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Hello everyone,
Quick question:
I have a savage 300 win mag and I want to build it into a 338 lapua
1. Do i have to change out bolt faces?
2. 338 lapua will fit into this long action?
3. Does Criterion make 338 Lapua barrels?
Caliber Case head (inches) Length (inches)
300WinMag 532" 3.34"
338LapuaMag .588" 3.68"
Thanks! any help is appreciated
I'm pretty sure the bolt head would have to be changed. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the mag bolt head is .535" and the Lapua bolt head is .590". Not sure about the receiver and port size.
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It is frowned upon by most gunsmiths with good experience. Just ask Sharpshooter. You would be better served buying one of the models already made in 338 Lapua. The Lapua operates at the same or less pressure than the Win Mag but it is over a larger surface area. The head being larger it puts more rearward thrust on the bolt head/locking lugs which can cause lug set back (they leave an impression in the lug recesses) The Lapua action is tempered differently to make it stronger (harder I assume) and with thicker lug recesses and thicker locking lugs on the bolt head. Also with the standard shank barrel you have very little meat around the chamber wall for that portion that extends beyond the receiver. This can cause the chamber to temporarily swell during firing which can lead to metal fatigue, stuck cases etc. With a standard action, you would be better off building a 338RUM or 338 Edge. They are slightly smaller in diameter than the Lapua and safer in the standard action.
So I agree that the bolt head needs to be switched out but im still unsure about the rest.
This is a quote from snipercentral about the savage 110 BA
"The downside to the 338 Lapua is that it is based on the .416 Rigby case which has a larger case head diameter (.590") than the standard magnum cases (.532") and unfortunately, many of the commercial actions and bolts are not large enough to easily handle the larger case head diameter. Because of this, popular actions like the Remington 700 require special work to be done to them in order to fit the .338 Lapua, and anytime you mention special work, it means more money and also lower production numbers. As such, there are not a lot of lower priced precision 338 Lapua rifles on the market. That is where the Savage 110 BA comes in. Savage actions are built on a modular design, so instead of them having to make major modifications to a bolt design, they simply had to make a new bolt head and they were pretty much there. Of course some other details such as magazine design needed to be performed as well."
not saying I am taking them for their word but just another source I guess.
Thanks for you guys input. I will ask jim next time I get a chance, rather be safe than sorry.
Yes it was more than just a bolt head swap. There was an article in American Rifleman I believe a while back when the Savage 338 Lapua's first came out. They have a smaller ejection port like the target actions to make them stiffer. They are tempered differently to make them stronger, have thicker lug recesses, thicker locking lugs and are the large barrel shank to provide a thick enough chamber wall. If you use a standard action you will likely experience locking lug setback due to the larger surface area of the larger case head. It's kinda the same way air brakes work on a semi-truck. They operate at a lower pressure than fluid brakes on a regular car, but they have a lot more thrust/stopping power. This is because the pressure, while lower, is being applied to a piston that is much larger than that in a brake caliper on a regular car. It's the same with a larger rifle cartridge. A 338 Lapua round operating at say 65K psi is going to put a good bit more force on the bolt face than a 338 win mag operating at 65k psi because it's a larger surface area pushing against the bolt face.