Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 28 Nosler build

Here me out. I'm starting my build for a 28 Nosler. I want it to be light and really more of a mountain gun (living in western Montana). My goal is for a rifle to ease a bit of dependence with the turret, especially out to 500 yards ish...I'd like to shoot somewhere between 150-165 grains. I know the 195 attributes, but that's not the goal of this build. I want a gun where I can hit the deck, click the safety off and shoot. If I can use the rangefinder great, but if time or conditions aren't right, I'll be relying on the flat trajectory to help my educated guess of range.
Most of my shots are 300 yards (I know, chip shots) but this year I took a couple critters around 500, and they were rushed due to topographic circumstance. SO, it got me thinking that I want a laser beam that still packs a punch. I've been shooting a 270 WSM for years with great success (130 gr TTSX @ 3300 fps) and it's 7 lbs 2 oz scoped. I'd like to get close to that physical weight if possible. Here's what I'm thinking so far:
AG Composites Privateer
Bartlein 2b fluted as much as possible (1:8.7 twist) 26". This will not be a target gun
Defiance ANTI
Not sure about blind mag vs. floor plate
Probably a Leupy VX 5 or 6
Trigger Tech or Timney, really don't care

Any thoughts before I start ordering parts? Thanks guys

The 28Nosler is best suited for 180-195gr bullets. If shooting 150-165 bullets I’d say a 7mm Rem mag throated long would be much more efficient.
What bullet do you intend to load? If going with the 28Nos it would be best to use a mono due to the high velocity it will produce with 150-165gr. I would recommend an 8 twist also.
Hawkins bottom metal and Bix and Andy trigger are worth a look also.

Have you run any drop numbers to 5-600 yrds, comparing both cartridges and bullets? I wouldn`t believe what you gain with the 28 over the 270 would be worth it..maybe an inch or so.
Going with a 7 Mag is good, plus ammo every where, even if you load. But I will be the last to try and talk you out of a build.

Might be faster and cheaper to just buy either the Christensen arms Mesa titanium or ridgeline titanium and drop it into a new stock if you prefer. Just a thought

0 to 500 yards doesn't seem to justify a 28 Nosler. You could do that comfortably with a 7-08....

Id skip the Leupold ,berger bullets and benchrest triggers for a hunting rifle.
I'd suggest a 280 AI.

Dave

7 Mag built by Weber Customs outta Kila, MT.....Thank me later!!!

For 5-600 yds point and shoot I would firmly be in the 7RM camp. I have owned a few 28 Noslers and to me they are made to launch heavy high bc bullets a long ways.

I did work up a load for 162’s in one of mine just to see what it would do. I got 3300 FPS and 5/8” groups without pushing it too hard.

162’s at that speed are going to be pretty hard on the throat of a round already hard on barrels.

Point and shoot with no holdover? That ends at about 350...

Yup, backed up by math.

You like speed and there is nothing wrong with that. It sounds like you want a "point and shoot" setup, which I have a couple of myself. Granted, they are more for hunting in the southeast, but I get it. The guys are right, your barrel and throat will take a beating but as long as you know that, let it rip. I like the 160 grain class of Barnes bullets for your idea, in case a close encounter is had. (My experience on a bull at very close range with a .257 WBY)

You are pretty much spot on. A 7 or 7.5 twist is not bad, in case you ever want to launch heavier bullets later. Choose between the Trigger Tech or Calvin Elite by Timney, as both are great. I would go with a floor plate. I have a VX-6 and like it so far. The battery cap did rub/knock off after a first spot and stalk trip but Leupold sent me a new one ASAP. Otherwise, it is nice glass. Think about NF UL rings to help with the weight.

I'd go 6.5x300 weatherby if worried about maximum point blank range.

Shoot the Barnes 127 LRX at around 3500 and don't look back.

With the 150 ABLR in the 28 Nosler, you might get a max PBR of around 400 yards. But you'd have a miss or wound if you don't range with the LRF and the target is really 300 or 500 yards instead of 400. If you don't have the time to use a LRF, I think your yardage estimate in a brief second will be a WAG.

