Hi folks. Just wanted to share the joy and excitement of reviving a safe queen. I had a 602 waiting for a new project for some time now. It had a tired barrel in 300wm. So I opted for an upsizing to 338WM.
I thought it only respectful to replace the barrel with another hammer forged, and found an unfired Ruger take off to fit the bill. Many thanks to Gunrunner8 for his guidance, help, and excellent service to make this possible.
So here is the results of my range visit. I first fire formed my brass and used the data to find a reasonable node. Being a 22" barrel, the velocity results are not astonishing, but very respectful. Average velocity of the best accuracy vs velocity resulted in 2660fps with a 225gr Hornady SST. During testing I found 40 thou was the favoured jump for this barrel.
I lapped the lugs and completed a 1 shot clean, 5 shot clean, 10 shot clean. This barrel cleans up readily and was very impressed on the internal finish.
Stats for those interested;
BRNO 602 Action, lugs lapped, bolt face resurfaced. Action is Teflon coated.
Boyds thumbhole forest laminate, Devcon bedded, Barrel free float from action forward. 9lb 6oz rifle weight with scope.
Trigger spring replaced, 2# crisp pull.
6 X 36 Leupold oldie but goodie.
Stainless Ruger 338 take off, 22" length, target crown, Bead blast for no shine!
Chamber 367 throat, Throated to optimize 225gr Hornady SST. OAL 3.460 to touch. 40 Jump best results.
H4350, CCI mag primer, 2660 fps. No sorting or major prep. Deburred primer hole, Trim to length, Full length size.
Performance, sub MOA. As you can see this node ends dramatically past 68gr. Interesting to note that it is very stable for consistency through 2500-2660fps. When I tried to push it to 2700 performance falls apart. No real need though, more than enough for big game in my neck of the woods.
BTW, Steel gongs at 500m make a real deep smack when you hit em with this bad boy. Something that just makes you smile from ear to ear like a cheshire cat.
Ready for what ever walks my way. Elky....
I thought it only respectful to replace the barrel with another hammer forged, and found an unfired Ruger take off to fit the bill. Many thanks to Gunrunner8 for his guidance, help, and excellent service to make this possible.
So here is the results of my range visit. I first fire formed my brass and used the data to find a reasonable node. Being a 22" barrel, the velocity results are not astonishing, but very respectful. Average velocity of the best accuracy vs velocity resulted in 2660fps with a 225gr Hornady SST. During testing I found 40 thou was the favoured jump for this barrel.
I lapped the lugs and completed a 1 shot clean, 5 shot clean, 10 shot clean. This barrel cleans up readily and was very impressed on the internal finish.
Stats for those interested;
BRNO 602 Action, lugs lapped, bolt face resurfaced. Action is Teflon coated.
Boyds thumbhole forest laminate, Devcon bedded, Barrel free float from action forward. 9lb 6oz rifle weight with scope.
Trigger spring replaced, 2# crisp pull.
6 X 36 Leupold oldie but goodie.
Stainless Ruger 338 take off, 22" length, target crown, Bead blast for no shine!
Chamber 367 throat, Throated to optimize 225gr Hornady SST. OAL 3.460 to touch. 40 Jump best results.
H4350, CCI mag primer, 2660 fps. No sorting or major prep. Deburred primer hole, Trim to length, Full length size.
Performance, sub MOA. As you can see this node ends dramatically past 68gr. Interesting to note that it is very stable for consistency through 2500-2660fps. When I tried to push it to 2700 performance falls apart. No real need though, more than enough for big game in my neck of the woods.
BTW, Steel gongs at 500m make a real deep smack when you hit em with this bad boy. Something that just makes you smile from ear to ear like a cheshire cat.
Ready for what ever walks my way. Elky....
