Barrel length question?

[lonegunman762x51]

I am pondering a .338 caliber rifle. I picked up a Remington left-handed .338 win mag a while back just to get the action.

I was thinking about a .338 RUM, I won't have to open the bolt face or change much to do this, simply have a new barrel and brake installed.


I have an XLR chasis rifle in .308 and enjoy shooting it, it has crossed my mind to order one for the .338 whatever it may be and simply have an upsized version of my last gun.

It would be used as a tactical rifle, but it also has a use as a long range hunting rifle.

Would it be worth adding the 2" extra inches of barrel? I was going with 28" and a brake but if 30" would add a bit of speed, I would not complain. Weight is not the primary consideration.

Would there be any real advantage to going with the Lapua?

 

[*greenhorn*]

Re: Barrel length question?

well somr times longer not better, you have to take all kinds of thins in to consideration,

barrel length
twist
what your shooting(grainage of projectile)
if your going to reload
grain of projectile
where your shooting
And factor in barrel harmonics (if its free-floating)

take this

i shoot a 308
20 inches with my load i have a 1:10 twist and shoot 178 amax. if i go to 22 i get better if i go to 26 im worse than 20 because of my load. i just got my computer back form the shop and i have to reinstall quickload but if you can give me more details i can try to help you in your choice and give you better information tell me the answers to the above peramiters
and i can tell you the best length and load to start with when i get the program re-instaled


O yea the Lupa is way better than any other 338 round for 800+ yards, but if your shooting less than 600 it dont realy matter, i live in Fl and here theirs no where to shoot that pig if their was id have one makes 1000-1200 yards shots butter. my .02 on that one.

 

[Chris@InterstateGuns]

Re: Barrel length question?

Call over to APA and talk to those guys. They just finished a build for a buddy of mine and the thing is a freaking laser. pviddy is his name on the hide. shoot him a pm if you have questions.

He shoots it suppressed but I don't remember what length barrel he has on it. I know before it went to APA it was 30" but they cut it down for the suppressor.

 

[lonegunman762x51]

Re: Barrel length question?

I'm planning on 250's and 300's and out to 1200 yds. Even the 225 looks good although I kind of wonder if the stubby bullets don't fly as nice to 800 yds. I'm out in the northwest and have plenty of range. My 338 experience is limited and when I ask locals I get all manner of jibberish.

One guy shoots a 338 Edge and swears it is far faster than anything on earth, I've met three different 338 Lapua owners who have never fired a shot in the 12-24 months they have owned the guns and a guy with a 338-378 Weatherby who almost cried every time he pulled the trigger. The Weatherby was to light, braked and for four or five dollars a round it tore the paint off the shooting bench and beat him like a red-headed stepchild. I hit the 500yd gong more with a 45-90 Sharp's than he did with that thing.

If the RUM and the Lapua both push a 300gr bullet to 2700-2750fps why does the Lapua perform better at longer ranges? Not to be dense or anything, but this is a new caliber for me.

Depending on how I angle my targets, I can shoot 1200 yds on my own property, typically I have gongs from 200-700 yds to wack. I am surrounded by farmland in CRP and have a hillside with 200' of vertical behind me, so if the neighbor does not care I can set up a gong at a mile.

As a minimum I'd like 28" of bbl, 1-10 twist(I can get 1-8?) and something like a Holland Quick Discharge brake or something else well liked. My stock choices are still open and I was probably going to swap triggers as well. I tend to stick with something over two pounds on rifles I might hunt with.

 

[Graham]

Re: Barrel length question?

All .338s are not created equal. I have seen .338 Normas with <span style="font-style: italic">too long</span> of a barrel: The bullet started slowing down and the last inch of the barrel began fouling badly. Build for a purpose, don't just pick a length because you think it will automatically give you more velocity.

 

[Beef82]

Re: Barrel length question?

There's a article online somewhere where a guy set up to do lops a barrel down from stupid long 2" (I think) at a time while recording velocities, interesting read, I'll try to find it. http://www.riflebarrels.com/articles/bullets_ballastics/long_barrel_velocity.htm


338 Lapua has brass life, brass quality and factory loaded match ammo over the 338RUM, as far as performance is concerned. The RUM can be loaded to almost identical velocities. As far as practicality 338 Lapua is chambered in far more factory and semi custom rifles. Oh and of course the Lapua is "tactical" and the RUM is just a hunting round.