.338 Lapua Magnum

[C.G.]

Dave at Spider Arms should be putting my 29" 1 in 10 twist Ferret .338 LM together next week so I should get my reloading stuff for it. I will mostly be shooting 250 and 300 grainers. I would appreciate any input on powders and dies (I am thinking Forster, because the ones I have for the Grendel worked out great). Thanks in advance.

[supersonic]

Dave at Spider Arms should be putting my 29" 1 in 10 twist Ferret .338 LM together next week so I should get my reloading stuff for it. I will mostly be shooting 250 and 300 grainers. I would appreciate any input on powders and dies (I am thinking Forster, because the ones I have for the Grendel worked out great). Thanks in advance.

I can help you here, as I am awaiting the arrival of my AR30 338LM, and have been testing others/ studying up on performance,components,ballistics,etc. for over a year in planning now. I basically went w/ what I finally concluded to be the best of everything-if you want your 250/300grainers to shoot 3-5" groups @ 1500 METERS!!!! 1)set of RCBS FL dies for your new brass 2) Redding competition neck bushing 3-die set (w/ the appropriate bushings-titanium nitride- and order the optional titanium nitride inside neck button sizer, which is Redding's version of an expander ball) 3) Sierra 250 and 300gr.(300's are for 1/10" twist ONLY!! MatchKing bullets 4) Hodgdon H-1000 & Retumbo powders 5) Norma Brass 6) Federal GM215 magnum primers. This stuff ain't cheap (about $500-$600 depending on how much powder/bullets you get: but you WILL SAVE BIG TIME in the long run-factory ammo (Lapua) cost me (w/shipping thru Midway-you're NOT going to find it @ your local gun store!- about $80.00/ 20 rounds!!! Remember, you are dealing with one of the 3 "kings" of ultra high-precision/ultra power/ultra(1500+ meters) long range rounds (in descending order: 50BMG;408 CT;.338 Lapua Mag). BUT: the .338 is the most accurate of the 3 (if not of ALL rounds in this class) and @ 1500 YARDS, the 300 gr. bullet (when loaded full-power) STILL CARRIES THE ENERGY W/ IT OF A .44MAGNUM @ THE MUZZLE!!!!!!!!!!!! Have fun, bro - maybe we'll meet up some day (I'm in Nor-Kal).
S.S.

[SES50]

I would agree with everything above except I would run Lapua Brass instead of Norma Brass. The Norma Brass is not as consistent and you will get more reloads out of the Lapua.

[supersonic]

I would agree with everything above except I would run Lapua Brass instead of Norma Brass. The Norma Brass is not as consistent and you will get more reloads out of the Lapua.

Could you get into detail about that so that I may be put up to speed? The only difference I've noticed between the two are that Lapua is alot more expensive, and it appears that loaded cartridges measure about .002" thicker @ case mouth than Norma. Otherwise, I've always been told that the reason Weatherby uses Norma brass exclusively for all their factory offerings is because nothing else was up to par. In fact, R.W. himself said that the only brass cases that were in the same LEAGUE was Lapua, but that Norma "just had the edge" as far as strength & consistency goes. Please let me know if you know differently! Thanks!
S.S.

[jdberger]

Oh, No! CG's got a .338.....



When do I get to shoot this one?

[C.G.]

Oh, No! CG's got a .338.....



When do I get to shoot this one?

Well, I don't have it yet; you know how it is when they tell you "next week". But either Panoche or Turkey Day.

[C.G.]

I can help you here, as I am awaiting the arrival of my AR30 338LM, and have been testing others/ studying up on performance,components,ballistics,etc. for over a year in planning now. I basically went w/ what I finally concluded to be the best of everything-if you want your 250/300grainers to shoot 3-5" groups @ 1500 METERS!!!! 1)set of RCBS FL dies for your new brass 2) Redding competition neck bushing 3-die set (w/ the appropriate bushings-titanium nitride- and order the optional titanium nitride inside neck button sizer, which is Redding's version of an expander ball) 3) Sierra 250 and 300gr.(300's are for 1/10" twist ONLY!! MatchKing bullets 4) Hodgdon H-1000 & Retumbo powders 5) Norma Brass 6) Federal GM215 magnum primers. This stuff ain't cheap (about $500-$600 depending on how much powder/bullets you get: but you WILL SAVE BIG TIME in the long run-factory ammo (Lapua) cost me (w/shipping thru Midway-you're NOT going to find it @ your local gun store!- about $80.00/ 20 rounds!!! Remember, you are dealing with one of the 3 "kings" of ultra high-precision/ultra power/ultra(1500+ meters) long range rounds (in descending order: 50BMG;408 CT;.338 Lapua Mag). BUT: the .338 is the most accurate of the 3 (if not of ALL rounds in this class) and @ 1500 YARDS, the 300 gr. bullet (when loaded full-power) STILL CARRIES THE ENERGY W/ IT OF A .44MAGNUM @ THE MUZZLE!!!!!!!!!!!! Have fun, bro - maybe we'll meet up some day (I'm in Nor-Kal).
S.S.

