.338 Lapua Magnum
Real-world ballistics and competition performance out to 2,000 metres.
This article looks at the .338 Lapua Magnum through real-world competition data rather than theory alone. We cover .338 Lapua ballistics, effective range, wind drift, velocity and energy, backed by first-hand shooting experience and competition footage from Extreme Shot Italia III (original version conceived and organised by Rod Formosa), including shots out to 2,000 metres.
Read the original article in German.
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The 338 Lapua Magnum cartridge, you may think we had almost missed this on rifletalks.com. The forefather of long range shooting and sniping – it’s the feeder cartridge to many other ELR cartridges and competitions. You can bet a few boxes of 338Lapua that any one that today has a heavy class ELR rifle, at some point crossed paths with the 338Lapua himself, ask any big bore shooter you know. This website would not be complete in the long range rifle and ELR scene if we didn’t cover the 338Lapua Magnum. To date, I had not yet covered this cartridge as I wanted to place sufficient first-hand info and feedback to those that are looking into it not the usual ballistic charts but as we like to do here at rifletalks.com, provide the most relevant, real world, data driven approach. Today I hope to give you that and abit more. 
The 338 Lapua magnum is probably the most straight forward long range rifle caliber which is still considered ‘light class’. I say straight forward because it is a factory offering, you can walk into any armory worth its salt and you shall find 338Lapua ammo of some sort. Most major manufacturers have atleast one model rifle today in 338Lapua, from the economic offerings of Savage 338LM to Ruger precision, Sako TRG42 to Accuracy international AW 338LM, Voere X3, Victrix Scepter, RPA Rangemaster 338, Desert Tech 338LM, FN Ballista 338Lapua, Haenel HLR 338LM, Brugger & Thomet APR 338 and there are more – not even starting to consider the many custom rifle shops that offer some sort of 338 Lapua magnum be it for tactical, hunting or target matches such as Surgeon, Cadex, BAT, Defiance, Kelbly and so many others that I can keep firing names for another paragraph or so. 
Saro Iacono shooting a 32″ barrelled 338 Lapua Magnum. He placed 2nd overall out to 2000m, great shooting!
.338 Lapua Magnum Effective Range
How far can a .338 Lapua shoot effectively? In practical long-range shooting, the effective range of the .338 Lapua Magnum depends heavily on the rifle, load, atmospheric conditions and shooter. Our competition experience has seen .338 Lapua rifles successfully engage targets from 500 metres through one mile and out to 2,000 metres. At the extreme end, however, the cartridge is being pushed close to — and beyond — its optimal ballistic envelope, so maximum distance should not be confused with dependable effective range.
Extreme Shot Italia (original version conceived and organised by Rod Formosa) competition has been a great Extreme long range shooting event with 1-1.5MOA targets from 500m to 2000 meters. Over the last 3 years were we have witnessed numerous shooters coming along with their 338’s and I can probably now say that I can add some value added with this article to those looking to make up their mind on one. Keep in mind that ultimately, it is the spotter/shooter combo that will make the real difference, but if over 50% of shooters of this competition still trust the 338 Lapua, something must be going for it. Let’s find out. 
Over the 5 day event in Sicily, we saw many shooters engaging the targets, we collect data from their scoring cards and this year we also have LIVE STREAM video to show you in this article! We saw many hundreds of shots in competition at these small steel plates at distances which matter where the shooter must connect with the target with a first, second or third round hit.
.338 Lapua Magnum at One Mile: 5/5 in Competition
The .338 Lapua Magnum remains a highly capable one-mile competition cartridge when paired with the right rifle and ammunition. At Extreme Shot Italia V — the original competition conceived and organised by Rod Formosa — David Marcore demonstrated exactly that, putting 5 out of 5 shots on target at one mile during competition with a Sako TRG 42 fitted with a custom barrel and superb handloads.
The footage below starts directly at David’s one-mile run.
David Marcore — 5/5 at one mile with a custom-barrel Sako TRG 42 in .338 Lapua Magnum at Extreme Shot Italia V. Video starts at 07:38:42.
