338 Lapua Magnum

The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6x70mm or 8.58x70mm) is a 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, but 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 (550.0 to 850.0 gr) projectiles. The loaded cartridge is 14.93 mm (0.588 in) in diameter (rim) and 93.5 mm (3.68 in) long. It can penetrate better-than-standard military body armour at ranges up to 1,000 metres (1,090 yd) and has a maximum effective range of about 1,750 metres (1,910 yd). Muzzle velocity is dependent on load and powder temperature, and varies from 880 to 915 m/s (2,890 to 3,000 ft/s) for commercial loads with 16.2-gram (250 gr) bullets, which corresponds to about 6,525 J (4,813 ft-lbf) of muzzle energy.

British military issue overpressure .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges with a 91.4 mm (3.60 in) overall length, loaded with 16.2-gram (250 gr) LockBase B408 very-low-drag bullets fired at 936 m/s (3,071 ft/s) muzzle velocity from a L115A3 Long Range Rifle were used in November 2009 by British sniper Corporal of Horse (CoH) Craig Harrison to establish a new record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat, at a range of 2,475 m (2,707 yd).

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." In Namibia the .338 Lapua Magnum is legal for hunting Africa's Big five game if the loads have = 5,400 J (3,983 ft-lbf) muzzle energy

Suggested Use

• Deer
• Big Bear
• Sheep / Goat
• Moose
• Elk
• Buffalo / Bison
• Dangerous Predators

Performance

For a typical .338 Lapua Magnum high end factory military sniper rifle with a 690 mm (27.2 in) long 305 mm (1 in 12 inch) rifling twist rate barrel at sea level, 1,500 m (1,640 yd) is considered to be the maximum shooting distance for man sized targets. When using standard Lapua military 16.2 g (250 gr) loads it has a supersonic range of 1,500 m (1,640 yd) under warm summer conditions at a muzzle velocity of 915 m/s (3,000 ft/s). However, to be able to maintain 80 to 90% hit probability on non-moving 45 cm x 90 cm (17.7 in x 35.4 in) reactive army targets, this maximum shooting distance has to be reduced to 1,300 metres (1,422 yd) at freezing point conditions or 1,100 m (1,203 yd) in Arctic winter conditions, when the muzzle velocity may drop to 880 m/s (2,887 ft/s)-i.e. only during optimal warm summer conditions the 1,500 m (1,640 yd) maximum shooting distance is realistically achievable