texas Republic, no worries and my pleasure!
Happy to help with a bit of personal experience.
Avagreatweekendeh!
Homer
Texas Republic, no worries and my pleasure!
Happy to help with a bit of personal experience.
Avagreatweekendeh!
Homer
Charliee
Member
well whats the story with the bolt sticking? im anxious to hear the results.
Did savage manage to fix it?
Neck sizing increases you accuracy but im finding that with the lapua every other reload or every 3rd reload you have to FL size them and trim every time.
Last edited:
barnesuser28
Well-Known Member
I have a question.
I have the savage 110 fcp hs 338 Lapua and I am topping out at 85 grains of retumbo with a 280 grain Barnes LRX seated .100 off the lands and I am only getting 2707 fps. It isn't the bullet because 90 grains of retumbo with the 285 grain Hornady seated .010 off the lands also gave me flat primers, heavy bolt lift, and ejector mark. Should I give savage a call and request a new barrel or have them check it out? Or would I be better off just buying a Brux and being done with it? I will use this barrel for this hunting season because I may not have time to develope a new load.
Thanks for any help!
I have the savage 110 fcp hs 338 Lapua and I am topping out at 85 grains of retumbo with a 280 grain Barnes LRX seated .100 off the lands and I am only getting 2707 fps. It isn't the bullet because 90 grains of retumbo with the 285 grain Hornady seated .010 off the lands also gave me flat primers, heavy bolt lift, and ejector mark. Should I give savage a call and request a new barrel or have them check it out? Or would I be better off just buying a Brux and being done with it? I will use this barrel for this hunting season because I may not have time to develope a new load.
Thanks for any help!
barnesuser28
Well-Known Member
Forgot to add that I am bumping the shoulder back after every firing and trimming to 2.710.
