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.338 lapua help

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FlyfishNM

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Minuteman
Jul 20, 2014
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Albuquerque
Went out this morning to start ocw tests for new .338 lapua magnum. It is a savage 110 fcp in a xlr chassis with a 26"barrel. Had tests ready to go with three different powders: ramshot magnum, retumbo, and h1000, and two bullets: 300 grain berger and 300 grain smk. All three starting charges gave me ejector marks on the brass. I am well below max charges according to manufacturers. On average I started 5 or 6 grains shy of max. For example, with ramshot magnum I'm only getting 2547 fps with starting charge of 85 grains which is 6.2 grains shy of listed max.

The ejector marks are not deep and most will probably get rubbed off with tumbling. Perhaps i should have started lower but i was really hoping to get 2700 fps out of these 300 grainers. Should i proceed and look for other signs of pressure? 1409499368297.jpg
 
If your cases aren't getting stuck consider your loads a success, if you keep going higher I can almost guarantee they will get stuck... EVERY savage 338 owner that I have known self included has had to deal with it. I'm at 89.5g of H1000 & 300g bergers 2700fps using Lapua brass. Out of 40rnds shot during a match I'll average 4-5 stuck cases. Good luck with yours and hope you don't have a Stuckvage rifle like me.
 
Have you tried combo: 300 SMK and Retumbo?
My 110 BA 338 does like that combo at 89.3 grains with either CCI 250's or 215M's. No pressure signs at all.

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Tristian19 said:
Have you tried combo: 300 SMK and Retumbo?
My 110 BA 338 does like that combo at 89.3 grains with either CCI 250's or 215M's. No pressure signs at all.

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Click to expand...

Yes, I had an ocw string with retumbo/300 smk/215m. Started at 87 gr retumbo and that gave me extractor marks and slightly cratered primer so I stopped after the first shot in the string. 87 grains gave me 2678 fps which I could live with but it seems I need to back off that a little bit. I don't know if the chamber is extra tight or what.
 
I would have to say 'something' is wrong somewhere. Don't take this question wrong or negatively - Are you just starting off with hand loading?

89.3 is lower node. I run 92.1 in my custom and 89.3 in my 110 BA with no pressure signs at all.

Is this a brand new 110 ba still under warranty?

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No offense taken. I am fairly new to handloading. Been doing it for 4 or 5 months with good success in other calibers. This is my first experience with .338.
The rifle is a new 110 fcp so it is still under warranty. I'm using new lapua brass which I did not resize, I just ran an expander ball through the neck to loosen them up a bit.
 
I had similar issue when I first purchased my 110 BA. Issue stopped once I began Full Length sizing. I too started off with neck sizing with RCBS. I have since moved on to Redding Comp Dies.

Also, I ran 300 SMK over H1000 89.3 with great results as well. And, run Ramshot Magum as high as 90.0 grains with no pressure signs. 88.5 under 300 smk was a decent load. Ever since I received my custom .338 LM I have barely shot my 110 BA.

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What are following messurements of your fired brass?
Shoulder?
Case length?

Quick thought: I also checked my cases using L.E Wilson case gauge to make sure I was within specs.

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Length of unfired case: 2.724"
Length to unfired case shoulder: 2.161"

Length of fired case: 2.728"
Length to fired case shoulder: 2.166"

Also, I do not have a case guage for this caliber. I will have to invest in one.
 
Last edited:
I have yet to anneal. I know of people who anneal after each firing but I think that is way too much. But, what do I know? I do neck turn and ream inside for consistency.

I have .338 Lapua brass with 8 firings and going strong.

I only use Lapua brass.

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Your shoulders appear to be short as my fired was similar to 2.201 to 2.202 I bump my 110 BA back to 2.198.

I trim to 2.714.

Yes, expensive hobby for sure!

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Tristian19 said:
Your shoulders appear to be short as my fired was similar to 2.201 to 2.202 I bump my 110 BA back to 2.198.

I trim to 2.714.

Yes, expensive hobby for sure!

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Click to expand...
Could be my measuring method. I don't have a super scientific way to measure to the exact shoulder transition. Should be pretty close though.
 
I have a 338 lapua savage 110 fcp also. 89.3 gr of retumbo should be fine in your rifle and get you 2705 fps.The primer issues you have are due to the small firing pin it is not a pressure issue. The extractor button marks Are normal also i get them from time to time. It has been my exp. get rid of the bergers i could never get them to work in this rifle. I find the 300 gr smk's and 285 gr hornady bullets work best. I had to put about 150 rounds down the barrel until my rifle started shoot. I give some load data and things i have worked thru if you like pm me
 
zackm said:
I have a 338 lapua savage 110 fcp also. 89.3 gr of retumbo should be fine in your rifle and get you 2705 fps.The primer issues you have are due to the small firing pin it is not a pressure issue. The extractor button marks Are normal also i get them from time to time. It has been my exp. get rid of the bergers i could never get them to work in this rifle. I find the 300 gr smk's and 285 gr hornady bullets work best. I had to put about 150 rounds down the barrel until my rifle started shoot. I give some load data and things i have worked thru if you like pm me
Click to expand...

