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APS 338 Raptor, R&D early results
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<blockquote data-quote="Fiftydriver" data-source="post: 844487" data-attributes="member: 10"><p>Did not get any pics taken today, to busy with other projects but will get them.</p><p> </p><p>About the 300 and 338 Raptor case design.</p><p> </p><p>Originally, I used the 338 Excalibur case for the bases of both of these new wildcats and they did work very well. Jamison was the only maker of Excalibur brass that was somewhat affordable(+$4 ea.) and could handle a decent amount of chamber pressure. </p><p> </p><p>Right after I got the reamers all finalized and load and ballistic testing done, Jamison international close its doors........ No brass available other then the A-square Excalibur brass which did not have the best reputation for strength of quality.</p><p> </p><p>So, after all that work and money invested, the 300 and 338 Raptor projects were pretty much a dead stick.</p><p> </p><p>A few months after this, I was talking with Joel Russo and he was telling me about some brass that Bertram had made for Bruce Baer for his 338 Big Baer and he had said how impressed he was with the brass and in working with Bertram. So I got ahold of Bruce Bertram and told him what I had in mind. We discussed the Excalibur case design briefly but I decided that if I was going to have brass made, why not just go with the Lapua diameter case instead of the slightly smaller diameter Excalibur case.</p><p> </p><p>Bertram agreed that it would be easier as he could use body dies that he already had to keep cost down a bit. Now it I had to decide on case length. I wanted a longer case then the Lapua for sure but did not want just a non belted version of the 378 Wby case. </p><p> </p><p>I set down and drew up a reamer print with what I thought would be perfect dimensions for the Raptors.</p><p> </p><p>Basically, its a unique case design. Only thing similar with current case designs is the head diameter and rim diameter which are the same as the 338 Lapua. I decided that if I was going to do this we might as well go all out so I set the case OAL to 3.050" which is slightly longer then my 338 Allen Magnum.</p><p> </p><p>The case body length is slightly longer then that of the 338 AM by design. This is so that there would be no chance that a 338 Raptor could chamber in a 338 AM rifle as that would be a very dangerous situation if that was possible. Again, the shoulder on the Raptor is about 70 thou farther forward compared to the 338 AM. So basically its a 338 Lapua case that has been stretched to a length of 3.050".</p><p> </p><p>neck length is just shy of 0.300" which is plenty for a round designed for strictly a single shot rifle. Shoulder and case body specs are same as all my other APS wildcats. Throat length is set so that the 300 gr Berger Hybrid or OTM is seated with the full diameter bullet base seated to the base of the case neck for an OAL of 4.340" seated to the lands.</p><p> </p><p>The leade is a conventional design with 1-0-0 angle, shallow but pretty standard by todays magnum throat designs. Same throat angle as is used by Remington in the RUM chamberings. Conventional leade angle is 1-30-0 so its a bit shallower to help flatten the pressure spike a bit but nothing unconventional in design.</p><p> </p><p>Capacity is a tick over half way between the 338 Allen Xpress (338 Lapua Imrpoved) and the 338 Allen Magnum (338-408 Cheytac improved).</p><p> </p><p>Conventional velocity standards for a 338 Lapua Improved in a 30" barrel with a 300 gr Berger is around 3000 fps. Standard velocity for the 338 AM out of a 32" barrel length is 3300 fps so my goal is 3150 fps which is appearing to be practical.</p><p> </p><p>I will try to get some visual aids tomorrow to show examples.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fiftydriver, post: 844487, member: 10"] Did not get any pics taken today, to busy with other projects but will get them. About the 300 and 338 Raptor case design. Originally, I used the 338 Excalibur case for the bases of both of these new wildcats and they did work very well. Jamison was the only maker of Excalibur brass that was somewhat affordable(+$4 ea.) and could handle a decent amount of chamber pressure. Right after I got the reamers all finalized and load and ballistic testing done, Jamison international close its doors........ No brass available other then the A-square Excalibur brass which did not have the best reputation for strength of quality. So, after all that work and money invested, the 300 and 338 Raptor projects were pretty much a dead stick. A few months after this, I was talking with Joel Russo and he was telling me about some brass that Bertram had made for Bruce Baer for his 338 Big Baer and he had said how impressed he was with the brass and in working with Bertram. So I got ahold of Bruce Bertram and told him what I had in mind. We discussed the Excalibur case design briefly but I decided that if I was going to have brass made, why not just go with the Lapua diameter case instead of the slightly smaller diameter Excalibur case. Bertram agreed that it would be easier as he could use body dies that he already had to keep cost down a bit. Now it I had to decide on case length. I wanted a longer case then the Lapua for sure but did not want just a non belted version of the 378 Wby case. I set down and drew up a reamer print with what I thought would be perfect dimensions for the Raptors. Basically, its a unique case design. Only thing similar with current case designs is the head diameter and rim diameter which are the same as the 338 Lapua. I decided that if I was going to do this we might as well go all out so I set the case OAL to 3.050" which is slightly longer then my 338 Allen Magnum. The case body length is slightly longer then that of the 338 AM by design. This is so that there would be no chance that a 338 Raptor could chamber in a 338 AM rifle as that would be a very dangerous situation if that was possible. Again, the shoulder on the Raptor is about 70 thou farther forward compared to the 338 AM. So basically its a 338 Lapua case that has been stretched to a length of 3.050". neck length is just shy of 0.300" which is plenty for a round designed for strictly a single shot rifle. Shoulder and case body specs are same as all my other APS wildcats. Throat length is set so that the 300 gr Berger Hybrid or OTM is seated with the full diameter bullet base seated to the base of the case neck for an OAL of 4.340" seated to the lands. The leade is a conventional design with 1-0-0 angle, shallow but pretty standard by todays magnum throat designs. Same throat angle as is used by Remington in the RUM chamberings. Conventional leade angle is 1-30-0 so its a bit shallower to help flatten the pressure spike a bit but nothing unconventional in design. Capacity is a tick over half way between the 338 Allen Xpress (338 Lapua Imrpoved) and the 338 Allen Magnum (338-408 Cheytac improved). Conventional velocity standards for a 338 Lapua Improved in a 30" barrel with a 300 gr Berger is around 3000 fps. Standard velocity for the 338 AM out of a 32" barrel length is 3300 fps so my goal is 3150 fps which is appearing to be practical. I will try to get some visual aids tomorrow to show examples. [/QUOTE]
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