Below: TEAM WINDCUT BULLETS from ITALY taking a shot at 680m then at 2000m with their 338Lapua Sako TRG 42 Rebarreled with a 32″ pipe. Shooting a 300gr bullet at 2000m is a feat in itself. At this distance, the bullet is subsonic, and minor changes in the wind even of just 1mph will put you off the plate. It’s larger brother the 33XC cartridge pushes a 300 Grain bullet at just around 3200ft/s with ease! 
The ultimate test is engaging targets under competition conditions at 2000m with the 338 pushing the boundaries. 
Consider how many new cartridges have come to the scene since the 338Lapua first made its debut ‘almost forty years ago, back in 1982, when the . 338/416 cartridge was developed for the United States military purposes. Officially, the project was to develop a target rifle and cartridge for 1000 yards, but in reality the purpose was more likely to develop a 1500 meter sniper rifle.’ (www.lapua.com) I first shot the first 338Lapua Magnum about 15 years ago at Yverdon les Bains, Military range in Switzerland during one of the shoots of the FCSA Swiss run by British Pete Reynolds who was very kind to me and onboarded me in his club with a taste of the ‘light gun’, his Sako TRG42 and then proceeded to his AMSD Nemesis 50BMG, one of the most interesting 50BMGs I had the pleasure to operate seen below.
I went from shooting 223s to 338s in one day. At the time there was the TRG42, A PGM Mini Hecate 338lapua, a DSR-1 338Lapua, a Brugger and Thomet APR 338 and a Wind runner in 338 Lapua. I remember that most 338Lapua rifles at that club were high end factory offerings. Custom rifles were not a big thing in Switzerland like in the US or the UK. We shot Ruag ammo mainly there, their Swiss P line that came in a green box with a 25m zeroing target at the back. Most shooters loaded the 250Scenar or the 250/300SMK I remember. Not much has changed since then for the 338Lapua. 
Above: PGM Precision in 338Lapua and March Genesis 6-60×56 Scope as used by Silvain Monney. Anyhow fast forward a decade or so, I shot with a few other shooters in my circle that ran the Voere 338 rifle made in Austria and the Accuracy International in 338. I seized the opportunity to snap an RPA Range Master in 338Lapua but before I even fired the first round, I switched the barrel to a 300Norma Magnum and I’ve range this caliber for the last 4 years. I knew the latter kicked less and with the heavier bullets was equally capable. 
RPA Rangemaster in 338Lapua / 300Norma Mag. When I first started Extreme Shot Italia in 2020 during that rough patch of Covid lockdown, (maybe one of the good things that came out of that $hitty period) I probably tried 6 or 7 different 338 Lapuas as friends geared up their rifles for the first edition out to 1 mile, we called it Extreme Shot One Mile Italia in fact back then.
Most shooters had a factory rifle in 27” barrel with some having already swapped it around for a 30” barrel. Meanwhile other makes came out with their 30” offerings as well namely PGM precision who made a 32” barrel for their mini Hecate as well as Victrix that made a purposely built target rifle model with a longer barrel. At least 3 of the shooters I know run this combination, Steven Giannone, Rosario Iacono Victrix Shooter and James Bugeja, all of whom competed in this competition using this rifle. Now that I’ve seen many 338’s shooting on training days as well as competition both here and in France at ko1M, I feel I can show you some real world competition performance of the 338 Lapua Magnum. 
.338 Lapua Ammo: Factory Ammunition and Handloading
Firstly, if you don’t handload and you’re happy dropping €7 a pop, you can buy factory ammo in Europe from Ruag, Fiocchi, RWS, PRVI, Lapua, Norma, Sellier and Bellot and HPS Ltd. There maybe others. When we first visited ColdBore Range in Denmark, we bought some 338Lapua ammo to shoot on the 2mile range there. In the US you’ll have even more offerings from the like of BlackHills, Berger, Federal gold medal Match, Hornady Match, Desert Tech ammo, HSM Trophy Gold 338, PPU
Factory .338 Lapua match ammunition can deliver very good accuracy and is perfectly suitable for many long-range applications. However, shooters should not automatically expect the extremely low extreme spread (ES) achievable with carefully developed handloads. At ELR distances, small variations in muzzle velocity increasingly translate into vertical dispersion on target.
