New .338LM rounds loaded

[OVERKILL]

Went out to my buddy's place tonight and got a lot accomplished.

1. Used my newly acquired collet puller to yank all the mis-purchased .338 Marlin bullets from my Lapua cases.

2. Loaded 50 of the 100 225gr Hornady bullets I picked up.

3. Mounted and started to setup the Hornady Lock-N-Load progressive press for our high-volume rounds like .223 and .308.

Pic was taken before the 2nd press was mounted. I'll snap another pic once I drag out some more brass and do a few more rounds.

 

[Revving2Redline]

.338 ? hunting bull moose? that round will make anything vaporize

 

[OneEyeJack]

Is the 338 Lapua Magnum much more powerful than the 338 Winchester Magnum?

I carried a 338 Win Mag in Alaska while I worked there. It was very accurate but kicked pretty hard. The 338 was considered good for stopping a moose or a bear. I did have one occasion where I shot a moose that just kept coming and would be turned away. After firing the shot it occurred to me that I never felt the recoil. The locals told me that he'd been raising [censored] for the past several weeks and was causing a lot of damage. They taught me how to dress the moose and we all ended up with some extra meat including a few really happy dogs.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Is the 338 Lapua Magnum much more powerful than the 338 Winchester Magnum?

I carried a 338 Win Mag in Alaska while I worked there. It was very accurate but kicked pretty hard. The 338 was considered good for stopping a moose or a bear. I did have one occasion where I shot a moose that just kept coming and would be turned away. After firing the shot it occurred to me that I never felt the recoil. The locals told me that he'd been raising [censored] for the past several weeks and was causing a lot of damage. They taught me how to dress the moose and we all ended up with some extra meat including a few really happy dogs.




Here's a pic with a .300WM, which is the same shell as the .338WM but necked smaller:

I can do a side-by of .338WM and .338LM if you want, as I have brass for both here.

Wiki lists the following:

.338 Winchester Magnum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.338_Winchester_Magnum

Code:


Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy

200 gr (13 g) SP 2,950 ft/s (900 m/s) 3,866 ft·lbf (5,242 J)

225 gr (15 g) SP 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s) 3,918 ft·lbf (5,312 J)

250 gr (16 g) SP 2,655 ft/s (809 m/s) 3,914 ft·lbf (5,307 J)

275 gr (18 g) SP 2,489 ft/s (759 m/s) 3,784 ft·lbf (5,130 J)


.338 Lapua Magnum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.338_Lapua_Magnum

Code:


Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy

12.96 g (200 gr) SP 1,005 m/s (3,300 ft/s) 6,734 J (4,967 ft·lbf)

16.20 g (250 gr) Partition 897 m/s (2,940 ft/s) 6,516 J (4,806 ft·lbf)

16.20 g (250 gr) Lapua Scenar GB488 VLD 910 m/s (3,000 ft/s) 6,634 J (4,893 ft·lbf)

19.44 g (300 gr) Sierra HPBT MatchKing 826 m/s (2,710 ft/s) 6,632 J (4,892 ft·lbf)

19.44 g (300 gr) Lapua Scenar GB528 VLD 837 m/s (2,750 ft/s) 6,810 J (5,020 ft·lbf)

 

[OVERKILL]

Also posted this update on the shooting forum:

Had her out today with these for the first time. A few observations:

1. I had two "fail to feeds". They would chamber 9/10th's of the way but I couldn't close the bolt. There's nothing obviously physically wrong with them though that I can see?

2. These shoot higher by about 3" and to the right a tad compared to the S&B 250gr ones I zeroed with. They are consistent.

3. They leave a dark ring of what looks like carbon around the part of the shell that the bullet seats into. Is this normal? It is different from the S&B shells which leave a tad but nowhere near as much as these.

Most of the shells chambered beautifully; easier than the S&B ones. I had a few that it was tough to get the bolt down with but ejected perfectly. I had no difficult extractions with these AT ALL, which is different from the S&B's where I have the odd one that I have to give the bolt a bit of a whack at the top of its stroke to eject. Nothing serious, just a bit of sticking. Back when I first got the rifle I had very difficult extractions with it all the time and it ended up needing the chamber polished. Apparently a very common problem with the 110BA.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Also posted this update on the shooting forum:

Had her out today with these for the first time. A few observations:

1. I had two "fail to feeds". They would chamber 9/10th's of the way but I couldn't close the bolt. There's nothing obviously physically wrong with them though that I can see?

2. These shoot higher by about 3" and to the right a tad compared to the S&B 250gr ones I zeroed with. They are consistent.

3. They leave a dark ring of what looks like carbon around the part of the shell that the bullet seats into. Is this normal? It is different from the S&B shells which leave a tad but nowhere near as much as these.

Most of the shells chambered beautifully; easier than the S&B ones. I had a few that it was tough to get the bolt down with but ejected perfectly. I had no difficult extractions with these AT ALL, which is different from the S&B's where I have the odd one that I have to give the bolt a bit of a whack at the top of its stroke to eject. Nothing serious, just a bit of sticking. Back when I first got the rifle I had very difficult extractions with it all the time and it ended up needing the chamber polished. Apparently a very common problem with the 110BA.


