.338 Lapua Magnum

About .338 Lapua Magnum

.338 Lapua Magnum was developed as a military long-range cartridge and sits between .300 magnums and .50 BMG. It carries heavy high-BC bullets supersonic well past 1,500 yards, which is the entire reason it exists and the reason it has no cheap substitute.

Everything about it is expensive. Ammunition costs several times what .308 does, rifles are heavy and built on dedicated magnum actions, barrel life is limited, and recoil demands a brake — which makes it extremely loud. It is a specialist's cartridge and an entirely wrong first choice; if the goal is learning to shoot at distance, do it in 6.5 Creedmoor and spend the difference on ammunition.