Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Building a long range hammer!

Specs are as follows.
300 RUM throated for 230gr Bergers
Remington M700 action
Fluted bolt from lamp field custom
Huber Concepts 2 stage 2lb trigger
Manners T4 carbon elite stock (finished in carbon fiber)
Brux 1-9.5" 27.5" barrel fluted AO varmit contour with APA little Jimmy brake
Badger M4 bottom metal with a single shot follower
HD recoil lug all finished in spider monkey green
Nightforce 40moa base and UL rings
SB 5-25 PM2

Patiently waiting on the barrel to get here lol.

Hoping with RL33 to hit 3050-3150 with 230gr Bergers

Sounds like a Hammer.

Been seeing some bad Brux's lately. Find a Bartlien if you can.

Well the barrels been ordered for a couple months. The gun is guaranteed to shoot 3/8th moa or better at 100 yards. Accurate Ordnance has had great luck with Brux and if its a bad barrel they'll stand behind it

What issues have you heard of lately

Sounds like a pretty heavy rifle to be carrying any distance. Don't think I would want to hunt with it.

Bob

Should weigh 16-17lbs considering my others weigh 23-24lb it should be easy to carry. Lol

Wow 40 moa rail how far do you plan on pushing it? You probably won't need that much rail with the night force but better to have it and not need it.

Schmidt & Bender recommends 40moa rail. It allows you to get full 26 Mils out of the scope. Which should get me way out there

40 moa allows one to use the center of the scope more. Some think the center is more accurate than the peripheral area.

Yea they claim the sight picture is more clear near the center. Plus on low end scopes its easier on the adjustment springs when not tensioned so much. On high end scopes I don't see this as a problem. I have seen some scope with 40moa rails not adjust low enough to zero at 100. But you could zero at 200-300 but a lot of ballistic solutions will have to be adjusted accordingly.

I've personally had out-of-spec 6.5 and .30 cals that had to be replaced. The Bartlien's have been shooting holes lately. Best barrels I've had up to this point.

Damn your the first one I've read that's had issue. I wanted a Bartliein but it was a 7-8 month wait.

I've got Broughtons and Kreigers and all of them has been great

Call Butch's Reloading. They will have one in stock

I did a 300 RUM a lot like the one you are describing here for a guy who goes by Tumbleweed over on Long Range Hunter. He has some really impressive targets posted and more important lots of load data using RL-33 with the 230 Bergers. It is a very potent long range hammer. He specified a 32" barrel and it's ripping the 230's out there.

Did your gunsmith measure the barrels to find them out of spec? I've had 3 Brux's so far, my smith said they were perfect, the 6mm,30cal were hummers, the 338 is giving me fits, havent decided if its the barrel or not tho, kinda shelved it.

I just ordered a .284 Bartlien 5R Rem mag sporter from Butch's, will be going on an action ASAP.Butch's prices are pretty dang fair.

Can you elaborate on "out of spec"? Interior or exterior dimensions?

Yes please.

Hiredgun, could you post a link to the Reloader33 page where tumbleweed posted?

My Brux's have been shooting 1/2 moa between 600 and 1,000 all year. I'm not worried about them.

My Brux 6.5mm barrel has been a very finicky barrel, would have a hard time recommending them.

Here is one of Tumbleweeds posts from when he first started testing RL-33.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f28/retumbo-h50bmg-32-300-rum-120250/index3.html#post853917

If you search his post history you will see he has considerable experience with RL-33 in the 300 RUM. His long range targets are unreal.

Absolutely.

The barrels interior dimensions were measured and found to be a bit larger in the groove diameter than caliber.

Had a Heavy Palma 10 twist on my .300 WM that shot well for about 200 rounds then went all to hell. That's what was found and it was replaced with a Bartlien.

My Creedmoor barrel was the same and the same solution was applied. They shoot now.


During this time, he was building a .300 hunting rig and had already chambered the Brux that was on it. Before he gave it to me, he measured it and immediately took it off and chambered a Bartlien.