Thank you, I'll have to investigate the Redding. Dave also mentioned Retumbo, said it was the cleanest burning.
BTW, originally I planned to go in .408 Chey-Tac, but with Lost River's demise it may not be easy to find bullets so I went with the .338 LM instead. I can always get a .408 Chey-Tac barrel and bolt for it later.

[SES50]

Could you get into detail about that so that I may be put up to speed? The only difference I've noticed between the two are that Lapua is alot more expensive, and it appears that loaded cartridges measure about .002" thicker @ case mouth than Norma. Otherwise, I've always been told that the reason Weatherby uses Norma brass exclusively for all their factory offerings is because nothing else was up to par. In fact, R.W. himself said that the only brass cases that were in the same LEAGUE was Lapua, but that Norma "just had the edge" as far as strength & consistency goes. Please let me know if you know differently! Thanks!
S.S.

Lapua uses stronger material which can stand higher pressures than Norma. Which inturn allows you to reload the cartriges more times. It is also more consistent. Everything I read about long distance shooting from the guys that have been doing it for a long time, is Lapua Brass out performs Norma hands down over time.

www.longrangehunting.com for a lot of information.

[Whitesmoke]

Lapua uses stronger material which can stand higher pressures than Norma. Which inturn allows you to reload the cartriges more times. It is also more consistent. Everything I read about long distance shooting from the guys that have been doing it for a long time, is Lapua Brass out performs Norma hands down over time.

www.longrangehunting.com for a lot of information.

I've seen that many times too....One test I always see is they weigh a bunch of Lapua cases and a bunch of Normas from the same lot, and there is always much more variance in the weight of the brass in the Norma cases.

Just what I've read...no real experience though.

[supersonic]

Thank you, I'll have to investigate the Redding. Dave also mentioned Retumbo, said it was the cleanest burning.
BTW, originally I planned to go in .408 Chey-Tac, but with Lost River's demise it may not be easy to find bullets so I went with the .338 LM instead. I can always get a .408 Chey-Tac barrel and bolt for it later.

Dude, you are going to LOVE this thing. It's like shooting a cartridge w/ the tack-driving accuracy of a .22-250 w/ the power to punch through a car's engine compartment @ 1000 meters!!!!
S.S.

[supersonic]

I've seen that many times too....One test I always see is they weigh a bunch of Lapua cases and a bunch of Normas from the same lot, and there is always much more variance in the weight of the brass in the Norma cases.

Just what I've read...no real experience though.

WOW! I'm going to have to go out to my electronic scale & weigh a handful of Norma's from same lot. Will report back!!!
S.S.

[SES50]

WOW! I'm going to have to go out to my electronic scale & weigh a handful of Norma's from same lot. Will report back!!!
S.S.

Make sure you size and trim them to length before you weigh them.

[Fjold]

I have both Norma and Lapua brass for my 6.5x284. On new brass my Lapua brass is noticeably more uniform in weight, overall length and neck diameter.

I'll have to dig out my loading book but typically the Lapua brass runs less than .2 grains variation from the mean in weight and .001" variation in neck diameters.

No other brand of 6.5x284 brass (Norma and Hornady) comes close to those numbers.

[jdberger]

Midway's currently got a Dealer sale on Hornady Custom Ammunition 338 Lapua Magnum 250 Grain Boat Tail Hollow Point Box of 20
64.99 a 20 round box.

Ouch!

[C.G.]

Yup, and that is very cheap, they normally run $85-95/20. That is why I have a reloading press.