In this video we review the new equipment needed to reload 338 Lapua Magnum. Brass, die selection, projectiles and other various equipment is discussed. Subscribe for more informative videos: goo.gl/pMHmvu
I was fortunate enough to get out to a military range and had the luck of finding almost 200 pieces of once fired Lapua brass for 338! It felt like Christmas!
Can't wait to see how the Lapua groups. Great vid as always. I've been watching JRB for a while now and am pumped to see him starting a video series on the 6.5Creedmoor
I’ve done a lot of load data with my lapua. The best load I found was 98 gr of rl33 with 300gr Berger vld. 28” barrel, 9.4 twist, 2850fps, cold bore Es of 8. I’m gonna switch to the new nosler 265 lr accubond for better fps and only 5% less g1 bc.
I don’t know who you use for your brass but you should try Starline brass. I used to work at their company and they make some of the best reloading brass. Their specifications are much tighter than SAAMI specs and they say their brass is good for ten reloads but I heard quite a few people talking about getting thirty reloads. Their brass is ready to load right out of the box, but I would still prep it. They do not make 338 lapua yet though.
Wish I would've caught the deal on the scopes. I have not seen anything negative about them. I have been wanting one for my 6br. Looking forward to this reloading series I have been enjoying the 6.5 creedmoor with all the great information.
Another great video. I'm interested to know your thoughts on the new press as well as the expanders. Any noticeable improvements in SD or accuracy? FYI, I use the Lee case trimmers for all rifle brass except 6.5 CM Lapua brass because of the small primer holes. Works great for me. No measuring. No setting up trimmers. Just chuck the brass and go. As for fire forming, I would like to offer something I learned with 6.5 CM. I started fire forming my Lapua brass with 95 grain V-MAX bullets for the same reason you're using the 225 grain SST - cost. When I ran low on V-MAX, I finished the fire forming process with 140 grain SSTs. The unfired headspace was 1.553" and case head diameter was .4675". After fire forming with the 95 grain V-MAX, the headspace grew by only .0015" to 1.5545" and there was no noticeable change to the case head diameter. However, after fire forming with the 140 grain SST, the headspace on the new brass grew by .007" to 1.560" and the case head diameter grew by .002" to .4695". From now on, I will be using a bullet on the larger side to do my fire forming. I will be checking out the SWFA scope. Never heard of it before this video.
+njgrplr2007 the scopes seem to have a great reputation. I am sure I will review it after I have used it a while. I plan on doing some sort of crazy roundup with neck tension variances down the road, but I can't figure out exactly how I want to do it yet. As for the press, so far I like it. Not sure I can swear on huge differences, but the combination of it and the forster dies in 6.5 creedmoor have significantly reduced my run out numbers. Video eventually.
Thanks for the video, I plan to purchase the RPR 338 LM next year and this video will stay in my list since I also reload. I was wondering which powder was best, also your loading of choice with H1000. Plan to use Lyman dies, RCBS is what I use most of. Thanks again.
I have the RPR .338LM I just went from 250g* Sierra matchkings up to 300g Sierra matchkings using Federal match primers & AR2217 ADI powder (exported as H1000 ) 86g load, 250 was 94g* rifle has been fired under 200 times, fired it 7 times @ 100m 1st shot 3" wide of bullseye adjusted scope a bit next 4 shots under 1/2" 3 holes joined then scope adjust next 2 shots joined.
In the picture it appears you bought the full length sizing die. Later you talked about fire forming the brass... wouldn't the full length sizer undo the effects of fire forming? Sorry to ask a noob question.
Typically during your FL sizing operation you will only want to push the shoulder back between. 001 to .003" at most. (Some call it bump sizing) and it is very likely that your brass will be smaller than this for the first firing.
Even up to $8.00 per round...Lapua's own loads but good accurate rounds can be had for less than a third of that. The 1/9.3 rate of twist to 1/9.35 is about ideal. The 1/10 doesn't do as well with the really long single feed target bullets.
Paul, I am simply look at brownells pricing here. 10 rounds of the 300 gr Lapua run about $72. Hornady factory seem to run just under $5 a trigger pull, but there is a lot of info about people with issues with savage rifles and Hornady brass not working well in this caliber. I am not paying that kind of $$ and not be able to reload the brass, or have to pound it out of my chamber. Far to often I find myself trying to save a dollar and it ends up costing me two. No one seems to argue that Lapua brass isn't the best for this application and that is why I decided to use it. I have tried the Herters 250 SMK and it seemed ok, but still yielded slightly over MOA groups. What factory ammo have you had luck with in 338 LAP?