Savage action for 338 LM

[Moosetracker]

Apart from the different sized bolt head and magazine cut-out, what is the difference between the regular Savage magnum action and the action used for the 338 LM, if any? Does the latter have a larger diameter (i.e. 1.40" vs 1.35") or heat treated differently to accept the greater bolt thrust from the Lapua cartridge?

The reason I ask is that, in the past, it seems that every expert was advising against using the regular 110 mag action for the 338 LM round. Now Savage is producing at least 3 rifles in that caliber. Am I missing something?

[memilanuk]

I would say perhaps they learned from the SA Target Actions, with the added mass from the small ejection ports and the re-located action screw locations that supposedly helped make things stouter and resist failure all around... even the 111LRH has a small ejection port action now.

As far as I know, no major changes to the exterior dimensions of the bolt or the receiver... just some extra metal in places. The rim of the bolt still looks *awfully* thin when you look at it...

[Moosetracker]

Thanks memilanuk.

Bottom line, the safety margin has been reduced for Savage rifles using the 338 LM round. Ditto for Remington. That might be OK for commercial ammunition where max pressure is carefully controlled at 60,916 psi (CIP), but it's a risky proposition for reloaders experimenting with numerous components with wide tolerances.

I think that if I ever decide to buy into the 338 LM or similar-sized cartridges, I'll stick with actions designed for it.

[memilanuk]

Given that Savage tests these things to failure before they bring them to market... I'd say you should be safe enough.

In November 2009 we took a tour thru the factory and they had a rack of guns on 'death row'. We'd helped field test the 110BA, and I was curious exactly how they planned to blow it up. 'Fill the case with Blue Dot and put a bullet in it' was the answer. I think you'd be hard pressed to top that one... :o

FWIW, the engineers there said that the solid top and moving the action hole screws to where they engaged more 'meat' of the action seemed to boost the failure limit a little. At any rate, they said the actions are supposed to hold up to over 130k psi. Given that your primer pockets are going to start going bye-bye around 70k, and over 80k you're basically looking at one-shot brass life... I think you should be okay with the factory action ;)

[efm77]

I heard that they also go through a different heat treatment process too to make them a little harder/stronger. Also more steel in the locking lug abutments and thicker locking lugs. They use the large shank barrel too but they kept the nut so apparently it's thick enough/strong enough without a shoulder when using the large shank.

[BoilerUP]

So...338 Edge is okay, but 338 LM is pushing things?

[efm77]

Pretty much. Even though the pressures are about the same, the LM case is a good bit larger which disperses that much pressure over a larger surface area. The cartridge head is also a good bit larger than the edge/rum which equates to pressure over a larger surface area of the bolt face, or greater rearward thrust. This puts more stress on the locking lugs/receiver than the edge/rum does.

[tammons]

More bolt thrust.

The 338 has a bigger case head and more bolt thrust per PSI compared the the RUM/Edge.

If I remember right SSS said with the standard action, the locking lugs eventually end up pounding out the lug lock area in the action or basically it will work for a while but eventually you will have serious issues.

If you want it straight from the horses mouth ask SSS and he can explain it properly.

[efm77]

http://savageshooters.com/SavageForum/index.php/topic,36123.0.html

Here you go. This has a quote straight from Sharpshooter himself on testing he's done.