Several months ago I decided I wanted a .338lm, so I started reading and watching for one to come up for sale.

But there is one thing that every thread has in common when it comes to this Cartrige. No matter what the question is, someone pipes up with something like "forget the .338, look at .30 this or that it does just as well and cheaper blah blah blah..."

Yes I know that .338 is expensive to shoot, yes I know that .30 whatever is plenty big enough to do/kill anything I would want here in North America.

I'm rather curious why so many people are against the .338lm, and they are so vocal about it? Any ideas???

OH and by the way, I have already purchased my .338lm, haven't shot it yet, but I have made that initial purchase of ammo. I'm looking forward to getting it out to the range to see how well it really does.

What kind did ya get?

Just my opinion why some folks speak negatively about them;
In a rifle under 15 lbs, they kick like a highly irritated mule throwing a screaming walleyed hissy fit.

Let us know how you like it after putting a box of ammo through it at the range.

Don't worry about what other folks think and enjoy your new rifle.

I dont have facts, because I dont long range shoot with one, but I would asume that similar balistic coeficients can be achieved with heavy weight .308 cal bults, componets for 30 cal are more popular, more comon, and chaeper. The 30 cal likely has plenty of power for whatever you want to shoot, recoils less, and burns less powder.

They will likely both work, but Id bet the 338 is likely more of a conversation piece, however if you like it and it will do the job then go for it. I have a 300 wby, a 300 winmag would have done the same job for less, but I like the double radius weatherby cases, so I got a weatherby.

matt

It's not recommended cause the magnum 30's do everything it can but deliver that higher energy.

I kind of wondered the same thing about the 338-378 then saw that it has the amount of power at 600yds as a hot loaded 45-70 at the muzzle. Oh yeah! Gotta get me one of those! ...and I did!

we have a savage LRH in 338 it under 10# plus optics and with the break it has on it it kicks less than my 308 My 15 year old God Daughter has no issues shooting it .

Yes it is expensive to shoot that is the biggest downside to it in my eyes

2200 yards on a 16 inch plow disk. Saw it and was mucho impressed. Try that with a .30 something.

I would take a look at 50 BMG, its cheaper to shoot than the Lapua and alot of cool rounds are available (armor piercing etc).

Run numbers for a 300 ultra with a 208 and you'll be surprised.

Explain this please. .50 BMG precision ammo is high dollar. Not Mil surplus ball crap that's designed for minute of vehicle.

Load your own? Special press, high dollar dies, high dollar bullets, lots-o-powder = lots-o-money.

O.P. if you want a .338 get one. I think the folks that don't like it is du to ammo/ loading costs. Friends have asked me when I as going to build one. My reply is, inside 1000 yards its a waste of money and ammo, but that's just me. There are plenty of .308 parent cased, .30-06 parent cased, and magnum/ short mag cartridges to get you to a mile.
But like I said, if you want one, get it! This is America after all.

Agree 200%!!!

I don't have a place to consistently shoot over 500m so for me it's a waste but if I had a place over a 1000 to have fun I would have one or the 338edge.

Chris Kyle liked his and the Afghanistans didn't.

He didn't specify in his original post that it was precision only. Some people like to shoot alot, not just 20 slow rounds and call it a day. Thats boring to me. The 50 would allow for both fun plinking and precision.

$5.30ish a round for match, and $2.40 and even cheaper for practice ammo.

His preferred weapon of choice was the 300 win mag as well.

Yessir, you're right he didn't specify. An educated conclusion suggested to me that that is why he was wanting a .338 LM. Why else would someone want one? Is what I thought.

I too don't want to go out and fire only 20 slow rounds. As much time as it takes me to load up, drive out, set steel and then get t work, 20 is way short of what I usualy shoot.

Today I was helping some friends get ready for an elk hunt. 3 hours after we started I finally fired a round. Cold bore 500, held for 300, 400 then quit. I didn't start up again for 2 more hours when I set steel at 600, 700, 800, and 900. I ended up shooting only 43 rounds today.

If I owned a .338 LM I would've added 500 yards to all of those distances, and still shot as much or more.

Agree if you want one get one. There are smaller calibers that have lots of range but there is something fun to unleash the beast (50BMG) on occasion. My best reloads using Hornady A-Max bullets run about $3 per shot for the components not counting brass which I have enough to last a while.

The 338 Lapua is not really that much different than shooting a 338-378 Weatherby or 338RUM. Not cheap but a lot of horse power.

Most people call me for 338 LM ammo, and I will ask them why they went with a 338 LM. The most common answer is so they can shoot out to 1000 yards or a little further if they want. Then we talk about the 30 cals doing it to, and they are somewhat disappointed. So, I don't ask the question any more.

Shooting side by side to a 338 LM I have run the exact same elevation come-ups and wind drift holds with my 300 Win Mag shooting a 225 Hornady bthp as a 338 LM with a 250 grain SMK shooting out to 1 mile. The only difference is the amount of energy on target.

So, if all you want to do is shoot to a certain distance, there are many calibers that can do it at much less cost than a 338. But, if you want a 338, then by golly, you want a 338. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a great caliber and can be very accurate. It's just expensive to shoot. And most people will not get proficient with their 338 rifle because of the cost of ammo.

