Which 338 to build?

[Timnterra]

Well I'm going to injoy this thread ! Ha ha

Tim I have a few questions for you but first you answered your own question already when I read I have a 300 Rum donor action !

Now you just need to flip a coin or better yet when your buddy asks you ...what 338 do you have ? What is going to make you happy everytime you say it . Edge or Rum .

I dont want to sound stupid or crazy about this .
I have lots of trigger time with both the 338 Edge and the 338 Rum .
Absolutely no time with the Lapua or the Norma and I'm sure I wont .
If speed and velocity is your goal then head to the 33XC.
So in putting together 6 338's I have found that the Edge and the Rum are so close it's a toss up .
Here is a few questions:
What are your goals with this Rifle ? Bench shooting ? Packing in the Mountains? Carbon barrel ? Super light weight build ? What bullet are you leaning to ?

I have did them all , light weight Edge and Rum came out finnished in the same way. Both at 10.6 pounds complete .
Both running the 300 gr bergers at 2883 and 2884 ft.per.sec. same build specks . Remington action , 30 " barrel plus brake , timney trigger.
Are your goals 1000 yards ? 1500 yrd. 2000 yrd . Or past ?
I pushed my heavy 338 Edge from 3 in the same hole at 100 yards to a 26 3/4" 3 shot group at 3027 yards . 1.72 miles .

Sorry so long winded here guys !
I wish you were close we could look at my countless hrs of data in my book .
No I'm not a Pro or even trained in anyway , just hands on experience.

So all that said it would determine what I had or could find , brass and dies , components wise . 338 Rum or 338 Edge no bad choice here !
I took my Last fall Bull Elk at 1244 yrds with the 338 Edge and 300 gr bergers Eh .
It was a Amazing day for me !
Good luck in your choice !
If I can help in anyway give me a shout !

Rum Man

My goal/ intent with this rifle is to kill big game, namely elk At extended ranges (past where I would use my 7mm -300win mag Or my 300 wsm). The rifle will probably end up being around 10lbs without the scope. I have all the rifle components already Mcmillan HTG black grey swirly stock, 28" Lilja fluted sendero 1-10" twist barrel, Fat bastard muzzle brake, Remington 300 rum BDL action, jewell hvrt trigger, Wyatts extended box magazine. I haven't piled the parts on the scale but I'm thinking it's around 10-11lbs unscoped. I'm planning on shooting the Berger 300gr EH Or the Hornady 285gr eldm depending on which one the barrel likes better but I'm leaning towards the Berger. Right now Rum and Edge brass are available from ADG it's the dies I'm having a hard time finding. I have. Widden set of 300 rum FL bushing dies but it looks like the die mouth needs to be opened up for the 338 neck to fit through to the bushing. And the seater will not fit without some machining and a new seating stem. I'm thinking I might as well get a whole new die set anyway and the Rum dies are easier to find. Maybe I'm just over thinking this whole thing...

 

[Rum Man]

Well the Rum dies should be easy to find and you can get factory ammo if your in a pinch .

I second the 300 gr Elite hunters.
I run H-1000 & Cci mag 250 primers .
All of my 338's are 1/10 twist .
Seems to me the 338 Rum is the winner !
I have some ADG brass but never used it . The Remington brass has been just fine for me .
If your starting fresh then just get ADG . I haven't seen or heard one complaint yet .
I can wait to see your build and the results!!

Rum Man

 

[Timnterra]

Well the Rum dies should be easy to find and you can get factory ammo if your in a pinch .

I second the 300 gr Elite hunters.
I run H-1000 & Cci mag 250 primers .
All of my 338's are 1/10 twist .
Seems to me the 338 Rum is the winner !
I have some ADG brass but never used it . The Remington brass has been just fine for me .
If your starting fresh then just get ADG . I haven't seen or heard one complaint yet .
I can wait to see your build and the results!!

Rum Man

What length throat are you running in your Rum and edge chambers? I assume the SAAMI spec chamber is leaving performance on the table with the longer bullets. I'd like to have a repeater with as much powder space as possible.

 

[bdyal1972]

Hello my fellow 338 WHORES!!!

I HAVE A LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE 338.

If I had to pick a new one???

For over the counter usefulness 338 lapua...
338rum edge norma are cool but limited as to ammo...

If I MUST MAKE THE AMMO MYSELF:



338 ENABLR




HANDS DOWN, MORE ACCURACY, LONGER Barrel life, will shoot farther than you can hit man or beast....




Just my 2 cents after melting over 100 338 barrels!!! Lol

 

[Wolf76]

What length throat are you running in your Rum and edge chambers? I assume the SAAMI spec chamber is leaving performance on the table with the longer bullets. I'd like to have a repeater with as much powder space as possible.

The Smith will adjust your throat based on a dummy round.
Moving the COAL out 3 tenths of an inch is huge for powder capacity. My 26" barrel shoots as fast as some longer barrels because of this.
I have accuracy loads for the 300 Berger + Accubond and the 260 hammer bullets. I'm going to hunt with the 260 because it's an honest sub .5 moa and 3K fps. Nothing will walk away from the any of the bullets with decent placement.
I went with the edge due to brass. You can neck up 300 rum or buy original 338 edge brass. 338 rum is basically stuck with original headstamp brass. In fact, my edge started off as a factory 338 rum, but the crappy thin barrel and lack of brass made the decision easy. It now wears a HCA CF barrel/mcmillan thumbhole/trigger tech. Its my most expensive build yet.

 

[Wolf76]

Hello my fellow 338 WHORES!!

You forgot "With all due respect..."

