A ballpark figure to reload .338 Lapua

[EJSG19]

This is .338 Lapua, not .223 Rem.

Anything less than $2.00 a round and I'd be thrilled to shoot it.\


S&W .500 is awful close in price per round, and the performance/giggle factor at 1000 yards isn't even close!

[Seismic Sam]

My attitude aside, crbutler pretty much confirms my opinion that a .338 Lapua is going to need extra stuff, and to get the long range accuracy that this cartridge is capable of, you really DO need the match resizing and seating dies.

However, with the stated purpose of the buyer being getting something that has supertacticalcoolity, you COULD very well forget all the special stuff you have to do to make this thing shoot out to 1200 yards, and that would simplify the process greatly. In other words, you could pretty much treat it like a big 30-06, which wouldn't cut down on the component cost, but it would cut down on equipment and time costs.

That being said, for the stated purpose of the gun, and the fact that the buyer obviously has deep pockets, you might as well keep it simple and just shoot factory ammo. One other thing - Lapua ammo is DAMN accurate, and one of the highest quality brands out there. And beleive me, you won't be going through hundreds of rounds a day of this stuff like you can with a .223!! A box of 20 may last a lot longer than you think it might, and I've never gone through more that a box of 50 .338 Ultramag rounds, and that took HOURS to do.

[mnmike59]

Awesome! Exactly what I'm looking to hear. Thanks Guy's.
Sam, That makes a lot of sense to me.

I thank you.

[JJ]

On the factory ammo front, Federal is loading some 338Lapua rounds. It consists of Lapua brass, and 250g Sierra Matchkings right now.

[Seismic Sam]

Sorry for the original reply, but it never occurred to me to that there would be somebody out there who wanted a blasting .338 Lapua, and was NOT interested in 1200 yard accuracy. RAGGED and I are about the only two who shoot the big .338's and we're seriously OCD about getting our ammo tweaked just right, and it's not a simple matter to accomplish, and you need to know a lot of tricks to get the round dead concentric.

As far as reloading after the initial purchase of the cases, RAGGED's estimate of about a buck a round is about right. Sierra 250 grain MK's are about 60 cents each, and the powder and primer take you up in the one buck range. Plain old size and seating dies will work, but you HAVE to weigh your powder charges individually because those big powders don't meter very well. The MOST important thing is to get a good manual like Sierra #14, and read THE WHOLE SECTION on reloading. After that, you can look at the .338 Lapua data, pick a load that is NOT a max load, and load up some ammo. You WILL have to crimp the bullets in place, because you're going to have ammo in a mag and even with a brake the recoil is going to be stiff. You do NOT want the bullets getting pushed into the case by recoil, or you could have a big problem!!! I don't bother, but my .338 Ultramag is single shot only, because the bullets are seated only .020" off the lands, and they are way over the max OAL for stock ammo.

[DeanC]

it never occurred to me to that there would be somebody out there who wanted a blasting .338 Lapua, and was NOT interested in 1200 yard accuracy.

I suppose there are also guys who buy a Corvette with an automatic transmission and never take it over 75 mph. They could be driving a Mazda Miata and it would work for what they want to do but they want to effect a certain persona.

[Snowgun]

That would be like me going to Steven Hawking and asking him to teach me everything he knows about black holes and 10-dimensional superstring theory.

This is priceless!

[mnmike59]

It finally arrived today. 8 1/2 weeks!
My NightForce 5.5-22 has been on back order for 6 weeks and today I received a UPS notification that Larue has shipped it. Next Wednesday this Bad Boy will be throwin Lead down range. I can't wait, Best plinck'n rifle ever.
The manual says Max effective range 2000 meters. Maximum range 4500 meters. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, They obviously think I know how to shoot.
I'm anxious to see if it's as accurate as they claim. If not, It'll make a good mantle piece or centerpiece for the Dining room table.
I'm all hyped up, Pumped up!

[EJSG19]

It finally arrived today. 8 1/2 weeks!
My NightForce 5.5-22 has been on back order for 6 weeks and today I received a UPS notification that Larue has shipped it. Next Wednesday this Bad Boy will be throwin Lead down range. I can't wait, Best plinck'n rifle ever.
The manual says Max effective range 2000 meters. Maximum range 4500 meters. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, They obviously think I know how to shoot.
I'm anxious to see if it's as accurate as they claim. If not, It'll make a good mantle piece or centerpiece for the Dining room table.
I'm all hyped up, Pumped up!

Early Congrats then!

Nobody (ever should have) said that just because a gun is effective to 2000 meters, that you actually have to shoot it at 2000 meters to enjoy it. Let the elite jerk the circle in which they reside!

I'm jealous. Thats all that should matter.

[rugersol]

I'm jealous, too! ... not that it matters!

As it is, reckon I'll stick with my .338 Marlin!

[RAGGED]

While on the subject, http://WWW.EUROOPTIC.COM is having a blowout out some Sako TRG's including the 338LM flavors, mention you saw the post on Accurateshooter.com and you can have a brand new TRG for $2250, that's a screaming deal. http://www.eurooptic.com/sako-trg-42-rifles.aspx

[engnerdan]

It finally arrived today. 8 1/2 weeks!
My NightForce 5.5-22 has been on back order for 6 weeks and today I received a UPS notification that Larue has shipped it. Next Wednesday this Bad Boy will be throwin Lead down range. I can't wait, Best plinck'n rifle ever.
The manual says Max effective range 2000 meters. Maximum range 4500 meters. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, They obviously think I know how to shoot.
I'm anxious to see if it's as accurate as they claim. If not, It'll make a good mantle piece or centerpiece for the Dining room table.
I'm all hyped up, Pumped up!

Mike
Thanks for the opertunity to shoot it, what a sweet piece of equipment you have there. I doubt you will be using it as a mantle piece. I'll try getting video of it up on yourtube sometime this week.

-Dan

[mnmike59]

No prob, Mac needs to throw some rounds down range also. I still am in disbelief of the small amount of recoil on this. My .308 recoils as hard. Pretty equal IMHO. The blast from the compensator feels like a semi just drove past.