It shoots now too.

Thanks for the reply on the Brux. Was Brux notified? What did they say?
I'm quite surprised, everyone lets a lemon out every now and then, but if true that is a disturbing trend and odd that your smith got a pile of bad ones. I shot Palma and LR with a lot of the guys from Kreiger and Brux and have never heard any complaints about the quality of the barrels. Long lead times, yes but not quality.

Honestly, this is the very first negative post I've read about Brux. Accurate Ordnance uses them exclusively and highly recommends them. Hopefully it'll be a good one but with a Brux they guarantee 3/8 moa and both Brux and AO stands behind their stuff so they'll make it right if something is wrong.

I'm seriously considering after tons of reading running the 215 VLD vs the 230. First after looking at stuff over I can attain 3150fps in a 27" barrel with H1000 with 92.0 gr. I can hit 3050 with the 230gr but that's with RE33 still not convinced on how stable that is. It's 100 in the summer and -10 in the winter here. Tumbleweed was running a 32" barrel when he was shooting high velocities with a custom chamber. I think it'll be easier to get 3150 with the 215 rather than the other. Either way the 215 beats the 230gr in all catagories except for a slight loss in energy.

My thoughts:A long range HAMMER is a 338 round with a bullet that has 720-BC doing 2750 fps It's all fun.

I like this bullet

Just a couple observations from my experience, I have had such good luck with the Berger 210gr VLD you should try them before you get your heart set on the 230. If you really need more B.C. then you are better off going with a 338 cal.

Never tried a Brux barrel yet but if it were me Krieger or Bartlein would be my first choice.

Lastly why in the world would you "F" this thing up with a two stage trigger for long range (leave this to the AR crowd), put on a Jewell.

Huber calls it a 2 stage however its more like a set trigger. It's a really nice trigger

Two pounds is an extremely heavy trigger to me. I don't want anything over twenty ounces for my hunting rifle and eight ounces for my varmint rifle.

I love 230 OTM's, wicked bullet.Perfect for the RUM size hull.

Also, Lapua has a 220gr Scenar-L now..

In a huber the slack or set thru 1st stage is a pound. The trigger then breaks at 1 pound once it hits the wall

I hear ya.

The world record 600 yard benchrest group was shot with a Brux recently.

What I've "heard" is that there's been some changes at Brux. A different person is lapping the barrels which is supposedly a very important to the final dimensions.

I've never had a better shooting barrel than a Bartlien 5R. I still have a few rifles that have Brux's on them. They are on hunting rigs and aren't shooting as well as I'd wish, yet they are just hunting rigs. For as much as I'll shoot them, they'll suffice for fur.

Here's some 3 shot groups a buddy was shooting while fire forming some .260 rounds to AI with his new Bartlien. Pretty typical!

You're a brave man.

Two groups, the shooter Just missed your fingers.

lol

Nice groups.

Are those liberal media bullets he's using for group size comparison? Lol

For a long range rig you want a trigger with no creep ( slack or set thru as you call it),in a two stage the first stage is creep.
I have never found this to be a good thing in a long range bolt gun.

Sounds like you already have your mind made up, just betting you tweak your list on your next build.

I will challenge this assessment by stating that the majority of LR competitors, be it XTC high power or Palma tend to prefer a two stage trigger in my experience. When you are actually holding the rifle in position, it is a very different shot cycle than if you are shooting off a bench. Absolutely you want a trigger with no creep, but a proper two stage doesn't have any creep. In a proper one, you take up the first stage and then break the second stage at a much lower weight, with the knowledge that you were in the process. A sub one-pound trigger gives very little feedback once your finger is on it. Having shot competition for twenty years I strongly prefer a two stage trigger, unfortunately they are much more expensive than the single stage alternatives.

Exactly, I own Timneys and Jewell's. on a light trigger you have very little feedback. I already have the Huber installed and its amazing. You have consistant feel every time the trigger breaks.

