.338 or stick with .308?

[C.L.]

I love long range precision shooting. I can consistantly hit jug size targets out at 1000 meters with my Remington 700 chambered in .308 WIN. Here is my question. I have been considering getting a rifle chambered in .338 and I am having a hard time justifying whether or not it would be a good buy.

I have always been facinated by the .338 balistics and think it would be awesome to have a rifle chambered in it. However, there is only one place I can shoot that extends beyond 1000 meters (its only by a couple 100 meters more) and the 3 rifles I am looking at are in the $5000 range. So I'd like some opinions and hear what you all think.

I plan on buying a FNH SCAR 17S (the one chambers in .308) so that would put me with 2 guns chambered in .308 WIN. Just thought Id put that info out there as well.

The 3 rifles I am looking at are:
- Remington 40-XS
- Accuracy International AW or AX Series
- BARRETT 98B (in .338 of course)

Again, Let me know what ya think. I want all kinds of opinions, info, whatever you got. Im just looking for some insight. Thanks for the help!

[PawPaw]

I have been considering getting a rifle chambered in .338 and I am having a hard time justifying whether or not it would be a good buy.

The only person you have to justify it to is yourself. Admittedly, the .338 is a gap I have in my caliber line-up, but I'm a short-range kind of guy. My rifles and the areas I hunt don't lend themselves to long-range precision shooting. Still, the .338 Federal haunts me sometimes. For no particular reason. My .30-06 and .308s are perfectly capable of taking all the shots that I might find in a normal outing.

But again, the only person you have to justify it to is yourself. If you feel that the .338 is the right caliber for your game, whether paper or tissue, then it's the rifle you should have.

[5RWill]

If your only going a couple 100m beyond 1000m it would be much easier on your wallet and shoulder to get a .300 Win mag if your wanting a magnum. Or you could get a 7mm Mag, 7mm WSM, or .284 Win. Hell a 6.5-284 will work. Unless your shooting around 1500m and beyond the .338 is a bit pricey to justify getting it over any of the calibers listed above. Also why not just go custom? I would run you cheaper than the AI and you'd have everything YOU want on it. The AI is great don't get me wrong but 5,000$ for a rifle alone is expensive. If you dead set on a Factory production .338 look at Sako TRG-42 shoots lights out, and is half the price of the AI.

[C.L.]

Blackops_2: I had thought about the 300 Win mag and the 6.8, i havent done much research on the other calibers you listed.

PawPaw: I agree with ya. The only person that needs to justify it is me.. I just wanted some opinions and maybe views I hadnt thought about. Just like what you said, for what I want to do, the .308 is fine. It would probably be easier on me for reloading as well.

Thanks for both of your comments.

[chasep255]

Are you talking about 338 Federal or 338 Lapua Mag?

[C.L.]

.338 Lapua Mag.. Sorry for the confusion...

[5RWill]

I forgot to mention the price of .338 ammo. Reloading it's nearly 5$ a shell, and i'm sure factory ammo is more. Looking at brass prices it's 50+ dollars for 25 or more. I love the round and will eventually have one, and don't mean to steer you away from it so to speak but it's just an expensive platform from every angle you look at it.

Here's a GAP 7WSM @ 1400yds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcNn_BbtelY

Here's the same 7WSM @ 2000yds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5G13N3Yd3w

[TX Hunter]

There would be nothing wrong with adding the .338 Lapua to your arsenel.
I do admire your skill with your .308 It takes alot of dicipline, and skill to acomplish such a feat.
Congratulations.

[SauerJackson]

My buddy has a Armalight in .338, its a lot of fun to shoot, although we have never had the chance to shoot at 1,000yds n even pretend to be on your level..... I found the recoil significantly less then I had expected, my slug gun kicks more than that thing. But we've had to use mostly factory loads, and the cost of use is just RIDICULOUS!!! At least around here, a box of decent lapua rounds is gonna cost you $80-100. In the last year its barely even been looked at, why pay that much when we can shoot almost 4x the ammo (of all flavors) outta the M82A1 for the same price.....

[NESHOOTER]

blackops is right on that stopped me in that particular direction so I went to the 7 mag in its place the brass let alone the powder consumption is something that will shake you in your boots. cabelas had the savage 110 tac somewhere in the price of 1300 but the cost of the reloading items pushed it well over what I choose to spend I can shoot 3 to 1 in favor of the .308....

[Zak Smith]

Buy a .260 or 7 RM or WSM.

[mapsjanhere]

If you really want a 338 and are a reloader, look at the 338 Edge. It's a 300 RUM blown out to 338, so your brass is $1 a shot with no belt to shorten brass life.

[ndking1126]

To me, the .338 Lapua is a "status" caliber. It's like driving a Hyabusa.. you drive it so people see you driving it. Yeah, it's a great caliber and can make for an awesome long range weapon, but there are other options that make more sense, especially when finances come into play.

I agree though, if you want it.. go for it. I'd rather spend less per trigger pull and pull it more often

[Eagle0711]

Wow CL, that's great shooting. I'd give my left nut to be able to do that.

The country ( out of town ) is very steep, and 400 yards is about all that Iv'e been able to find. The range has 500 yards, but it's always crowded, and holding other shooters up while changing targets is a hassel.

