Looking to start picking up pieces for my next build. It will be used for further than 1000 and be my only big boomer. What would you choose to get to a mile without extreme barrel wear and without dropping 5 bucks a shot. I reload and am not afraid of a wildcat. Go!

Barring extreme barrel wear and being able to go past 1k? I feel your best choice is a 7RM or a 300 WM.

338 Ultra.

I am not overly concerned with barrel wear as i shoot a 6mm ai. It has done really well to 1000 but i have a goal of a mile.

Well then if youre not concerned with barrel life, 30-378. Or the tried and trued .338 LM

My new love 7mm-300win 168 Bergers!

338 edge. I know of one for sale!

Half right Grasshoppa....338/300 Ultra for a mile plus.....

22lr.....

One of the 7mm or .30 Cal. mags..

If that is truly what it is going to be used for, then .338 Norma Magnum or .338 Lapua Magnum

300 RUM pushing Berger 210's. Unless you are trying to poke holes in machinery, you don't need more rifle than that. Note that the US Army is going to 300win/mag, not a 338

Edit, if you ain't got a fast seven, I'd go there first. It won't hit quite as hard as a bigger/heavier 30, but it is all most of us need.

0-1000 I would say 6.5-284.

I am not into feeding cartridges 100grs of powder a pop though. I think a standard 7mag would be reasonable too.

I have 0-1000 covered with my 6. Thanks for the input fellas.

If you want to keep it lean and mean, 7WSM, 9 twist, 180 VLDs.

For a heavy hitter, I'd lean toward a 300 WinMag, 30" barrel, throated for 215 or 230gr Berger.

Couldn't go wrong with either. I favor the 7SAUM but I think it might not push the 180's fast enough. That brass is scarce here of late as well.

Want to agree with MM but have found a fly or two in the ointment he suggests.....I Have a 7WSM 1-9" twist that refuses to shoot the 180gr VLD Berger but shot 2 world class RAM's in 2 consecutive shot's at 1285 yards and 675 yards with a 160gr Accubond last fall.

300WM......Mine wont shoot the 215 or the 230 but has killed several critters with the Berger 210gr VLD

338LM, if you want to boost it to 338 edge status go 338LM improved. I own a 30-378,33-378 and 338RUM. I always threw my head back like a horse led to water when it came to the lapua..Then I started loading for and shooting several of my friends..They are simply a great design and the components available cant be beat..338 norma is a neat case as well, but i've never worked with one.

Lots of rounds will get you to a mile, hell even my 8 pound 7mm weatherby will do it with 162 or 168's.

isn't a 338 edge simply a 300 rum necked up? single pass thru a 338 edge die with the expander in place?

yes.

338 Norma.

Personally, I'd just buy a .338 Lapua in any of the newer rifles with quick change barrels and be done with it.

338 Edge is the way I went.

Yes, and a ballistic twin to the Lapua......

I've watched guys hit mile steel with relative consistency, two times in my life.

Both times the shooters were shooting .338 cals in the Lapua/Edge velocity range.



Travis

This'll be your Huckleberry

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8116989/1

Alan

7mm saum and a long pipe

If you're serious about the 1 mile, you need to contact Kirby Allen. He has several "Allen Magnum" chamberings, but his 338 Allen Magnum would probably be what you're looking for.

google: apsrifles (dot) com and I believe you'll find what you're looking for.

If you're familiar with the Chey-Tac variants, Kirby's 338 has a marginal increase over the more common 338 wildcats which use the CheyTac parent case (i think it's off of a .404 Jeffries case).

He also has a 375 Allen Magnum which from all accounts is quite speedy as well, though I suspect it's beyond the $5/rnd limiter.

Not exactly. The .300 (M2010) is a stop-gap until the multi-cal PSR can be fully implemented. When that will happen with current budget issues, who knows. The .300 is a fine cartridge, but can't keep up with the .338 as ranges move past 1200+m.

That 300gr Berger with its 0.818 G1 is just a bad SOB and the Lapua (or the Norma) pushes it with relative ease.

Pretty sure his Allen Xpress line are Lapua improved, The allen Mags down to the 338AM are cheytac improved(505 gibbs)

Yer right!

There is one exception that I was thinking of and that's Kirby's Raptor line and specifically the 338 Raptor. The 338 Raptor is, to me, a very promising chambering as it rests between his own 338 Allen Xpress/the 338 RUM/338 Edge(and +P variant)/the 338 Lapua(and AI variant) and the HUGE 338 Allen Magnum.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/allen-precision-338-raptor-update-93203/

which is based on the 338 Excalibur (which is/was "an entirely new case") designed, I think, by Jamieson Int'l.

http://www.broadswordgroup.com/338_excalibur.html

and *not* off the 404 Jeffries. My error.

