Savage 110 .338 Win Mag vs. .338 lapua mag

[rantingrelentlessly]

Ive made up my mind on the rifle. Savage 110. Narowed it down to the .338 WM or .338 Lapua mag. Give me your pros and cons of each. Thanks for the help.

[shootniron]

338 Lapua...if you are going to go bad...go bad.

I honestly know very little about either, I would just like to try the Lapua once to say that I have shot one. Good luck and enjoy whichever you get.

[rantingrelentlessly]

The rounds look really similar to me. Is the lapua performance really that much better?

[shootniron]

The rounds look really similar to me. Is the lapua performance really that much better?

I am not really sure, but it sounds "badder"...

[RamItOne]

Are you trying to kill an elk at 1000 yards or punch paper

Elk- lapua

Paper - win mag
Edit- paper also consider .308

Lapua def has advantage on energy at long distance
Win mag- good overall ballistics, easier to find/cheaper allowing for more practice

I'm sure Kraig will have some good input

[hooligan1]

The .338 lupua will kill paper and elk, but one needs to be one with that weapon,. If your a 75 lb computer geek with the affinity to be cool in "The Group" then it probably ain't going to work for you.
On the other hand if you knew anything about these weapons and actually purchased one then you wouldn't really care what we had to say right?

[rantingrelentlessly]

Im not a 75 lb computer geek, lol. Im a hunter and pleasure shooter. I have a .300 win mag and am very comfortable with its recoil.

[RamItOne]

Soooooo what are your plans for this rifle

[rantingrelentlessly]

My plans are to target shoot. See how far i can push the range and have something i can take to montana or somewhere and hunt large north american game. I want something i can use and have fun with and pass it down to my son someday. I dont want to just poke holes in paper from long range. I want to smash cinder blocks from long range.

[RamItOne]

Energy will be about double at 1000 yards.
300WM approx 1k ft/lb and 15xx fps 200gr from double tap (150 grain loads much lower energy, 600ish ft/lb)
338 lap approx 2k ft/lb and 17xxfps 300 gr Sierra match king

[GeauxTide]

The price of ammo or components for the Lapua will make you rant relentlessly. With 250gr bullets, you're entering another realm of recoil in either caliber. A 190-200gr bullet in the 300WM is stout for long range target or big game.

[Eppie]

Do you even have access to a 1,000 yard range?
They're far and few in between.

[rantingrelentlessly]

Yes I do. I live in the middle of a national forest. Clear stretches of 1000+ yards are not easy to find around here but abandoned railroad tracks are not. I have a nice flat straight section of well over 1000 yards. My own personal shooting range. I have been target shooting and sighting in rifles there for years. My local sherriff is well aware that I shoot there and has no issue with it.

[Jim Watson]

A .338 Win Mag has approximately the trajectory of a .30-06.
It does not confer much advantage to the target shooter. Less windage with the best high BC bullets, but that is about it. I don't think I have ever seen one at a Long Range match. (NRA definition of Long Range is 800+ yards, with very little beyond 1000.)

The .338 Lapua is big and fast, originally meant for looong range sniping.
I haven't seen one of those at a Long Range match, either. It is popular for the extremely long range specialty shoots, though.

If you are only shooting to 1000 yards, you can get adequate ballistics with less recoil from a heavy .300 or a big 7mm.

[RC20]

As the question was which 338, I would stick with what was asked.

Unless cost is an object, then I would go with the 338 Lapua.

Limb Saver of the like will deal with the recoil.

No downside vs the 338 WM and the 338 WM can't do the things the Lapua can.

[oryx]

Why not look at the .338-378 weathrby mag as well?

[big al hunter]

Pro's for Lapua: faster (300 fps with 250 gr bullets) slightly better trajectory.
Con's more recoil, ammo is special order at most retailers.

Pro's for win mag: less recoil, less expensive =more shooting, ammo available most places.
con's: less velocity, but not much.

Elk can't read ballistics charts, so they probably don't care which one you get (they will be just as dead with either)

The difference in velocity translates to roughly 13 inches more drop at 500 yards for the win mag. The Lapua has 37 inches drop, the win mag has 50. You will be turning dials to hit at that range with either.

If you can afford the Lapua get it. Don't feel like you would be short changed by the win mag if that is what you can afford to shoot. There is not enough difference to matter until after 1000 yards. Then I say Lapua all the way!

[Mezzanine]

If you pass the Lapua onto your son give him a bunch of money with it so he can shoot it.