FlyfishNM said:
Thanks for the reply. It's good to know that the extractor marks are not pressure related.
Click to expand...

You guys are saying extractor button. Don't you mean ejector? Extractor is the "claw thingie" while the ejector is the "spring post thingie."

Anyway, every savage 338LM I have ever touched has been a complete abomination. One of my customers bought one elsewhere that didn't even have rifling in it. Collectively, I think I've heard more complaints about those rifles than any other rifle. So much so, that when I hear someone having problems with one, I don't even know where to begin, because I've heard of damn near everything that can be wrong with a rifle, be wrong with savage 338's. Everything from trigger problems, egg-shaped chambers, no rifling, bent barrels, cracked receivers, FTF, FTE, feeding problems, mag problems, on and on. So I feel for you, I really do.

Given that your rifle is actually fully functional, you might try switching to hornady 285's. I've spent a lot of time with a lot of 338's... and none were just stellar with the 300's. The 285's on the other hand are so much more forgiving. Stick with retumbo. FL size. (no bushing)
 
I started off saying "ejector" earlier in the thread and for some reason inadvertently switched to "extractor".
Was hoping to get the 300's to shoot well as I have quite a few of them but will definitely give the 285's a try.
 
orkan said:
You guys are saying extractor button. Don't you mean ejector? Extractor is the "claw thingie" while the ejector is the "spring post thingie."

Anyway, every savage 338LM I have ever touched has been a complete abomination. One of my customers bought one elsewhere that didn't even have rifling in it. Collectively, I think I've heard more complaints about those rifles than any other rifle. So much so, that when I hear someone having problems with one, I don't even know where to begin, because I've heard of damn near everything that can be wrong with a rifle, be wrong with savage 338's. Everything from trigger problems, egg-shaped chambers, no rifling, bent barrels, cracked receivers, FTF, FTE, feeding problems, mag problems, on and on. So I feel for you, I really do.

Given that your rifle is actually fully functional, you might try switching to hornady 285's. I've spent a lot of time with a lot of 338's... and none were just stellar with the 300's. The 285's on the other hand are so much more forgiving. Stick with retumbo. FL size. (no bushing)
Click to expand...

No rifling!:p what's the effective range of a .338 lapua musket?
 
FlyfishNM said:
I started off saying "ejector" earlier in the thread and for some reason inadvertently switched to "extractor".
Was hoping to get the 300's to shoot well as I have quite a few of them but will definitely give the 285's a try.
Click to expand...

Before you give up on your 300 SMK's I would highly suggest you safely try 89.3'ish of both Retumbo and H1000.

On a side note, FWIW, I have only tried following in my custom and not in my 110 BA:
89.3 300 SMK work very well but yet 89.3 300 OTM did not. I had to step up to 90.0 grain of H1000 for Berger bullets to work well. Same
92.1 300 SMK work very well but yet 92.1 300 OTM did not. Based on above I figured I would have to go to 92.8 which would probably cause pressure being I am running at Non CIP magazine length (3.630). Would probably be fine at 3.680 or longer.
 
OP. This is counter intuitive but I found my 111 LRH (same gun different stalk) liked the 285gr. But it loves the 300s. The trick was shorten the COAL. I run at 3.655inches. With 300SMK's
88gr. Retumbo
87gr. Magpro.
86gr. Re-25
94.6gr. Re-33.
All with below half MOA.

My rifle needed a little attention off the line. I found a lot of recoil movement between the stalk and barrel, before I fixed that there was no true accuracy. I also needed to polish the chamber to get brass to stop sticking.
 
I will continue the load developement with the 300's. I will also pick up some 285, it's good to have options. I feel better continuing on knowing ejector marks on this rifle aren't necessarily a pressure sign. Thanks everyone for your help.
 
Loaded up some more this morning and took them out. Thanks to some of your suggestions I found a node rather quickly with 89.6 g retumbo and 300 smk's .010 off lands. Getting around 2725 fps and 3/4" vertical spread at 200 yards. With some fine tuning and barrel break-in I think I'll be where I want to be with the 300 smk's anyway. Still getting ejector marks on every piece of brass but no other signs of pressure.
 
Consider calling Savage about ejector marks to see what they tell you. Curious to know how helpful they will be.

Just a thought

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