Magnum Cartridges

HPBT

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...........Looking for ranges out west, that allow Magnum Cartridges in their competitive shoots. Preferably the .338 Lapua, or even better, my 8.6 x 72mm. Have gun want to travel, shoot and in general just have a good old time with friggin gunnutz, cuz a $hitty day on the range is a way better than a great day at work :D
 
Any match using the DCRA format will limit the cal to 8mm or smaller. I think the Kamloops shoots don't limit cal although the rest of the rules are from the DCRA. Obtunded might know.

Anyone shooting F class is going to use the smallest case they can or else their barrels will melt.

LR BR is a viable venue for the 338L and Burns Lake (approx 3 hours west of Prince George) would be a viable venue.

There are certainly ranges in Alta that shoot 50BMG so they would allow smaller cals to shoot. Long Range Canuck has a post and there is a link to a club in Alta.

if you want to come all the way out to the OK valley next spring, I hope to put on another fun day/weekend. No calibre restriction as we are on crown land. Just nothing that burns on impact as we are very dry and we have had enough forest fires to last a few lifetimes.


Good luck.

Jerry
 
mysticplayer said:
Anyone shooting F class is going to use the smallest case they can or else their barrels will melt.

Good luck.

Jerry

Jerry, I heard that most F class shooter's are using the smaller calibers cause they can't ride recoil, and don't eat their Wheaties in the morning:p and they are afraid of the big boom that comes out of them:runaway: :D

But seriously, I know what you mean, I shot all this year with an 8.6 x 72mm, and after a 2+2+15, she's so hot she melts the foam in the hard case. 19 rounds of 85grs of powder turns the barrel into a branding iron, it's a good thing we have cattle on the range here for me to brand and cool off my barrel between relays:D

Travel to the OK Valley is fine with me, I'll go any place where there's people shooting and having fun.:cool: I just need to know Who, What, When, Where and How Long.
As for ranges to shoot this big puppy at, they are few and far between. The only certified ranges that will take it that I can find are Northstar Range here in Sask. and I heard that Ottawa has been certified if your with the dambed "in" crowd. As far as I am concerned, if the range is certified and the shooter can keep all of his rounds inside the range area, to h3ll with the in crowd. And we wonder why the government treats us like they do, we treat ourselves the same way most of the time.
Thanks for the invite and I'll keep my eyes open for news as to when and where. I'm tossing the 300gr SMK at 2900fps and the 250gr SMK at 3100fps, their hot coming out of the barrel, but I don't think they will start any fires.;)
 
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Wow, that is awesome performance from a Lapua. That is likely the fastest Lapua I have heard of. Tell us more about the barrel specs and length.

Plus, how is your accuracy when you are glowing a nice light red?

Recoil, there is no prize for the most so I prefer the least. yep, me a whoose but then I prefer to have clear vision when I am shooting for score.

This year, the fun day was end of April. probably the same timing so that those traveling can also make it to the Burns Lake shoot the weekend after. hey, there might be someone ambitious enough to drive a few thousand miles to shoot.

I am hoping to have it a two day event as we had a lot of fun but the one day ended way too soon. The prelim format will likely be the same for day one. Set up whatever, shoot whatever, just have a whole lot of fun.

The next morning real early, I will take those who want to really reach out to a spot nearby where they can go to 2000m and further. Bring lots of ammo and elevation. The reason is simply wind. We got real lucky this year with mild winds all day.

Usually winds pick up later in the AM making extreme range shooting a royal pain. The rest of the day will be like day one with an early mid afternoon good bye.

As a frame of reference, you will need 20 to 25 min of elevation to go from 100 to 1000yds with most flat shooters. Then another 20 to 25min to go to 1500yds/mile. Then another to get to 2000yds/m.

I am going to look into making an elevation base so that you can crank in gross amounts of elevation then use the scope to fine tune.

