I just finished preliminary load testing on a 338 RUM and have to say it is the most accurate 338 round I have ever shot.

I have owned or own a 340WBY, 338/300RUM Improved, 338/378, 338-06 and a 338WM.

What has been your experiences in this regard?

338 Lapua. 0.4 - 0.5 MOA.

When I'm not flinching...

No discussion: 338 Lapua Mag is the most accurate .338 caliber!! Probably also the most powerful.
I shot Lapua 250g bullets with great results: 0.5 MOA at 3170 fps.

Faina

quote:

Originally posted by Sambar 9.3:
338 Lapua. 0.4 - 0.5 MOA.

When I'm not flinching...

Dave,

I don't reckon a hardened warrior like you would flinch

That 338 Rum put 3, 230gr Lapua Naturalis's into .4-.5, with the first load I threw at it!!!

I hadn't considered the 338 Lapua as it isn't normally considered a hunting round. It should be.

Well you and Faina's posts would back up its accuracy reputation!!!

Commercially loaded? Is anyone loading Lapua?

I believe Lapua load ammo for it as well as make the components.........Sambar 9.3 would know.

I have to agree that the 338 RUM is the most accurate .338 caliber rifle I have ever tested.

My friend has a Remington Sendero in 338 RUM that is amazingly accurate.

One afternoon I fired two groups with 225 grain Nosler Accubonds that measured 0.35 inches each.
Amazing!

quote:

Originally posted by Blair338/378:
I just finished preliminary load testing on a 338 RUM and have to say it is the most accurate 338 round I have ever shot.

I have owned or own a 340WBY, 338/300RUM Improved, 338/378, 338-06 and a 338WM.

What has been your experiences in this regard?

Blair, knowing you've fired the 338-378 Wby I have found a load that shoots very accurately out of my Accumark right at .5 MOA. I haven't fine tuned this load yet and don't know that I will even try ...

quote:

Originally posted by Sambar 9.3:
338 Lapua. 0.4 - 0.5 MOA.

When I'm not flinching...

Excellent Dave... Visions of shooting the 338-378 without the brake...

quote:

Originally posted by Faina:
No discussion: 338 Lapua Mag is the most accurate .338 caliber!! Probably also the most powerful.
I shot Lapua 250g bullets with great results: 0.5 MOA at 3170 fps.

Faina

Having started out as an exercise in 338 cal sniper cartridges there's no question as to the accuracy of the Lapua but certainly not the most powerful of the 338 super mags...

Ken....

quote:

Commercially loaded? Is anyone loading Lapua?

Black Hills offers both a 250 and 300gr load for the Lapua. I also think I saw it listed in a Hornady catalogue not too long ago, but I don't remember what bullet they were loading or if it's actually available yet. Ruger had announced the RSM in 338 Lapua a year or two ago, but it seems that they either changed their minds or discontinued it before I could get my paws on one. Pity, that would have been a nice rifle/caliber combo.

My own experience with the 338s has been with the Win Mag and the Ultra Mag. They both shot well, but the Ultra Mag has been the more accurate of the two in the rifles that I have owned.

Rifles, not cartridges, are accurate or inaccurate.

I second what Mrlexma said and would add that any of them should be accurate enough.

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
Rifles, not cartridges, are accurate or inaccurate.

Quite true, which makes this thread basically, "Which rifle chambered for a cartridge with a .338" diameter bullet has been most accurate for you?"

I think that most people with benchrest experience would tell you that it would be easiest to get a rifle chambered for .338 Federal to be accurate than to achieve accuracy with the larger cartriges.

There is little that is inherently inaccurate about most of the larger cartridges, although I have had poor luck getting Weatherby cartridges with their oddly radiused shoulder and freebore to shoot as accurately as more conventional chamberings.

I like the 338 RUM. I can do 1/2 inch groups with mine. All the time!
This gun is a nice Hammer

quote:

Having started out as an exercise in 338 cal sniper cartridges there's no question as to the accuracy of the Lapua but certainly not the most powerful of the 338 super mags...

We all know that the big Lapua was born as a sniper cartridge, but this is not a reason why it can't be a great hunting cartridge.

Heat: maybe you have reason... Have anyone better results with a 250g bullet???
Let me know.

Faina

quote:

Rifles, not cartridges, are accurate or inaccurate.

There are three components that produce accuracy:
rifle, load and cartridge... Not only one.

Faina

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
Commercially loaded? Is anyone loading Lapua?

HSM and Black Hills load for the 338 Laupa

You can find loadet ammo for the Finnish .338 from Lapua. Take a look on Lapua.com

Faina

quote:

Originally posted by Faina:

quote:

Rifles, not cartridges, are accurate or inaccurate.

