338 RUM, 33 Nosler, 338 Edge, 338 Win, 338 Allen Express, or 338 Norma with 300 gr. Sierras???

[adam32]

RUM with ADG brass. Easy peasy.

 

[Canhunter35]

What's a cz550 magazine length?

 

[liv4thehunt]

This is a 338 Lapua AI I built for a friend in Alaska. He needed it light for a backpack hunt. This gun weighs 9.75 without the bipod. Recoil is light enough his girlfriend likes to shoot it.

 

[CA48]

338 Excalibur 26 inch barrel shoots 300s at 3250 fps and 32 inch barrel shoots 245s at 3400. The 245s are at 45 mils at 4200 ft elevation at 2 miles and they are not as hard on the rifle.

I think 3250 is a little optimistic. 338 Excalibur with 300 bergers should be closer to 3000 FPS with a 26 in barrel.

 

[David Emerson]

338 Excalibur 26 inch barrel shoots 300s at 3250 fps and 32 inch barrel shoots 245s at 3400. The 245s are at 45 mils at 4200 ft elevation at 2 miles and they are not as hard on the rifle.

250,s at 3250

 

[Tarheelpwr]

I view those as 3 basic performance levels.

you have RUM, edge, Norma,Lapua
Allen xpress is a step up
Nosler, win are a step down.

they all have their own pros and cons with slight nuance.

When you say rem 700 style action, that makes me want to leave the Lapua BF options out unless you go custom built for it.

That leaves RUM or Edge. If you want a repeater, I'd lean RUM. Single feed max performance, EDGE. P

 

[Magnett]

.338 Norma or Norma improved variant is what I would go for. Since it is a hunting rifle, you can easily run them as a repeater in a 3.850 mag with a 300 Berger and use all of the potential case capacity, not really doable with the Edge, though you can just jump a lot, out of a Wyatts 3.850" mag. I don't know the specifics of the rum with a Sierra 300, it has a little shorter nose than the Berger, so it may be workable out of a rum in a 3.850 mag with optimal seating, I don't know either way.

The standard Norma will get you 2650+ with a 300 pill and optimum powders, even in a 24" barrel (my buddies is 2750 with a mild load out of a 28"), an improved version will get 2850ish or better depending on the variation you go with.

I just finished up putting together my back country elk rig, a 9.1 lb all up .338 Norma mag, handles like a dream, especially compared to the 14 lb pig I was used to carrying all over the back country. Barrel is 24" plus brake, #5 spiral fluted Lilja. My buddies 11.5 lb .338 NM is pretty fun too, just a little heavy for what I wanted to do. it sure does shoot sweet though. Haven't put rounds through this one yet, hopefully soon!!View attachment 168422 View attachment 168423 View attachment 168424

As a short side track, how do you like that DNZ scope mount? Did you bed that mount?

 

[Deleted member 8840]

I think 3250 is a little optimistic. 338 Excalibur with 300 bergers should be closer to 3000 FPS with a 26 in barrel.

I telling you what I did with it.

 

[Deleted member 8840]

250,s at 3250

What I'm shooting with it now.

 

[esshup]

When Kirby and I discussed a long range rifle for me, the discussion turned to actions. He said that I should go with a aftermarket action, because of all the time that would have to go into a Rem 700 action to true it up, and I'd still have a rifle based on a 700 action if I were ever sell it. He said because of the labor involved, with the Rem action, the price would be about a wash. At the time I shot rifles with BAT and Nesika Bay actions and the Nesika Bay action was smoother. Personal choice here, but I agree with him, I'd go with an aftermarket action and not a Rem 700 action.

As for caliber, I wanted a rifle to hunt Pronghorn, Deer and Elk. I live at 780; elevation and wanted a lighter rifle. I had to go to Great Falls Montana for work, so I took a day vacation and made an appointment with Kirby to meet him and shoot some of his guns before I decided which one to have him build. I shot his 7mm Allen Magnum, 338 Allen Magnum and .375 Allen Magnum. He recommended a 30 caliber or larger if I was strictly going to hunt Elk with it, but since I was also going to hunt smaller critters I decided on the 7mm Allen Magnm. The gun is one of the guns in his gallery, black thumbhole stock. The gun weighs a hair under 10 pounds sans scope, bipod and ammo. Recoil with his medium painkiller brake is the same as my 6# (with scope sling and ammo) .243 that shoots 85g Barnes at 3250 fps.

When I asked him what the hunting range was on the 7mm Allen Magnum, his reply was "Since I've seen you shoot, let me put it this way. If you can see it, you can kill it." So that is what I had him build.

I've run the gun out to almost 1,400 yds in Colorado and I can stack bullets inside the same dirt crater the first bullet made. I haven't shot a lot of critters with it, there isn't that opportunity here in Indiana. But I've killed a coyote at 867 yds with a clean cold bore shot, shot a cow elk at 707 yds (DRT, 180g Berger exit hole was silver dollar sized) and at the 1,000 yd range that I shoot at the 1/2 scale woodcjuck steel target at 1,000 yds is relatively easy to hit if I read the wind correctly.

With some fine tuning of the load, this gun now is a 1/4 moa rifle. I have loads for both the 180g Berger and the 195g Berger. I do not feel that I am under gunned for bull elk at 1K. I know BuffaloBob has killed a bull with the 7mm Allen Magnum at a mile and I think it still was a pass thru shot.

But to get back to your orig question, if you had to stick with a larger caliber than 7mm for elk at 1,000 yds, why not go with the .338 Allen Magnum?
Velocity Performance:
Bullet Weight Velocity (33" barrel length)
265 gr. 3550 fps
300 gr. 3350 fps

If you want the details on my 7mm AM build, let me know and I'll post them.

 

[David Emerson]

One of those magic rifles

 

[David Emerson]

One of those magic rifles

I correct. a 32 or 33 will give much higher velocity

 

[mindcrime]

What's a cz550 magazine length?

To be honest, I can't measure it at the moment because I am going between a wheelchair and a walker (I had orthopedic surgery on my right leg); what I will say is that it is PLENTY LONG, as the .416 Rigby is much longer that a .338 Allen Express loaded with the 300s.

 

[Westernhuntr]

.338 Norma or Norma improved variant is what I would go for. Since it is a hunting rifle, you can easily run them as a repeater in a 3.850 mag with a 300 Berger and use all of the potential case capacity, not really doable with the Edge, though you can just jump a lot, out of a Wyatts 3.850" mag. I don't know the specifics of the rum with a Sierra 300, it has a little shorter nose than the Berger, so it may be workable out of a rum in a 3.850 mag with optimal seating, I don't know either way.

The standard Norma will get you 2650+ with a 300 pill and optimum powders, even in a 24" barrel (my buddies is 2750 with a mild load out of a 28"), an improved version will get 2850ish or better depending on the variation you go with.

I just finished up putting together my back country elk rig, a 9.1 lb all up .338 Norma mag, handles like a dream, especially compared to the 14 lb pig I was used to carrying all over the back country. Barrel is 24" plus brake, #5 spiral fluted Lilja. My buddies 11.5 lb .338 NM is pretty fun too, just a little heavy for what I wanted to do. it sure does shoot sweet though. Haven't put rounds through this one yet, hopefully soon!!View attachment 168422 View attachment 168423 View attachment 168424

Very nice looking rifle, is that a standard 700 action with the bolt opened up?
I hear a lot about needing a .750 bolt and larger tenon size for Lapua sized cases.
I'm having a 338 NM put together in the next few weeks on a Mesa Precision Crux Ti action.
It's a 1.0625x18 pitch and uses a .700 bolt, they assured me it's all you need