.308 warbird questions.

[Head_Hunter123]

hello im new to the forums, and i had a few questions about the .308 warbird, like recoil. i shoot a.270 and 30.06 2x a week and ready to move up on a long range gun. and my dad pointed this cartridge out. from what i could see the ballistics looked very nice. but i was just concerend of the recoil. any experiences???

 

[460wby]

You might want to take a look at the 300 RUM to.
At least try one. They are not that far away from each other, the 7,82 Warbird and the 300 RUM, then it comes to ballistics..........and recoil.
I think you'll be happy with a RUM as well, because of the price and access for reloading components.

The recoil is stiff, but in a rifle built the right way, its not to bad.

 

[klallen]

In a sporter weight rifle, recoil is relatively stiff, but certainly manageable. Comparison wise, my .270 load using a 130 gr. bullet has recoil #'s around that 17 ft. lb. range. My 7.82 Warbird load, in same weight rifle, using a 180 gr. bullet is in that 47 - 48 ft. lb. range.

I hunted for a couple years without a brake and never noticed the recoil in the field. At the range, it never prevented accurate shooting, but you certainly were aware of it more. Had a Holland QD brake installed by 50 and it's a *****-cat now.

I like mine a great deal. Expensive cases and dies for sure but once these things are purchased, the hard part's done. I've found mine real easy to reload for with real nice performance potential. Good luck to ya. >> klallen

 

[Head_Hunter123]

i planned on a sako rifle but im not really sure which model becasue i dont know if they even offer it or not. if anyone knows what model that sako offers the rifle please let me know. and ammunition availabilty is no problem i have access to the ammo for it. so i plan on having a break put on it but i dont know that much about them and if they help. so any suggestions to the most effective break or if i dont even need one. and like is there any examples that you could put on it. like it kicks like a 30.-06 when it has a break or something like that.

 

[screech]

If you run the ballistics at 1k feet above sea level they are not that impressive. Let me rephrase that, Not as good as they look like on they're web page. For they're price I would look into the ultra mag.

 

[James Jones]

The Warbird and the 300RUM are both in the same class , I personaly would go with the 300 RUM simply because they are so much cheaper to shoot adn I have yet to see any of the Lazz rounds shoot anywhere close to what they list speed wise with their loaded ammo. I think that it is a trearibly over priced hyped up round.

As for the recoil , I think that in a 9-10lb gun it woun't be plesant at all without a brake , anything above 20-25lbs of recoil is generaly not accepted by those that don't shoot alot. With a good brake like baffeled desgine like the Holland and a few other the recoil will more than likly be a bit LESS than your 30-06 , Brakes like the Vais with holes all around are not quiet as effective and they will cover you with dirt if you ever shoot it from prone position on the ground.
If your looking for a good gun to get into the long range shooting and you think that you just have to have a big magnum then I would advise you to buy a Rem Sendero in either 300 RUM or 7mm RUM , have your smith bed it ,work the trigger and recrown the barrel when he installs the brake and I would be willing to be that it will outshoot the Lazz rifle or the Sako and cost about half the price , then you can take the money you saved and put it into a better scope becasue if your scope is crap then your whole rig doesen't work worth a crap!!

But in my oppinion 90% of folks that end up with the big mags and ultras don't need any more power than what a regular 300 win or 7mm rem mag has to offer.
But if you want somthing their is no better reason to get it

 

[bailey1474]

Sako doesn't chamber either the RUM or the over-hyped warbird anymore. If you dig deep enough, I bet you could find an older one though.

If it were me, I'd scrap the Sako idea and get a Sendero 300 RUM. That would make a great started longrange gun. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Head_Hunter123]

thanks for all the reply's i was considering the warbird just because it had great ballistics and now that they arnt seeming that great then what would be a good long range accurate long range rifle?

 

[klallen]

Evening JDJONES >> Now you can say you've at least heard from reputable sources of a Lazz cartridge that meets or exceeds advertised velocities. Published data being 3550 fps from a 27" barrel. My actual load being 3511 fps from a 26" barrel. And accomplishing it pretty easily. Have considered many times getting 50 to rebarrel with a 28" - 30" Lilja, but the way this darn thing is shooting now, I can't bring myself to break it apart.

I don't know what ballistic performance you're looking for "keep what you kill" but the advertised velocity seems to be fairly easy to reach with the new lots of brass I'm getting from Lazz. Mine's the Sako TRG-S. From a performance standpoint in only a 26" barrel, it's right there at the top of the heap of .308 cal. magnums. If ya think cost will be such a debilitating factor for ya, I'd certainly agree with the above suggestions and go with a .300 RUM. It'll get ya close to Warbird performance. But if ya really want a Warbird, I'd definitely search one out. They're a hoot to play with. Good luck to ya. >> klallen

 

[Head_Hunter123]

how does the .308 warbird compare to the .338 lapua mag? and hows the recoil on the lapua ??

 

[klallen]

[ QUOTE ]
how does the .308 warbird compare to the .338 lapua mag? and hows the recoil on the lapua ??

[/ QUOTE ]

The only Lapua I ever shot had a brake on it so it was very comfortable to shoot.

Performance wise, seems like we're kinda comparing apples to oranges with this one. Obviously, you can go with a heavier bullet using a .338 Lapua. Was looking at published stuff off the Hodgdon web site. Says the Lapua will get a 200 gr bullet moving along at almost 3200 fps in the 24" barrel they used. Probably can push it faster. I don't know. I didn't really push my Warbird when I developed my 200 gr. AccuBond load cause of the price of cases, not wanting to loose any, and got just under 3300 fps.

Hornady and Hodgdon publish 2800 - 2880 fps for the Lapua using a 250 gr. bullet. Again, would imagine you could safely push things faster. Lazzeroni's 8.59 (.338) Titan lists 3150 fps with a 250.

Would imagine there's lots of folks on this site that use and have wildcatted that Lapua case so you should get some good performance results for the Lapua. Later. >> klallen

 

[Head_Hunter123]

thanks for all the help. i really appreciate it, i just wanna make the right choice and not be disappointed. im going to be gone for about 10days so im not going to be able to check this until then but. if you had a choice which would you get and why? (.308 warbird vs. .338 lapua)

 

[royinidaho]

[ QUOTE ]
if you had a choice which would you get and why? (.308 warbird vs. .338 lapua)

[/ QUOTE ]

The 338 w/o question. The Laz are pretty much hype and you have to go with their brass. I seriously looked into them awhile back and they didn't measure up. I ended up doing ordering a 270 AM and doing a personal 338 RUM project. Together, on an all around LRH basis, they cover from the spectrum of LR big game rifles. (Though an Edge would be a decent step up)

 

[jmden]

You might carefully consider Fiftydriver's upcoming 300AX if you are looking in the .308 cal class. It'll use 338 Lapua brass so you get the 70K pressure design vs. 65K with virtually everything else. I would guess that it will outperform the Warbird's hyped numbers and with the best brass available. It's likely that the 300AX with 30" barrel will get 3K+ fps with the 265g ULDRBBT Wildcat bullet. That's quite a combination, seems to me...