338 Edge

K

KPA

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Okotoks, Alberta
Well, Rick has finally had a chance to finish my rifle, it's been 2 years in the making, the delay mostly on my part.

It's a 338 Edge after the style described in the LRH forum in the south. The only difference being the reamer I had made for it has .250 free-bore to accommodate the 300 Gr SMK, and a match grade neck.

I must admit , it's certainly larger than my average rifle!

The particulars are:
- .338/300 Remington Ultra Mag w/.250 free-bore and match grade neck
- HS Precision Stock
- Remington LA Stainless action
- Jewell Trigger
- Lilja 30" Barrel
- Tubb's recoil lug
- OPS Inc. Muzzle Brake
- Leupold Vari-X III 6.5x20-50 w/Premier Reticles Gen2 Mildot
- Volquartsen Stainless Rings
- Near Mfg Stainless Picatinny Base
- Badger Ordinance Bolt Knob
- Versapod Bipod
- 4 boxes of Nosler Brass (same lot)
- Accurized and assembled by Rick @ Alberta Tactical
- Drag bag / shooting mat / case by Dave @ Tiger Tactical


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In the picture the scope is just sitting there, I need to lap the rings and mount it still.

This is a single shot rifle for the time being as I'm actually planning on milling my own floor plate and magazine assembly as soon as my CNC mill is online. The goal is for the system to handle a 4" round, ideal for the SMK or a Wildcat.

I'm also contemplating painting it in a camouflage pattern.

The reamer is with Rick.

Next is to wait for a nice day and out to Sybill Flats to stretch it's legs.

Jay
 
Nice rifle Jay.

Just want to kniow a few more details about the barrel. What does it measure at the brake? What twist is it? Was it fluted by Lilja or by the guy that is not to mentioned?

Also, did he make you a resizing die?
 
The barrel was fluted by Lilja as part of their build process - to ensure they work the stresses out on their end before we get get it.

As for the die, I have the spec sheet for the reamer and will be faxing it to Rick likely tomorrow, there-after we'll get it down to Redding for a body resizing die.

I just measured the barrel length at 32" from the end of the muzzle brake to the bolt face. The distance from the end of the muzzle brake to the end of the barrel is 2 1/8".

I can't remember what the twist is but I think it's 1 in 10" - I do know we spec'd the 300 SMK as the bullet to build to when we ordered the barrel.

Jay
 
Unless he has a really slow barrel, he should be able to push the 300grMK to 3000fps with good accuracy. Some are running this cartridge to 3100fps.

The Lapua will have a hard time getting much over 2850fps.

The 338RUM is the Lapua's equal. The 338-300RUM's like the Edge and 338 Mystic are like the improved lapua's - 338 Wolf.

There are dies already out there for the Edge. Try Redding but you can also check at LRH to see the smith's involved. Some had a batch of dies made up.

Jerry
 
dpopl8r said:
can someone explain what freebore is ? and why you want /do not want it?
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It's a term I never use. I think originally it was considered normal to cut a throat the same length as the caliber... that means if you have a .30 caliber, the throat would be cut approximately .300" in length... that means from the end of the neck in the chamber, rifling would be removed for .300".

At that time I think freebore was considered anything over this standard measurement. I may be wrong on this but someone will correct me I am sure.

Weatherbys at one time were freebored as much as 3/4".

Today I think freebore is confused with throat. It doesn't matter much what you call it, but it is an advantage for accuracy and barrel life to have the throat area fairly short, rather than long.... the "throat area" being that area where the rifling has been removed allowing the bullet to enter the barrel as the round is chambered.
 
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Now that is one hot looking rig! Congrats man, you've got to be proud. Sell off your entire collection to fund it? lol.

Post us on the results!
 
At the risk of sounding too technical, the freebore (sometimes called lead) is a term to describe the straight portion of the chamber immediately following where the neck of the brass ends. After the freebore comes the throat, a tapered portion that blends into the rifling. A standard .338 RUM has .110" freebore, where-as I spec'd .250"

The purpose behind this extra freebore is that in a normal 338 RUM chamber a 300 SMK bullet extends into the brass quite a ways, by extending the freebore, I can seat the bullet further out so that ideally, only the boattail of the bullet extends into the brass beyond the bottom of the neck, ultimately providing more room for powder in the case, while still keeping the bullet roughly .050 off the lands.

