Which caliber to get 308 or 338 Lapua

[M4armorer1199]

Hey guys.
My local gun shop just got some Savage rifles in stock. One is a Savage 110FCP 338 Lapua with a McMillian stock, detachable mag and heavy fluted barrel w/ muzzle brake. The other is a Savage 10FCPK with heavy fluted barrel and muzzle brake. It also has the new accu stock.

Now lies the problem. I don't know which one to get. Money is not the problem. The 338 is $1399 and the 308 is $749. I will reload for what ever cartridge I get. I'm trying to determine if the 338 Lapua is worth the extra cost of the ammo.


Any advice will be appreciated

[RyanB]

No point to starting with anything bigger than 308.

[TriviaMonster]

I disagree with RyanB. There's is plenty of reason to move up from .308. Question is, what will you be doing with it? Thats a big jump in power. If you plan on doing a lot of shooting over 700-800yds may go for a .300 Win Mag but barrel life is a good bit less than .308. 338LM is a great round, but not really worth it if you aren't stretching distance or hunting game worthy of such a powerful round.

.308 is a heck of a lot of fun to play with, though. There is also tons of reloading data out there and it can do some pretty incredible stuff with a good loading.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[RyanB]

If he reloads the price difference still favors .308 by 2 or 3 to 1 over 338, just in the price of ammunition. Not to mention the extra $700 he could spend on glass for the same hardware cost. .338 barrels last half as long and cost a bit more depending on shank diameter and overall length.

If the target must be hit, like hunting, then a .338 makes sense. If the goal is to learn he can shoot four times as much with a .308 and learn a lot more.

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Its inevitable in a thread like this, that you will get a million different answers to the question you poised. Regrettably to the best of my understand you only HALF asked the question, because you did not define your intended use of the rifle. Therefor any answer you get, is going to be based in personal preference or experience and not applicable to your underling goal of choosing the best round for your intended application.

[markm]

If you're getting a Savage, it doesn't really matter.

[orkan]

If you have to ask the question, then you don't really have much experience.

I've seen more 338LM rifles returned than even 50bmg's. Guys buy them and hate getting kicked, and can't shoot them worth a damn as a result. If you can't manage the recoil, you can't drive the rifle properly.

Get a 308, and shoot it until you no longer ask questions like this.

[BigJoe]

well i routinely shoot my 20" 308's to 1200 so how far do you really want to reach. the 338 is useless until you have over 1800 to play with as any of my 260's go out to 1300-1400 easily and my 7wsm goes to 1600-1700 if i do my part.

with a good short action caliber like 308 or 6.5CM you'll get longer barrel life and less recoil while still being able to learn. factory offerings of loaded ammo are available and you aren't bound to chasing every last piece of 3$ brass.

i will never tell a newb to start with anything but a 308 and shoot it till you know what the hell you actually want and what your needs are. a 338LM is definately not it. i shoot a hell of a lot of long range and i take my 338LM out about once a year.

[Ironbutt]

After I was made an offer that I couldn't refuse, I sold my Remmy last year; so I was faced with the same decision a couple months ago when I decided I wanted another precision bolt gun.

I had both Savages available in my local LE toy store & bought the 10 FCP HS in .308. I reload too, but if I'd went with the .338, I would have had to spend lotsa' $$$, (Compared to .308), for a few hundred brass, dies, bullets, etc; so the hardly ever used practical part of my brain took control.

I have a couple hundred .308 loaded & a couple thousand empty brass lying around. I also don't have a chance to shoot past 800 yds very much & since there are no plans in my immediate future to go to Asscrackistan, (I'm 64 years old), as a sniper, I went with the .308.

It has very little recoil, cheaper to shoot, is just plain fun & that's the whole point. After all, it's just another toy for me. If your wants/needs are different, then go for the .338.

[Loki]

at 900 - 1000 yards, you can then start thinking about a 338LM.

It will let you do the same thing at 1500 to 1800, if you know what you are doing.

The first 338LM I got was a factory demo gun. Got it for a song b/c no one wanted to pay $100 for a box of 20 rounds.

Even if you reload, it still cost a bit more than 308. But when you absolutely have to drill something at distance, this is the most compact package.