Jerry
 
Jerry,
Don't mistake me for a Lapua guy, I shoot an 8.6 x 72mm SDM. It's based on the Remington .416 Magnum case necked to .338. We blew the taper out of the case, and changed the shoulder to 33 degrees, 8minutes, it holds 104gr water once formed to the chamber. You can use 8mm Rem. or 340 Weatherby brass, but they come out a little shorter than the .416.
I had it built on a Rem 700 action with one of Ted Gaillard's barrels in a Palm Contour, 26" long, 1-10 twist. I anchored it into a McMillian A-5 that I ordered weighing 6lbs. The action was trued and the firing pin sleeved. I used an extra heavy recoil lug, alluminum pillars and a bedding job. We throated it deeper than the smith usually does, so that I could shoot the 300gr SMK. In total it weighs about 14lbs. It sports a Leupold 6.5 x 20 x 50mm Vari X III.
At 600 yrds it will consistantly place five rounds inside the 2.5" marker disc.
It went to five matchs this summer and in four of the matchs I placed at least 90% of all my shots thru the V-Bull at 1000yrds.(45 seconds per shot)
There are others on this forum who have been standing beside me as the rounds went thru the chrony with the results I posted earlier, as well as seen it shoot, or shot against it.
I didn't actually build it for competing, but for long range hunting out here on the Prairies. Last year I took a little 4 point Mullie Buck with it at 822yrds on the second shot, I missed the wind a little with the first shot.
I built this thing 13 months ago and have shot 4,763 rounds thru it. There is no data on this cartridge, so I decided to do some experimenting with loads, cases, primers, powders, elevation and temperatures. But most of all, I wanted to see how long Ted's barrel would last.........well, it's still going and going accuratly.:eek: :dancingbanana:


I don't go to the range with it unless I have a minimum of 100 rds. Others on this forum will testify, the recoil on this bad girl at the weight she is, isn't much more than a .06:confused:

I have lots of elevation, and just for your own reference, with a 100 yard zero, I only need 20.5moa to get to 1000 yards, Kodiak99317 will testify to that one, he shot against it this weekend. This is the flatest shooting cartridge I have ever owned.
 
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HPBT said:
Jerry, I heard that most F class shooter's are using the smaller calibers cause they can't ride recoil, and don't eat their Wheaties in the morning:p and they are afraid of the big boom that comes out of them:runaway: :D

Wheaties... ha... most of us are eating Special K... to keep us regular!...
 
jkajfes said:
Wheaties... ha... most of us are eating Special K... to keep us regular!...

....Good one jkajfes. I don't mean to be putting any of you guys down here.:redface: I have great respect for anyone who can throw a bullet accurately to 1000+ yrds, reguardless of the Caliber.:cool:

.......My next project is on the table as we speak, I'm going to try a .556 in a Remington 700 Short Action with another of Ted Gaillards barrels. I figure that if the TR shooters can take them to 1000+ yrds with iron sights on top, I should be able to do it with glass on the top.

....Over the winter, I am having Ted build me a new barrel for the Swamp Donkey, I'm going to change it over to a 28", 1-9" twist, and fat, I've been thinking maybe .950 at the muzzle, possible even 1" the full length and fluted. Alittle more weight, but it should keep it from being able to cook Hotdogs after a 2+2+15 relay.:)

Jerry, I recieved a call last night from a fella that Ted Giallard just built one of these 8.6 x 72mm SDM's for. Right out of the running blocks he achieved 3030fps:eek: with his fire forming load, using RL25, inside Norma 340 brass. This pig is smoking.
 
Wow. Considering the capacity of the case, those are some hot, hot speeds/loads. The CHAS range at Genesee here in Alberta is rated for up to 50 BMG, so no problems there, it only goes out to 700 meters at the moment though. As a matter of fact, the only public range that I know that's close hereabouts and has restrictions on caliber is Spruce Grove. Far as I know all the others are "run what you brung". - dan
 
HPBT said:
Jerry, I heard that most F class shooter's are using the smaller calibers cause they can't ride recoil, and don't eat their Wheaties in the morning:p and they are afraid of the big boom that comes out of them:runaway: :D

Not a matter of recoil or noise, it's all economics and limitations of the 1000 yds ranges themselves.

The little 6/250 loaded round or a 6BR or a 6XC costs approx. 1/2 as much in powder and bullet as the 338 Donkey loaded round, 36¢ to 49¢ for the small cases vs $1.12 PLUS per round for the Donkey [not counting the cost of the case itself, which is also more, if you can find the good ones (416's)], so you can get twice the mileage and fun for the same price using the smaller case. They both will hit the target at 1000 yds.

There are not many 1000 yds ranges in Canada that allow this case, too big for the safty template, only Nokomis and Ottawa (for the select few which you may just be one since we know Stan and you were in the army for 25+ years so you may know the head chesse there too) to my knowledge.

That said, I have to take my hat off to you, 50 rounds from that monster using 300g SMK bullets at 2900fps Sunday after 50 rounds using 250g SMK bullets at 3100fps Saturday, I did not think your shoulder nor your scope would take that, but did!
 
