Building a long range big game rifle, suggestions?

[Marine sniper]

I am going to build a rifle I can hunt with and shoot out to around a mile. I have a .408 C.T. but do not think it is accurate enough for what I am looking to do. I have done a lot of long range shooting in the Marine Corps with .308's and .50's.

Caliber: I am looking at the .30-.378 Weatherby. I do not care what the rifle weighs within reason, hoping for 25 pounds or less. Any other sugggestions on caliber? I would like it to have enough poop to kill an elk at extreme ranges.

Bullets: I am looking at everything from Lost river bullets to Berger VLD's and the Sierra MK 190-220. I do not know much about the Lost river stuff, with the B.C's they claim, might be too good to be true.

Barrel: I have used pac-nor barrels for a long time, like them a lot. Open to to other suggestions. I think the 3/3 land and groove deal may be a good thing with a .30-.378. 34in?

Action: Open to suggestions, do not mind a single shot.

Gunsmith: I have always built my own rifles, but with something like this I think it may be best to have more of an expert build it. Looking for a package deal; rifle, dies, etc.

Thanks for any help.

John

 

[TheCanuck]

i dont nearly have as much experience as you do, but id be looking at .300H&H, .375H&H and maybe .388lapua mag?

Dan Lilja makes nice 3 grouves barrels.

Nesika makes nice actions, PGW makes a nice one for .338lapua

ask kirby if you are looking for a gunsmith. he'll also be more qualified to talk about wich caliber best suits your needs

 

[kregg slack]

if you have built your own rifles before there is no reason why you cant built a long range rifle. all of them are built the same way except maybe a bigger o.d barrel and a bigger cal. long range rifle's hunting rifle's sniper rifle's all get the same quality being built if its my neighbor joe or the police force's www.parrysgunsmithing.com

 

[Mysticplayer]

The only two cal options are 30 and 338. If you will do more towards the mile, then go big case 338. The 338-416 Rigby improved in a very long barrel has few peers. Launching 300gr MK at 3100 to 3300fps gives you plenty of energy at the mile. Well used with lots of hunting success.

Have a look in the archives. Darryl Cassel has done alot with this wildcat.

I came up with a slightly smaller case called the 338 Mystic. Basically a 338-300 RUM improved with the shoulder moved forward. Estimating 10% smaller then the Rigby. Did this because of the way cheaper brass. Expected performance in the 3100fps range with 300gr MK. I had dies made by Lee (collet neck die and a seater for $50US).

The 30-378 is an excellent 30 cal cannon. you will need to use the heaviest bullets you can get. 240gr MK or some of Wildcat newer heavies are in order. For me, I went again with the RUM. A bit slower but way cheaper to shoot.

There is certainly no shortage of info on this board. Happy building.

Jerry

 

[reed mosser]

i would look more at a 30-338 laupa improved instead of the 30-378. It gives very similar performance with laupa brass no belt and is easier on barrels. As far as bullets I would look at wildcat bullets out of canada he is making some super heavy high B.C bullets in all calibers. If you want to shoot out to a mile and kill elk I would look for the 240 grain and up weight in bullets. Their are many on the bord that will vouch for Wildcat bullets. Good Luck

 

[goodgrouper]

DId you mean that you want to hunt elk at 1 mile or just to be able to shoot to a mile? This must be determined because lots of rounds are accurate to 1 mile but much fewer have the energy to kill elk at 1 mile.

 

[Marine sniper]

Shoot to a mile and kill elk at 1000 yards or so. At first I had ruled out the .338's but they are looking better. I have no desire to build something that I can shoot 2000 yards. I have no place to shoot that far any more.

 

[Marine sniper]

I will look at the improved Lapua. Also looking at the .338 big baer, which I believe is an improved Lapua.

 

[Mysticplayer]

If only hunting to 1000yds, the options grow tremendously. 270, 7mm can also be added to the list. The big case magnums will launch heavy for calibre bullets and be very effective on game at that range. Plus, no issue shooting as far as you want to go.

The smallest would be the 7RM and 162gr bullets. Then you can go from there to the RUMs and Allens. With heavy for calibre bullets, no issue.

My hunting rifle is based on exactly the same thought. In 7RM, I launch 162gr Amax at 3150fps. With the ballistics of this bullet, game inside of 1000yds is dead IF you can hit them where it matters.
Jerry

 

[sewwhat89]

Depending on your time-frame for getting the rifle built, check with Kirby Allen. He is/will be developing the 510 Allen Mag!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

That will give you a little room to spare!

 

[demarpaint]

If you like the 30 Caliber, here are 3 you can check out. 30-338 Lapua improved AKA 30 Wolf. 300 RUM, and the Tomahawk which is a 300 RUM improved. All 3 will kill Elk to 1000 yards, and reach a mile. There should be a ton of info on all of them if you do a search.

Hope this helps,

Frank D

 

[Fiftydriver]

Marine Sniper,

What rifle are you using for the 408 CT?

The main problem I have witnessed with this round is the bullet selection. There may be some lead core 408 bullets on the market here in the near future that will me much better as far as accuracy over a wider range or bore dimensions.

The 30-378 is a good round but For elk at 1000 yards I prefer a 338 simply because of bullet weight and diameter. To be honest either caliber and also including the big 270s and 7mm rounds will do well at this range but the 338 will be more effective with those hits on the fringes of the vital zone.

I have designed a big 338 wildcat based on a 408 CT case which should be able to hit 3500 fps with the 300 gr ULD RBBT bullets in a 34" barrel. This is roughly 100 fps faster then the other 408 based 338 wildcats. Is this meaingful at extended range, not really, But the round is really designed around the huge 350 gr ULD RBBT drive to near 3300 fps, or at least this is what we are predicting.

Yes as mentions I also will have a 510 Allen Mag out soon as well but the big 338 is already here as I have the reamer for it. Just waiting for my BAT receiver.

With a rifle weight of 25 lbs you can use pretty much anything you want and it will be comfortable to shoot.

As you know stick to the heavy VLD or ULD bullets and you will be served very well with most of the larger rounds available.

If you have built your rifles before I would agree that this would not be a difficult project for you as long as you are using proper building techniques it is all the same thing.

Personally though, a big 338 is hard to beat. I prefer the 338 Kahn(338-378 Wby W/35 degree conventional shoulder) over the standard 338-378 but there are no flies on either. The big 338s are generally easier to find a quality load for and if you want to shoot alot they will last longer as far as bore life goes.

Good luck, let us know what you decide to build.

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Marine sniper]

My .408 is a Wind runner. I am using the 419 gr. Lost river bullets.

3500 fps with a 300 gr. bullet, count me in as interested!!

I am still tossing around what exacty I want the rifle to do. For where I live and hunt a 7mm mag would be fine. I have shot a .308 past 1000 yards so I know how to stretch a calibers parameters. Of course the ability to shoot past 2000++ is always cool.

Keep us up to date on the .338 Allen

Thanks for all the help to a new member.

John

 

[Guest]

MS,

Glad ya made it here... those BR guys aren't real accepting to doing what we do here.

Kirby is a good smith who can help you out too. CHris Matthews has also built quite a number of 338 big boomers both bench and tactical.

keep picking everyones brain here. There is a ton of knowledge and information gathered here from a very diverse group.
I am not that adept with the 338 caliber but I know there are numerous guys here who are..