Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Montana 243 VS 7mm-08?

RHC,

Just fer� schitz n� giggles.

Here is a very accurate Winchester model 70 push feed (post 64), chambered for the 270 Winchester. It has a Shilen select chrome moly barrel that has been fitted to the action. So it is not a �stock� chamber.




Here is the kind of accuracy it is capable of.



Two shots only you say. Once I�ve developed a load and have zero�d the rifle, I�m much more interested in where the first shot out of a cold barrel is going to impact. In this case the rifle was shot once, then about an hour later it was shot again to confirm POI vs. POA. With this in mind before I go afield, I�m confident.

Here is the measurement on the cartridge box.



The SAAMI max OAL cartridge length is given at 3.340�. My go to load in this rifle is with a 130 Gr. Nosler Ballistic tip with an OAL of3.355 or .015� over max, and no where near �kissing� the lands��




To �kiss� the COAL would be 3.547, well in excess of the Max length that would fit in the magazine. Once again if you wanted a single shot, that would be no problem except����.



To kiss the lands you would have only about .220� of purchase on the bullet by my measurement. IIRC one should have at least one cartridge diameter purchase or in this case, .277� of the bullet inside the case. Concentricity is a factor in accuracy and a mis-aligned bullet can cause you grief.

I know it might be heresy to say so, but after20 years of reloading, I don�t worry about kissing the lands other than to make sure the rifle�s chamber will accept rounds loaded to SAAMI book length. At my zenith I had reloading dies for 57 different centerfire cartridges between 17 ackley hornet and 458 Lott. Most all were started near �book� OAL.

The Kimber Motana in the caliber you choose will be a hunting gun, not a high dollar bench rest gun. It will have a commercial chamber. Factory ammo will do 1.5� at 100 yds or better. I�d be willing to bet that 90% of your shots will be 200 yds or less. Go out, kill stuff, enjoy the meat and don�t look back.

Best,

GWB