That 338 Lapua is expensive. I see shooters investing about 10 grand and with the scopes, abd hi- tech equiptment makes it fairly easy to make 1,000 yard hits.

If you want to step up in power the 300 Win. mag. or 338 mag., not the Lapua makes sense. One advantage with the Lapua is penetrating plated body armor at 1,000 yards.

It's your money, if you can afford the Lapua and it's ammo it would be a great choice. Good Luck with yours.

[SauerJackson]

If you wanna keep it super sexy and exotic, why not go with a .416 Barrett....??

[C.L.]

I appreciate the kind words about my shooting. Its taken a lot of time and a lot of rounds down range to be able to do that. I wish I could be this accurate with a handgun (not 1000 yards accurate, you know what i mean).

I have decided to hold off on the .338 and just keep shooting the .308. I might look into some of the rounds you all have mentioned. 300 win mag, 7 wsm, and the 6.5. I appreciate all your comments and has really helped me make a decision. I might pick one up later on down the road, but right now its not fisable.

ndking1126: I liked what you said about the hyabusa lol.

SauerJackson: .416 Barrett? haha, last time i saw a rifle chambered in it.. it was like $14,000. Too rich for my blood. Yea, if you stopped firing it because the ammunition is too expensive, i would probably do the same down the road.

[5RWill]

All three you listed are great with the WSM and 6.5 having more sufficient barrel life. Both have some great bullets. Berger has the 168gr VLD (G1 BC .617 G7 .316) and 180gr VLD (G1 BC .659 G7 .337) The 6.5s are a little lower. Both can be run on a short action (7WSM & .260AI) with minimum recoil and manage near .300 win mag ballistics. But if you want a .300 win mag i understand because i want one too lol. The .30 cal bullet's BC really hits it's stride once you the 190gr and up, my favorite is the 240gr SMK with an acclaimed G1 BC of .771 if you could push them 2950fps, your looking at the bullet staying supersonic till 1500yds , of course the other's will just about do it too. But sometimes you just need to fill that magnum niche. And while i prefer short action cartridges, there is nothing taking the .300Wby out and watching it kick dust everywhere, while hearing the distinct "shing" of ejecting that magnum casing

[C.L.]

Why did you have to go and say that blackops? Now i want a magnum again. Supersonic to upwards of 1500 yards? Now that is sexy...

[5RWill]

Well thats theoretically if you could push the 240gr SMK @ 2950fps i imagine barrel length would need to be 28+ to achieve it without approaching pressure signs and so on but i'm not positive. But at 2950fps the 240gr SMK at 1500yds has almost the exact same speed as my .308 load at 1000yds which is 1206fps. I say go for the .300 mag only downside you'd be looking at is barrel life.

Then again you could have a 7mm rem mag or a 7mm-win mag that would probably do the same with less recoil and lighter bullets.

[mapsjanhere]

I haven't found any loads in 300 WM that can take the 240 gr SMK to 2950, that's the top speed I can get in 300 RUM. So now there's a fine round

[5RWill]

.300 RUM or .30-.338L should get the job done nicely.

[wwd88888]

Do you have access to a range greater than 1000m? If not, then the .308 is less expensive, and probably better training. A .338 would make 1000m shots much easier; a .308 would take more skill.

You could always downgrade to a 6.5 and get similar ballistics to a .300 wm, and a lot less expensive ammo for practicing.

[Fullboar]

First of all I know of a couple of guys with Barrett 98's in 338lm and accuracy is not very good at all. IMO the guns to look at are the Accuracy International AW or AX magnum and the Sako TRG42 (If you want something a bit cheaper I have heard the Savage 110BA is not to bad as well).
http://www.sako.fi/sakotrgmodels.php?trg42
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/110BA

Like wwd88888 said look at a 6.5mm like the 260 remington, less wind drift and better trajectory then the 300 win mag (it also hit the 1000 yard mark with over 85% of the 300wm energy). The good thing about the 260rem is you dont have to spend a crap load of money (like with a magnum) to get magnum performance and you can shoot it alot without costing you an arm and a leg. Here is a good article on why the 260rem is so good for longrange shooting (some things have changed like Lapua now make brass for the 260rem)
http://demigodllc.com/articles/the-c...260-remington/

You can change your rem 700 in 308 to a 260rem with just a barrel change or if you want a new gun in 260rem and money is no object I would recommend the Accuracy International Aw or AE in 308 and change the barrel to a 260rem (you will have no problem selling the AI 308 barrel for really good money) or the Sako TRG22 in 308 (change the barrel to 260rem) or if you want something cheaper again I have heard good things about the Savage 10BA (and you should be able to purchase that in 260rem from the Savage Custom Shop or you could buy the new Tikka Sporter in 260rem).
http://www.sako.fi/sakotrgmodels.php?trg22
http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/10BA
http://www.tikka.fi/t3models.php?sporter
http://www.tikka.fi/pdf/specs/T3_Sporter.pdf

I use a standard Tikka Varmint in 260 (in a custom made stock) for F-Class and it not to bad so you don't have to spend alot of money to get a shooter.
http://www.tikka.fi/t3models.php?varmintss
Anyway good luck with whatever you choose.