A good factory match load can produce excellent results from a compatible rifle, including around MOA-level performance at 800–1,000 yards. Purpose-developed competition handloads take this further because the ammunition can be developed, tested and tuned around a specific barrel and rifle. In exceptional combinations, shooters can achieve remarkably small vertical dispersion approaching quarter-MOA levels.
David Rey’s .338 Lapua ammo provides a real competition example. David shoots a 300gr Berger at approximately 869 m/s (2,851 ft/s) using N570. He tests his ammunition at 300 m and 600 m using a barrel tuner. His previous batch of Lapua brass reached 12 reloads, and he reported an SD of 1.7 at the tenth reload.
This level of ammunition consistency illustrates why serious ELR competitors invest considerable effort in developing ammunition around the individual rifle and barrel. Factory .338 Lapua match ammunition remains a very capable option for shooters who do not handload, but it cannot be individually tuned to a particular barrel in the same way as a carefully developed competition handload.
If you want to handload for it, you can find a good staple dose of 338LM cases. I have seen many once fired being sold in the UK especially if you want to run a little cheaper typically with the 250/300SMK load. My friend Godfrey Pisani runs the 300gr Hornady A-Tips in his 338LM while many others are loading the 300berger such as Rosario Iacono who placed 2nd place at Extreme Shot Italia.
.338 Lapua Rifle Setup: David Rey’s King of 1 Mile Example
For a real-world example of a competition-proven .338 Lapua Magnum rifle, David Rey won the 2023 King of 1 Mile France with the cartridge, making 4 hits from 5 on the final 1,819 m target. His one-mile setup uses a Barnard action with a 32-inch Bartlein barrel in a chassis rifle.
David Rey — 2023 King of 1 Mile France winner with his .338 Lapua Magnum setup.
When we asked David what he looks for in an ELR barrel, his answer connected rifle setup directly to down-range performance: he looks for a very stiff barrel and enough muzzle velocity to keep the bullet supersonic as far as possible, reducing the problems encountered through the transonic transition. In his setup, the long 32-inch barrel supports that velocity objective while the heavy, rigid configuration is built around one-mile competition rather than portability.
David’s load and its trajectory, velocity and retained energy are covered in the ballistics section below. For the complete rifle setup, shooting background and his winning run, read our full interview with David Rey, King of 1 Mile 2023 France.
.338 Lapua Magnum Ballistics
The following .338 Lapua ballistics are based on a real competition load rather than a generic factory estimate: David Rey’s 300gr Berger OTM load at approximately 2,851 ft/s. The data below shows trajectory, wind drift, velocity and retained energy through 2,000 metres.
.338 Lapua Velocity and Muzzle Energy
For readers looking specifically for .338 Lapua velocity and energy, David Rey’s competition load starts at approximately 2,851 ft/s with the 300gr Berger OTM. The trajectory table below tracks how velocity and retained energy change with distance, including the transition toward subsonic flight at extreme range.
This is a 338Lapua fit for a King. David Rey won king of 1 mile in France shooting it out to 1800m in competition and winning the France match against 110 teams and placing 3rd place at Extreme shot Italia after Rosario Iacono Victrix Shooter that also shot a 338 Lapua. Perhaps David will remain known for his very fast string of shooting. Read FULL INTERVIEW with David REY here. 
We asked him how about his 338 lapua ballistics. He works in MILS so here is the drop chart for 338 Lapua Ballistics in mils.
David shoots a 300berger at 869m/s at 14degrees Celcius. (2851ft/s) using N570. He tests his ammo at 300m and 600m using a barrel tuner. It seems to do a great job for him. IF you watch his 1 mile string, he held a very tight vertical out to 1 mile with his 338 Lapua. He told us that at 1900rounds, he replaces his 32″ barrel.
.338 Lapua Wind Drift in MIL and MOA
This shows drift for 10mph wind in 90 degree full value wind.Notice that at 1800m, there is 1 MOA of wind for every 1mph. Can you tell 1mph wind changes? That’s how difficult some of these shots are seen in the footage on this page. Learn the 338 lapua ballistics which can make you a better shot, train with whatever you have, chances are if you can read wind with your 308win, you will get a softer start once you switch to the 338 lapua ballistics. 
