long range .33 questions

[BK]

In another bout of insomnia (and after reading a magazine article that compared a .338 Lapua to a .340 Weatherby, I began to think about long range rifles. Has anybody shot a rifle chambered in .338 RUM, and compared it to a Lapua? I would think you could find a Remington Ultra Mag action and build yourself a LR tac rifle for a lot less than a Sako TRG... say $300-400 for an action, $500 or so for a Tactical McMillan stock, $600-700 for a barrel to be screwed on. Put on some good glass (Nightforce would be my choice, if I could ever figure out which reticle I need).

Desert Fox, don't you have something like this?

What am I overlooking? (Not going to do it anytime soon, and I have two AR lowers to finish, and a .257 Weatherby SPS-SS and a 700 ADL-SS in 7-08 to sort out, not to mention never being home, but it's fun to ponder.)

 

[JD338]

BK,

The 338 RUM and 338 Lapua are basically ballistic twins. The advantage goes to the 338 Lapua due to the better brass.
Remington does offer a military/ LE version of the M700 in 338 Lapua but it is really pushing the limits of the 700 action, it just barely fits.

I shoot the 338 RUM and it is the most impressive cartridge I have ever used on big game. Every game animal I had shot with my 338 RUM has dropped in their tracks. The combination of frontal area and high velocity put where it needs to go kills game right now.
My M700 LSS 338 RUM is extreamly accurate, shooting sseveral different Nosler bullets under .5 MOA.

JD338

 

[BK]

Is Remington the only source of brass?

 

[JD338]

Both Remington and Federal make 338 RUM Brass.
I have had good luck with both.

JD338

 

[Powerstroke]

As JD stated -

There have been a few Remington 700 released in the .338LM through their law enforcment side.
You'll get a lot of opinions if the action is desireable for performing such a feat - Some Smiths don't have an issue
where as others won't touch it.

The load and go certainly favors the RUM in the expense category. If you want to play and have the uniqueness there
are those playing with the .300RUM case necking it up to .338.
Not sure of the reason, but Remington set the should back slightly on the .338 vs the .300 -

 

[JD338]

The load and go certainly favors the RUM in the expense category. If you want to play and have the uniqueness there
are those playing with the .300RUM case necking it up to .338.
Not sure of the reason, but Remington set the should back slightly on the .338 vs the .300 -

Good point Powerstroke, the 338 RUM is .090" shorter than the 300 RUM. Remington made this move so the the 338 cal bullets with cannelures would be able to fit the magazine. The 338-300 RUM is known as the 338 Edge and gets about 100 fps more than the 338 RUM.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

That .300 RUM necked up to .338 has a little more capacity than the straight .338 RUM and has become very popular as the .338 Edge - chambered by Idaho smith Shawn Carlock. It's got a little more suds than either the .338 RUM or the .338 Lapua. If that matters to you or not is a good question.

I was very close to building a long range .338 a few years ago. Had the stock, the donor Remington .300 RUM action, even a box of 500 .338 cal bullets, but I backed out of it and sold everything rather than building what would have been a very specialized piece of gear for me. I was going to go with either the Edge or the .338 Rem Ultra Mag.

FWIW, Guy

 

[SJB358]

As much as I like the Lapua, the 338UM or 338 Edge would get my nod as a long range 338. Everything is more available and you can get a 338, new in the box for 700.00. You could change a whole lot of things in order to get close to the price of a decent Lapua. The Lapua is an awesome shooter, but for hunting, I can't see I can't see it being much different speed wise. I constantly eye ball the bigger 338's, but already having a 338WM, I kind of push it off. Scotty

 

[BK]

I was thinking of a tac-type rifle more than a hunting rifle; heavy 28-30" barrel, tactical stock, and big scope. More for shooting paper and steel plates at a half mile than lobbing bullets at long range elk. Maybe 12-15 pounds. I'm not packing that much rifle out of the Minam River canyon!