Look at the .338 Edge +P on "youtube." Search for, ".338 Edge 2,751-yard shot."

It uses a 300-grain Berger bullet launched over 3,300 fps at the muzzle. Here, I did the homework:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqCMfTZuWB8

Can you imagine this rifle being fired with the "smart scope/software" technology?

And here is some good read about the development of the .338 Edge +P:
http://www.defensiveedge.net/index.php/338-edge-p

There were .338 Lapuas and .375 Allen Mags on the line this day but only the .264 Win Mag/ 140gr VLD shot a group on the steel. In fact the big guns never even rung steel on that day.



Uber high BCs will not get you through the wind at a 1 mile but shootability sure helps.

Knowin' you're about to get bich slapped don't help your shootin' does it? Reminds me of your story about Brian Enos and Seyfried's hand cannon revolver. Something about [bleep]' up 20yrs worth of trigger control?

Not sure where/who is getting 3,300fps with a 300gr SMK out of a 338 Edge +P, but Shawn Carlock didn't (looks like he stopped at 3,100fps).

I think for 3,300fps using a 300gr SMK in .338 the chambering is going to have be something like a 338 Chey-Tac, Snipe-Tac or Allen Mag.

Sounds good to me...I was begining to wonder

I'm with Shane here. If you're using a 6mm out to 1000 right now, then I'd step to a fast 7. I'd do either a 7WSM or 7LRM, but I'd twist it 8", in case Berger ever comes out with that 0.796 BC 195gr Hybrid they're promising. I'd run the 180 Hybrid in the mean time.

If moving up beyond that, I'd go straight to a .50.

I have always been fond of my .30-338 Win Mag.

The longer neck is nice when compared to a 300 Win Mag and velocities with lighter loads are very close.

You are right. It's not 3,300 fps, but 3,100 with the 300-grain Berger hybrid bullet.

A 7mm 195gr VLD would definitely take the 7mm to the next level, not that it is lagging now. 1/8 twist does make sense. Eventually I believe Berger will get to that 195.

340 Weatherby Accumark has taken me 1200 and past. My friend has the same rifle except in the 338-378 Weatherby just a little bit more of the same.

30-338 lapua improved twisted for the 230s. .719 BC at or very near 3200 FPS.

Some others I would consider that may already be listed would be a 6.5WSM 7mmWSM or Lapua, 338 Lapua. I have a 270 RUM reamer if you want to borrow it A cutting edge bullet at 3400ish with a 140 .6 or so BC would be fun.

+1 Get an Accumark in 338/378 bee. Will do all your long range needs with the 300 grain SMK.

Can you get one of those in an Ultralight?

W

Guess I'm on the other side of this, to me for a long range chambering I would NEVER choose a Weatherby....but I do agree on the 300gr SMK

If you are talking just "ringing" steel, then many calibers can do that. However, If you are talking taking game, go with a big case (Lapua/RUM size) 30 or 338.

I shoot the 338 Lapua improved at 2975 fps with 300s. I have also ran the 338-408.

The big Jamison/408 cases require a much bigger and more expensive action and barrel vs the smaller 338 Lapua actions.

My last 338-408 barrel was 1.350 and 32" fluted and ran $590 as a blank for example.

IMO, 30-338 Lapua (shooting 215-230s), 338 Edge +P, 338 Edge, 338 Lapua AI.

Go to PTG and order your own reamer and Neil Jones dies.

Or you could try that with a 7 STW and a few kegs of WC872.

If your goal is a mile, you gotta face it; making a first round hit or any hit at all after that is really tough and luck plays a huge role.

I've been prone with a 6.5 Creedmoor side by side shooting at the same 1 mile target as guys shooting 338 RUMs and 338 Lapuas. I was able to make a hit after walking it in after 4 shots. The big guns never did and they all shot at least 25 rounds each

I've done it with a .300 WM as well but it took a few rounds as well.

^^

John Burns and Rcamuglia, I think yall are confusing the arrow with the injun. Your anecdotal stories of out shooting big guns with little guns at a mile really does not mean anything without knowing the quality of all guns and shooters involved. Without some real experience and real world developed drops a lot of folks shooting big guns are gonna fall flat on their faces.
I am not at all surprised that yall were able to out shoot those folks, even with inferior bullets/velocities yall are shooters. Put someone like Bountyhunter or MontanaMarine ( I just used a couple of names I recognized in the last few posts who I have seen for years) who have taken those big guns to extreme long range before and who have good loads worked up drop charts based on real world experience, the little guns are gonna be sucking hind tit.
A lot of folks get the big guns and never get them tuned up as well as the two of yall have your guns tuned. That is probably just because of the expense, and some folks do not enjoy the big boomers
Do not get me wrong the 6.5 is very capable but the .6 BC is inferior to the .8 BC of the 338s or .7 BCs of the big 30s. Launched at the same velocities, the wind advantage is going to let the big guns whoop the 6.5s all other things being equal.

