408ct

The 408 fits nicely in between the 338 and 50
I seriously doubt that the 408 will ever eclipse what the 50 has already done.
Despite the stories told by Cheytac,:bsFlag: the 750 gr Amax still has a much higher BC than the 408 bullets do, they are only marginally faster than the 50, and physics maintains that the heavier projectile will retain energy and velocity longer assuming a similar bullet design is compared.
I fail to understand many of the statements the clowns in the video make. There is absolutely no reason that a 50 can not be just as accurate as the 408 . The 50s I build all shoot sub 1/2 moa groups consistently so I fail to undertand their statement of bigger caliber means less accuracy, that is straight manure. The 50s are still supersonic at 2700 yards, and I notice that Cheytac does not say what the energy is but I fail to see how a 419 gr bullet can deliver over 13000 ftlbs of energy like a 50 does.
Just for interests sake at 2700 yards the 50 still has 1985 ftlbs of energy.
They claim that their rifle is lighter than a 50, yes if compareing it to an M2 but there are several 50s includeing some of mine that are in the 16 to 19 lb range which is what their rifle weighs in at.
Some of the wildcats 338s will keep right up with the 408 out to any useable distances.
The biggest things I see holding back the 408 is brass is expensive and hard comeby and bullets are almost non existant.
I know of only 1 source in Canada that has a decent supply of both brass and bullets for the 408, but there are many sources for the 338 and 50

The 408 is a neat caliber it is just so sad that Cheytac has to use smoke and mirrors not to mention some serious male bovine manure to sell their product.
 
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AKD said:
What is the reloading cost of a 338 like compared to a .50 ? just curious. thank you for ur opinion tho.
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CONSIDERABLY less!!
I figure to shoot my 338 LAI costs me about $2.00 every shot, to shoot my 50s costs about $8.00 per shot based on X number of reloading per casing.
The 338 has far better casing life than the 50s do.

From what I know the brass life on the 408 is not great, the early Jamison brass had some serious issues both with high failure rates and inconsistencies. They seem to have improved their casing quality, but I believe it is too soon to know for sure yet.
 
When I did my homework on the round in consideration between a 338 Lapua and a 408CT, most persons I spoke to who own and shoot the 408 explained that to get the "claimed" velocities from the 419gr round (which was where the 408 really shone) they were trashing their brass with the HOT loads.

Having said that, I found the 408 to be a very manageable round to shoot, but, at distance, noticeably less horsepower than a well tuned 50.

Either way, the 408 or the 50 is going to cost you big to shoot. The only real cost savings on the 408 is the fact you use a magnum primer. Other than that, brass and bullets are not easy to come by and cost $$.

In the end, Lapua it is for me :)
 
In Canada, we actually have an advantage for those who want the 408CT. ABC bullet in Salmon Arm makes some very nice bullets and may be one of ???? in NA making high BC slugs in this cal.

I can also supply Jamison brass when and if it is available. No export restrictions at this time.

The HUGE plus for anything smaller then the BMG is shooting cost and component availability. ABC also makes some very nice shooting slugs for the BMG but these have to be more money then the smaller cals.

Anything BMG including brass, bullets and primers are a big no no from the US. There are overseas options but availability will always be a bit dicey given the present global politics on firearms. There are certainly supplies in Canada but that is finite and costly.

The 408 CT has exactly ONE brand of brass. Like or not, that's it. If that supply stops, well you get the idea. But the big plus is you can use LR magnum primers which should be available for a while.

So either of these big boomers has risks.

Ballistically and downrange ooomph, there is simply no replacement for displacement and a BMG slug arriving is very very impressive. Think spotting without optics at 2000yds.

Never understood how the CT boys could suggest their toy would hit harder??????

Anyways, the next best thing to the BMG is the 416 Barrett which is also riddled with problems for supply and costs.

So that leaves the 338 as the largest, most accessible boomer. There will be very strong growth in this cal as the working world adopts the 338 LM more and more.

Berger will be releasing some very exciting slugs later this year (or next). That should really move the accuracy bar up a big notch. Lapua is also now making some heavies. I hope to see some go downrange soon. I expect these to fly very well too.

As far as pure accuracy goes, there is little doubt that the small cals rule that department. The 6mm to 30cal outshoot the bigger boomers consistently in LR competition. You just need to review scores from US matches to see what I mean.

The 338 is a contender but bullet options and quality have dogged this cal till now.

If LR plinking is all you want to do, the 7mm and 180gr Berger is THE set up both from a recoil and cost perspective. With a BC over 0.65, it rates right there with the best of the best AND you can get these bullets to 3000fps without using a ton of powder.

The BMG has a much higher BC but starts off slower. At one mile, the 7mm is not far behind as far as drift is concerned. Not many shoot this far let alone 2500yds.

We already have many examples of how great this Berger can shoot in 1000m competition. I expect this to be one of the few bullets to hold sub MOA at a mile.

Sorry, the 30cal is very very useable but the high BC bullets can be a royal PITA to make shoot. Also, the issues of sorting MK's is not my idea of fun. The 208gr AMax and 210gr Bergers are simply superb bullets that do well at LR.

The Bergers are shooting in the 1's and 2's at moderate long distances and some believe this bullet will break the 1000yd BR record in 2009. Pretty lofty remarks for a relatively new bullet. however, the BC is only just over 0.6 so for extreme range shooting, it will slow down more. Best part is a 300WM is all you need to send it to the horizon.

The 6.5's is where I spend most of my time and have had no issue pushing 139gr Scenars to 2300yds. I am hoping to go further this spring. Not bad for 47gr of powder. Ballistics are near identical to a 300WM/210Berger set up. Same performance, less of everything else.

Some have shot the 6mm Bergers to a mile with excellent accuracy.

I have shot the 22cal 80gr Amax sub MOA at a mile BUT watch that wind.

LR is no longer the sole domain of the boomers. But they sure make a great impression when they arrive.

Jerry
 
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Edit* forget everything i just typed. Wow. That is some really great info. epically liked what u said about the 7mm
 
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