If you were in the market for a semi-auto precision rifle, would you consider the .338 Lapua Magnum variants floating about to be as viable as weapons as the SR-25 and MK11?
For slightly cheaper than a new SR-25, there are several semi .338 Lapua rifles on the market now.
Noreen Bad News .338
The RND 2000 .338
and a few others. Would you even consider these?
And another question is, why was the .308 caliber chosen for use in the M110 SASS over the .338 Lapua Mag cartridge? Its seems it would have only required a lager mag well, bolt and a different chamber/barrel to utilize the farther striking round. Changes that were not far fetched to integrate into the initial machining process. Just wondering why they didn’t opt for the larger round.
The Mk 11/M110 is not a “precision” sniper rifles in the traditional sense. It is designed to allow a single marksman to engage multiple threats rapidly and quickly at ranges from 200-800 meters (though obviously you can push it either direction on the scale). For most precision work the US Military uses the M24 series and its cousin the XM2010 rifle chambered in .300 Mag.
.338 Lapua was not considered as it is generally used for targets at 800 meters and farther as the power of the round is honestly wasted at closer ranges and thus a semi-automatic design is less necessary due to its rare use at closer range. Being that it is used at these longer ranges, the time savings gained from using a semi-automatic design are generally less important than the reliability concerns (including broken bolts being a possibility if on simply upsizes an SR25) that could ensue.
Also, another few considerations I just thought about. Have you considered the size difference in powder charge between the .338 Lapua and the .308 (truly the 7.62x51)? The Lapua Magnum is both dimensionally much larger and the powder charge even more so. To simply upsize the SR25 would require much more than simply increasing the size of the magwell and changing the bolt, barrel, and other mechanisms. It would have required lengthening the upper and lower receivers in order to accept the longer round. There is a reason that AI AW chassis is limited on the overall cartridge length of the rounds chambered in it. There also would have most likely been a need for reinforcement of both the upper and lower receiver of the weapon due to the increased recoil impulse caused by the larger round and because material would have to be removed internally in order to increase the size of the BCG for the larger round.
I am no big fan of Barrett guns. I have always been puzzled why he designed the thing recoil operated. This is the first recoil operated rifle design in decades. Generally concepts die out for a reason which is usually because there are better ways to do it. Steam powered automobiles for example or steam locomotives, biplanes, solid tires, wringer washing machines, etc, etc. I think history has conclusively proven gas operation is superior for rifles.
My buddy is a deer killer and he is a big fan of 338 Federal. I barreled a Winchester M70 30-06 ruined by corrosive ammo to 338-06, it was potent. My first barrel job, done back in the day when I had access to a machine shop. 338 Federal is not far behind 338-06.
If you want a big bore AR why not a 358 Winchester? 338 bullets are made for 338 Winchester Magnum velocities and are not going to perform optimally in a 338 Federal*. 358 bullets are made for 35 Whelen and 358 Winchester.
*My buddy has had excellent success but on small Florida deer at reasonable range. I think a 200 grain FMJ would work on a 100 pound deer.
I may be wrong about the 338 bullets not working with 338 Federal. I haven’t hunted in 10 years and rifle bullets have come a long way in that time. I looked at the ballistics of 338 Federal vs 358 Winchester and they are comparable except 338 works a lot better past 100 yards.
I vote for LMT MWS and an extra factory 338 Federal barrel. In fact, I might have to pick one up to join the 16" 308 and 20" 6.5CM barrels in my MWS stable.
I dont understand why anybody would get a 338lm unless you hunt REALLY long range or are just major rich and can just for the hell of it. Seriously your looking at around 5$ a pop, that would take all the fun out of it for me.
The 338 lm is not for everybody but at some point guys want to go further. The ammo cost can be off set a great deal by hand loading. A box Of the cheep stuff for one of my wsms is going to run 40$. I can load my own 20 rounds for 1/4 of that.
I picked up a Savage BA110 338 Lapua. Love it. It’s one of those things you just get and don’t worry about the cost of doing business. However, as posted above, having a place to practice can put a damper on your growth.