Re: Did a lot of research today
I am currently building my next "lightweight long range elk killer" for when the 300 win won't reach far enough. I am having a reamer made for what I am loosely calling the .338 thunder. It is a 338 ultra with .010" case taper, 40 degree shoulder, tight necked (well snug anyway) and throated for the Nosler accubond 225 so the base will be at the mid-shoulder. It will feed well through a 700 action and since it is shorter than the 300 ultra case, I will probably get same or more case capacity than the 338 edge because my neck will be longer and the bullets will be able to be seated out farther making more space inside the case. I will glady give up case length if I can gain back the volume somewhere else because the Remmy magazine box isn't too friendly with the 300 ultra and long bullets!
Another plus is, in a pinch, I could fire 338 ultra's in my chamber whereas the Edge is out of luck.
Through a 27 inch barrel, the 225 ab should go around 3330 fps and with a bc of .550 it should break the shoulder blade of any elk out to about 1600 yards!
I thought long and hard about the 338 Lapua or 338 Lapua improved as I already have dies for both, but unless you're firing 300 grain bullets, they have too much volume. The 225 really only needs about 95 grains of powder to reach top velocities from a 27 inch tube. With 95 grains, the load density will be around 95% with the bullet where it is going to be.
Brass definetly isn't as good as 338 lapua brass, but if you buy 150 pieces of REmmy, you should have enough left over after culling to use for any big game hunting or target shooting session.
One thing I learned in my research came from doing load development on a 338 ultra standard last fall. Nothing in my experience heated up a barrel as fast as that 338 for some reason. It burns the same amount as the 300 ultra's with 180's but it heated the barrel up twice as fast! So I started really looking at a carbon fiber wrapped barreled Chistensen I was working on at the same time and noticed it cooled off VERY quickly. I have worked on several dozen of these in the past and was not sold on the cooling properties until the 338 came along. I don't know if they are stiffer, but I can tell you that after I got through with most of them, they shot in the .2-.3" at 100 yards with huge hunting rounds so they must work ok. Anyway, time will tell because I am ordering a custom Krieger barrel and I am going to have it wrapped how I want it (with a longer than normal barrel shank, and having someone else do the chambering) and I am going to insist on standing there watching while it is being wrapped. The reason for this is a long story but let's just say I want to shoot the barrel I bring them, not some factory tube they tell me is my custom barrel.
Anyhow, the blueprinted 700 action will be dropped in a Mcmillan Lazzeroni sporter with green and black marble finish and it will be pillared and glassed as normal. The 27" carbon barrel will wear a Christensen's brake (which I have found to be actually quite good) and the scope will probably be a 6.5-20x50 LRT Leupy with a fine duplex reticle. I will use a Ferrel 20 moa base and Burris sig rings. I haven't decided on a trigger yet. Probably a Jewell set at 8 oz. Other goodies will be a Holland bolt knob, and Sako extractor.
All in all, it will be a super long range elk killer that will be legal in most western states (even in Idaho where the MOAG is not welcome on a big game hunt) and best of all-no one will ask to shoot it because it will be a <font color="blue"> LEFTY! </font> /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
