338 Lapua Magnum

Click Here for a Larger Image

The .338 Lapua magnum cartridge was developed by the military - Now available to civilians and has become popular with hunters and long range enthusiasts. Can pierce better than standard military amour at 1000 meters - contains 16.2 grams of load - Muzzle velocity is 2800-3000 feet per second - It is the parent cartridge for the not yet commercially available .300 caliber - Can be used to hunt pretty much any large game including bears, rhinos, and elephants. - considered to be part of Finnish “family” of super cartridges - An excellent choice for any hunters or long range enthusiasts with the ultimate endorsement of the U.S. military - We also personally recommend trying this cartridge and believe it is one of the best on the market available to civilians today.

The .338 Lapua Magnum has real stopping power. The .338 caliber Lapua magnum cartridge is awesome. This cartridge was originally developed by the U.S. military, but has now become popular with hunters and civilian long- range shooting enthusiasts. Even though this cartridge is now available to the public make no mistake this is combat proven and was developed for sniper rifles used the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars.

This is a cartridge that features a specialized rimless bottleneck and is center fire. This thing is an intense killing tool for anyone looking to do some long range hunting. It can pierce better than standard military body amour at distances up to 1000 meters!! So imagine how it could tear through a bear. Hunters use this bad boy to hunt the largest game around and it can take down a rhinoceros or an elephant. When you point one these at something you are not messing around, but it is suggested that you carry something with higher caliber as backup if you go after these sub Saharan game animals.

The muzzle velocity varies on the load in the cartridge and the one available commercially has 16.2 grams of load that will spend the bullet flying at about 2800-3000 feet per second. This bullet is excellent choice for any one looking to get the most out their Sako TRG-42 sniper riffle. The Lapua .338 magnum has been very successful commercially and has been used as the parent case for the .300 caliber version. These are mostly the same, but the .300 caliber is slimmed down. The .300 is not yet available, but is used by some crazy shooters that like to reshape their own bullets and use the .338 case. That personally scares me, and suggests major caution in doing this.

These cartridges are excellent choices for anyone looking to enjoy some long range sniper target practice. The Lapua .338 magnum is created by the Finnish company Lapua and is considered to be in the “family “of super magnum rifle cartridges. Pretty much you could trust my opinion about these cartridges being good, but we believe the best recommendation is the fact that the boys of the U.S. military have chosen this cartridge for the struggles in the Middle East is the most important indication that this is a superior product. Any Hunter will not be disappointed by the accuracy, power and muzzle speeds of the Lapua .338 magnum sniper rifle cartridge. Everyone should have the chance at least once to send one these screaming down range and have the satisfaction of hitting the target dead on, every time. Click here for more information about the .338 Lapua magnum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6x70mm or 8.58x70mm) is a specialized rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for military long-range sniper rifles. The Afghanistan War and Iraq War made it a combat-proven round with ready and substantial ammunition availability. The .338 Lapua is a dual-purpose anti-personnel and anti-materiel round; however, its anti-materiel potential is limited, due to the bullet's lower kinetic energy compared with that of the .50 BMG's 35.64 to 55.08 gram (550 to 850 grain) projectiles. The loaded cartridge is 14.93 mm (0.5878 in) in diameter (rim) and 93.5 mm long. It can penetrate better-than-standard military body armour at ranges up to 1000 meters (1094 yd) and has a maximum effective range of about 1750 meters (1914 yards). Muzzle velocity is dependent on load and powder temperature and varies from 880 to 915 m/s (2887 to 3002 ft/s) for commercial loads with 16.2 gram (250 grain) bullets, which results in about 6525 joules (4813 ft·lbf) of muzzle energy.

In addition to its military role, it is increasingly used by hunters and civilian long-range shooting enthusiasts. The .338 Lapua Magnum is capable of taking down any game animal, though its suitability for some dangerous game (Cape buffalo, hippopotamus, white rhinoceros and elephant) is arguable, unless accompanied by a larger "backup" caliber: "There is a huge difference between calibers that will kill an elephant and those that can be relied upon to stop one." Certain sub-Saharan Africa countries have a 9.53 mm (.375 in) minimum caliber rule for hunting the Big Five. It also cannot be used in countries which ban civil use of former or current military rifle cartridges.

From its American origins, the current .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge was developed as a joint venture between the rifle building company Accuracy International and the Finnish ammunition manufacturer Lapua (including personal communication with Malcolm Cooper, the now-deceased founder of Accuracy International). In some contrast to this, Lapua states on its website that it developed the cartridge and mentions Mr. Cooper's Accuracy International as a cooperation partner. Since Mr. Cooper can not comment on this matter it can not be resolved.

Lapua opted to elaborately redesign the .338/416 cartridge. In the new case design, particular attention was directed toward thickening and metallurgically strengthening the case's web and sidewall immediately forward of the web. In modern solid head cases, the hardness of the brass is the major factor that determines a case's pressure limit before undergoing plastic deformation. Lapua tackled this problem by creating a hardness distribution ranging from the head and web (hard) to the mouth (soft) as well as a strengthened (thicker) case web and sidewall immediately forward of the web. This resulted in a very pressure resistant case, allowing it to operate at high pressure and come within 15 m/s (50 ft/s) of the original velocity goal. Lapua also designed a 16.2 gram (250 gr) .338 calibre Lock Base B408 full metal jacket bullet, modeled after its .30 calibre Lock Base bullet configuration. The result was the .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge which was registered with C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) in 1989. With the procurement by the Dutch Army, the cartridge became NATO codified.

The .338 Lapua Magnum is considered an ideal military long-range anti-personnel cartridge by long-range sniping specialists like John D. Taylor and Dean Michaelis. It fills the gap between weapons chambered for standard military rounds such as the 7.62x51mm NATO and large, weighty rifles firing the .50 BMG cartridge. It also offers a tolerable amount of barrel wear, which is important to military snipers who tend to fire thousands of rounds in practice every year to acquire and maintain expert long-range marksmanship. Like every other big cartridge the .338 Lapua Magnum presents a stout recoil. An appropriate fitting stock and an effective muzzle brake will help to reduce recoil induced problems, enabling the operator the fire more rounds before getting too uncomfortable to shoot accurately anymore. Good factory loads, multiple projectile weights and factory special application ammunition are all available.

Due to its growing civilian popularity, several high quality tactical and match (semi) custom bolt actions designed for the .338 Lapua Magnum are becoming available. These (semi) custom bolt actions are used with other high grade rifle and sighting components to build custom sporting and target rifles."

.338 Lapua Magnum. (2009, March 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:23, March 22, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=.338_Lapua_Magnum&oldid=277823123

338 Lapua Magnum