ready for a new build

[ammo burner]

im starting with a sako m995 trg-s it is currently a 30-378. im up in the air with what to do with it. possibly a 338-378 or stay with the 30. i have lots of once fired, expensive 30-378 brass. what are the chances of this brass working in the new barrel. would i be able to use it in the 338 barrel. can i build a 338 edge with this bolt face. what kind of stock can i get for the sako. i would like to go with a hunter style stock. I am open to suggestions of any kind. Thanks

 

[Tyler Kemp]

If you have lots of the brass you can always resize it in 30-378 or 338-378. I would go with a different caliber unless you had LOTS of 30-378 brass though.

 

[ammo burner]

i do have a couple hundreed casings that are fired several times. some once and some up to 4 times and in between. Iwas thinking of 338 edge but was wondering if the bolt face was too big. i have not decided on anything yet. whats wrong with the weatherby's.

 

[yobuck]

ive been using a 30x378 for about 25 years for long range hunting in pa.
mine is a heavy gun with a custom action, barrel block, and a 36" barrel.
with a 200 gr. sierra matchking, my velocity is about 3500 f.p.s.
i dont think that velocity could be obtained with a barrel less than about 32". the factory weatherby with its 26" barrel dosent come close.
when i had my gun built, the gunsmith wouldnt use any action but a custom, or a weatherby, and that only after lapping the lugs.
i know nothing about your action. from what i hear they are a good action, but you are talking about big cartridges here.
i wouldnt be making a decision based on the brass you own.
the bolt face isnt a problem, a filler can be installed to make it standard mag.

i also have another 30 cal. built on a modified 378 case. its an 18 lb. gun with a 30" barrel and a weatherby action.
we use that gun 90% of the time. its about the same as a 300 ultra mag.
if i were you, id look seriously at one of those cartridges. either the 7mm, or the 300, would make excellant pa. long range outfits.

kevin cram is a sponser here. lives in danville, not far from you. a long range shooter, hunter, and gunsmith. i believe he has a 338x378. it would be worth a call.

 

[Chopaka81]

can i build a 338 edge with this bolt face.

No you can not, The 338 RUM/EDGE case heads are smaller than the 378 WBY case head.

Are wanting to accept the freebore of the WBY Mag's? If not you may want to look at another wildcat.

Just my two bits.

 

[yobuck]

i have seen several 378 bolt faces reduced to standard mag. size with a filler. ive not owned one, and cant vouch for how they work out but ive seen it.
it would be worth asking a good gunsmith that question.
on the other hand i have used a standard mag boltface on a 30x378 by rebating the rim just as the ultra mag does.
reason for that was the bolt wasent large enough to open up the face.
i also reduced the powder charge due to the smaller bolt.
so what i had was a 300 ultramag about 15 years before they came out.
the dammed thing shot better than the one i have now.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I started w/ the same rifle. Decided to build mine on the .338 Lapua case, which works with your bolt face. So you could do the factory .338 Lapua or a wildcat based on the .338 Lapua. Gives you better brass. Sell the Weatherby brass and move on. Just my opinion, nobody needs to yell at me now.

Steve

 

[yobuck]

I started w/ the same rifle. Decided to build mine on the .338 Lapua case, which works with your bolt face. So you could do the factory .338 Lapua or a wildcat based on the .338 Lapua. Gives you better brass. Sell the Weatherby brass and move on. Just my opinion, nobody needs to yell at me now.

Steve

why would anybody yell at a good idea?

 

[jmason]

Here's a link that should help you get your answers.

Bolt face diameters

 

[RockyMtnMT]

why would anybody yell at a good idea?

Usually when I make a statement like that a Weatherby fan will take offense. I have nothing against the Weatherby, but the Lapua brass just plain out performs the Weatherby brass. When I pushed my old 30-378 it would open up primer pockets without any other noticeable pressure signs. I now get the same or better performance out of my 30-338 Lapua Imp with many more re loadings. No factory ammo, but who wants it or can afford it?

Steve

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Ammo Burner,

Just another thought. As I said earlier, I started w/ the same donor rifle, and just wanted a longer barrel for the 30-378. It was suggested to me to change to a 300rum. Because of bolt face diameters this just didn't work well. Kirby suggested to me, here, to build the 30-338 Lap imp. So I did, and happy with it.

For what it is worth, all I did is re-barrel with a Lilja 30" #7 1-10 twist. Had a good gun smith fit it up. No other mods and this rifle holds about 1/2 moa out to 1000yrds. Only thing not stock on this rifle is the barrel.

Steve

 

[yobuck]

rockymntmt.
steve for what its worth, im no diehard fan of anything.
what works is what counts in my opinion.
realize though that when many of us started, the weatherby cases were the easiest to obtain and modify. in the early to mid 70s, when i arrived, the hot calibers were 6.5x300 wby, 7x300 wby, and the 30x378 wby.
it was easy to neck down the 300 case to the 6.5 or 7 mm.
the 30x378 was a necked down 378 case. they were the popular cartridges mainly because decent bullets were available for them.
the 338 is a rather recent popular choice.
today there are lots of good bullets, powder, brass, barrels and everything else needed to build a variety of good guns. there are also more gunsmiths with the knowledge needed to build them.
if i were starting over i wouldnt build a 30x378. for that matter i wouldnt build any of the large case cartridges.
i guess advancing age and diminished tetosterone are responsible for that.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

rockymntmt.
steve for what its worth, im no diehard fan of anything.
what works is what counts in my opinion.
realize though that when many of us started, the weatherby cases were the easiest to obtain and modify. in the early to mid 70s, when i arrived, the hot calibers were 6.5x300 wby, 7x300 wby, and the 30x378 wby.
it was easy to neck down the 300 case to the 6.5 or 7 mm.
the 30x378 was a necked down 378 case. they were the popular cartridges mainly because decent bullets were available for them.
the 338 is a rather recent popular choice.
today there are lots of good bullets, powder, brass, barrels and everything else needed to build a variety of good guns. there are also more gunsmiths with the knowledge needed to build them.
if i were starting over i wouldnt build a 30x378. for that matter i wouldnt build any of the large case cartridges.
i guess advancing age and diminished tetosterone are responsible for that.

I hear that. I could easily see myself shooting nothing but a 30-30 when I get tired of the big, high recoil rifles.

Steve

 

[ammo burner]

thanx for all the info. i'm going to talk to my smith on wed.