.338 lm pet load

woodland-ghost

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 14, 2012
166
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Tennessee
seems like everyone has a pet load for .308 that works in many guns

anyone have a good load for the 338? Just recieved some lapua brass and 300gr scenars and trying not to go through so many rounds getting a get load like i did with the 250gr's
 
Re: .338 lm pet load

This component was pull off from factory ammo.

Black Hill Ammunition
300gr SMK
.338 Lapua Magnum

image-1_zpsdb86458f.jpg


image-1_zpsac14658b.jpg


Don't know what powder & primer they use but their Brass head-stamp was BHA.


Anyone who know about this type of powder please suggest.
 
Re: .338 lm pet load

^^^

That is how I got my loads for my 308, 243, 7mm, 270, and 257 Roberts...already had factory ammo that it shot great so I copied everything EXCEPT powder. Made load work ups really easy and found a load for each rifle first time out.

For the 338 I'm starting from scratch though.

I know custom reloads of Dallas has a good load for my gun from what I've seen from another thread...but I doubt Dallas would tell me what powder and coal they use lol
 
Re: .338 lm pet load

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Golfy Sniper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This component was pull off from factory ammo.

Black Hill Ammunition
300gr SMK
.338 Lapua Magnum

image-1_zpsdb86458f.jpg


image-1_zpsac14658b.jpg


Don't know what powder & primer they use but their Brass head-stamp was BHA.


Anyone who know about this type of powder please suggest.
</div></div>

It looks to me like US869, judging from the photo as well as the quantity. I tried US869 in my Lapua and came up with nodes around 101gr and 103gr. 101.4gr should yield ~2625fps from a 26" barrel.

I prefer H1000 and so does my rifle. Plus I find it easier to work with than Ball Powder... At least when it comes to using an auto powder measure like a Lyman POS 1200 or a RCBS CM1500...

Hope this helps!
 
Re: .338 lm pet load

I've used Retumbo and 250gr SMK's with great success. Retumbo is a great powder, very stable but very dirty. I use it in all the mag cartridges I have, except for my .338. And only because when I did my load development for 300's, Retumbo was in short supply and H1000 was readily available (couldn't wait).
 
Re: .338 lm pet load

250 Gn Lapua Scenars with 92 Gn of H1000 has worked very well for me. Flying right at 2900 FPS. I tried 250 and 300 Gn Sierras and they really didn't like my gun. 300 Gn Berger Hybrids come close to the Lapuas but not as tight of groups. I just loaded up some Nosler silver tips in 200 Gn with 99 Gn of H1000 and have had some awesome groups. All the match bullets did not expand like I thought they would on deer and pigs, blew right through them all with a ping pong ball sized hole on the exit. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Noslers perform.
 
Re: .338 lm pet load

I have not seen it mentioned here, but my 98B with 26" 1:10 likes 300gr SMK's with RL-25. I tried H1000, but the only good results I got were around 2600fps. 90gr of RL-25 gave me the best groups and is showing 2790fps with a Magneto Speed chrono. I tested with RL-19, H4831, H1000 and RL-25 under 250gr and 300gr SMK's.
 
Re: .338 lm pet load

I have had good success with 89.6 gns of Vit N165 to get 2875fps. (Lapua Brass to 3.60 OAL) This also was a very tight grouping round.
I have switched to 95.7 gns of V570 which is also producing around +2900 fps. This is not grouping quite as well at 200 yrds, but has done better than the N165 at 1000 yards. (Note, no pressure signs on either load - have gotten 7x from brass so far)
Note, the N570 has been harder to measure as the grain size is quite large. It does however, fill the case better than the N165. This had resulted in somewhat higher std dev of loads.
From an AI338 w 27" barrel. 1:10