.338 Lapua?

S

songdog

Guest
I am kind of new to all this gunsmith stuff, can anyone help? I am wondering if I take a rem 700 long action receiver, add a barrel and a custom bolt, can I make a 338 Lapua?
Has this been done before?
 
Remington actually made a rifle in 338 Lapua. I had one in my shop for a rebarrel job. The only mods were on the bolt. the face was machined out for the case and a long sako style extractor was used. However, some say the receiver is not large enough. Being that one of those guys is Dan Lilja, I would listen. I would go with a custom action that will handle the larger calibers.
 
songdog said:
I am kind of new to all this gunsmith stuff, can anyone help? I am wondering if I take a rem 700 long action receiver, add a barrel and a custom bolt, can I make a 338 Lapua?
Has this been done before?
Click to expand...

The larger diameter magnum cases such as the 338 Lapua can be an issue in an action with a 1.062" tenon such as a Remington. The large chamber leaves a thinner chamber wall which allows more chamber expansion under high pressure. The chamber expands then when it shrinks back it can cause sticky case extraction. You will find those that say it's OK but you will also find some very knowledgeable and experienced gunsmiths that speak against it.
 
Joels right. I've been down this path several times. 1 1/16-16TPI has a root diameter under 1". You can do the math from there to figure the side wall thickness. Besides the obvious safety concerns I can just about guarentee you'll have extraction problems in the end.

Dave
 
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