MidwayUSA got some business from me the past couple of weeks. I put together a 338 ARC with a 14.5" Faxon barrel and Faxon bolt. I also bought a set of Hornady 338 ARC dies, brass, and a few of their factory-seconds bullets appropriate for this cartridge.
The extractor tension on the Faxon bolt was a bit much. A few rounds fed and chambered properly, but the bolt didn't fully close, because the extractor didn't snap over the case head. I saw some significant marks on some the case rims, so I removed the o-ring under the extractor, and the issue went away.
I also noticed the fired brass casing came out fairly battered and dented. Even the cases caught in the brass catcher net showed significant signs of abuse. This was more evident in the supersonic loads, versus the subsonic loads, so I think the pistol length gas system and the stiff ejector spring were both to blame. I didn't have the means to tinker with the ejector spring at the range, but I shortened it, once I got home. I hope this helps.
Here are the first few cases I fired, with dinged up case mouths on the 175gr Black ammo.
Here are the case mouths from factory Sub-X ammo (top) and 175gr Black ammo (bottom). The cases from the subsonic ammo are in better shape, but stilled dented.
Here are the case heads from factory 175gr Black ammo:
The factory 175gr Black ammo showed very consistent velocities, 2042 fps average, ES of 12, and SD of 4 (for a 6-round string). I couldn't match it with my 175gr handloads with Lil' Gun powder and WSR primers (5-shot strings).
18gr Lil'Gun, 1816 fps ave, ES = 20
18.5gr Lil' Gun, 1859 fps ave, ES = 22
19.0gr Lil' Gun, 1896 fps ave, ES = 22
19.5gr Lil' Gun, 1977 fps ave, ES = 38
The factory Sub-X Ammo wasn't as consistent, velocity-wise, and 2 of the 5 rounds didn't fully cycle without the suppressor. The empty round was ejected, but the bolt didn't come back far enough to pick up the next one. All five rounds cycled properly with the suppressor, though.
5-rounds without the suppressor:
1010 fps ave, ES = 51
5-rounds with the suppressor:
1028 fps ave, ES 38
I also loaded some 250gr BTHP bullets with Lil' Gun powder. I forgot to reset the chronograph for the last two strings, so I don't have data for the 12gr and 12.5gr loads. The 12gr load was the most accurate, with 5-shots touching, so I will load some more at this charge weight and run them again.
11.0gr Lil' Gun, 1091 fps ave, ES = 28
11.5gr Lil' Gun, 1134 fps ave, ES = 43
Here are the groups with the 175gr HP loads, both factory ammo and handloads:
Here are the groups with 250gr handloads and factory Sub-X ammo:
Aside from the extractor issues and subsonic/unsuppressed loads, previously mentioned, I didn't have any other stoppages. The .400 Legend Duramag seems to work great with the 338 ARC.
I have some 300gr BTHP bullets headed my way, and I haven't loaded the 250gr BTSPs I picked up with my first order (I hope they shoot well, because they were dirt cheap). I also have some 200gr Ballistic Tips I want to try.