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Kodiak99317 said:
The little 6/250 loaded round or a 6BR or a 6XC costs approx. 1/2 as much in powder and bullet as the 338 Donkey loaded round, 36¢ to 49¢ for the small cases vs $1.12 PLUS per round for the Donkey [not counting the cost of the case itself, which is also more, if you can find the good ones (416's)], so you can get twice the mileage and fun for the same price using the smaller case. They both will hit the target at 1000 yds.

...Yup they will get there, with just enough juice to break paper.:p (as you saw last year when we went to try the 1 mile shoot, and the 6XC hardley had enough juice to make the bullet stick into the 4x4 post that the Donkey nearly cut in half)
...This bad girl will take any large game animal on this Continent at 1000+yrds and put it in your fridge.(If you eat your wheaties and learn to control the recoil instead of letting the recoil control you.):runaway:
...Cost per round using Remington .416 brass, Sierra 250gr SMK, Fed 215M primer,and IMR7828 is $1.26 per round.( alot cheaper than the Lapua by a long shot I hear) Everything it has shot, has died instantly with 0% suffering, and very little meat damage, as you yourself wittnessed last year with the Mule Deer we shot. You just have to place the shot right, at 125yrds it cuts there heads off with a neck shot, at 822 it just throws them 10 feet and where they land, they stay. (Until you put them in your truck):D

...Do not mistake this rifle as an "F/O Class" rifle just because it's been seen at the range up against "F Class rifles.:redface: This bad girl was designed and built for one thing and one thing only, killing large game at extreme distances.
This year has just been a trial and error year learning the cartridge, it's capabilities and limitations. So far the only limitations I have found is a place to shoot it where others don't complain about the noise and dirt it kicks up.:rolleyes: (they should buy proper hearing protection and wear their safety glass)

..dan belisle....yes sir they are a moving when they come out of the barrel, but my 3100fps load shows not a sign of high presure. Kodiak99317, a friend of ours from Regina and I, stood on the range about three weeks ago and scratched our heads as I fired 10 rounds thru my chrony and the average velocity was 3311fps(250SMK):eek: Now those puppies were F...ing hot, but just a very slight extractor mark on the brass, and no resistance when working the bolt that I could notice. (But I am sure that they are not a load I would want to shoot alot of) had to use a drop tube to get all that H4350 into the case. I would realy like to put it on a Strain Guage and see what the h3ll is happening when they go off.:eek: :eek: :eek:
...You have to watch the brass though, .416 takes a bigger hit before you see the slight presure signs, Norma 340 isn't to bad, but 8mm Rem will only give you about 3100fps and you see the signs that say Holly $hit, back that off before you loose your head. I don't know why the .416 works like it does, maybe one of the Rifle Smiths on the forum could shead some light on that for us. I can tell you, that after going thru 1000pcs of each, the .416 is heavier, it's in the area of 260.5-262.5gr and the 8mm is in the area of 258.5-260.5gr. I'm not to sure of the Norma 340 as I only have 10pcs(260.1-261.3gr) that a friend gave me to try some loads on. But all the brass was preped before weighing.(Flash hole uniformed, primer pockets uniformed, fire formed and cut to the same lenght.)
I am getting between 8-14 reloads per brass, but if you hit any of them just hard enough to see slight extractor marks on them, you only have about 3-4 more loads before the primers start to fall out of the pockets. And that doesn't matter if it's the first time fired or the 7th time fired. Once you hit that Remington brass hard once, it's scr-wed.
... I am using anywhere from 10-29 grs less powder than either the .338 Lapua or the .338 UltraMag(that UltraMag is a pig on powder)
 
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WOW, that is smoking!!!!!

Sounds like a 338STW or 338AI. To get that much more performance then a 340Wby or 338RUM or Lapua is amazing.

Getting that type of 'oversized' performance from a 6BR or PPC is quite common with BR tight actions but never heard a big cannon survive that type of hot rodding. COOOLLLLL...

To also get that much barrel life at these pressures is simply amazing. You got a good tube on that rifle for sure.

The 223 is going to seem like an air rifle but all the other shooters will thank you.

Jerry
 
I know that this cartridge of HPBT's is probably as close to a 50 BMG as you can get. Balistically, she is JUST under the 50 BMG drop and wind wise, and for about 1/3 the cost of the 50 BMG per round. She is not that bad though, fireforming loads with HPBT, I shot her free recoil, but that was with a reduced load and 250g bullets I think. Also shot her at the 1 mile challenge last year in Alberta, amazing rifle IMO.

I better stop talk 50 BMG or HPBT may get one of those for next year, then I will :runaway: :runaway: :runaway: and HPBT will be doing the :dancingbanana:
 
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