 

[SJB358]

Well, in that case, I am not sure how close you will come to building a 338UM into the same rifle a Blaser or Sako type rifle the 338 Lapua would already be. Once you add up all of the accuracy enhancing components on the Blaser or Sako TRG, you would be coming pretty close to the same money on a M700 with all of the same gear. I think it depends on how far you want to go. I think the Blasers I put up pictures of are right around 3500 to 4000. Not sure about the Sako's. I know there are others, and what you get is an accurate rifle, made to shoot long range, right out of the box, and the Lapua brass is probably 2nd to none.

I think once you add in a stock, trigger, match type barrel, muzzle brake and then the gunsmithing part, you will be touching on a rifle you can just buy and start shooting. Two different approaches, but the end state would probably be identical. Just my opinion on it though. I can tell you this though, if you shot the 338 Lapua in a Blaser, it would likely bring a little tear to your eye. It is a really serious piece of gear. Scotty

 

[Greg Nolan]

It would depend on what kind of accuracy you want. The 338 RUM is fantastic and I love mine. It's a hunting rifle. The 338 Lapua is a long range target rifle. From what I've seen and experienced it's usually cheaper to buy a full blown target rifle than to buy and convert a hunting rifle. You can buy used target rifles. It's hard to find a used, converted hunting rifle that meets your specs. That said, a lot of the 338 Lupua mystique comes from the heavy for caliber Scenar bullets from quality barreled rifles. From my experience and JD338s the RUM shoots very well and I've never used VLD or heavy bullets. I'll be interested in what you decide and how it works out.
Good Hunting
Greg

 

[JD338]

BK,

The 338 RUM is a very accurate cartridge. My M700 LSS is a stock rifle with the addition of a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad.

Nosler 250 gr AB

JD338

 

[Desert Fox]

Desert Fox, don't you have something like this?

I was thinking of a tac-type rifle more than a hunting rifle; heavy 28-30" barrel, tactical stock, and big scope. More for shooting paper and steel plates at a half mile than lobbing bullets at long range elk. Maybe 12-15 pounds. I'm not packing that much rifle out of the Minam River canyon!

I do have one in the Ackleyrized version. For long range work, it's one of the best cartridge there is. The Lapua or Norma brass are kind of pricey, but superior to any of US made brass and it would last twice as long. I use mine for hunting and yes, for punching paper in competition too.

Typical 5 shot group @ 110 yards

This weekend, if luck is on my side, I will be looking forward to test the limit of this rifle on a mule deer. My buddy and I had been scouting several area and the shot are way out there.

Here's one of the spot. It's about a mile to the farthest ridge, still within reach of the 338 Lapua.

Here's my buddy practicing shot on a rock with his Custom 300 Winchester Magnum shooting the 210 grain Berger VLD. The target was 1,254 yards away. Amazing what the 300 Winny can do using this bullet. He is only within 1 MOA when compared with my 338 at that distance. The 338 however has twice the energy. (1750 ft/lb against 980)

 

[JD338]

DF,

That looks like a lot of fun! Good luck on your Mule Deer hunt.

JD338

 

[Greg Nolan]

Thats some LONG range work. Nice rifles for sure :grin:

 

[Big Squeeze]

For quite sometime, I have been considering getting into one of the longer ranged (open country) 338s for hunting as middle ground between my 300 WSM and 375 Ruger.

Not really interested in doing a custom build. So out of all the factory 338 rifles that I`ve seen, the 338-378 Weatherby Accumark is reeeeeally a growing on me. For longer ranged open country hunting (definetely not a rifle for the heavy timbers and brush), this rifle oughta do the trick on anything. That Accumark , is one gorgeous and "bench clearing" rifle.

What a damn hammer that one is, ay boys? I`ll start reloadin her on the low side, down to about 338 RUM levels.......... :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin: :grin:

 

[SJB358]

That is certainly a monster! It will put big bullets down range in a hurry. If you get one, you will have to let us know how you like it. Out of all the Weatherby's the Accumark is the one that holds my attention the most. It is alot of rifle for the money. Scotty

 

[Big Squeeze]

Yep! The 338-378 is a monster.

In the dept of appearance, the Remy XCRs have never appealed to me, whereas the Accumarks really do. With the 338-378, one basically gets a 338 RUM and then some, and imo, it is a much better looking rig as well.

Imo, if one is going to get an Accumark, then get a Weatherby round.