There are three components that produce accuracy:
rifle, load and cartridge... Not only one.

Faina

What about the jerk on the trigger?

338RUM for me too, using 225g Nosler AB

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
Rifles, not cartridges, are accurate or inaccurate.

MR,

Rifles are only as good as the sum of their parts, IMHO. Barrels being the most important part of the equation.

And one would have to believe in the "inherently accurate" round, just look at benchrest.......all 6mmPPC.......

And in 1000 yard, it's the 300 Ackley by a wide margin............

quote:

Originally posted by R Flowers:
I have to agree that the 338 RUM is the most accurate .338 caliber rifle I have ever tested.

My friend has a Remington Sendero in 338 RUM that is amazingly accurate.

One afternoon I fired two groups with 225 grain Nosler Accubonds that measured 0.35 inches each.
Amazing!

I saw some of the loads, you posted on another thread.......damn fine shooting, sir!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Heat:

quote:

Originally posted by Blair338/378:
I just finished preliminary load testing on a 338 RUM and have to say it is the most accurate 338 round I have ever shot.

I have owned or own a 340WBY, 338/300RUM Improved, 338/378, 338-06 and a 338WM.

What has been your experiences in this regard?

Blair, knowing you've fired the 338-378 Wby I have found a load that shoots very accurately out of my Accumark right at .5 MOA. I haven't fine tuned this load yet and don't know that I will even try ...

quote:

Originally posted by Sambar 9.3:
338 Lapua. 0.4 - 0.5 MOA.

When I'm not flinching...

Excellent Dave... Visions of shooting the 338-378 without the brake...

quote:

Originally posted by Faina:
No discussion: 338 Lapua Mag is the most accurate .338 caliber!! Probably also the most powerful.
I shot Lapua 250g bullets with great results: 0.5 MOA at 3170 fps.

Faina

Having started out as an exercise in 338 cal sniper cartridges there's no question as to the accuracy of the Lapua but certainly not the most powerful of the 338 super mags...

Ken....

Ken,

I know how well you get the 338/378 to shoot......damned if I could get mine to shoot as well as yours, though I was being bullet specific.

Trg 41,338 Lapua, Sierra 250 MK, 86 grain H-4831 , Federal 215 Gold Medal primers,0.2 MOA at 200 meters. Mild load, about 2790 ft/s

My Browning A-Bolt in .338 Win mag has been one of my most accurate out of the box rifles. The first load I tooled up for it shoots under .75 MOA consistently, year in and year out. I never bothered to tweak it, but I'm sure if I did, I could easily get .5 MOA with no problem. I use IMR 4350 with a 210 Nosler Partition. If I try to tweak it (given the opportunity), I will try an Accubond and the same powder or possibly RL19 or RL22.

338 lapua in a TRG 42: lapua factory ammo: 3.6 inch 5 shot group @ 600 yds.
Accuracy for the 338's should be judged at extreme long range, that is their forte.
I dont know of a more powerful 338, Heat. if you are thinking of the 338/378, the case capacity is very similar.
Some hugely overbore wildcats may be more powerful (338/505?) but no standard caliber is significantly more powerful in 338

I have used 338 Lapua's, 338 Win Mag and 330 Dakota. At this point I would say that as far as accuracy is concerned it is a toss up since the types of rifles that had these chamberings were really hunting light weight affairs except for the Lapua that was purposely built with a heavy barrel. The 330 Dakota is the most impressive cartridge of these three and has shown itself to be very accurate and very FAST, 225 Accubonds run 3100 fps avg and the 250 Sierra @ 3000 fps from a 26"bbl. My Lapua's ran about the same speeds but required 10 to 15% more powder and alot bigger actions. So as you might guess I run the Dakota's now and have never looked back.
bigbull

quote:

Originally posted by mrlexma:
Rifles, not cartridges, are accurate or inaccurate.

some people just dont get it.
a piece of metal flung through the air doesnt have the ability to determine its impact area.
i never cease to be amazed at self proclaimed handloaders who for some reason belive that a caliber or a specific cartige can be accurate or in accurate.

I ask yesterday my favorite gunsmith about big .338 cartridge. He say me that the 338 Lapua is the most accurate without discussion, but the 338-378 Weatherby have more power, about 100 fps more that Lapua with 250g bullets... In the same condition.

Faina

quote:

Originally posted by Blair338/378:
I believe Lapua load ammo for it as well as make the components.........Sambar 9.3 would know.

