338 Norma -vs- 338 Lapua (Savage 110BA)

[bbhank]

300s at 3120 out of a Norma improved? There is no way that is safe. That is XC territory.

gun weighs 29 lbs and at that load it is violent to shoot. The primers at that load are starting to flatten out a little bit but otherwise no issues. I can tell you this I can’t fit anymore powder in the case!

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

gun weighs 29 lbs and at that load it is violent to shoot. The primers at that load are starting to flatten out a little bit but otherwise no issues. I can tell you this I can’t fit anymore powder in the case!

These are all indicators that you're in a not so safe area of pressure......

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

Cautionary tale on waiting to see more pressure signs such as heavy bolt lift or marks on brass:

.22 Creedmoor: Peterson Produces Casings With Harder Heads

One of our development goals was for the .22 Creedmoor casings to have really hard heads which would allow our customers the highest number of reloads. Through tooling and material design, we were able to achieve it.

www.petersoncartridge.com

 

[RoninISC]

Nothing is ever dead on shooting forums except members. That's unfortunate.

lvl 70 necromancer and a morbid sense of humor, I like it.

I appreciate a good overbore and bc, but imo at some point it gets silly. Punching paper w pristine range gun sobeit. But for me, if I'm going .588 bolt face, I'l take the 'practicality', balance (loading wise), and energy of a .338.
Berger hybrid .338 300gr have a G1 of 0.822 (!) Thats... good enough for me. The same Berger hybrid in .300 230gr(biggest available) G1 is 0.71.
I think it's clear socom went with 338NM for all these reasons. I do also appreciate a good bbw pic tho machtec.

PS, Yall got nothing for my elr wildcats. The bullets (or as I call them, crossbow bolts) actually go down halfway to the head, but as you can see, powder column impingment is not an issue. Tested best out of 40" barrels.

 

[Kramer93]

lvl 70 necromancer and a morbid sense of humor, I like it.

I appreciate a good overbore and bc, but imo at some point it gets silly. Punching paper w pristine range gun sobeit. But for me, if I'm going .588 bolt face, I'l take the 'practicality', balance (loading wise), and energy of a .338.
Berger hybrid .338 300gr have a G1 of 0.822 (!) Thats... good enough for me. The same Berger hybrid in .300 230gr(biggest available) G1 is 0.71.
I think it's clear socom went with 338NM for all these reasons. I do also appreciate a good bbw pic tho machtec.

PS, Yall got nothing for my elr wildcats. The bullets (or as I call them, crossbow bolts) actually go down halfway to the head, but as you can see, powder column impingment is not an issue. Tested best out of 40" barrels.
View attachment 8243329

I was looking at the Berger 245 EOL with a G1 of .807, and just trying to figure out the best way to launch that at the fastest velocity possible with a spare .588 bolt face action I have sitting around right now. You may have convinced me to look into the .17-338 Lapua, though. I believe this is the way, now.

 

[RoninISC]

I was looking at the Berger 245 EOL with a G1 of .807, and just trying to figure out the best way to launch that at the fastest velocity possible with a spare .588 bolt face action I have sitting around right now. You may have convinced me to look into the .17-338 Lapua, though. I believe this is the way, now.

Technically I think it would be a .17-416? But glad you've seen the light!

Like bhobbs said, the 338NM is basically what the creedmoor is to the .260: new hotness. It has a slight velocity increase using only the heaviest pills (in this case the 300gr), which is what it was designed for. Lighter grains, 300LM has more capacity, but you can load the NM a bit hotter-- 60,916 psi for the LM and 63,800 psi for the NM. Throat erosion should be similar, as the hot fire be coming out of the same size hole.

So functionally pretty close. Unfortunately, new hotness does come with alot more than hype when everyone gets on the bandwagen, including socom. I get the vibe it may play out like creed vs 260, though LM has much more adoption--both civ and global militaries-- than the 260 ever did.