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presses for 338 lapua mag?

6brshooter

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Oct 2, 2012
    2,701
    1,371
    Illinois
    I have a friend that is going to start loading for his savage 110 ba. While i have reloaded for 20+ yrs, i have never loaded for anything this big. What presses are ideal for a moderate amount of reloading for a 338 lm. I imagine he will load 2-3 times as much 6.5 cm as 338. He has no press at all and needs one to do both. Also what thread is the 338 dies, they are larger then the standard size correct? The press needs to fit dies for the lap and creedmoor. I believe he is going to try lap brass 300smk, and h1000 with whatever lrm primers he can find.Thanks for any help.
     
    Hello, I load both those cartridges and a lot more using the Rock Chucker press from RCBS. It works very well and can handle the Lapua just fine. The dies are the same a any other dies and I got mine from Sportsman's for $29.99. Tell him to try 89-91 grains of H1000 with the 300 SMK and CCI 250 magnum primers. I use 91 grains in my savage and it shoots them very well. Good luck
     
    +1 to what 6.5 said. It is a big cartridge, but not .50 BMG big. It will work fine in a standard size press, and uses standard thread dies.
     
    I use a rockchucker for all my loading also, just wasn't for sure if it had the stroke and leverage for FL sizing338 lm.
     
    I also use the Rockchucker for my .338LM. You do have to feed the bullet up into the seating die at an angle until you get the base to clear the case mouth, then let it sit back down onto the case before seating (at least for 300 gr. bullets you do). There's not enough clearance for the bullet between the top of the case mouth and the bottom of the die unless you go in with the bullet at an angle. It's not a problem at all, though.
     
    Redding Big Boss for my 338LM, I use the Redding Comp seater and have to put the bullet tip up into the seater then set it into the case mouth. Press works great for FL sizing, I've had no troubles
     
    I use a Hornady L-n-L press for my 338 LM. It works great, and the bushing system is hard to beat.
     
    Redding T7 turret press. Lots of room for dies, and leverage (for sizing) and once set up, you don't have to mess with them--just rotate the turret to use the die you need. I got an extra turret to keep all of my dies mounted. Saves a lot of time...
     
    I use my Dillon 550

    Same here.

    Dillon has a magnum powder measure for dropping over 80 grains of powder. I still drop a grain light and trickle up but it's nice not having to drop two loads before trickling up.
     
    I use my Dillon 550b but do not trust the Dillon powder measure dropping that much powder, I use a Chargemaster.