Can anybody give me an idea of the muzzle velocity of a .338 Lapua pushing 180 gr. Ballistic Tips with 98.5 gr. of Retumbo?

The rifle is a Sako, and I believe the rifle has a 26-inch barrel, but I don't have it here.

kk

kk ----- I shoot a .338 Lapua, however I don't shoot anything less than a 225 grain bullet. I get 3100 fps out of 99 grains of H-1000 powder behind a 250 grain Barnes X or 240 grain North Fork. My 14 year grandson killed a Cow Elk with this combo in Colorado last fall, with the North Fork bullet. I tend to use heavy for caliber bullets on the larger game. Good luck and good shooting.

Hi, Phurley:

Noted and agreed.

The situation is that the owner scoped himself with this rifle and was at a loss on how to be able to keep it and handle it.

I offered to help, and so far the gun is in the shop getting a Pachmyer Decellerator, a muzzle brake (which I recommended against except as a last resort), and a retracting Swarovski scope.

I have loaded up the 180-grs. because they are lighter, and I am using Retumbo because it burns slower.

If I can get him to control his gun, then we can work back up to a bullet more suitable for the potential in the gun.

My problem is that nobody is using Retumbo behind such a light bullet.

kk

I sold my .338 Lapua target rifle last year. I was shooting 250gr behind 99gr of Retumbo. I was just getting a little bit of powder compression with this load. I was hitting about 2900 fps. Retumbo is the powder for the Lapua case. Great velocity SD consistency.

Not sure why you want to shoot such a light bullet in the Lapua, but Retumbo will be too slow for the lighter bullets. I would suggest something slightly snappier like H-4831SC. You should be able to squeeze 3250 fps at max loads. Remember, with the huge case of the Lapua and the velocities you will achieve, you need to monitor throat erosion - it will happen very quickly!!!

While the Lapua in this configuration is a little more tame than the .30-378, you will not get long life from your bore. For tickles I built a .30-378 target gun 15 years ago. After the third barrel, I decided this was not so much fun anymore.

If you are target shooting or hunting with your Lapua, best consider 200 gr or better. The 250gr offers excellent SD and long range accuracy. I would suggest the Sierra MatchKing or the Lapua Scenar (my favorite).

Hi, Zero:

I'm like you. I like heavy-for caliber.

However, I chose the 180s for this guy to start out because they will provide less recoil. I want to start him out as soft as possible (given it's a Lapua), and work him up.

Everything I mentioned: the pad, the brake, the Retumbo, the 180s, the Swarovski... it's all designed to get him back on the gun before ramping it back up.

Other ideas appreciated.

kk

Understand the dilemma - light recoil from an overbore.



I have found that Retumbo is a progressive push and not a snap hit like some powders. However, I would suggest H-4831 or H-4350 for light bullets - both are slow enough but both will burn fully. I am not sure you will get full burns with Retumbo and 180gr bullets. Hodgdon doesn�t list a load for Retumbo until you get in 200gr bullets. If you give them a call, they can tell you the best loads for what you want to do...