7.62 Vs .338 Lapua
Just as a foreword: this is a totally bunk comparison. 300 Winchester magnum and 338 Lapua magnum are both more than capable of taking down any game animal in North America at most any distance you’ll see them at. I just thought it’d be fun to compare and contrast the two of them. And while both these cartridges are being tested by the US Military as a sniping round, I’m just comparing the two for hunting purposes below.
308 Winchester vs 358 Winchester vs 338 Federal Ammo The.308 Winchester is by far the most popular out of the bunch. In fact, that cartridge is certainly one of the Top 10 best selling rifle cartridges in the United States each year, if not in the Top 5.
- Cartridge (Wb@MV) Rifle Weight: Recoil energy: Recoil velocity.17 HMR (17 at 2550) 7.5: 0.2: n/a.17 Hornet (20 at 3650) 8.5: 0.6: 2.0.17 Rem. (25 at 4000) 8.5.
- Range of engagement and type of target to be destroyed determine weapon choice. 800 yards or less on a human, 7.62x51mm is the go-to round. 800 to 1500 yards on the same.338 Lapua fills the range gap. Also can be used against soft targets and some hard cover at the shorter end of the range spectrum.
Killing Power
When you look at the two cartridges together, you think to yourself, “well that’s not that far off. Sure the 338 is just a tiny bit wider and the bullet is just a tiny bit bigger, but does that really make a lot of difference?” If you were to ask a deer shot at typical distances of 100-200 meters, the answer would be a definitive NO. But where that extra powder and weight come in handy is at extreme distances. Muzzle energy is usually measured in ft-lbs (even here in Canada), and a typical rule of thumb is that you should be hitting a deer with at least 1000 ft-lbs on impact. They’ll die with way less than that, and a heavier bullet will still over-penetrate, but a slow non-expanding bullets through the lungs is not going to mess them up like I’d want to and that might mean tracking a wounded deer into the bush. If you read bullet manufacturers manuals, most of them recommend more than 1000 fpe to reliably expand and do what they’re supposed to on game. So where does that leave our 338 Lapua and 300 Win Mag? If we use that 1000 ft-lbs of energy as our benchmark, a lowly 30-30 will still kill that deer dead out to 200 yards with most bullets. It’s 2200 ft-lbs at the muzzle isn’t much, but neither is 200 yards when you’re talking about long rang shooting. The 300 Winchester Magnum is in a class way above the 30-30, and with a 180 grn pill, will provide over 1000 ft-lbs of energy just up to 900 yards. The 338 Lapua kicks things up a notch. With 250 grain bullets, it’ll hit 1300 yards before crossing the 1000 ft-lb mark and with heavy 300 grain bullets, it’s good to 1600 yards. That’s totally ridiculous. Even with a super rifle capable of .5MOA, you’re talking about a grouping of 8″ at 1600 yards. That’s outside the 6″ vitals that you should be able to hit every time to make a clean kill. Heck, that rule of thumb gets passed at 1200 yards. With a more accurate rifle and a knowledgeable experienced shooter, even 1600 yards is doable.
Speed
They’ll both launch a bullet at 2950 fps. The difference is that the 300 win mag will do it with a 180 grn bullet, whereas the 338 lapua will do that with a 250 grain bullet. That weight makes a big difference in ME with the 300 win mag doing 3500 ft-lbs at the muzzle compared to the 338 lapua’s mighty 4832 ft-lbs. That’s approaching safari rounds.
Practicality
No question, the 300 win mag is the more practical round. You can get it in almost any long action rifle, you can buy a box of ammo at the local store, and you might even have a buddy that fires the same thing. 338 Lapua Magnum is only offered in select (expensive) rifles, $90 for a box of 20 rounds is normal, and NO ONE in your hunting party is going to have it. In fact, your loud muzzle brake is going to keep most of your hunting buddies miles away. It’ll also keep your ears ringing long after the hunt is done (if you forgot hearing protection). If you want to shoot 338 Lapua, you HAVE to reload to avoid the ridiculous $5/shot that you’ll be paying with factory ammo. With reloading, you can keep costs to much reasonable levels. On the brass front, oh boy, you’re going to pay. Better Lapua brass costs $3 per case for 338, BUT you can make it last well into 20 reloads if you’re careful. With 300 Winchester Magnum, you’re playing with much cheaper brass, but the belt can be a bit annoying when reloading.
