.338 M.O.A.G. (mother of all guns) pics and story

[goodgrouper]

I hope I'm posting this in the right spot. It is some pics of bullets, barrel, and some ballistics so it should fit!
Brian B, 7mmrhb, and I have been waiting for the MOAG to come for some time, and it finally came last week. I have been breaking in the barrel and fireforming for it and got to try some different loads for it today finally. It is a .338 Lapua improved tight neck on a BAT 8.5" action. Mcmillan stock, Jewell 2 oz trig, 36" 10 twist 3 groove kreiger barrel. It's about 1.45" diameter at the muzzle. 9" barrel block, and assembled by Bill Shehane. It wears a Leupold/premier 14.5-35x50 scope we had made. It weighs in at a featherlite 52 pounds! The base and rings give it 40 minutes without touching the scope turrets. It is zeroed for 1500 yards! I had a HELL of a time making it come down to shoot through the chrono at 300 yards!

This was the first time firing it with the scope on. I started at 300 for load development. It did pretty well considering the hellacious mirage we had today.

Unfortunately, only myself and 7mmrhb got to shoot it today. Brian was working all day and didn't get time to shoot the gun yet. We are all planning a trip to the range this weekend though. We will run this monster out to 2500 yards hopefully.

Anyway, here are a bunch of pics of the experience today. I hope everyone finds them worth looking at. Enjoy!

This is the range setup for 300 yard testing:

here's a side view:

another view:

Here's 7mmrhb ready to unleash the MOAG:

Who's that ugly dude? Oh, it's me by golly!

Here's the .338 Lapua imp on the left, regular Lapua on right.

The business end:

spotter and gun:

Here's a pic of what my range looks like. This is the 1400 yard spot shooting to that burm that is barely visable below the mountain. THat burm is about 25 feet tall or more!

Here are some 300 grain MK's recovered from the dirt at 300 yards:

Here is a 300 grain MK found at 1400 yards. It didn't hold together as well as it looks. THe core is gone.

Here's a pic of what the 15" gong looks like through my Swaro spotter at 1400 yards:

THis is the resulting groups from the 300 yard line with various loads. Most are 1/3 MOA or slightly larger!

Here's a pic of our gong:

Here is what 36, 300 grain Matchkings can do to a burm! What a hole!

And finally, here is a pic showing how great Coppermelt works. There was 27 shots down the 36" barrel at the time of this cleaning. It took about 15 minutes to rid the barrel of all copper. Great stuff!

I will post more pics of the 2500 yard shoot next week.
good shooting!

 

[sniperVLS]

daaaaaaaaamn

I am so jealous /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

and here I think shooting 600 yards with my .308 is cool. Please keep posting pics!!!! These are great!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

50 some lbs?!?!?! 2500 yards is a looooooooooooong way off. are you just going for hits on the gong or are you going to see what happens on paper at that yardage?

and here I thought my VLS was a nice rifle /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

if you get bored, you can send me that rifle for a week /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[goodgrouper]

Snipervls,
Thanks. We usually put up a giant box behind the gong so we can see group size of the ones that miss the gong. Then we measure center to center including the gong hits.

I ran my chart this evening on 6 different programs and 3 said that we can't make it to 2500 with the adjustment in the scope that's left. So we might only get to 2200 yards, but it will be fun none-the-less. I think I will be putting in a call to SLR Harbor for a 200 minute external base in the next few months so we can go from 100 to 3500 yards without switching rings back and forth.


Shipping this bad boy FEDEX costs about $500 bucks round trip, so it ain't leaving Utah/Idaho I'm afraid! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Centre Punch]

Goodgrouper,
Just one word for it: "FANTASTIC"!

Centre Punch.

 

[Richard338]

Great setup!! Looks like the meplat needs a bit of a trim (on the one in the photo).

 

[Fiftydriver]

Goodgrouper,

Good to see ya got that beast up and running. Looks great, but ya have to have your weight belt on to pic the thing up /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif!!

What kind of velocity you getting with the Imp Lapua and the 300 gr Smk?

Let us know how she shoots past 2000 yards. I suspect you will be dropping out of supre sonic velocity around 2050 to 2100 yards. Let us know how that Smk handles the cross over for you.

Ya know if you want the ultimate in ballistics, Wildcat Bullets has a 350 gr ULD RBBT with a B.C. in the .975 range. I just started testing it in my 34.5" barreled Kahn that just happens to look alot like your rifle, and it has shot groups in the .1"s at 100 yards for velocity testing. The Kahn was able to get it up to 2800 fps so I would imaging the Imp Lapua would get it real close to 2700 fps and I am using a 1-10 twist barrel.

The 300 gr bullets are flatter shooting out to 1000 yards and in some cases much farther but wind drift is substantially less then any 300 gr VLD or ULD and that is what I really care about.

Also, when driven to around 2800 fps, it stays super sonic out to 2400 yards or a bit more depending on eleveation.

If your interested contact Richard Graves at:

[email protected]

Good Shooting, great looking rig!!!