 

[Lefty G-gear]

I'm filling a big hole in my cartridge line up with a big boomer. I've been set on the 338 edge, but shopping around for dies and brass has been a little frustrating. This has got me thinking about opening up my options. I'm now debating between the 338 Rum, 338 Edge, 338 lapua and the 338 Norma. I will not be doing an improved chamber of any kind because I don't have time or a desire to fire form. Lapua brass and dies seem to be everywhere and no more expensive than any other. I was going to use a 300 Rum donor action so the bolt change for the lapua and NM factor in a little. What would you build?

AMMO
.338 LAPUA (2.39-rd.)

.338 Lapua Mag Ammo

In-stock best prices for 338 Lapua Mag Ammo | Bulk 338 Lapua Mag Ammunition - AmmoSeek.com

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.338 RUM ($2.00-rd.)

.338 RUM Ammo

In-stock best prices for 338 RUM Ammo | Best 338 RUM Ammunition - AmmoSeek.com

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-----------------------------
RIFLES
.338 LAPUA

338 Lapua Magnum Rifles For Sale (Caliber/Gauge: 338 Lapua Magnum) (Other Filters: Show Only In-Stock Items) - Buds Gun Shop

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.338 RUM
NONE ?

I had a couple .338 RUMs and they shot and killed good - but with the muzzle brake they give you a headache after 10-rds.

I like my Dad's .338 Winchester Magnum better, and it can shoot 210-gr. Nosler Partitions into 3/8-inch groups, at about 2950-fps! with 70-something grains of IMR-4350 vs 103-grs. of Retumbo in the .338 RUM (same bullet) at about 3,100-fps!

I recommend the (now underrated) regular .338 WM with no muzzle brake.

338 Win Mag Rifles (In Stock Products Only) for Sale - Buds Gun Shop

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L.E. Wilson Adjustable Case Gage 338 Winchester Magnum

L.E. Wilson Adjustable Case Gauge 338 Winchester Magnum Technical Information: Material: Steel Precision Machining -This is a two-piece, adjustable cylinder-type gauge for checking fired and resized cartridge cases for cone-to-head and overall length -Used to compare cartridges against...

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

And I recommend the .300 RUM for your RUM action. - with no muzzle brake.

 

[CCAguns]

Not sure why you wouldn't consider the .340 Weatherby? Same ballistics as the 338 Lapua. Handles longer bullets. Plenty of Norma-made Weatherby brass available as most Weatherby shooters use only factory ammo. Dies readily available. Elmer Keith stated it was the finest long-range, big game cartridge he ever used!!!

 

[JC in Calif]

I'm filling a big hole in my cartridge line up with a big boomer. I've been set on the 338 edge, but shopping around for dies and brass has been a little frustrating. This has got me thinking about opening up my options. I'm now debating between the 338 Rum, 338 Edge, 338 lapua and the 338 Norma. I will not be doing an improved chamber of any kind because I don't have time or a desire to fire form. Lapua brass and dies seem to be everywhere and no more expensive than any other. I was going to use a 300 Rum donor action so the bolt change for the lapua and NM factor in a little. What would you build?

I would build a 338/06. Lots of brass, standard powers, long action, reasonable recoil.

 

[MTbackwoods]

I have a 338 RUM with a McGowen barrel. It's cut to SAAMI specs and I can't eject a loaded 285 ELD or 300 Berger without pulling the bolt. They are running at 3.047" and 3.057" CBTO respectively. I was able to push the 300 OTM to mid 2900's with only slight ejector marks with Bertram brass. If you can't get it done with that kind of performance, then it probably shouldn't be done

 

[dave_halsey]

338 edge! I Think ADG has edge brass in stock

 

[J E Custom]

I'm filling a big hole in my cartridge line up with a big boomer. I've been set on the 338 edge, but shopping around for dies and brass has been a little frustrating. This has got me thinking about opening up my options. I'm now debating between the 338 Rum, 338 Edge, 338 lapua and the 338 Norma. I will not be doing an improved chamber of any kind because I don't have time or a desire to fire form. Lapua brass and dies seem to be everywhere and no more expensive than any other. I was going to use a 300 Rum donor action so the bolt change for the lapua and NM factor in a little. What would you build?

The fact that you don't want to improve anything removes some cartridges, and without modifying the bolt or going to a different action rules out the lapua and norma. So you are down to two choices, the 338 RUM and the 338 Edge, The 338 RUM is a factory cartridge and ammo can be bought for it. The edge is simply a 300 rum necked up to 338 if you reload, this is an easy load to make.

The difference in velocity of all 4 is very little, (The edge has a 100 ft/sec average increase/advantage on the other 3. that extra 100 ft/sec only comes into play at extreme distance.

Any of these cartridges are good, but they come with different advantages and disadvantages.
With the most advantages going to the 338 RUM In my opinion.

J E CUSTOM

 

[skipglo]

I'm filling a big hole in my cartridge line up with a big boomer. I've been set on the 338 edge, but shopping around for dies and brass has been a little frustrating. This has got me thinking about opening up my options. I'm now debating between the 338 Rum, 338 Edge, 338 lapua and the 338 Norma. I will not be doing an improved chamber of any kind because I don't have time or a desire to fire form. Lapua brass and dies seem to be everywhere and no more expensive than any other. I was going to use a 300 Rum donor action so the bolt change for the lapua and NM factor in a little. What would you build?

When I go bigger I always look at what's readily available to keep my weapon fed.... especially if I will be using it for hunting.....paper is patient.....game isn't....Lapua is my choice!

 

[bdyal1972]

You forgot "With all due respect..."

ABSOLUTELY



"WITH ALL WELL DESERVED AND DUE RESPECT TO THE MAGNANOMOUS UNPARALLELED INTELLIGENCE AND FORTITUDE OF MY FELLOW BRILLIANT 338 WHORES!!!"

☺