My understanding is that the normal 338 RUM case is shorter than a 300 RUM case due to the 300 SMK, though I'm a little fuzzy on this point.

As well, the normal SAMI spec target diameter of the freebore area of the chamber is .339, where-as mine is .0005 tighter - to .3385 - to better align the axis of the bullet with the bore.

When I ordered the reamer from Pacific Tool & Gauge they told me this was a standard order for match level shooting.

I can only guess why the Weatherbys have so much freebore, perhaps it has to do with those really long solid brass bullets they shoot over in Africa.


Jay
 
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For me, freebore means the distance a bullet travels after it has left contact with the case neck and before engraving in the lands/rifling. In my definition, you don't want any freebore whatsoever. Reason is that when a bullet leaves the neck and is 'free', the enormous pressure from the expanding gases can and will push the bullet (yaw) causing it to slam into the rifling in an inconsistent and misaligned bases.

Accuracy is always poor.

nowadays, we have such long bullets that we need to extend the throat area so that the bullet does not seat deeply in the case. Rarely will this extended OAL fit in a mag.

We push the rifling forward so the bullet does not jam into the lands. There is now an area infront of the neck where there is no rifling but is quite close to the outside of the bullet. I call this the throat. This again helps guide and support the bullet on its way to the rifling.

In all cases where max accuracy is required, the bullet fully engraves into the lands well before the bullet leaves the case neck. Some bullets/loads like the bullet moving some distance for best pressure/velocity/accuracy. Others want the bullet jammed into the lands. The bullet is always aligned and supported all the way down the pipe.

The wby freebore/longer throat allowed Mr. Weatherby to increase powder loads without increasing pressures excessively. This helped him achieve the magnum velocities his cartridges are famous for.

The downside is that barrel 'life' can be quite short. Initially, the throat is still short enough for the bullet to engrave and accuracy can be really quite good. However with wear, that distance can increase far enough that the bullet has to jump to the lands. At the point, accuracy becomes irratic and you get flyers - groups open up.

Jerry
 
The following information is for those trying to equal the performance of the .338 Lapua without going to a very large & expensive action to accomodate that cartridge. Large case capacity, all else being equal, is the mother of high velocity. I measured the capacity of various cases by filling them to their mouths with water.

.338 Lapua - 115.6 grains (Lapua factory cases)
.338 Imperial - 115.4 grains (RWS .404J formed cases)
.338 Imperial - 114.2 grains (Norma .404J formed cases)
.338 Imperial - 111.1 grains (Imperial factory cases)
.338/300 RUM - 110.9 grains (.300 RUM formed cases)
.338 RUM - 108.8 grains (Remington factory cases)

As you can see from the Imperial comparison the capacity can vary a great deal depending upon the manufacturer of the brass. RWS no longer manufacters their great .404 Jeffery case. It was thin, springy brass that tolerated very high pressures and as we all know pressure equals velocity. The Norma .404J brass almost equals the capacity of the RWS brass but does not handle the pressures quite as well. Those using formed Norma .404J brass in their .338/300 RUM wildcat should nearly equal the .338 Lapua. The down side of the Norma .404J cases is they are expensive and you must open the bolt face of your rifle to 0.560" to accomodate it's larger head size, which also means you need to install a Sako style extractor on actions like the 700 Remington. I have no experience with the capacity nor durability of the Nosler or Federal .300 RUM cases.

I hope this helps those who may be trying to decide which .338 to build. They are great fun to shoot but expensive to feed.
 
The following information is for those trying to equal the performance of the .338 Lapua without going to a very large & expensive action to accomodate that cartridge.
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Well you really hit the nail on the head as to why I went with the Edge as opposed to a Lapua. I consider this a budget rig with reasonable sustainable costs.

To be real honest I was never a big Remington fan and considered throwing a Nesika into it but better judgement overruled. Rick did an oustanding job with smoothing up the action, and that Badger Knob is the cat's meow!

