In case there are others out there who have been intimidated by the thought of loading 338 Lapua, or even been discouraged by others from even trying it, here's my personal testimonial: it's incredibly easy.
Equipment:
I bought a Hornady Classic "O" press, and the 2.7X" case length, and 3.7325" COAL, I am loading each fit in it fine. The sizing effort, using Imperial sizing wax, is trivial even with this small press. In fact, my Harrell mini turret press was just a bit too small. I'm positive it would have handled the sizing forces no problem.
The same Sinclair hand priming tool I sue for 308 works fine for 338 lapua with just a change of insert. In fact, I did not even have to make any adjsutments to stroke.
The same Wilson / Sincalir hand trimmer setup that works so well on my 308 cases works just as well on the 338 Lapua.
My RCBS Charegmaster scale / dispenser works fine dispensing 85 to 95 grain powder loads.
I have a ratehr tiny vibratory case tumbler, as my wife and I live in an RV, so I can only tumble maybe 50 to 75 cases at a time, but it's not like you shoot more than that per shooting session anyway!
Process:
No challenges in the process. As I mentioned above, at least when using a proepr lubricant (Imperial), sizing is simply a non-issue. Once I got my die set at proper height, I could size just as fast as I could size 308 cases.
As for seating, my prototype production run of 20 rounds, using the Redding Competition 338 Lapua die with micrometer adjustment, and 300g Sierra Matchking bullets, resulted in case-base-to-bullet-ogive dimension that varied a MAXIMUM of .0005" (half a thousandth)across all 20 of the rounds. Basically, the accuracy limit of my digital caliper.
Cost:
using top quality (not cheap!) components (Sierra 300g Matchking, new Lapua cases amortizied over only 10 loadings, Retumbo powder, and Federal 215 primers), I am at about $1.13 per round. This is fully burdened cost, including haz mat fee and shipping costs for ALL the components.
I would have been at about $.95 per round, if the deal I made for some once-fired Norma brass had gone to fruition, but the seller accidentally shipped the Norma brass to a different buyer who should have gotten the Black Hills & Hornady mix he accdientally sent me! I couldn't wait the 2 weeks or so to have the errant cases returned to the seller and then sent to me, so I went with the brand new Lapua cases.
I grabbed those lapua cases at Bruno's where the price is still the "old" current price - everyone else is already starting to show the new, higher pricing for Lapua cases. So, if you are in the market for Lapua 338 Lapua cases, buy now, not later.
Anyway, the point of my psoting is (a) it's no harder to load 338 lapua than 308, and (b) the cost is waaaaay lower than the $4.50 "and up" per round you pay for factory loads.
if you really want to shoot 338 Lapua, don't be intimidated.
Jim G
Equipment:
I bought a Hornady Classic "O" press, and the 2.7X" case length, and 3.7325" COAL, I am loading each fit in it fine. The sizing effort, using Imperial sizing wax, is trivial even with this small press. In fact, my Harrell mini turret press was just a bit too small. I'm positive it would have handled the sizing forces no problem.
The same Sinclair hand priming tool I sue for 308 works fine for 338 lapua with just a change of insert. In fact, I did not even have to make any adjsutments to stroke.
The same Wilson / Sincalir hand trimmer setup that works so well on my 308 cases works just as well on the 338 Lapua.
My RCBS Charegmaster scale / dispenser works fine dispensing 85 to 95 grain powder loads.
I have a ratehr tiny vibratory case tumbler, as my wife and I live in an RV, so I can only tumble maybe 50 to 75 cases at a time, but it's not like you shoot more than that per shooting session anyway!
Process:
No challenges in the process. As I mentioned above, at least when using a proepr lubricant (Imperial), sizing is simply a non-issue. Once I got my die set at proper height, I could size just as fast as I could size 308 cases.
As for seating, my prototype production run of 20 rounds, using the Redding Competition 338 Lapua die with micrometer adjustment, and 300g Sierra Matchking bullets, resulted in case-base-to-bullet-ogive dimension that varied a MAXIMUM of .0005" (half a thousandth)across all 20 of the rounds. Basically, the accuracy limit of my digital caliper.
Cost:
using top quality (not cheap!) components (Sierra 300g Matchking, new Lapua cases amortizied over only 10 loadings, Retumbo powder, and Federal 215 primers), I am at about $1.13 per round. This is fully burdened cost, including haz mat fee and shipping costs for ALL the components.
I would have been at about $.95 per round, if the deal I made for some once-fired Norma brass had gone to fruition, but the seller accidentally shipped the Norma brass to a different buyer who should have gotten the Black Hills & Hornady mix he accdientally sent me! I couldn't wait the 2 weeks or so to have the errant cases returned to the seller and then sent to me, so I went with the brand new Lapua cases.
I grabbed those lapua cases at Bruno's where the price is still the "old" current price - everyone else is already starting to show the new, higher pricing for Lapua cases. So, if you are in the market for Lapua 338 Lapua cases, buy now, not later.
Anyway, the point of my psoting is (a) it's no harder to load 338 lapua than 308, and (b) the cost is waaaaay lower than the $4.50 "and up" per round you pay for factory loads.
if you really want to shoot 338 Lapua, don't be intimidated.
Jim G
