338... a revisit on a specific build.

[elkaholic]

One of the great things about the SS is it is so under bore, the barrel length is not near as critical as the big magnums. With a 24" barrel the biggest difference between a rum and the SS is a hat full of powder

 

[wonderman4]

First, I haven't read all the posts, but most of them.

In case no one has mentioned it, a suppressor will not reduce recoil, but a muzzle brake will.

As far as the rifle, buy a Weatherby in 340 Wea. It will shoot out of the box. No need to form cases. Just pick a **** good bullet (I like the Cutting Edge) and make some noise. With a brake, all of them are loud.

 

[surgeon260]

In case no one has mentioned it, a suppressor will not reduce recoil, but a muzzle brake will.

This is false. A suppressor absolutely reduces recoil. There are two components to recoil: energy and velocity. In my experience, brakes are better at reducing recoil energy, while suppressors are better at reducing recoil velocity (i.e. elongating the recoil impulse). I will take a suppressor over a brake every time. The fact that they completely eliminate muzzle blast is icing on the cake.

 

[AAP]

This is false. A suppressor absolutely reduces recoil. There are two components to recoil: energy and velocity. In my experience, brakes are better at reducing recoil energy, while suppressors are better at reducing recoil velocity (i.e. elongating the recoil impulse). I will take a suppressor over a brake every time. The fact that they completely eliminate muzzle blast is icing on the cake.

A can will reduce recoil close to that of a brake.

 

[James D Crawford]

no matter what you build sound like its going to be a beast. not sure how light you can make a 338 but any of those will work great. i vote lapua or rum

If it's to be under 11#, can he tolerate the recoil of the heavier bullets necessary to claim an elk at 1k yards? Recoil can kill accuracy at any range, but 1,000 yards makes it a very critical factor. I've known men who were 6'4" tall weighing 245# that could'nt handle more than a 243 Win with out flinching & pulling shots. I also know other shrimps like me who can shoot 375 H&H all day with tack driving accuracy. It's the way we are built...frame size, nervous system, & one's ability to mentally focus beyond any discomfort that promotes getting the most out of the rifle/load combination. Personally, my upper limit for inside MOA accurate shooting with a hunting weight rifle is 7mm Rem mag...but that's me!!!

 

[bigngreen]

On thing you gotta decide is if you want to kill elk at 1000 or do you want to knock it's weenier in the dirt at 1000. There are a plethora of chamberings that will do decent at killing elk at range but if you really want to pole axe onr the 338's OR BIG 300's are where it's at. It sounds like this will also be a rifle to learn shooting at long ranges, learning and big 300's are not a combo for barrel life and load consistency, the low end of the larger 338's are an excellent place to learn with IMO, barrel life is long and your load will be good for hundreds of rounds before the throat moves. I would let your choice of action dictate if you build a magum case head or a Lapua class case as really that's the difference, you can get the same velocity with the same bullets from both.

 

[Kristopher Megahan]

First, I haven't read all the posts, but most of them.

In case no one has mentioned it, a suppressor will not reduce recoil, but a muzzle brake will.

As far as the rifle, buy a Weatherby in 340 Wea. It will shoot out of the box. No need to form cases. Just pick a ---- good bullet (I like the Cutting Edge) and make some noise. With a brake, all of them are loud.

The suppressor reduces recoil and stabilizes the muzzle in every case where I use it.I cant quantify it, but I promise you it is significant.

 

[Kristopher Megahan]

On thing you gotta decide is if you want to kill elk at 1000 or do you want to knock it's weenier in the dirt at 1000. There are a plethora of chamberings that will do decent at killing elk at range but if you really want to pole axe onr the 338's OR BIG 300's are where it's at. It sounds like this will also be a rifle to learn shooting at long ranges, learning and big 300's are not a combo for barrel life and load consistency, the low end of the larger 338's are an excellent place to learn with IMO, barrel life is long and your load will be good for hundreds of rounds before the throat moves. I would let your choice of action dictate if you build a magum case head or a Lapua class case as really that's the difference, you can get the same velocity with the same bullets from both.

Great insight...

 

[zb338]

My Son shoots a .340 Weatherby. It is suppressed and is the factory
plastic stocked Mark V. It has hardly any recoil at least not enough to
bother anyone. I have a custom .338 Win' with nothing on it. Not even
a recoil pad and I don't think it kicks that much. The trick is a nicely
shaped stock. I have shot factory stocked .338s that knock the wind
out of you.