Off the top of my head. Is the OAL all the rounds the same? How about the case shoulder length and the angle of the shoulder? Are the shoulders dented? Are the case necks the same? Are the primers seated properly?

I'm thinking your issues, or some of them is somewhere within the case dimensions and they all aren't exactly the same for one reason or another.

 

[OVERKILL]

OAL is the same, case lengths are the same, angle of the shoulder should be. All the brass previously went through this same gun.

I saw no dents on the shells.

Necks would be the same, they all went through the same sizing die. Primers may be the issue perhaps? Want me to snap some pics of the two that failed to feed vs one that feeds fine?

 

[demarpaint]

Check the necks and the shoulders and be 100% certain. Stranger things have happened. Sometimes the primers don't fully seat, but I think it might be in the shoulder. Although everything should be the same as you said. Is there any splitting or distortion of the case necks?

Pictures might help.

 

[OVERKILL]

Nope, cases all look perfect, LOL!

I'll snap some pics.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Nope, cases all look perfect, LOL!

I'll snap some pics.


How about the primers? I'd love to see the pics!

 

[OVERKILL]

OK, here are some pics.

Left to Right:

1. Stock S&B 250gr JHP.
2. Fail to chamber round #1
3. Fail to chamber round #2
4. Reload that chambers fine
5. Stock S&B fired round
6. Reloaded fired round

 

[demarpaint]

On bullets 2 and 3 did you measure from the very bottom of the case up to the area where the shoulder begins? And from the bottom of the case to where the shoulder ends?

Did you full length or neck size those cases? If so did you lube them, size them, rotate the cases 180* in the press and repeat? Or did you do one stroke of the press to size them?

I would also take measurements of the overall thickness of the cases as well. Establish a reference point from the bottom of the case up and take a few measurements of each of the loaded rounds, and see if there's any differences. It's a long shot [no pun intended] but worth a shot.

 

[edhackett]

It sounds like the shoulder is not being set back enough during resizing. Some guns don't take well to neck sizing only. If you are partial resizing, you may need to adjust the die down a bit to insure all the shoulders get set back enough.

Ed

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: edhackett
It sounds like the shoulder is not being set back enough during resizing. Some guns don't take well to neck sizing only. If you are partial resizing, you may need to adjust the die down a bit to insure all the shoulders get set back enough.

Ed


That's exactly where I was going with this.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Went out to my buddy's place tonight and got a lot accomplished.

1. Used my newly acquired collet puller to yank all the mis-purchased .338 Marlin bullets from my Lapua cases.

2. Loaded 50 of the 100 225gr Hornady bullets I picked up.

3. Mounted and started to setup the Hornady Lock-N-Load progressive press for our high-volume rounds like .223 and .308.

Pic was taken before the 2nd press was mounted. I'll snap another pic once I drag out some more brass and do a few more rounds.

Looking good!

 

[demarpaint]

Did you pull any of the bullets that failed to chamber? If so that could be the problem. In some cases if you didn't re-size the cases you pulled the bullets from they can fail to chamber. Some people will tell you it isn't necessary, I beg to differ. There are instances where you can experience problems chambering rounds. Neck sizing after pulling bullets is a good thing to do.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Did you pull any of the bullets that failed to chamber? If so that could be the problem. In some cases if you didn't re-size the cases you pulled the bullets from they can fail to chamber. Some people will tell you it isn't necessary, I beg to differ. There are instances where you can experience problems chambering rounds. Neck sizing after pulling bullets is a good thing to do.


Yes, they were ones that had the bullets pulled from them (as were the others).

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
On bullets 2 and 3 did you measure from the very bottom of the case up to the area where the shoulder begins? And from the bottom of the case to where the shoulder ends?


Nope, I have not done that.

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Did you full length or neck size those cases? If so did you lube them, size them, rotate the cases 180* in the press and repeat? Or did you do one stroke of the press to size them?


The only die I have for these is a full-length sizing die (Hornady). I lubed them, sized them, but did not rotate 180 and do them again.

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I would also take measurements of the overall thickness of the cases as well. Establish a reference point from the bottom of the case up and take a few measurements of each of the loaded rounds, and see if there's any differences. It's a long shot [no pun intended] but worth a shot.


OK.

My plan was just to pull them, resize them and then see if they'll chamber.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Did you pull any of the bullets that failed to chamber? If so that could be the problem. In some cases if you didn't re-size the cases you pulled the bullets from they can fail to chamber. Some people will tell you it isn't necessary, I beg to differ. There are instances where you can experience problems chambering rounds. Neck sizing after pulling bullets is a good thing to do.


Yes, they were ones that had the bullets pulled from them (as were the others).



Did you re-size them? These things happen, unfortunately not always. Ask me how I know.

 

[OVERKILL]

Nope, I was trying to save time. I pulled and then pressed in new bullets.