Need advice on choosing a caliber

[chun12]

@sjb269 maybe. I have never shot anything past .308 or .30-06. I am new to the shooting scene. I have been teaching myself from youtube and friends. I usually shoot with open iron sights, the only glass is on my 10/22 and that I have only had to the chance to take out to 100yds. Having a med./long distance rifle with a nice piece of glass would be a new skill to me I would like to learn.

[JMP]

For anyone, who is anything short of an experienced rifle shooter, the .338 lapua makes VERY little sense.

Here are some considerations before a person runs out to buy the latest greatest .338 lapua

Do you have a good command of range estimation with and without "higher end" electronics? Do you have a good command of the mil dot system?

Will your current range finder even range a target at 1900 yards? Sending a few sighters downrange at $5.00 per trigger pull can get spensive.

Do you have a good understanding of external ballistics?

Do you have very sound shooting fundamentals to manage the recoil of a .338 Lapua effectively.

Are you willing to invest substantial $$$ in quality ancillary equipment to make hits at .338 ranges.

Do you have access to a range well beyond 1000 yards to make use of the .338 capability.

Do you have a healthy supply of disposable income to feed a .338 lapua. Do you reload?

Do you have a fair amount of discretionary time to dedicate for travel to the place where you can stretch the .338s legs? When you find this place, be sure to take pictures of the unicorns!

Do you have a like minded individual who can accompany you on these shooting trips? Cause setting up/tearing down and repainting steel targets in the hot Dez can get very tiring without someone to share the burden. Do you own a four wheel drive vehicle or ATV to access this 2000yd range?

In short, The .338 Lapua makes very little sense to 99.9% of rifle shooters.

BTW, yeah, I want one too! I just can't justify it.

This 1900-2000 yard "lapua range" is absurd for someone who is focused on hunting. The .338LM IS the poor man's long distance cartridge. Those that are serious and can afford it will use .375CT all day. Aside from hitting a very large gong, a 2,000 yard hit with a .338 LM is not easy. You can make hits at that range, but it's about 25 Mil elevation with your 300gr bullet getting tossed around in the typical CA crosswinds. It would be simply inhumane and potentially dangerous to take large game at 2,000 yards.

The start up costs are high in hardware, but the brass lasts quite a while since it is very thick, and the powder burns mostly in the barrel, not the case, so when you eject your spend case, it's rather cool to the touch. Once you have a set of brass, it will cost about $1/round + $1/barrel life eaten. The hidden cost is the shorter barrel life with higher energy loads.

The recoil is very manageable with an efficient muzzle brake.

[superbarnie]

Just go with .308. Calibers like 7mm, 6.5 Grendel, .338 Lapua and other hot rounds etc. are more accurate but also more costly, not just in ammo price, but also much shorter barrel life.

TBH, the best thing you can do at this point is to just buy a decent bolt gun in .308 that isn't too expensive and do lots of practice. A good gun to start with would be the Savage Model 10, Remington 700 SPS, or Weatherby Vanguard.

[Jarhead]

.308

[billetmann]

Figure out what your going to do most with the rifle. 300wm will be great for hunting a very wide variety of game. 308 not so much. Same with 338