.300 Norma vs .338 lapua Rem action

Take it with a grain of salt as I am not a Lapua guy but I am currently building my 338 Terminator on a Terminus Helios with the 1.1 threads. Yes, I know it is a little more money.

https://www.terminusactions.com/product/helios/
I don't trust the products from a company that will present an action called an Apollo Light /Ti and when you read the details you find out the Ti part is the recoil lug.
 
I don't trust the products from a company that will present an action called an Apollo Light /Ti and when you read the details you find out the Ti part is the recoil lug.

Its your money. I don't personally see the problem. The action name is Apollo lite/ ti and clearly states 416. Good thing we have options.
 
Build your Lapua/Norma magnum on a Surgeon XL and live happily ever after.

Very bullet proof but you are not going to want to carry it. The mag port is only 3.9" and the ejection port is small. Great option but I think there are better out there.
 
To each his own. In my opinion the XL is the best action in its class. I have two XLs, one 338 Norma improved and one 338 Lapua Improved, and I have never had an issue with either the loading port or ejection port length. I also prefer a bit more mass in my 338 super magnums. I find lightweight 338s very difficult to shoot.
 
The reason for using a custom action for a Lapua bolt face round has nothing to do with the footprint of the action. Rem 700 has a .700" bolt body and theres nothing left around the case rim when you open them up for a Lapua bolt face. If you have a case rupture, theres really nothing to stop the gases escaping the chamber. 700's also usually have smaller bolt lugs.

The customs built for Lapua sized cases have a larger .750" bolt body diameter for the large Lapua bolt face. Recoil lugs usually run all the way to the front of the bolt body (not recessed like a 700) which results in more strength. Also usually better steel and more accurate and even hardening process used by custom actions.
 
Last edited:
Big issue is the thread diameter of the action. When take a Defiance or Kelbly action and increase the bolt diameter, the lugs get smaller in height. The lugs on a Bat HR are a lot larger than a Defiance or Kelbly. Bat runs a .720 bolt with 1-1/8" threads.
 
That's kinda what I'm getting at here. Only so much you can do with a 700 footprint action. I also would not build on a actual 700 but finding most would build on a aftermarket action with the 700 footprint.
I know I can go to a larger action but that limited stock options appear.
Talked to pierce today and they have down a bunch of lapua son the action they have. They just won't use the ti bolt. They have had no issues with them. Similar to the lone peak .338 still a 700 footprint but they say it's safe for a .338.
 
That's kinda what I'm getting at here. Only so much you can do with a 700 footprint action. I also would not build on a actual 700 but finding most would build on a aftermarket action with the 700 footprint.
I know I can go to a larger action but that limited stock options appear.
Talked to pierce today and they have down a bunch of lapua son the action they have. They just won't use the ti bolt. They have had no issues with them. Similar to the lone peak .338 still a 700 footprint but they say it's safe for a .338.

He's mistaken. A BAT HR action has a 700 footprint. If an action has a true 700 footprint, it cannot have a receiver diameter larger than 1.350" or it will not fit in Remington 700 stocks. But the receiver tenon thread diameter on the HR is larger than a Remington factory action and some of the aftermarket actions. But there are other aftermarket 700 footprint actions that also use a larger tenon diameter.

BAT maked actions that have a larger receiver diameters as well if you want to go that route, but those wont be a 700 footprint.

Some after market actions also integrate picatinny rails and recoil lugs to the receiver which add strength and rigidity.

A larger tenon leaves more barrel steel around the chamber when reamed out for the wide Lapua case body. Just be aware that the barrel shank must have a minimum of 1.250" diameter to work with the larger 1.125" tenon of the BAT HR.
 
Last edited:
This is what I was getting at just didn't know how to say it.
Just found it odd that some people seem ok doing it on a 700 foot print action others don't. I personally think Kirby had the right take. Yes a factory 700 can work if staying reasonable with loads. Not going over known safe speed because lapua brass can hide pressure so easy.
So my thought is if you use an aftermarket action and still load to safe known speeds you should have that slight added layer of protection over the factory.
Ideally a bigger cheytac action would be great but not a ton of stock options available for that.
Just kinda got me wondering why people were ok doing Norma based rounds on a aftermarket 700 action but said no way to a lapua.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 6 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top