[tobnpr]

You already have a capable 1K + rifle, so screw the usual crap.

Difference between the .338WM and the .338 LM is about 300 fps with 250's...

The LM can push them to 3000 and better.

If you reload and have the coin, go wildcat. From what I've read, the .338 Edge will give you another 100 fps over the LM.

If you're just looking for an off-the-shelf pick, I'd go with the Lapua.

[PHEASANTPETE]

Biggest difference between the two is $$$. The Lapua will cost close to 3X to shoot, kick harder, require a longer action=slower cycling, be hard to find ammo for, be ridiculed by real hunters of great bears and provide about the same difference between a .308 and a Hornaday lightmag 30-06. If you can't kill it with a .338 Win Mag it is of no fault of the caliber. If money, recoil, and difficulty of cycling a very long action on a charging bruin is no concern then get a .338 Lapua, it looks cool at the range as well. No. 1 choice of Pro guides in Alaska is the .338 Win Mag. See Chuck Hawk's articles for further reference. In short the .338 Win Mag is a practicle hunting round and the Lapua is not. Sorry to respond so late but the .338 is not covered much because most have no need for one unless you hunt where big bears roam as they will home in on the gunshot for an easy meal which the hunter may be on the menu. Gut piles give off strong scents as well and bears have a keen sense of smell so encounters are not uncommon in brown bear country.

[PHEASANTPETE]

Forgot to mention barrel erosion. The Lapua will eat barrels faster as well, no new news there. Accuracy depends mostly on the rifle and shooter but the argument can be made for a shorter powder column and lower velocity. The belted cartridge with a full size rim is much stronger than a non-belted cartridge especially if it has a rebated rim as well. This make for more positive extraction in the case of sticky cartridges, something important with charging bears but of no life or death concern to paper punchers.

Shooting game animals at 1,000 yds? Who do you think you are White Feather? Not an ethical shot any pro guide would endorse. Hitting the animal in the wrong place would allow the animal to run awhile before sufferng a lingering death. Niether would be guaranteed to penetrate well at that range on large CXP 3 game. It is an internet dreamers shot not an ethical one.

[tobnpr]

Zombie thread...

R.I.P.

[Catfish]

With a 250 gr. bullet the Lapua will get you an extra 325 fps. with and extra 20 gr. of powder. Max. point blank range is 325 yards with the Win. and 360 yards the Lupua. With max 250 gr. loads and a 200 yrs. zero the Win. will hit 327 in. low at 1,000 yards and the Lupua 293 in. low.

[Bart B.]

Has anyone desiring to use a 33 caliber rifle shooting 300-gr. bullets out the barrel of a 10-pound rifle hoping to smack cinder blocks at long range ever noticed that no such thing is used in competition with rifles held by humans and fired off their shoulders?

Folks winning the matches and setting the records with shoulder fired rifles at long range switched from the 30 caliber ones on belted cases to rimless ones in 26 caliber in the 1990's for the same reason.

Think about the facts that when several 28 caliber and larger (up through 33) were tested by military forces at ranges up through 1500 yards to pick the one best suited for sniping that the cartridge that produced the best accuracy and first-shot hit numbers on the target was the .300 Win Mag.

And less than 10% of the top ranked long range competitors laying on their belly with rifles and ammo able to keep all their shots in accuracy tests inside 6 inches (same as the best long range benchrest 20 to 30 pound rifles) hit a cinder block size area on a 1000 yard target with their first shot down range. Even after getting zeros on that same range with the same rifle and ammo the previous day.

One word defines and explains the reason such things happen.

Recoil.

That which happens before the bullet leaves the barrel. Nobody holds a rifle perfectly still while there's a monster inside of it pushing you around and moving its point of aim all over the place about your desired point of impact. No wonder large caliber double rifles have their bore axes toed in crossing 10 to 20 yards downrange so they point at the desired point of impact when the bullet leaves their barrels. Their toe-in angle's 7 to 8 MOA; each barrel is half that from the line of sight.

If the affinity to be cool in "The Group" hitting what you shoot at more than 70% of the time is important, then a 33 caliber magnum probably ain't going to work for you. If much lesser percentages are acceptable, then by all means go for it.

[Unlicensed Dremel]

if you are going to go bad...go bad.

Yeah, I'd agree. But depends upon how thick your wallet is and how good your muzzle break is... if either is lacking a bit, go with .338 winmag.