SS Remington 700 LA Suitable for a .338 Lapua Magnum?
- Thread starter kumaichi
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I was helping a guy try to get a barrel built for a savage 110 ba action, and was told hands down that it was too dangerous, but savage builds a 338 lm rifle in both tactical versions, and hunting versions. And the pressures out of 338, and those out of any other magnum cartridge are similar, so i don't see why it wouldn't work as long as your bolt face would accept the cartridge...but i would still research the issue.
Remington also builds a 338 but not sure if its the same action or not
Remington also builds a 338 but not sure if its the same action or not
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Thanks Keebler, that was why I asked the question, Remington makes a .338 Lapua rifle. Was hoping someone who has built one could give some feedback.
Yes you can, and I have 2 of them. You will read people saying how unsafe it is and there is probably some truth to that. If I did it again I would start with a custom "larger" action. Easier to do long barrel with more threads, and better resale.
The pressure in a 338 LM is no higher than the pressure in a 308 and is lower than the pressure in a 5.56! (62KPSI)
The difference is that there is a much larger are in which chamber pressure of the 338 LM can apply to the bolt face (compared to the aforementioned) that the forces in the action mid-firing are vastly larger than the forces in the smaller calibers.
Thus, is is not the pressure, but the pressure times the area (which happens to equal actual force) that stresses the action; potentially near the breaking point.
In my opinion, if you want a 338 to shoot a couple boxes of ammo and then leave in the safe, Remmy/Savage actions are sufficient.
If you want one to shoot day after day, year in, year out, you really want an action built for the stress levels of the cartridge. {Hint: more lug area on the bolt}
Lawton, BAT, and a few others come to mind.
A typical magnum boltface (7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag etc.) is .540" diameter, the Lapua boltface is .585" diameter.
Bolt face diameter's - Long Range Hunting Online Magazine
The Savage 338 Lapua actions are not the same as the standard 110 long actions, they are large shank and have solid tops (think scaled up LRP action) and were specifically designed to handle the bolt thrust of the Lapua round.
If you re read what i posted, i said 110 ba. Which is a large shank action.....yeah like you said, theyre kindof a scaled up target action...
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As far as the 338 goes with the Remington, it is a different action than their standard LA. Not by much, but it is different. They do not sell just the action last time I checked, hence it gets pricey if you have to buy a 700P or 700 MLR in 338 to use as a donor. I did this, done again I would recommend the above: use a custom action.
What are the differences in Rem 700 LA for Lapua and non? I have had both and didn't see the difference?
I guess that's what I don't understand. The custom action manufacturers create receivers that fit into a standard long action stock and they normally have bigger threads for the barrel. So how are they maintaining the dimensions to fit in a standard long action stock, receive a barrel with bigger threads and maintaining greater strength than a standard Remington 700 receiver built for the Lapua round? Is it a better material they are making them out of?
I think that the larger Lapua actions are bigger diameter and longer trunion for the barrel. Check a surgeon 338 action size. I could be wrong but that's my understanding
Ah, got it now, the Stiller has a 0.050" bigger diameter and is longer too. Ok, I know which way to go for a .338 Lapua build. Thanks guys for all the great information.