 

[TG-5150]

Great insight...

Going with the .338 SS would be a great gun to hone LR skills.

 

[Kristopher Megahan]

On thing you gotta decide is if you want to kill elk at 1000 or do you want to knock it's weenier in the dirt at 1000. There are a plethora of chamberings that will do decent at killing elk at range but if you really want to pole axe onr the 338's OR BIG 300's are where it's at. It sounds like this will also be a rifle to learn shooting at long ranges, learning and big 300's are not a combo for barrel life and load consistency, the low end of the larger 338's are an excellent place to learn with IMO, barrel life is long and your load will be good for hundreds of rounds before the throat moves. I would let your choice of action dictate if you build a magum case head or a Lapua class case as really that's the difference, you can get the same velocity with the same bullets from both.

Knock its wiener off. My current high velocity 6.5 (100 gr Nosler BT) and 300 WM (110gr gmx) loads (3200 and 3500 respectively) kill things very dead at 300- 400 yards where I shoot right now. I am not in this to practice tracking! I will have to learn a lot more about 338's and how they act terminal, but I have grown to love fast bullets....whatever case ends up on this build, I can promise Barnes and Gmx 185's will be in the test groups that get put through this rifle.

 

[Orange Dust]

Knock its wiener off. My current high velocity 6.5 (100 gr Nosler BT) and 300 WM (110gr gmx) loads (3200 and 3500 respectively) kill things very dead at 300- 400 yards where I shoot right now. I am not in this to practice tracking! I will have to learn a lot more about 338's and how they act terminal, but I have grown to love fast bullets....whatever case ends up on this build, I can promise Barnes and Gmx 185's will be in the test groups that get put through this rifle.

Heavy VLD bullets are where it is at at long range. Wind deflection and retained energy.

 

[Sanford338]

I am new to the forums. When I got here the first thing I did was search and read, but I wasn't satisfied. I hope to re-stimulate this conversation and get some new insights.

I currently shoot "long" (<-- Recognise this is relative) with a 6.5-284 Norma I built. I love it, but I have been shooting it a long time and I want to hunt further. I regularly and effectively take down white tails and pigs at 300-400 yards without difficulty (several kills a year and zero losses, rarely do I have to track more than a few yards), but I want to reach out further and I believe, 338 it the way to do that. It should be noted that I reload. So....

338...

• I want it to be as light as possible and as short as possible. It will always be suppressed...So how light can it be? How short can it be? Remember it will always have a suppressor on the end.
• This is not a discussion about platforms, as I am working that out on my own, though I will take input on platforms should someone feel the need to profess. The final rifle will be a bolt with a magazine though, so the cartridge will need to reliably feed from a magazine.
• For this thought experiment, I want a rifle that can shoot and kill a bull elk ethically at 1000 yds, so that If I can ever get good enough to do it, the rifle is there with me.
• Which one? I reload, but I don't form my own brass, and I like being able to reload the same brass a lot. RUM? Lapua? Nosler? Norma?
• Thoughts on Chamber dimensions? Barrel will be custom, I can cut the chamber to saami and then load for what works in it, but I would love to here if you guys have found a custom leade length and throat that worked well for you in a given caliber.
• Rifling stlyes?
• Twist rate?

I look forward to the collective wisdom of this group.

Kristopher

 

[AKdan]

I run a 338 Lapua with a 22" barrel and a lighter stock. The barrel was 28" but I ended up cutting it down since I acquired my suppressor and the 28 with the can was a hundred miles long. It's a heavily flutted med Palma contour with a light weight stock and a vortex hslr FFP scope(about 24 oz). Total weight with a hybrid 46 can, 3 rounds, stock pack, and sling is 10.1 lbs. I am getting 2700 FPS with 300 gr accubonds. I am going to try some 265 with some faster burning powder, just haven't gotten to it yet. I put an anchor brake on the can and it makes a ton of difference on the 338. Without it there is a ton of recoil. The can definitely slows the recoil, but there is a greater push than with the brake.... still the first time I shot the rifle with the can I threw the brake in the bushes....the hybrid is a small can for the 338, but I wanted a smaller can over a giant(quieter and $$$$) can as it still is very pleasant to shoot and now very maneuverable. I may rebarrel my Sako's to a 20-22" barrel in either a 33 or 375 caliber . I am loving the short suppressed rifles.