hitting way high

[SidecarFlip]

Kind of reminds me of why people went goo goo over Smith and Wesson 44 magnum revolvers when the Dirty Harry 'Make my Day' movie came out. People bought them and expected to shoot full house loads one handed. Many learned the hard way, many sold their Smith's.

I happen to own a 27 2 screw long barreled 'Dirty Harry' Smith. It a great sidearm and a great hunting (deer or bear) revolver but it's not a one hand piece, at least if you want to hit something other than yourself in the face.....

I shoot 240 grain Sierra FMJHP's with 21.5 grains of Lil'Gun in Starline brass. It's a hellacious kicker and a hellaciuos killer too.

One guy in our group has a 500 magnum because he can. Its about as useful as udders on a male donkey. It looks sinister, it's heavy and even braked, kicks worse than my 44.

The same thing applies to the 338 in any flavor, whether it's a Savage or TRG or whatever brand. In most people's hands, it's not a viable and user friendly hunting rifle.

Don't get me wrong, there are a select few that can use the potential of a 338 Lapua, not many though.

I have one for the ocassional need out west, but it's certainly not my 'go to' stick. It's like having the biggest hammer in a toolbox for that special use when a small hammer isn't enough.

I've owned one for about 6 years and in that time I may have shot it 30 times (including sighting it in (and it wasn't at 100 yards either.). Like the poster in post 10 stated, 300 yards MINIMUM. Then you might have enough elevation adjustment...might.

 

[Cuz]

Bullets start falling as soon as they leave the barrel. Gravity. To sight in at 100 yds a bullet must start out below the scope so the scope is adjusted down which makes the bore be angled up to compensate. A bullet will cross the line of sight twice if your sighted in at 100 yds, once coming up at about 50-60 and then coming down at 100. This happens because the scope is pointing down, allowing the bore to be raised. The only way for a bullet to rise is if the muzzle is tilted up. I have the same rifle with a 338 norma barrel and use a 40 minute base and have no problem at 100 although i am close to the end of adjustment.

 

[mmk]

Ok not trying to be rude here just asking questions. You are saying that there is no way to hit even close at 100 with a 338 lm. I understand its not a 100 yard round but to me it makes sense that to hit on at 300 ( which was stated to be my starting point ) I would be probably 4 inches high at 100. But I'm not I'm 30 inches high. I just want to ask all you guys that hunt with a 338 lm if a elk steps out in front of you at 100 yards do you aim 2 feet under its chest to hit it.

 

[Cuz]

30 inches high at 100 yds will make it on sight at around 1000 yds or more. Something is out of line. Measure your rings to make sure they are the same. Also if you can set your rifle in a sled or vise and run your elevation turret up and down to make sure it is tracking properly. It could be possible the scope tube is bent . I would mount another scope. Start eliminating possible causes one at a time.

 

[snowpro440]

Read post number 10....

A 338 Lapua 250 or 300 grain pill climbs to 500 yards and then levells off. Plain and simple. You cannot shoot a 338 Lapua at 100 yards (let alone 50) and hit a target without an extreme amount of MOA or MIL adjustment. It's not a 100 yard rifle. If you want to shoot 100 yards with out an extreme amount of elevation adjustment shoot a lesser caliber like say a 223.

To the OP, don't take the brake off and expect to survive more than one ignition without serious shoulder brusing. The 338 Lapua unbraked is one of the most abrupt and hardest recoiling ronds out there.

I'd never pull my brake. Thats insane, but it's your shoulder, not mine.

Please read and examine bullet trajectory and line of sight chart as it will give you the answer your looking for , as this may help you understand what your saying with the right information . 338 Bullets don't climb to 500 yards nor .223

 

[westcliffe01]

To the OP.. If the rifle is built correctly, all it should take is 20MOA of down to put the aiming point on the target. You are using 32.5 and it is still off by 16 so something is out of whack by nearly 30MOA.

The easiest suggestion I would make is to get a 0 degree one piece base. That should allow you to sight in within your range of adjustment. The fact remains that something is off by nearly 30MOA. So long as you leave the barrel and action alone, if a "flat" rail lets you sight in, I would leave it as is. If you return it to Savage, they will bend the barrel to tweak out the 30MOA and I don't know how it will shoot after that.

