338 Lapua to 338 Lapua AI

[frankm]

Interested in anyone's experiences who have taken their 338 Lapua and changed it to a 338 Lapua AI.. (40degree shoulder) I ve got a Savage FCP and use it for LR steel fun. Longest we ve shot is 2200 yards and it is addicting. My rifle wears the stock Savage 26" 1-9 barrel and I m shooting 300 MK s and 300 Bergers at 2715 fps with Retumbo.

Would like to hear what velocity increases others have seen, if it is simply a matter of using full power Lapua loads to fire form into the improved Ackley chamber and overall thoughts /opinions on whether is was a worthwhile project.

My thinking is it would be a good opportunity to test the conversion prior to upgrading down the road to a custom barrel. One of my concerns is getting reloading dies without spending a fortune!!

Thx in advance for sharing your experiences.

 

[frankm]

Bump...

No other crazies like me?

 

[jimbires]

I shoot a 338 lapua . I thought about turning it into an improved chamber , but didn't . I shoot 300gr berger E hunter , lapua brass , RL33 powder .this combo , in my 30" bbl , I get 2930FPS . 2930 FPS is the velocity I use in ballistic programs .


maybe if you did a load work up using RL33 powder , you might find some velocity you are looking for .
I think quickload shows about a 50FPS gain over retumbo . RL33 seems to pressure up differently than some other powders , so you might be able to get more than the 50FPS . as always start low and work up .

 

[frankm]

Sounds like R33 is doing well for a number of folks. I ve only used Retumbo, and have 8 pounds of it, so never played with other powder. 89.3 grs of Retumbo is giving me 2715 fps in a 26" barrel with single digit ES. Don t know if 2800 fps could be gotten with R33 and still not hammering the Lapua brass.

Might have to tinker. Mind sharing what amount of R33 you re using and which brass?
Thanks

 

[jimbires]

300 gr Berger E hunter or the OTM , Lapua brass 116 grain water capacity , Fed 215 primer , 3.808 COAL measured off the tip , 102.5 gr RL33 , 2930 FPS in my 30"bbl , using quickload pressure figures it's about 0.5 grains over max load .