I actually traded for the Savage 111 that was listed here. It is a good rifle at a great price in comparison to it's competitors.

Someone mentioned that .308 could do anything the .338 can inside of 1000yrds, I disagree with that. .308 may be able to put the bullet into paper at 1000yrds, and it might even carry enough energy to take down most game too.

BUT the shooter is going to have to be VERY good at calculating the ballistics for that range. Even if you have a 1/2moa rifle you are still looking at a 5in group at 1000yrds. And that is assuming that the shooter did everything PERFECT. The best grouping I have ever seen at that range (CONSITANTLY) was around 12in. For paper that's excellent grouping, but for hunting it's going to miss vitals probably more often than not.

I know that you have all the calculations to worry about with .338. BUT with .338 you have a little more room for errors in reading windage and such. The wind will have a bit less of an affect on a 300gr bullet than on a 200gr bullet.

Now as for why I chose .338, I wanted a GOOD Sub MOA rifle, and I didn't want to spend $3000+ on it. I would also assume that a little more care and quality control goes into building the .338 rifles at the factory than goes into smaller more popular calibers.

Many of the factory rifles are sub MOA, but my experience with factory built rifles has been that getting a Sub MOA rifle is more of a lotto. You can buy 3 sequentually build Rifles, and get substantially different groupings with each of them.

Most of the 30 somethings are built for hunting, and paper targets inside of 300-400yrds, which is why they have the variances that they do from the factory. A 1 MOA Rifle is more than sufficient at those ranges.

I know that I am going to pay on the backend due to ammo cost, but spending the money on the ammo is also gaining practice and skill too. I see it this way, when you do a dollar for dollar comparison you will have 500 or more rounds of practice in with the .338 than the 30 something.

I will be using the .338 for hunting, and also for the Range. Most of my use will be at the Range.

Again, if you want one and want to feed the money into it to shoot it go for it!

I shoot with a bunch of guys at some pretty serious ranges considered for hunting and I don't know of any that also have a .338 LM at home in the safe.

I'm stll waiting on all the parts to come in for a 7 Rem Mag build. It will be a bit lighter than my .260 so its a bit more forgiving carrying it in the field, but it will be hell on wheels as a long range rifle. My goal for that rifle is steel at a mile and it will be able to do it I just have to judge wind correctly. The rifle will be completely custom built except for the plain vanilla Rem 700 magnum action. So I can guarantee you that plenty of care will go into building the rifle and I will have less invested than if I purchased a completed .338 LM or built one.

Chad has a ton of trigger time on his .300 Win Mag even to a mile. The 7 RM and .300 WM are not as much rifle as the .338 LM but they're plenty good to do the job.

If you've already made up your mind to shoot a .338 then good for you, but you asked for input and you've received some.

Fireman, I didn't ask for input on other calibers, I actually asked WHY any discussion about .338 gets someone doing exactly what you did, and that is try to claim all someone really needs is blah 30 cal...

I am curious, how much will your rifle cost when its finished?

He has already addressed the statement that it is more than just about any shooter needs. The big thirty's and big 7's do just as good, some better only thing they are short of is energy. You have already stated you are a target shooter so why go through the added expense of ammo cost and recoil to shoot paper?

^^dee is 100% correct^

Apparently you are on the defensive. And it appears you are trying to justify buying a .338 LM to yourself as well as other shooters. Th other shooters that fling a bunch of lead monthly don't have, or want a .338 LM. Especialy inside 1000, ITS A WASTE OF MONEY AND RECOIL FOR PITTY'S SAKE! That, again, is why many folks don't have a use for the .338 LM. Asked and answered. And again I write, if you want one get it. Don't try to justify it to yourself or other shooters if you have decided you want it.

To your other question:

Rem 700 BDL $400
Rock Creek 7mm 1:8.5 twist light palma $300
CDI Precision bottom metal, 5 rnd Accuracy Internation mag $180
Manners T-4 $570 minus $250 cert won at a rife match.
Badger 20 MOA one piece picatinny base $130
Gunsmithing $trade labor

Total $1260

Bet it'll do anything I want it to.

Honestly, I can go waste $3k on a big thirty and still spend a buck or so per round, or I can spend $3k on Rifle + 600 rounds of ammo.

I never claimed to ONLY shoot paper, I also hunt, and probably more than the average person does...

BUT still I ask, WHY is it someone has to jump into ANY .338 thread and start pushing this "my .30 whatever can do everything the .338 can."

All you have to do is look at this thread to see what I am refering to. My question had NOTHING to with what is better or worse, or the pros and cons of .338 vs .30 whatever. YET there it is, the comments about .30 whatever can do whatever.... It's almost like the .30 fenantics have bots going looking for any thread mentioning the .338....

FACTS are NO .30 ANYTHING can do EVERYTHING that a .338 can do. .30 ANYTHING cannot deliver the knockdown power of a .338 at ANY RANGE. Sure they may be able to kill whatever, or hit whatever target but in the end they still come up weak and lacking when it comes to distance, energy, stability etc.

Making the claim that .30 can do anything a .338 can do is about as laughable as someone claiming their .22LR can do everything a .50bmg can do just cheaper...