A while back there was a debate about the best sniper round and one person claimed to know the guys from AI personall, saying the AI guys dogged the 308 round and preferred another round.  Anybody remember what the caliber was?

.338 lapua?

Quoted: A while back there was a debate about the best sniper round and one person claimed to know the guys from AI personall, saying the AI guys dogged the 308 round and preferred another round.  Anybody remember what the caliber was?

.338 Lapua?

Quoted: .338 lapua?

Sounds right, i believe you are correct sir

How much do you shoot and how much $$$ do you have. The .338 will require a barrel change sooner. The .308 is less money and the barrel will run forever.

Do you have a 600m plus range ? If you don't, stick with the .308

The AI AW and AWP are seriously NICE rifles and actually worth the price tag.

Stupid Euros.  Figures they'd pick a round that they don't need with capabilities they can't use.

What are they doing?  Long-range bear hunting?  If a 7.62 NATO won't kill the target then the next step is 50 cal, not some crazy ass belted magnum.  

G

What are they doing? Long-range bear hunting? If a 7.62 NATO won't kill the target then the next step is 50 cal, not some crazy ass belted magnum.

Oh, do a bit of sniping, do we?  Ever had to hump a .50 cal any distance?  Im guessing...hmmm, not.

Those 'stupid euros' are actually British.  And they make a weapon that is widely regarded in the Police and Mil markmanship communities as the rolls royce of bolt guns.  It is being adopted as a standard platform in a LOT of countries, including the States.

The .338 LM round is being adopted more and more also, primarily because it has a very flat trajectory out to about 1000 metres and therefore is more predictable when making precision shots.  Obviously, you would want to be a LOT closer than that, but its nice to know you have that capability if you need it.

We used to have a sign in our old unit meal room that said 'Engage brain before speaking'.

Can we get one for here?

Quoted: <snip> not some crazy ass belted magnum.   G

You most certainly are not referring to the .338LM. Please elaborate on the caliber you are referring.

Thank you.

.460 Wby Mag.. With a 500 Gr solid.

I want one in one of thos e 600 something nitro express loads...

Quoted: What are they doing? Long-range bear hunting? If a 7.62 NATO won't kill the target then the next step is 50 cal, not some crazy ass belted magnum. Oh, do a bit of sniping, do we?  Ever had to hump a .50 cal any distance?  Im guessing...hmmm, not. Those 'stupid euros' are actually British.  And they make a weapon that is widely regarded in the Police and Mil markmanship communities as the rolls royce of bolt guns.  It is being adopted as a standard platform in a LOT of countries, including the States. The .338 LM round is being adopted more and more also, primarily because it has a very flat trajectory out to about 1000 metres and therefore is more predictable when making precision shots.  Obviously, you would want to be a LOT closer than that, but its nice to know you have that capability if you need it. We used to have a sign in our old unit meal room that said 'Engage brain before speaking'. Can we get one for here?

No, we can't have one of those signs.  Now go back to tending your sheep.

G

PS - actually I was just trolling.  I don't really care what snipers use.

.338 Lapua is not belted.

.338 allows for a platform that is marginally larger and heavier than a .308, while providing approx. one half of a kilometer longer range. It is still half the weight of a .50, and ammunition is also lighter.

There is a reason AI likes the .338. The late Mr. Cooper at AI was mostly responsible for it. It is the ONLY round in the world that was designed specifically for military sniping.

Quoted: Those 'stupid euros' are actually British.  And they make a weapon that is widely regarded in the Police and Mil markmanship communities as the rolls royce of bolt guns.

Except for that little issue of blowing apart barrels......

Quoted: It is the ONLY round in the world that was designed specifically for military sniping.

Actually it was designed for moose hunting in Scandinavia. I had to do a lot of research on the round when Barrett was designing the semi auto 338 LM.

Quoted: Quoted: It is the ONLY round in the world that was designed specifically for military sniping. Actually it was designed for moose hunting in Scandinavia. I had to do a lot of research on the round when Barrett was designing the semi auto 338 LM.

My understanding is that it was a project undertaken by the Navy in the 80s for long range anti personnel use. They couldnt get a case to hold together. Later Malcom Cooper of AI had brass made with a thicker web and the .338 as we know it today came to be.

Do you have any online sources you could direct me to? If I am wrong, I want to know before I go telling this story too many times!

Read it in the VihtaVoury reloading manual. I believe it was in the first edition manual.

Quoted: Read it in the VihtaVoury reloading manual. I believe it was in the first edition manual.

Cool, thanks.

Quoted: Quoted: Read it in the VihtaVoury reloading manual. I believe it was in the first edition manual. Cool, thanks.

FWIW:

www.custer.com.au/Lap/pages/338Hist.html

History of the .338 LAPUA Magnum

The .338 LAPUA Magnum, also known as the 8.6x70mm, was originally developed in 1983 as a long-range sniper cartridge for the U.S. Navy designed to push a 250 grain (16.2 gram) bullet at about 3,000 fps (914 mps). After a series of experiments, the Research Armament Company in the United States designed a round based on a slightly shortened and necked-down .416 Rigby case, building rifles for the Navy that used Hornady bullets and cases from Brass Extrusion Labs. The cartridge went from wildcat to production status when Lapua Ltd. in Finland refined the design at the Navy's request. The standard .416 case was not robust enough to support the average pressures generated by this cartridge, so Lapua kept the outside dimensions the same but beefed up the web area of the case. I should note that average pressures for this cartridge run a bitless than 60,915 psi or 420 MPa, and no single round will exceed 70,052 psi or 483 MPa. Muzzle velocity of production ammunition is a wee bit slower than the original concept, running about 2,950 fps (900 mps) out of the average rifle. This round will still be supersonic at 1.300 yards (1,200 meters), however, while 7.62x51 mm M80ball commonly goes subsonic around 770 yards (704 m).

I'm more of a .30-.378 wby kinda guy

.338 Lapua