If I were to use "go big or go home" thinking I would have opted for a 338/378 Weatherby or a 408 Cheyanne, or even sprung for the big 50. But I'm happy with my choice - especially so since I opted for the extra freebore. This feature alone makes me feel I left nothing behind, that I'm squeezing all I can from the case choice. Heck I can even run Richard's really long 350 gr Wildcats for fun and not feel like half of my case capacity is bullet.

BTW
I did a water capacity measure on the one fired round I have, but didn't tap it to remove air bubbles or clean out the powder residue - it came out a 111.3 gr. I'm not so sure how it should be done, i.e. with the minuscus flat or convex to overflowing. My Quickload states that the 300 RUM is 113 gr water capacity and the 338 Lapua is at 114 gr wc but I don't see it. In the end it's about useable case capacity anyway since bullet depth makes such a difference.

Jay
 
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I did a water capacity measure on the one fired round I have, but didn't tap it to remove air bubbles or clean out the powder residue - it came out a 111.3 gr. I'm not so sure how it should be done, i.e. with the minuscus flat or convex to overflowing. My Quickload states that the 300 RUM is 113 gr water capacity and the 338 Lapua is at 114 gr wc but I don't see it. In the end it's about useable case capacity anyway since bullet depth makes such a difference.
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Jay
I think your choice of calibre and rifle components are right on the money.

It really doesn't matter if the water is convex, flat or concave to the mouth as long as it is the same in each case for comparison purposes. My comparisons were taken with the water flat on the mouth and trimmed to maximum spec. length. I'm not a fan of Remington brass either as a random weight sampling of 10 RUM cases varied as 7.5 grains while 10 Norma cases varied only 2.5 grains. Your Nosler cases should be much better than either of these - if we believe their advertising. Have you measured the capacity of the Nosler cases formed to your .338 Edge. Let us know how the Nosler cases perform and what their quality control is like. That Quickload calculation of the 300 RUM capacity seems optimistic.

I think your choice of calibre and rifle components are right on the money. Give us a range report when you have time.
 
Jay Kyle said:
Hah! that's the fun part!

Mostly paper out at homestead, and Elk in the hunting season... and if I find the right place - gophers - way out there! :) :)

Jay
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Nice looking rig Jay, you'll have to keep us posted on it's shooting ability.
I built an 8.6 x 72mm last year and have had a blast with it. Shot lots of paper with it this year and once I had it all figured out, took it out hunting. As of today, it has nine coyottes past 500 yards, it has a skunk at 800 yards( we know it was 800 cause that was the yardage we were shooting from and the darn thing came right up onto the top of the butts)and this fall it took 13 deer out of one of our CWD zones, with 5 being farther out that 800 yards.(all verified in range by my hunting giude) my best so far was a 5 x 5 white tail at 952 yards, in a 36mph wind. on the first shot with a 250gr SMK.:dancingbanana:and my personel best was a Mullie buck I took at 1011 yards with a Hornady 250gr SP(not verified) I have an awesome hunting area, I'm up high, there down low and I can see right through the trees, no hiding. My guide thinks I need to engrave the following on my rifle, " Recoil is my friend, and if I can see you, I can shoot you" HE!HE!HE!
I have a Ted Gaillard barrel 26" long with a 1-10" twist and I'm driving 300 gr SMK at 3075 and 250gr SMK at 3150 with no signs of presure. I am shooting coyottes with Nosler 180gr Ballistic tips leaving the barrel at 3677fps. It is definately a reach out and touch it rifle :runaway: . You'll have a Blast:D with it I'll bet. However, I found that the long range competitive shooters will not like you on the range, I got complants all year about throwing dirt, to much noise(throws off their concentration) and my favorite compants was it's just to damded accurate. Kodiak99317 and I laughed our arses off one day cause the 556 and 308 boys had windage on up the ass (one fella even ran out of adjustment) and I had 3/4 minute at 1000.:eek: Those 250 and 300 grain SMK shhot like a laser beam.
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this is a 600 yard group from my cannon:runaway: :runaway: :runaway:
Have a great time with your new rig jay
 
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