Advantages And Drawbacks Of .338 Firearm Ammunition

By Jake Carter


The 338 Lapua ammo is a customized rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge that had been originally designed for use in long-range military sniper rifles. Research Armament Co. produced the 338 Lapua ammo in 1983 based upon a 416 Rigby case necked down to .338 caliber. Lapua put this cartridge into construction in 1989. It had been designed to have the energy to penetrate 5 layers of armed service body armor and still result in the kill at 1000 meters. The loaded cartridge has a .588 inch rim measurement and is 3.68 inches long. The thick-walled brass offers a 7.40 ml capacity for the .338 Lapua cartridge.

The shape of the case is designed to give great reliability in feeding and removal in severe conditions for a variety of rifles, including bolt action, semi-automatic and automatic. For typical 338 Lapua ammo, 1,640 yards is the maximum shooting range for man-sized targets using top quality factory army sniper rifle at sea level.

When working with common Lapua military loads, it features a supersonic range of 1,640 yards within warm summer situations. Warm, summer circumstances are required to see the optimum range. The range diminishes in wintertime and arctic situations. When 338 Lapua ammo cartridges are full of aerodynamic low-drag bullets, the long-range performance and supersonic range can be enhanced considerably. The cartridges' muzzle velocity depends on load and powder temps.

In military applications, the 338 Lapua ammo may be used as a dual-purpose anti-personnel and anti-material round. As anti-personnel ammunition, 338 Lapua ammo could pierce excellent body armor at amounts of 1,094 yards. It has a maximum effective range of as much as 1,910 yards. It can be relatively restricted in their anti-material use because it has a low kinetic energy in comparison to various other comparable cartridges.

The 338 Lapua ammunition was used in the Afghanistan War and Iraq War. It is currently a proven round which has a tested record of accessibility and sustainability. To confirm the functionality of this cartridge you can check out the longest validated sniper kill in a battle. In November 2009 in a Non-C.I.P. conforming British military issue, overpressure 338 Lapua cartridges were used by English sniper Craig Harrison to establish a brand new record for the lengthiest confirmed sniper kill in combat, at a range of 2,707 yards.

The 338 Lapua ammo is being employed increasingly by hunters and long-range shooters. 338 ammo is capable of taking down any game animal, although its utilization for a lot of more hazardous game is at question. Game just like Cape buffalo, white rhinos, hippopotamus, and elephants might be slain by the 338 Lapua ammo, but it will not possess the stopping strength required to make it happen securely. This is why a number of sub-Saharan Africa nations have a minimum caliber principle for hunting the 'Big Five', which .338 Lapua ammunition will not satisfy. It's not lawful to use by civilians in nations, which forbid use of past or existing army ammunition.

The 338 Lapua case can be employed as the parent case regarding a host of changed variations. Cartridges like the 338 Lapua, which use professional manufacturer cases are usually generally known as wildcats. A wildcatter could blow out the factory case to gain additional muzzle velocity though increasing the case capability. However some muzzle speed may be acquired via this process, the outcomes are little.

A wildcatter can alter the quantity of the cartridge along with the caliber also. Changing the caliber is frequently carried out to follow minimum caliber or bullet weight limitations and hunting certain game. The 338 Lapua ammo offers significant and exceptionally stable and stress immune cartridge which can be simply reloaded. Consequently it may be reused repeatedly. These characteristics made it loved by wildcatters.




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