codyadams
Well-Known Member
So my buddy and I are putting together a full custom light build to be a hammer for long range elk, that also won't kill you to pack it back in. This will be my first time putting together a full custom, and my buddies first custom rifle at all.
We knew we wanted a .338 cal to shoot the berger 300 grain pills, due to how little wind drift and the massive energy they deliver, and we also want a repeater. The elk around here are timber rats, only showing themselves in small openings and returning back to the trees, it is RARE to see them in large openings. So, even though we havent had any issues yet with smaller calibers putting them down fast, we don't want to take that chance, so we're goin big.
We went back and fourth on the 338 edge, 338 lapua or lapua improved, or the 338 Norma. We finally settled on the Norma because even using the 300 grain bergers, we can seat the bullet right out to the lands and still have room for the throat to grow and fit in a CIP length dbm or Wyatts 3.825" bottom metal. And, from everything I'm seeing, in a 28"-30" barrel, 2800+ is doable, and running ballistics and looking at drift and energy/speed, 2800 vs 3000 is really not a huge difference, we still get all the performance we want at the lower speed, without the headach of needing to go single shot or messing with a 4.00" Wyatts mag box.
For the stock, we have a Manners EH-1A in molded GAP camo being built right now. The adjustable cheek hardware adds around 3/4 of a pound, but my buddy really wanted it and I don't mind it either, and with the carbon shell and light fill, it should still be under 3 lbs.
Now for the action. This was a hard decision, because in the norma you can even use a basic savage or remington with a reamed bolt face, due to the short OAL, and also there are so many nice custom actions it was hard to pick one. After calling Gunwerks, Surgeon, Stiller, Lone Peak, Defiance Machine, Bat Machine, Bighorn Actions, and looking into the Mausingfield actions, we decided on the TAC 338 action from Stiller. While this action is a little bigger diameter and the nose is a little longer, adding wieght, we figured the extra strength was worth it, and we would pick other places to try and save wieght. Plus, while all of them were friendly to talk with, the owner of Stiller seems like an awesome guy as well, and ******** with me for half an hour on the phone.
We are also going with the Stiller DBM, it seems high quality, and going with a BDL you can either go with a canoe bottom and get 3, or have a 2 round capacity, and sometimes with certain stocks only fit 1 in the mag. With the DBM we will have 5+1. Also, we had a DBM design idea from the start anyway.
For the barrel, we are going to give Carbon Six a try. They use Mcgowen barrels turned down and wrapped. We will use a 1in9 twist, and magnum contour, that finishes at .900" at the muzzle. I have a smith that I use around here, but after talking with carbon six, they do chamber and install barrels for you, and only charge $155 including rental for a 338 Norma reamer that they don't have on hand. Has anyone used their gunsmith services or familiar with them?
For the brake, we are thinking one from MBM or possibly the PVA Rocket scientist, but I could use some suggestions here. I like my MBM on my .260 AI, but have never braked a large magnum. We don't want some big thing that looks like it should be on a tank either, and we dont want radial, as this will mostly be shot off the dirt, and prefer a self timing brake that we can instal. Any suggestions guys??
Triggertech will be our trigger, and I will do any fitting and the bedding. From adding up the numbers, the bare rifle will be around 7.5-8.5 lbs, so a 10-11 lb ready to hunt rifle is what we are looking at, depending on scope/bipod choice, which is fine by us. My current set up is 14 lbs, and I packed that thing all over the mountain last year. Taking 4 lbs off would be awesome.
I need to do some research as to where to start on load developement, but that is still a ways down the road. We are super excited about this build, and cant wait to bang some steel and start filling the freezer with this thing!! I'll update as the build comes along. Thanks for reading guys, take care!!
We knew we wanted a .338 cal to shoot the berger 300 grain pills, due to how little wind drift and the massive energy they deliver, and we also want a repeater. The elk around here are timber rats, only showing themselves in small openings and returning back to the trees, it is RARE to see them in large openings. So, even though we havent had any issues yet with smaller calibers putting them down fast, we don't want to take that chance, so we're goin big.
We went back and fourth on the 338 edge, 338 lapua or lapua improved, or the 338 Norma. We finally settled on the Norma because even using the 300 grain bergers, we can seat the bullet right out to the lands and still have room for the throat to grow and fit in a CIP length dbm or Wyatts 3.825" bottom metal. And, from everything I'm seeing, in a 28"-30" barrel, 2800+ is doable, and running ballistics and looking at drift and energy/speed, 2800 vs 3000 is really not a huge difference, we still get all the performance we want at the lower speed, without the headach of needing to go single shot or messing with a 4.00" Wyatts mag box.
For the stock, we have a Manners EH-1A in molded GAP camo being built right now. The adjustable cheek hardware adds around 3/4 of a pound, but my buddy really wanted it and I don't mind it either, and with the carbon shell and light fill, it should still be under 3 lbs.
Now for the action. This was a hard decision, because in the norma you can even use a basic savage or remington with a reamed bolt face, due to the short OAL, and also there are so many nice custom actions it was hard to pick one. After calling Gunwerks, Surgeon, Stiller, Lone Peak, Defiance Machine, Bat Machine, Bighorn Actions, and looking into the Mausingfield actions, we decided on the TAC 338 action from Stiller. While this action is a little bigger diameter and the nose is a little longer, adding wieght, we figured the extra strength was worth it, and we would pick other places to try and save wieght. Plus, while all of them were friendly to talk with, the owner of Stiller seems like an awesome guy as well, and ******** with me for half an hour on the phone.
We are also going with the Stiller DBM, it seems high quality, and going with a BDL you can either go with a canoe bottom and get 3, or have a 2 round capacity, and sometimes with certain stocks only fit 1 in the mag. With the DBM we will have 5+1. Also, we had a DBM design idea from the start anyway.
For the barrel, we are going to give Carbon Six a try. They use Mcgowen barrels turned down and wrapped. We will use a 1in9 twist, and magnum contour, that finishes at .900" at the muzzle. I have a smith that I use around here, but after talking with carbon six, they do chamber and install barrels for you, and only charge $155 including rental for a 338 Norma reamer that they don't have on hand. Has anyone used their gunsmith services or familiar with them?
For the brake, we are thinking one from MBM or possibly the PVA Rocket scientist, but I could use some suggestions here. I like my MBM on my .260 AI, but have never braked a large magnum. We don't want some big thing that looks like it should be on a tank either, and we dont want radial, as this will mostly be shot off the dirt, and prefer a self timing brake that we can instal. Any suggestions guys??
Triggertech will be our trigger, and I will do any fitting and the bedding. From adding up the numbers, the bare rifle will be around 7.5-8.5 lbs, so a 10-11 lb ready to hunt rifle is what we are looking at, depending on scope/bipod choice, which is fine by us. My current set up is 14 lbs, and I packed that thing all over the mountain last year. Taking 4 lbs off would be awesome.
I need to do some research as to where to start on load developement, but that is still a ways down the road. We are super excited about this build, and cant wait to bang some steel and start filling the freezer with this thing!! I'll update as the build comes along. Thanks for reading guys, take care!!
