the .338 family of cartridges has been in the back of my mind for a long time until i finally became obsessed with them and have decided to get rifles chambered in .338. i am getting at least 4 custom rifles built for me within the next 2 years and i've been trying very hard to decide once and for all what i want them all chambered in and since i've become so fascinated with the .338 and never had one before i've decided to get 2 rifles chambered in .338 and now i need to make my mind up on which .338 cartridges i want and who i want to build the rifles. i'm wanting the .338s to be quite different from each other in ballistics with one being used for very long range target shooting and one used for occasional big game hunting at long ranges. i'm thinking of the .338 Lapua for the target rifle and the maybe the .338 Excalibur for the hunting rifle. what other choices in .338 cartridges would be as good or better than the 2 i have picked out for what i want to use them for? also i'm thinking of www.blackdiamondrifles.com to build the .338 Lapua target rifle and i'm not very sure on this choice at all but i'm thinking about the A-Square Hannibal rifle for the .338 Excalibur hunting rifle. who else would be good choices to build the rifles? i would really appreciate any help on either of or both of these questions.

Pez, if you want more than the 338 Win Mag for the hunting rifle, have a custom made in 338 Remington Ultramag (RUM). The A-Square company has been in and out of business so often, at least for rifles, that ordering one would be risky. Also, many find their stocks too big, cumbersome, and ugly for their purpose. A 340 Weatherby would provide similar ballistics and power as the RUM. If you don't need the power of the 338 RUM, and wanted a wide difference in your two 338s as you said, get a 338 Federal or 338-06 and the Lapua.

338 Lapua 250 2960 fps MV 4863 ft lbs
8.59(.338) Lazzeroni Titan 250 3150 fps 5510 ft lbs
340 Weatherby Magnum 250 2963 fps MV 4873 ft lbs
338-378 Weatherby 250 3060 fps 5197 ft lbs
338 RUM 250 2860 fps MV 4540 ft lbs

Excellent choice in bullet diameter. You should have a blast shooting them.

Pez, don't overlook the .338 Ruger Compact Magnum. It is a fantastic cartridge. Makes up into a nice tidy little hunting rifle with a 20 inch barrel that easy to carry and won't knock you out from under your hat. It you want more velocity, get the one with the longer barrel.

Pez, I may be incorrect but wasn't the 338 excalibur built ,on a custome made XL action,just to see if a 338 round could be pushed a certian FPS ??? I guess what I am saying is I don't think it's brass is readily available....It's one exlarge cartridge ,My 2 cents again ,BB

R to L 38-72,350STA,338 excalibour,338 Federal,338 RCM,338-06,338 win mag.35 WCF,35 Whelen.
BB

quote:

Originally posted by Pez:
i'm wanting the .338s to be quite different from each other in ballistics with one being used for very long range target shooting and one used for occasional big game hunting at long ranges. i'm thinking of the .338 Lapua for the target rifle and the maybe the .338 Excalibur for the hunting rifle.

Seems like the Lapua, Excalibur, RUM & Weatherbys would all be in the same class ballistic wise.

For your hunting rifle you may want to consider something that is easier to lug around like a 338 Win Mag or a 338-06. You are clearly not recoil shy so the 338 Win mag would probably be best.

For the target rifle, the Lapua seems to be the darling right now.

i own a few 338 WM's and a 340 wea. I like the 338 and the 340.
My questions would be; what do you plan on hunting?
I always trend my decisions on these criteria.
1) Simplicity, reliability, serviceability.

Take a 338WM with a 250 or 225 gr bullet sighted in 3" high @ 100 yards. You can probably hit any animal out to 400 yards by putting the crosshairs on their spine. You can make this gun efficient with a 24" pipe and have it manageable at 8 lbs so it is easy to carry. Can probably get ammo for it in most locals. extreme variety of factory ammo and tons of loading data.

EZ

I would have at least 1 .338 in a short action.With fairly new .338 short action cartridges their ballistics compare favorable against the 338-06 338 Win. Mag.

Before I did anything I would first take a look at the Ruger Hawkeye African in .338 Win. Its as compact as a rifle can get, and the .338 win mag can be loaded down to those specs or loaded up to its max and you have a lot more gun..You can load one down but you can load them up much.
I see little practical use for these newby 338s.