Is 30 inches finished length too much for a 338 lapua? It's a krieger 1:9.3? It's suppose to be set up for 300 grain berger hybrids. Am I gaining or loosing here? My barrel is on order already, but as it is still a ways out I want to make sure it's ok before they get started on it... My original thought was that I can cut it down, but I can't ever add to it... But the more I think about it this longer barrel is going to have more harmonics in it... Granted this is a big barrel... its 1.35 at the breech end, and 1 inch at the muzzle. I want the big heavy barrel, just not positive on this 30 inch length..
338 Lapua Barrel
- Thread starter Sniper260
- Start date
That's pretty long for a .338LM, as I think most would agree 26-27" is optimum. But since you're planning to shoot 300s, that extra length may help get you some more velocity. The only 30" I've seen in person was for a .338LM Improved, which was packing more powder and trying to push 300s close to 3000fps.
Damn, that's a lot of 3s up there.
Damn, that's a lot of 3s up there.
Wow that barrels gotta weigh 10 lbs!!
I have a 22" barrel and love it. 300's going 2700. Supersonic past a mile. Not sure what else you need...unless you are going to do BR, then I would go LOTS shorter.
DT
I have a 22" barrel and love it. 300's going 2700. Supersonic past a mile. Not sure what else you need...unless you are going to do BR, then I would go LOTS shorter.
DT
When I rebarrel my Savage .338 Lapua I am going with 30 or 31" for the strict reason of having higher velocities. Talked to a gentleman the other day about this and he has a .338 Edge with a 31" or 32" barrel and uses it for elk hunting. He said he always gets questions on why his barrel is so long and he stated when I go elk hunting it is so I can take a shot from 4-5,000' at an elk 6-8,000' 800-1,200 yards away and still have the energy to put him down. He also stated he would not be afraid to take this type of shot.
I guess it all comes down to what the intended use is going to be. Bench gun or 1,500 + yard shooting go with 30" + barrel. A gun that you will be hiking with, hunting a lot with and just to shoot sub 1,200 yards go with 26" - 28" max. Just my 2 cents though.
I guess it all comes down to what the intended use is going to be. Bench gun or 1,500 + yard shooting go with 30" + barrel. A gun that you will be hiking with, hunting a lot with and just to shoot sub 1,200 yards go with 26" - 28" max. Just my 2 cents though.
My 338 Lapua has Rock Creek 9.36 on it at 32 inches.My 338 Snipe-Tac has a 34 inch 9.36 twist Bartlein on it.Like the earlier poster said it all depends on its use.
The barrel on my 50 is 36 inches long and 2 inches in diameter at the muzzle.The barrel weighs 32 pounds.
The barrel on my 50 is 36 inches long and 2 inches in diameter at the muzzle.The barrel weighs 32 pounds.
What kind of action are you going to screw the barrel into? That is a lot of barrel for a standard tennon length action. I won't say that it WILL hurt your accuracy potential but it could. It is overkill for a non custom action without a long tendon threads. All that weight hanging off an action can cause action flex and/or harmonic whip from the action flexing under the weight of a barel that long and heavy. IMO if your action has std tennon threads you could possibly hinder your accuracy potential rather than improving it with a barrel that heavy. M2C.
Went with a long barrel here as well. 30" finished Bartlein 1.35" breech to 1" muzzle. Attached to a Stiller Tac338. I am a small framed individual so my build is with some of the heaviest components I could find. Not going to be carrying this thing on long hunting trips, I will just be making longer shots...... The less recoil for me the better until I can put a can on it.
Its gonna be on a defiance machine rebel action. It will have extended tennon. I'm not building it to pack around. Just set up to shoot prone or from a bench. Then I'm going to chase a mile.. and do long range hunting with it. But hunting wise it will be spot and stalk into 1000 yards.
My rifle has a 34" barrel before adding the brake. It is in a Rem700P Long Action. We welded the scope base on the top, put in an extra large recoil lug, and bedded the action, I'm not sure if Kevin did anything else, but this gun can shoot sub 1/2 MOA at least past 550yds. I have not shot it farther yet, due to availability of land to shoot on, hope to soon. It can outperform my capability, that is for sure. The only drawback is that I have limited my choices in powders somewhat, (I am testing Chris Long's theory of OBT). That's okay, though, because the first tests are going well, and Reloader 50 seems to work very well. Were I to build another one, I think I would consider choosing powders and target velocities, and then calculating OBT's and then determining barrel length off of that. Haven't done enough testing to be sure of that course of action, but leaning towards that now.
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Sounds like the same barrel profile that arrived last week to screw onto my Stiller Tac338. This is going to be almost exclusively shot from prone, so there really isn't any penalty for having the longer barrel (well, until it's time to load it back into the car or safe).
My previous .338LM was a trimmer rifle, with a 25" barrel (plus brake) and GAP #7 profile. But that still came in at around 20 lbs with optics; even if it's reasonable in length, how many people would honestly pack something that heavy around all day? I know there are some, but most would leave it home in favor of something much lighter if given the choice.
I have the same barrel on a stiller tac338 action, I had the same questions when I started building mine. I used quickload and ran every possible powder/bullet/case combo I could think of, all at about 10% over max powder capacity. All the results came back that a 26-27 inch barrel would burn all the powder out and wring all the velocity out that would be possible, after that you are just adding unneeded friction. I ended up with a 28.5 inch and I couldn't be happier.
30" benchmark on my .338. Might as well maximize the cartridge's performance. And I don't mind carrying it in the mountains.