Did not look from the equipment list like the OP was building a Palma rifle. I have been playing the long range game for many years and never met a soul that used a 2-stage, but you and the OP can do as you wish.

out

Unless u tried a Huber its hard to explain how n there not like a AR trigger. The slack is 1 pound. You pull till it hits a definate hard wall. That allows the shooter to get a feel on the trigger, once it hits the wall apply 1 pound and it breaks like a Jewell

I'm very surprised with the report on Brux bbls, not doubting the poster in any way but my experience has been extremely positive with them. Been in their shop many times and watched Norm rifle the tubes. He's very meticulous on measuring groove diameter as the rifling is progressing. It also takes a substantial amount of lapping to even open the bore a tenth of a thousandth. Hopefully they got the feedback as their customer service is exceptional. In all bbl manufacturing you can have a stinker for whatever reason and with no questions asked they will make it right. Btw, their little stack of 'returns' is a pittance compared to the numbers they produce. I've picked up a couple of those 'stinkers' to turn into a few AR barrels (.224 and .6.5) and a surprising number of them show burnishing consisting of JB or simichrome after the fact. I cast laps in them to return the bore to the proper finish and they shoot lights out. I'll take a Brux barrel any day.

I have a Bartlein on a target rig I think is going to have to be sent back. Shoots lights out for a bout 30 rounds then accuracy goes and start to get vertical. Powder fouls horribly with several different powders. All manufacuters can make a dud every now and then.

Here's mine:

and

Greg Tannel did the 'smithing on mine.
29.5" Kreiger 1-10" four inches cylindrical to a one inch muzzle.
Jewel trigger at one pound.
PT&G lightweight shroud and pin.
Nightforce base, rings and 5.5x22x56mm with NP-1RR reticle.

With the Turner Saddlery sling and three rounds it weighs exactly 15 pounds.
I get 3150fps with 210 grain Bergers seated to touch the lands over 78 grains Retumbo at 58kpsi (disclaimer: this is my load in this rifle, yours may be different, don't blow yourself up).

You will like your rifle.

20 MOA will be a centered sight pic somewhere around 800 yds and will get that rifle out to somewhere around 2000. I suppose if average shots are going to be in the ballpark of 1400 yds the 40 minute rail is the way to go.

Sounds like its going to be a nice rifle however.

Shod

In what way is powder fouling the barrel manufacturer's fault? I could see it being their problem with copper fouling, bore finish has a large effect on that. What is the cartridge and how fast are you shooting?

I've never had an issue with powder fouling unless I was shooting black powder...

I just chambered a Brux barrel in 264 Win Mag. yesterday. It is going to West Texas to be used on Whitetails and Hogs at long range. If there are any problems I will report back.

We stock barrels from Bartlein, Brux and Rock Creek. We've built many great shooting rifles with barrels from all these manufacturers and if we saw one MFG that had more than the occasional issue, we'd stop using them. Or I'd go out of business dealing with a bunch of unhappy customers. The barrels we use are a reflection of OUR company.

We have seen bad barrels from all three of these manufacturers. But with the large number of barrels we've installed, the problems are pretty few and far between. And I can say if there is an issue, Brux is super fast to address the problem. I can't say the same about all other manufacturers. Every company that makes anything will occasionally have something less than perfect. That's just life.

We've also installed many barrels from other manufacturers including Kreiger, Obermeyer, Mullerworks, Hart, etc. We've seen lots of different barrels from different MFGs. So, we're not just dealing with a small number of MFGs; we see it all.

Among the rifles we've built with Brux barrels are a few that NRA national record holder Keith Trapp has used to achieve multiple F-Class records. I run a Brux on my 6.5 Creedmoor and if there was even a chance it wouldn't perform outstandingly well, I'd be running something different. Every time I am at a range or match people look to see how the rifle performs and it is a reflection of my company.

Brux is a top tier company. They, like all barrel manufacturers, have had the occasional less than perfect barrel leave the shop. But the problem ones we've seen are pretty few and far between.

Mark Kuczka
Accurate Ordnance, LLC
accurateordnance.com