budget .338 build - where to start?

id like a .338 lm,and would love to just buy a 110 fcp or something ready to go, but cant drop $1500+ at once for a gun then another $500-$1500 for a scope that will make it a 1000yd + tack driver.

Where would you veteran shooters/builders recommend a novice like me start in order to "piece" a rifle together. Mostly so I can do it on a "payment plan" buying one part here, one part there to complete the build?

My initial research on something like a savage factory .338 110 fcp, leads me to believe I could find a used savage 110, and with a rebarrel/new bolt face, and some other 'smith work, convert it to .338. is this so? Id like to start looking for a donor rifle to get the action off of asap if this is the case. Fortunately I have a friend who shoots .338 lm regularly (with a rifle WAY out of my budget) but he reloads, so I have access to that, to save a few pennies on the ammo, which isnt cheap.

Ultimately my goal is to build a long range (1000 yd+) .338lm rig for $1000, or less if I can, before buying the scope. Is this possible? Im not a seasoned rifle shooter/builder, so any wisdom from the veterans here is much appreciated

my brother and I were bouncing this around this week (he want's a .338) from the research I found thus far a .338 lapua is best left for a pre built rifle when your talking about savages (something to do with bolt setback) however it seems that .338 RUM's have been done successfully which is near the same level of performance. that being said a .338 EDGE should also be doable (based of the slightly longer 300 RUM case) and performace of the .338 edge matches/exceeds the lapua. you could either start with a rifle that has the larger bolt face (rum's, 375 ruger, wsm's ect...) or have a magnum bolt face opened up(7mm, 300win, ect)

one thing to consider as i'm trying to get my brother to understand is shooting 1000+ also requires very good glass. your $500-1500 budget is very vauge and $1500+ may be more like it depending on how large of a target your shooting.

i'm going to try and push him into a 300 win mag untill he can shoot @ 1500 consistantly. he has zero long range experience. I'm still a novice myself. i've shot my .308 @ 800 and enjoyed it. building a .260 to play out to 1000-1200

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Originally Posted by squirrel_slayer

my brother and I were bouncing this around this week (he want's a .338) from the research I found thus far a .338 lapua is best left for a pre built rifle when your talking about savages (something to do with bolt setback) however it seems that .338 RUM's have been done successfully which is near the same level of performance. that being said a .338 EDGE should also be doable (based of the slightly longer 300 RUM case) and performace of the .338 edge matches/exceeds the lapua. you could either start with a rifle that has the larger bolt face (rum's, 375 ruger, wsm's ect...) or have a magnum bolt face opened up(7mm, 300win, ect)

one thing to consider as i'm trying to get my brother to understand is shooting 1000+ also requires very good glass. your $500-1500 budget is very vauge and $1500+ may be more like it depending on how large of a target your shooting.

i'm going to try and push him into a 300 win mag untill he can shoot @ 1500 consistantly. he has zero long range experience. I'm still a novice myself. i've shot my .308 @ 800 and enjoyed it. building a .260 to play out to 1000-1200

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The scope budget is kinda vauge just because I have NO idea what I will finally settle on, and Im not opposed to used glass thats been taken care of, so a deal may come along. I just know it isnt going to be a $300 nikon buckmaster that gets me out to 1000. Im setting a timetable of 1 year after I buy a donor/build rifle, just so that even if I go over budget on the rifle a bit, Im still averaging $100 a month spent on it and theres no rush to throw cheap junk or half a$$ed 'smith work at it since Im in no hurry. That way once it is built, I can shop scopes and hopefully keep it under another $1k but im not married to that number for a budget either. ideally id LOVE to say "heres my accurate as hell 338 I built turnkey for under $2k", but I know it could cost more. Im still in the early stages and its not totally out of the question to just stick $150 a month on an academy or bass pro gift card and then order an out of the box savage .338lm... BUT I always take great pride in saying I built that myself, and would love to say I did with this if practical.

Ive been reading alot lately on the .260/6mm variants as well but really know nothing about them. I actually shot the 338 lm and my buddy can reload them, so thats one of the reasons I honed in on it. This rifle would likely see no hunting duty so its something to consider I suppose.

thats good. you have restraint. I kinda fell into the gotta have it now category. the 6mm/6.5 varients can match, come close, or exceed the same drop/drift as a .338LM but obviously without the energy. they are alot cheaper to load (half the powder and bullets are almost half the price) brass is also very spendy close to $3 a piece where some of the 6/6.5 varients can be formed from inexpensive .308/30-06 brass. even spec lapua brass is 1/3 the cost roughly. having someone to load for you is a great savings. i've seen 20rounds of .338 lapua for $120 which seems to be the norm. $6 a shot. ouch! :) gotta pay to play

Save your money and get a 110FCP when you have the cash if you are wanting to play with a 338. I would also stick with the 338 Lapua as Privi make brass for it that is at $1.68 a piece which is a buck less than the Lapua brass and it is heavier brass. Privi make the 416 Barrett brass. I am already hitting at 1,200 yards easily with mine. As for scopes you are looking at over a grand to get you out past 1,000 and there are a few lower priced ones that are good. Huskemaw are really good as well as Sightron. I use a Vortex Razor on mine as as it sits it is able to go to 2,000 yards but you are over $2000.00 for this scope. Huskemaw is under the $1500 mark and Sightron are around a grand for a SIII. Ammo is not cheap for this round and it is over a buck a round to reload and the brass life is short. Loaded ammo is near 5-6 bucks a round.


I dont get the attraction to piecing a rifle together as it usually ends up costing more in the long run and you still don't have exactly what you want. It's called patience and saving money.Buy the rifle then the expensive purchase comes as you are not going to get past or close to 1,000 with a cheap scope and be accurate. The 110FCP is a proven performer, has a reasonable cost and comes with a effective muzzle brake. Barrels are not always cheap either. Then finding a gunsmith with a 339 lapua chamber reamer or even a finish reamer is hard to do and the ones that usually can cut this chamber will charge you for it. Then you are also going to have to thread the barrel for a brake and barrel threading is usually $150 or so for someone who knows what they are doing. So by the time you get a rifle, get a bolt, get a barrel, have them all fitted together you still don't have a rifle put together as a 338 lapua and I for one would not want to be around someone piecing together a rifle just to brag about it. The 338 lapua can reach 60,000+ psi and things can happen with that much pressure. if you are not familiar with reloading ammunition and working in this pressure range you may want to pick another calber. Even the 243 will get you to 1,000 and so will many of the 6.5 rounds

I would be looking for a used 110FCP in 338 lapua rather than a gun to convert.

Savage 110FCp in 338 side by said with a Savage 243 win with the Huskemaw scopes at 1,000 yards. Both rifles hit target.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvUj5yWUf8s