Lapua make 2x 250gr loads, the Scenar and the issued FMJ Lockbase ammo, and(IIRC) they may make a 235 gr load, the Naturalis (sp?).

I hve not had the chance to use the Black Hills stuff that O'Riellys are selling, but do have some experience with the Lockbase and the 'T' headstamp FMJ Swiss stuff (also loaded by Lapua).

The Lockbase is good for about 0.5 to 1.0 moa, depending on the shooter, and has good performance on intermediate target barriers.
The black tipped Swiss stuff goes through barriers very well, but is only good for MOA or so, even with an excellent shooter. Possibly the S.A.P. core of the pill leads to this increased dispersion.

Additionally, once you get out past 1200m, the groups start to open up regardless...
The optics may be the problem here, although I had heard that the guys still doing the job are getting new glass to help with that.

JMHO, doubtless others feel differently about it.

FWIW, the RUM can do much the same, and do it cheaply, if you don't have the Gov't paying for your ammo and BBLs.
If I wasn't already set up for the Lapua, I probably would have gone with the RUM.

quote:

Originally posted by Faina:
I ask yesterday my favorite gunsmith about big .338 cartridge. He say me that the 338 Lapua is the most accurate without discussion, but the 338-378 Weatherby have more power, about 100 fps more that Lapua with 250g bullets... In the same condition.

Faina

i cant imagine that a man whos livelyhood was based in rebarreling rifles burned out throats, installing brakes and repairing cracked tangs would suggest anything other than an overbore usless caliber like the lapua or the weatherby.
Ask him why a 338x57 would be less accurate if built by the same smith.
flat trajectory isnt accuracy.
velocity is not accuracy
energy is not accuracy
caliber is not accuracy
accuracy is consistancy.

I think Jim Burnworth from the show "Adventures Abroad" uses a savage 110BA in 338 lapua for some of his long range hunting. Looks like a sniper rifle.

Savage is also marketing a .338 Lapua "Long Range Hunter" which is not a bad price, not sure about accuracy however. I have used the Lapua Naturalis 231 grain, which is marketed for hunting use, and found it to be superbly more accurate than I am.

quote:

"(The right question is) Which rifle chambered for a cartridge with a .338" diameter bullet has been most accurate for you?"

Anyone who knows anything about statistics at all will confirm that it takes dozens, maybe hundreds, of data points to prove any small differences in the average or 'inherent accuaracy' of any cartridge. Spot picks of a few scattered individuals sure won't do it.

The 'inherent accuracy' of the rifle - and shooter - matters a LOT more than the shape of the chamber.

What difference does it make? You aren't shooting prairie dogs at a quarter mile with a .338, anyway. They all will group well enough (in a decently made rifle) to kill at elk as far away as you can hit him. That's what they're for, after all.

Don't forget to evaluate the .338 Norma Magnum. Same or better accuracy than the .338 Lapua and better energy carried at range. Inherently accurate cartridge without the heavy recoil of the Lapua.

I have shot a .340 Wby since 1997. It has always been very accurate and has taken many elk-Deer and a huge Alaskan Yukon Moose for me. I have also shot a .338 Lapua since 2002, simply because a buddy sold it to me for a song because he couldn't handle the recoil. It is super accurate also with consistent one holers when I do my part. It has taken Elk for me, my son and grandson and will continue to be one of our most used larger game rifles. The Lapua shoot consistently better than the .340 Wby, however the later has many one holers to it's credit down through the years. The difference may also be the scopes, a Ziess as compared to a Burris, the former having better lense coatings in all conditions. Good shooting.

Here, the most accurate cartridge in .338/8.5 mm is said to be the 8.5x63 mm Reb, especially the rimless version. It's not a Magnum though but close to the .338 WM performance.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Rifles, not cartridges, are accurate or inaccurate.

With ya on that one....

Smith worked a 338WM and a 338RUM for me. Both shoot 3 shot groups a bottle top covers easily.

Haven't had Lapua or Weatherby.

.338 Ruger Compact Magnum. I don't know if it is the most accurate but it certainly is the most efficient

It makes a difference how you define accuracy. Maybe your idea of an accurate rifle/cartridge is one that puts bullet holes close together. Mine is a rifle/cartridge/bullet combination that makes longrange hitting easier.

My Carlock rifle (Bat action, 30" Hart barrel) in .338 Edge shooting 300 grain SMKs is still makeing longrange hits easy when my .338 Win with 225s has been stuck back in the case 500 yards ago. I have to conclude that those nice little cloverleafs both rifles shoot at 100 mean approximately nothing when it comes time to put the group in the center of the target at long range.