If the flat base does not get you there, it will likely just take a small shim and some bedding compound under the base to get you perfect. No big deal. Sad when factory rifles get sold like this, but one gets this from every factory gun maker in the US.

I recommend a Warne steel 1 piece base. It also comes with high quality screws.

If your gunsmith does anything except shim the scope base he may void your warranty.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Kind of reminds me of why people went goo goo I happen to own a 27 2 screw long barreled 'Dirty Harry' Smith. It a great sidearm and a great hunting (deer or bear) revolver but it's not a one hand piece, at least if you want to hit something other than yourself in the face.....

I shoot 240 grain Sierra FMJHP's with 21.5 grains of Lil'Gun in Starline brass. It's a hellacious kicker and a hellaciuos killer too.



Is that a typo, that you shoot a 240 grain bullet from a .357 ?? Or is the model 27 a typo ?? 27 is a .357, and the .44 mag was a model 29.

 

[Nimrodmar10]

My first thought would be, with the 50mm scope, 20 MOA base and Millet extra low rings, is the front bell of the scope hitting the barrel? If it's not hitting the barrel, then get a 40 MOA base and put it on. But the 20 MOA base should be enough.

I own a Remington 700 in .338 Lapua Magnum. It has a Vortex Razor scope on it with high Vortex rings. I sight it in dead on at 100 yards, then if I shoot farther than that, I just dial the elevation up the correct number of MOA to make it hit dead on at that range. At 1000 yards, with a Sierra 300 grain SMK, that is 22 MOA. Forget about setting it dead on at 300 yards, with the scope you've got, you're going to dial your elevation for long range.

 

[mmk]

The scope bell is clear of the barrel. Im thinking it is a scope issue. I put my rifle in a vice and when I dial the scope through its entire elevation adjustment it adjusts about 30 moa, but at that point the turret spins another 25 moa or so but the retical quits moving. I put another scope on and this one's going back to vortex. I hopefully will get to try it tomorrow and if this doesn't fix it I will try a 0 moa base. Thanks everyone.

 

[Cuz]

Let us know how it works with a different scope, 20 moa base should let you dial from 100 to well past 1000. I am betting it is a scope issue.

 

[mmk]

Well I shot with the other scope today and still hitting high. I guess next ill try a 0moa base.

 

[Cuz]

Just some other thoughts, check that the barrel free floated all the way back to the action, no upwards pressure. I guess it is possible that the barrel could be bent enough to cause it to be off that much. I don't think a 0 moa base will fix the problem. I have one of the 20 moa bases that came with savage rifles in my shop. I will measure it. You might be able to take the action out of the stock and lay the barrel on a table with the action hanging off and roll it to see if the action looks in line with the barrel. Might be able to see something. Otherwise a trip to the gunsmith might be in order.

 

[westcliffe01]

If the 0 moa base does not fix it, the rifle needs to go back to Savage. It is a $1000+ rifle after all. If the smith touches anything his warranty is void.

 

[Bravo 4]

Read post number 10....

A 338 Lapua 250 or 300 grain pill climbs to 500 yards and then levells off. Plain and simple. You cannot shoot a 338 Lapua at 100 yards (let alone 50) and hit a target without an extreme amount of MOA or MIL adjustment. It's not a 100 yard rifle. If you want to shoot 100 yards with out an extreme amount of elevation adjustment shoot a lesser caliber like say a 223.

To the OP, don't take the brake off and expect to survive more than one ignition without serious shoulder brusing. The 338 Lapua unbraked is one of the most abrupt and hardest recoiling ronds out there.

I'd never pull my brake. Thats insane, but it's your shoulder, not mine.

Wow! The first paragraph is some of the worst advise I have ever seen on this website, or any other for that matter. Your 3,500 + post count should be deleted back to zero because people look at things like that and think you are experienced and maybe know what you're talking about. With this you clearly don't.

The advice by another to pull the brake isn't actually bad either, at least to look for any kind of strikes from the projectile passing through. Even then if you ran a couple rounds through it and never did it again at least you would know if there was a crazy POI change and eliminate that as the culprit. If anything you would learn how much the brake takes out of the felt recoil and why people use them.