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Been rolling my own since oldman taught me to reload 50 BMG. Components for 338 are not cheap but reloading helps to shoot more. No way could I afford commercial ammo for this monster.

That article was a good read. Would be a lot of fun but no place that I can go (practically anyways) to do a rifle like that justice. That thing is badass though. Hope you enjoy it!


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Bearcatrp wrote:Been rolling my own since oldman taught me to reload 50 BMG. Components for 338 are not cheap but reloading helps to shoot more. No way could I afford commercial ammo for this monster.

Have you begun reloading for it yet? If so, what components are you using? If not, what components do you plan to use? ie: Powder,Primers,Projectiles,Brass

I'm trying to get a feel on what a quality hand loaded round for the .338 LM is cost wise?

My match 50 BMG averages close to $3 using solid brass boreriders (a friend gets them at a discounted price if we buy in quantity) and my powder load now, is 248 gr (I also bought a good quantity of powder at a discount). I fear that when my supply of powder runs low, the price per round is going to increase a bit.

Been reloading 338 for a few years for the savage FCP 338. Already have a couple hundred Lapua brass, forester dies, Federal 215M primers, and 8 LBS of H-1000. Its sighted in from last trip out to the range. Hoping we get a warm weekend to drive up to that 1000 yard range by New York Mills. I haven’t done the math lately to see where I’m at on cost. The 215M primers are the hardest to find locally. When I see them in the box of 1000, I jump on it. I mainly shoot Hornady 285 ELD-M. What powder are you using in your 50 BMG? I still have a 8 lb jug of H50BMG from when I had my 50BMG that I am trying to sell locally. Only folks interested in it are out of state. Can’t ship it.

I will take the powder if at a reasonable cost.

Hodgdon has dis-continued it so I am adding to my supply for when I switch to 460 Steyr loadings.

Sent you a pm

I'm using Reloader 50 for my 50 BMG. As Oldman said they have discontinued H-50 BMG powder. I have an 8lb jug I got as a prize at the FCSA Worlds about 3 years ago.

Sounds like you have the 338 loading down pat. I was watching a Youtube last night and the guy testing loads seemed to also like the Hornady 285 gr ELD-M in his RPR.

I'm like you, in the fact I need a warm day to go shoot. I have a 40F limit. Below 40, no shooting for this dog..lol

It was 28 degrees last week when I went out. About 5 mph winds. I bundled up so I could shoot the new toy. Bones don’t like the cold but was best day for shooting. Am hoping for some warmer weather since we are supposed to be warmer than normal weather this year according to the farmers almanac. Guess we will see.

I'm loading the .338 for about a buck-fifty a round minus the cost of the brass.
91 gr retumbo
285 gr Hornady 285 gr ELD
COAL 3.75 which is max for the magazine from what I've read..

So far the Ruger RPR seems to like it. Haven't shot any real distance yet, but planning on heading up to Harris this spring.
Only put about 25 down range so far, no pressure signs and recoil is very acceptable. Muzzle brake is hell on anything around it like wall insulation

About same for me on costs. I got up to 89.8 of H1000 with no issues. This is what I was shooting out of my savage. Did notice it’s about 50fps slower in the RPR. I did make it to 91.4 with the savage but did get some pressure signs, which is why I backed Downed. If this holds true on the RPR, May be able to maintain 91.4 without issues. I have a series to test when the weather gets warmer.

Got out to the range yesterday. Beautiful day for it. Finally got my Grendal figured out on what bullets. Took the beast out to see how far I can push this RPR 338. Got up to 92.4 gr of H-1000 @2861 fps. Still no pressure signs either but figured I'm getting close. I got this far on the savage and had a sticky bolt so backed off of that. May try another series just to see how far I can push it. This rifle has exceeded my expectations so far. Hope to get up to Rush lake range to shoot some 1200 yard targets.

Is it accurate?

Cloverleaf @100 yards with my loads I have already made. 89.8 gr of H1000 @2750 fps. With my current load and my Burris XTR II 4-20x50, can dial to 1 mile. That will change when I top out on my ladder tests but thinking I may stay just above 2800 fps. Throat is deep on the RPR compared to the savage I had. At mag length with the 285 ELD-M. Later after I find the highest I can go, may try some longer single fed to see how it does. Still have some 270 gr ELD-X I worked up for the savage I never shot. Will try these later too.

There's a lot of love for the RPR in .338LM in the .338 group on Fb.

My only gripes with it are the stock's folding mechanism seemed a bit light-duty on the one I looked at, and the handguard they come with is big enough to stash a suppressor in (just looked Huge). I'm picky when it comes to $1600+ guns.

I don’t do FB but chat about it on AR15.com. The folding mechanism on mine is real stiff. Not worried about unlocking while shooting. The weight of the RPR really helps with recoil. Was out last week doing load development trying to narrow down what I want. Had it up to 2850 fps with slight case swipes. Recoil was still good. When I tried this on my savage at 2850 fps, you felt it in your shoulder pretty good. Shop around, seeing them around $1500.00. Am at mag length loading 285 ELD-M but could go more if I single load.