Above 338 Lapua ballistics for Wind Drift in Mils and MOA.
Below We printed the ballistics of David Rey’s load with 300berger OTM at 2851 ft/s
| Trajectory | |||
| Input Data | |||
| Manufacturer: | Berger | Description: | Hybrid OTM |
| Caliber: | 0.338 in | Weight: | 300.0 gr |
| Ballistic Coefficient: | 0.419 G7 (ICAO) | ||
| Muzzle Velocity: | 2851.0 ft/s | Distance to Chronograph: | 10.0 ft |
| Sight Height: | 3.00 in | Sight Offset: | 0.00 in |
| Zero Height: | 0.00 in | Zero Offset: | 0.00 in |
| Windage: | 0.000 MOA | Elevation: | 0.000 MOA |
| Line Of Sight Angle: | 0.0 deg | Cant Angle: | 0.0 deg |
| Wind Speed: | 10.0 mph | Wind Angle: | 90.0 deg |
| Target Speed: | 0.0 mph | Target Angle: | 90.0 deg |
| Target Height: | 15.0 in | ||
| Temperature: | 28.0 °C | Pressure: | 29.92 in Hg |
| Humidity: | 60 % | Altitude: | 0.0 ft |
| Vital Zone Radius: | 15.0 in | ||
| Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: | No | Pressure is Corrected: | Yes |
| Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: | No | Target Relative Drops: | Yes |
| Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: | Yes | Include Extra Rows: | No |
| Column 1 Units: | 1.00 MIL | Column 2 Units: | 1.00 MOA |
| Round Output to Whole Numbers: | No | ||
| Output Data | |||
| Elevation: | 4.910 MOA | Windage: | 0.000 MOA |
| Atmospheric Density: | 0.07255 lb/ft³ | Speed of Sound: | 1141.4 ft/s |
| Maximum PBR: | 542 m | Maximum PBR Zero: | 458 m |
| Range of Maximum Height: | 248 m | Energy at Maximum PBR: | 3363.9 ft•lbs |
| Sectional Density: | 0.375 lb/in² | ||
| Calculated Table | ||||||||||
| Range | Drop | Drop | Windage | Windage | Velocity | Mach | Energy | Time | Lead | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (m) | (MIL) | (MOA) | (MIL) | (MOA) | (ft/s) | (none) | (ft•lbs) | (s) | (MIL) | (MOA) |
| 0 | *** | *** | *** | *** | 2854.6 | 2.501 | 5427.4 | 0.000 | *** | *** |
| 100 | -0.0 | -0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2736.6 | 2.398 | 4987.9 | 0.117 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 200 | -0.3 | -1.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2621.2 | 2.297 | 4576.1 | 0.240 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 300 | -1.0 | -3.2 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 2508.5 | 2.198 | 4191.1 | 0.368 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 400 | -1.7 | -5.8 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 2398.6 | 2.101 | 3831.8 | 0.502 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 500 | -2.5 | -8.5 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2291.5 | 2.008 | 3497.3 | 0.642 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 600 | -3.4 | -11.5 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 2187.4 | 1.916 | 3186.7 | 0.788 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 700 | -4.4 | -14.8 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 2086.1 | 1.828 | 2898.3 | 0.942 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 800 | -5.4 | -18.2 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 1987.4 | 1.741 | 2630.5 | 1.103 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 900 | -6.5 | -21.9 | 1.2 | 4.1 | 1891.0 | 1.657 | 2381.6 | 1.272 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1000 | -7.7 | -25.9 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 1796.9 | 1.574 | 2150.4 | 1.450 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1100 | -8.9 | -30.2 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 1704.9 | 1.494 | 1935.8 | 1.638 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1200 | -10.3 | -34.8 | 1.7 | 5.8 | 1614.9 | 1.415 | 1736.9 | 1.835 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1300 | -11.8 | -39.8 | 1.9 | 6.5 | 1527.1 | 1.338 | 1553.1 | 2.044 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1400 | -13.4 | -45.2 | 2.1 | 7.2 | 1441.5 | 1.263 | 1383.9 | 2.266 