Summary
So there you have it, the mighty 300 win mag and the mightier, but more ridiculous 338 lapua. Free inventory tracking software for mac windows 10. If you just want to hunt anything, look no further than 300 win mag. If you want the biggest, baddest round in your hunt camp, the 338 lapua is your only option beyond the insane 50 BMG.
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Any cartridge can be adopted to fulfill the requirements of a sniper cartridge. In fact, the rifle itself probably is what contributes more to the accuracy of the shot than what it is chambered for. For most nations the main rifle cartridge adopted is the cartridge used for sharpshooting, designated marksman (DM) and snipers. In today’s climate you have either adopted the 7.62 NATO or the Russian 7.62x54R as your primary accuracy cartridge. The civilian version of the 7.62x51mm is the .308 Winchester. In competition the .308 has earned a reputation for accuracy and precision.
7.62x54r Ballistics
Fallout 3 crash log. If loaded properly the 7.62 Russian can shoot fairly straight, but the weapons chambered for this round like the Dragunov sniper rifle has been more attractive as a DM rifle. The older weapons were not tack drivers, but sufficiently accurate for combat out to some 5-600 meters. Modern versions have tightened their groupings considerably. With groupings of 2 MOA (Minutes of Angle) it made hits beyond 600 meters problematic with the older weapons.
M21 Sniper Rifle
The M21, M24 and M40 sniper rifles of the US armed services and their derivatives have been with us since the Vietnam War. The M21 is built on the semi-automatic M14 action, while M24 and the Marines M40 are built upon Remington’s Model 700 action. The Army’s M24 is built on a long action 700 to accommodate change to 300 Winchester Magnum chambering and re-barreling. The Marine’s M40 is a short action limited to 308 Winchester length cartridges. Not many militaries are equipped with anything else, but times are changing. The M110 is based on the AR-10 and is a DM rifle more than a sniper, but holds under 1 MOA and chambered for the 7.62 NATO round.
Ma Deuce 50 Cal Machine Gun
Back during the Vietnam war a ‘Ma Deuce’ M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun was equipped with a scope. The M2 can be fired not only in full auto, but semi-auto as well. These were used to interdict NVA and Viet Cong movement at night as the optics included night vision equipment. Move forward and we have Barret Arms supplying semi-auto and bolt action anti-material rifles chambered for .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun). Lectra modaris v7r2 cracked. And a similar movement in eastern armies has been noted for the Russian 12.7x108mm cartridge. All though designed and designated as anti-material rifle these weapons have reached out and touched enemy soldiers out to a mile and half, a long ways.
.338 Lapua Magnum
7.62 Vs 338 Lapua
But the newest phenomenon is the introduction of .338 Lapua Magnum. The extended ranges encountered in the middle east conflicts have mandated a rifle that can extend their effect ranges beyond 1000 yards. Some shots made have been truly phenomenal. The current record was by a Canadian using a McMillan Tac-50 in .50 BMG at 3,871 yards. A .338 Lapua Magnum holds the second- best record at 2,707 yards.
.338 Lapua Magnum Vs 7.62
Other Sniper Cartridges
Another couple of cartridges that are entering some limited use is the Barret 416. It is a .50 BMG necked down to .416 caliber. The other interesting number is the Chey Tac M200 Intervention chambered in either .408 Chey Tac or .375 Chey Tac. These are based on the .505 Gibbs case and designed for 2500+ yard shooting. The 338 and .50 BMG based weapons are found in nearly every western national army’s arsenal. Long range interdiction of thin-skinned vehicles and personnel the purpose of these .50 caliber rifles. These fortyish based smaller bore weapons retain more energy beyond 2,000 yards than the .50 BMG. Rumor has it that the Army is re-barreling their M24 to 300 Winchester Magnum, extending their ‘touch’. A lot of fascinating stuff in the combat precision shooting arena.