The Savage 110 BA .338 Lapua is a military long range precision tactical cartridge whose time has come. Research Armament in the United States developed the original round in 1983 at the request of the U.S. Navy. The .338 uses a necked down .416 Rigby case and in its original configuration launched a 250-grain bullet at nearly 3,000 feet per second (fps) with a muzzle energy of over 4,800 foot-pounds of energy (fpe). A prototype rifle and ammunition were produced and tested by the Navy, but the cartridge never was manufactured in the U.S. Lapua and Norma finished development and got the cartridge into production. In addition to Lapua, Black Hills now loads both 250- and 300-grain cartridges. In the latter configuration, the 300-grain bullet leaves the muzzle at 2,800 fps with a whopping 5,223 fpe. By comparison, a 168-grain .308 match cartridge has a muzzle velocity of only approximately 2,600 fps and 2,180 fpe. The .308 is totally overshadowed by the .338 Lapua, although most rifles in this caliber are only marginally heavier than precision tactical rifles chambered for the .308.
Savage 110 BA accepts all state-of-the-art accessories — such as Leupold’s 4.5-14x50mm tactical rifle scope and OSTI’s AN/PVS-22 night vision optic, while side mounts would accommodate other accessories, including lasers.
As the .338 Lapua became accepted by a number of the world’s military forces to bridge the gap between the .308 and .50 BMG, it was only a matter of time before the U.S. military began to consider it. As this is written in mid-2010, the following countries are using .338s: Austria, Germany, France, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Great Britain and several units within the U.S. military, including both Army and Navy special operations units.
For law enforcement, the .338 bears examination because most organizations desire a rifle whose ballistics exceed those of the traditional .308 for positive vehicle stops, defeating hard targets such as brick walls and other situations where the .308 or .223 isn’t sufficient, but where use of a .50 BMG rifle might be “overkill” and negatively viewed by civilians or the news media.
Gun Details
The Savage “Accutrigger” can be set to incredibly low pull weights because of its innovative design. The trigger-mounted safety physically blocks the sear until it is taken up in preparation for firing — even in the “fire” position.
In addition to .338 Lapua, the Savage 110 BA is available in .300 Win Mag. The Savage 110 BA is a bolt-action rifle fed from a detachable box magazine, but differs in its construction from any conventional bolt action rifle. The Savage 110 BA is manufactured almost entirely of aluminum alloy and steel, which comprises the magazine, barrel, receiver, bolt, muzzle brake and a few other components. The 110 BA’s stock assembly and grip frame are hard-anodized aircraft aluminum. The 110 BA’s only non-metallic components are the AR-15-type pistol grip, the cheekrest and buttstock pad. The 110 BA makes use of top quality components throughout. The stock is Magpul’s Precision Rifle Sniper (PRS) adjustable stock that is fully adjustable for length of pull and cheekrest height, while providing rugged durability to deal with virtually any field condition.