RCmagula I think I remember your in New Mexico, right? I am going to be out there in a couple weeks in the Alamagordo(sp) area. I will be back out there right before Christmas. I do not know if you have ever shoot one of the big boomers but I will have my 338 AM and 30-338lapua improved with me. If you want to see how much easier hits are at one mile, ride down and we can do some long range shooting.

7mm Shooting Times West

not sure but the accumark is not that heavy, and I believe I wouldn't want a lighter rifle, hard enough to shoot accurately without lots of shooting time at range. It really has a good kick and jump to it.

I kinda agree with you. Any rifle that can shoot a 300 grain SMK in 338 caliber would be a good unit. I just like the Weatherby rifles and the way the bolt is built with the gas ports in the bolt since I reload my brass many times. So if I get a failure, I don't get the gas in the eyes like all the other rifles on the market. Each his own I guess.

.338 black mesa express for me or 7 Dakota

338 edge ,however , ive done a mile with my 300 rum and 230 bergers , cost me a bit less

I think the point that JB and Rick were trying to make is that it's the indian, not the arrow. I would tend to agree. I've seen little guns smack big guns around at LR. Is that because they are ballistically superior? Of course not. But they are capable of some impressive work if steered correctly

Thanks eddy! Although I don't own a big 338, I've done load development on 2 Lapuas and 2 Normas. I'm sure that hits are much easier at a mile with them than any of the others we've discussed

My point was that whatever you're shooting at a mile, making hits in loves a lot of luck. I don't care who the injun is.

PM me. I'd like to meet you and get out!

Here on the coast is LR Elk territory. More and more often it's go long or it's gone. A 338 Lapua gets to a mile but not a lot left. For Elk it's good to 1000 or so. I'm looking for more. The first thing on my shopping list to get to a mile would be a Chey Tac capable action. A Bat or possible Tac 408. For precision I really like single shots. The caliber is going to be 338. I'm developing a brand new Chey Tac based wildcat. I'm calling it the 338 CT Maxx. It's based on readily available and fairly simple to form 375 Chey Tac brass. The 39 degree shoulder is moved as far forward as possible and the body taper is minimal. It's about the most increase you dare do on a Chey Tac hence the name CT Maxx. Predicted speeds depending on pressure in our prototype is 3400+ with the Berger 300 grain bullets. A 34" barrel might do 3500. Accuracy was right at 1" at 500 yards. It's still a ways out but it will be my next boomer. The first one is scheduled to be lobbing lead by summer.

Interesting. keep us updated on that super 338 unit.

After studying the data a bit more I'm thinking 3300 is a more realistic number for good brass life. Time will tell.

I shoot a TRG42 in 338 Lapua, a 338/378 Bee, and a 338 Lapua IM. All can shoot stuff that you can't hardly see with the naked eye. Can't understand why one would want more. Each his own I guess. The damage done to critters is awesome, I really wouldn't want to hit them faster with a 300 grain SMK. Stepping up in speed would only increase huge meat loss.

I know a guy that killed an elk with a 338 Thunder (338 RUM ) his version) at 1400 yards with the 300 SMK and it blew right through him. Darrel Cassel killed a bull elk with the 300 SMK started at 3400 FPS at 2100 yards and the bullet went through both shoulders and exited

It kind of an exercise on what can be done. The higher the velocity the less wind drift and the flatter the trajectory. For hunting this means higher percentage of a clean kill at increased ranges. For playing around it's just cool to ring steel father than anyone else.

1400 is one heck of a shot for a RUM based 338.

I would like to hear about the rifle Darrel Cassel used for a 2100 yard kill. Shoot, I'm actually interested in both. Both are equally impressive.

I have a 1340 yard target right out my door and am reminded daily just how far that is.

I have a nice Lapua but it's tapped out at a mile. Hits at 2000+ certainly won't hurt my resume either. I've been working on long range shooting almost 20 years and am no where ready to target an animal that far. I may never be. I hope the 338 CT Maxx will help.

The guy getting the first 338 CT Maxx is well known on here and when it get's running I'm sure it will be killing stuff right away.

If memory serves Darrel used a 338/416 Rigby improved, the rifle had I believe a 39" barrel the 300 SMK's were loaded to 3300 fps I believe. He loaded the cases once and then chunked them. It has been a while since I read his post about the shot, but make no mistake a 300 SMK 338 bullet has enough uhmp to get the job done at great distance if one is up to placing the bullet on target