The 338 Lapua cartridge was introduced in 1983 as a wildcat/proprietary by
Research Armament Co, U.S.A. and was the first caliber designed specifically
for sniping with enough energy to penetrate 5 layers of military body-armor and
still make the kill at 1,000 meters.
It was designed by necking down a 416 Rigby to .338, with Brass Extrusion Labs U.S.A making the brass, and Hornady U.S.A making the bullets.
Then Lapua and Norma began production of the cartridge. With a velocity of
3,000 for a 250 grain bullet with 4850 Foot Pounds of Energy, in the right
shooting conditions, it could be use to the 2,000 meter mark.
Today this cartridge is used by many military forces in the world, as a preferred anti-personal sniper cartridge. |