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1500 | -15.1 | -51.0 | 2.4 | 8.0 | 1358.3 | 1.190 | 1228.9 | 2.500 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1600 | -17.0 | -57.3 | 2.6 | 8.7 | 1278.0 | 1.120 | 1087.8 | 2.750 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1700 | -19.0 | -64.2 | 2.8 | 9.6 | 1201.1 | 1.052 | 960.9 | 3.015 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1800 | -21.3 | -71.8 | 3.1 | 10.5 | 1130.8 | 0.991 | 851.7 | 3.297 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 1900 | -23.7 | -80.0 | 3.4 | 11.4 | 1084.5 | 0.950 | 783.3 | 3.594 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | -26.4 | -89.0 | 3.7 | 12.3 | 1054.6 | 0.924 | 740.8 | 3.902 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
David Marcore is running the WindCut Bullets that are available in numerous weights out to 320gr. I want to bring you some footage out to 2000m with the 338LM, not just any footage, competition footage where shooters have to use the best qualities offered by the round to make impacts from 680m – 1340m on day 1 and 1400-1640m on day 2 and 2000m on the Finals on day 3. Then you can make up your mind if that is what you are really after. I have also interviewed the winner of King of 1 Mile in France 2023, David Rey about his 338Lapua Magnum loading techniques. David shoots the 338Lapua Magnum in a left bolt version even if he is right handed and he runs through his rounds as fast as a semi auto enabling him to put as many rounds on target as possible when he catches a certain wind condition. We saw some fantastic action which you can see below.
.338 Lapua Rifles in ELR Competition
Below are some of the .338 Lapua Magnum shooters and rifles we filmed under real ELR competition conditions at Extreme Shot Italia (original version conceived and organised by Rod Formosa).
RPA RANGE MASTER 338LM from the 🇬🇧
Popular 338LM workhorse which rod has adapted in 300Norma Mag and 33XC
Ruger Precision Rifle in 338 has repeatedly found its way into competition.
Below Victrix in 338LM used by Rosario Iacono, a talented italian shooter.
Above: Sako Trg42 with custom 32″ barrel.
Emilio Shoots a Ruger 338 Lapua
Luigi Lando Sako TRG M10 338 Lapua 
.338 Lapua vs 33XC: Ballistics and Wind Drift
Thanks to Mauro del Mastro for sharing this impact moment of the 300 berger with us!
33XC vs .338 Lapua Wind Drift
How much flatter is a 33XC wind-wise compared to your current 338 Lapua?
Just deduct 1 MOA from your windage at 1000m, 2 MOA at 1600m, 3 MOA at 2000m and 2.25MOA at 2 miles The table below compares a few ELR cartridges from 300Norma, 338 Lapua, 33XC, 37XC, 41 XC and the mighty 416 Barrett with popular loads maxed out for ELR using long barrels. (Again work up loads in your rifle using standard safety procedures and best practices.)
Why do I speak of wind drift numbers? Because once you dial your elevation, you’re fine but as we’ve seen at Ko1M in France, it’s the windage that kills your points hitting half a plate out whereas a flatter wind-shooting cartridge would have meant a hit! At this level, everything matters. More energy down range kicks up more dust making life easier for your spotter as well. Watch the yellow string here below for the 33XC. 
Notice how using the same parent cartridge and changing bullets/calibre from .338 to 0.375 (37XC), the wind deflection drops considerably burning the same amount of powder [better bullet, higher BC]. The only difference here being the bullet costs from shooting conventional copper jacketed 300 Bergers to shooting monolithic solids in 37XC and increasing bullet weight from 300grain to 400grains.
.338 Lapua Magnum at 2,000m — Roman Ochaba Spotting
Watch a team shooting the .338 Lapua Magnum at 2,000 metres at Extreme Shot Italia V, with Roman Ochaba — one of the best ELR spotters in the world — behind the spotting scope.
Extreme Shot Italia V Final — video starts at 49:28 at the relevant .338 Lapua Magnum sequence.