A 26 Nosler with a 130 will have just as flat a trajectory and less recoil as the 150 in the 28N. It will have about 30% more E than your 270 WSM has at 600 yards.

Posted elsewhere too: I just chronoed three of the 127gr LRXs, and got 3,374, 3,387, 3,366, for an average of 3,376 fps out of a 26” bbl. That’s 155 fps less than Wby claims. My chrono results for the 130gr SSs was 60 fps slower than advertised, and the 140gr ILs were only 27 fps slower than advertised.

So, I think you'd have to hand load to get them up to 3,500.

When Lane Simpson came out with the 7 stw, around 1989, I ordered a reamer with .020 freebore to shoot the 120 and 140g bullets at warp speed.

I really had no idea what I was doing, but we necked down 300 Weatherby brass, seated the 120g Nosler solid base lead tip bullet .005 off the lands in the 10T hart barrel that was 27" long.

Fire forming the brass with bullets, we hit a node from 3750-3850 while forming brass, backed off to 3800 shooting groups smaller than clover leafs. R#22 and IMR 7828 with both bullets is fast and 1/4" accurate if you have the scope.

Family probably has 6 of these 7 stw's between the Kin, and all shoot 120g barnes ttsx at 3850, 140g Barnes TTSX at 3650, or the 140g Nosler C/T bullet which is my favorite. No deer ever shot by any Kin has taken one step out to 550 yards.

28 Nosler is equal to the 7 STW.

That’s a screamer Keith. I bet that didn’t worry much about drop for a few hundred yards

The best point and shoot outfit is a 257 Wby with 100 grain bullets and that only works to about 350 yards. I had a pal who tried the same thing with a 7 STW and 128 grain bullets at around 3600. Same result.

Get a LRF and a multi point reticle. With those two things + practice the old ancient 270W will get you to 450-500.

That’s a valid point right there.

7 STW with 140g Nosler at 3600, zero freebore, 27" pac nor three groove bbl,

257 Weatherby zero to .030 freebore, 100g at 3850, 115's at 3600, multiple barrels have done this, around 6

We sight in at 1/2" high at 200, guns shoot very tiny groups.

Animals to 550 never take a step when you put the bullet in the right place. The STW is a pure Hammer of Thor.

I expect the 28 Nosler to do the exact same thing as the 7 stw and reamer is on order.

We have custom 280s,280 AI's, 7/08,s, and many 6.5's

Nothing drops deer like the 7 STW with zero freebore shooting the 140g Nosler C/t bullet at 3600. Brother has an 11 T, 27" Pac Nor, three groove that is shooting the 140's at 3700 with imr 7828 and 215's.

We have two re chambered 7 Mag Sendero's SS Fluted turned into 7 STW, 25" bbls that shoot 3/8" with the 140g CT at 3550, IMR 7828.

Two cousins in Mo have 7 stw's, started with zero freebore, that are real beaters on wood stock savage 110's and they shoot them as single shots with 27" Hart #5 contour barrels with Gentry muzzle breaks. They both shoot the old Nosler 120g lead tip solid base at 3850 with IMR 7828. Their style of hunting is shooting at running deer, out in large fields. Their thinking is that speed cuts down on leade. I just let them run with it as it works very well for them. Those two guns were build in 1990 using my zero freebore reamer, fire forming brass from 8 Rem mag. Fire forming loads were 1/2" at 3750 fps with the 120's.

My next 7 STW's will be 9T, one will be set up to shoot a 165g Game Changer, with a switch barrel throated for a 175g eldX...I need to try something different.

Brother had two 257 Weatherby's built with .030 FB and he shoots one with 110g Accubonds, and the other with 115g Berger hunting at 3600 in 26" barrels. Deer flopped hard and his longest shot last year was only 430 yards.

For a guy that does not like a rifle kicking hard, the Weatherby with a gentry muzzle break is a dream come true as you do see the bullet impact the deer with a #5 contour barrel, laminated stock....sweet!

That’s deer poison.

It sounds a lot like Dave’s 270 STW…. Fast and with a lot of splat factor.