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[sniper2]

Nice

 

[jb1000br]

GG--picture hint--set the camera on macro when going thru scope /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

1022yds at williamsport -- 45x SWARO HD

20-50x leup on 50x same day

Haze affects everything /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

BTW--why not just go to the 20-50x?? I have never had to come off 50x since i got the scope, and have NEVER used less than 20x at 1K.

also, scrap the plastic scopelevel and get a b-quare level from midsouth shooters supply--it mounts on the rail instead of the scope.

That is a sweet mile-banger for fo-sho!!

YMMV,
JB

 

[goodgrouper]

Jb1000br,
Thanks for the photo tip. I will look if my camera has a macro mode.

I thought about the 20-50x but I'm glad I went with the 35x instead. 50x on a 30 mm tube makes a Leupy look like a Trashco. Besides, I have killed many a chuck at the .83 mile mark and shot the gong at 1 mile very easily at 25x. I think there has only been 5 or 6 days that I have even been able to shoot the scope at 35x. We have mirage and thermals out here in the west that just make it downright worthless to have anything over 35x most of the time. I have a 20-60x eyepiece on my Swaro 80mm spotter and even on that I have only gotten to use 60x about 10% of the time.


The bubble level I use has worked for me in all my longrange hunts on uneven ground. What makes the B-square better? A bubble is a bubble ain't it? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[4ked Horn]

Good Grouper IT'S PINK??!! Dude?

Just kidding, It looks real nice.

Pic#1 Nice bench. It folds flat I assume?

#2 I notice that you have 2 scope levels and I was wondering why?

#5 Two things stand out here. The footlocker sized ammo box and your precision range finder. (Tape measure on bench) Very accurate but it must take a while to "range" out to 2000 with it.

#6 Just curious what your cost per round comes out to? And how it looks compared to a .308 and/or a .50 BMG.

#7 I see the bolt handle is up. Safety first /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif.

#13 Looks like your 95 and 97 grain loads .010 off the rifling are doin' quite nicely. (not that any of the other groups are bad either).

#14 What diameter is the gong?

Nice setup GG but I still have a few more questions:
You ain't married yet are you?
Are you going to carry this gun in next year for your 1820 yard shot on an elk?
When are you scheduled to be in Twin Falls or Boise Idaho? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
And lastly, only if you want to tell, muzzle to butt, how much $?$?

 

[jb1000br]

GG--the scopelevel = easy breakee with a 50lb gun

Didnt see the ACD

keep the acd on the scope and get the b-square for the rail--then the gun and scope can be level /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I'd rather index of the scope base for level rather than the scope, thats all.

the b-square unit is cheaper than the ones you have and is aluminum (bout 18$ from MSS)

I have gone from the scopelevels to the b-square units on all mine.

Plus, no flipping uip the b-sq to see it--you can always see it with your non-sighting eye /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

THERE IT IS...

JB

 

[goodgrouper]

Looks cool. I just might have to get one.

 

[preacherman]

Goodgrouper... any way to get a drawing of that great looking "bench"?

 

[goodgrouper]

4Ked Horn,

Thanks for the post man.

I'll try to answer all your questions.

[ QUOTE ]
Good Grouper IT'S PINK??!! Dude?



[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, it's pink. We didn't choose the colors. Bill already had the stock made when Brian called him to order. It was either take the pink or wait another 6 months for another color. It is really growing on me now. I like it better now. Bill calls it "Carolina sunset".


[ QUOTE ]
Pic#1 Nice bench. It folds flat I assume?


[/ QUOTE ]


Yup. Best bench I've ever used. I could park my truck on it and it wouldn't wiggle. 7mmrhb designed it and helped me build it. Well, he did most of the work, I just handed him screws and made trips to the lumber yard when needed! 158 greenbacks went into that puppy not including time and labor!



[ QUOTE ]
#2 I notice that you have 2 scope levels and I was wondering why?

[/ QUOTE ]



Good question and good eye. I am testing both to see which will work better on this gun. The scope sits up high enough that I could flip the short one down and still see it from the shooting position.




[ QUOTE ]
#5 Two things stand out here. The footlocker sized ammo box and your precision range finder. (Tape measure on bench) Very accurate but it must take a while to "range" out to 2000 with it.


[/ QUOTE ]



I wish I could find a bigger ammo box, but no one makes one!



[ QUOTE ]
#6 Just curious what your cost per round comes out to? And how it looks compared to a .308 and/or a .50 BMG.



[/ QUOTE ]



Well, it's 45 cents for the bullet, 3 cents a primer, 25 cents worth of powder, $1.50 for each brass, and the ability to kill chucks at 2 miles--priceless!
I'll post a pick of the round next to something more familiar soon.



[ QUOTE ]
#7 I see the bolt handle is up. Safety first

[/ QUOTE ]



Yep. Since this gun has no safety.



[ QUOTE ]
#14 What diameter is the gong?


[/ QUOTE ]



It's 15" diameter and 3/8" thick.


[ QUOTE ]
You ain't married yet are you?
Are you going to carry this gun in next year for your 1820 yard shot on an elk?


[/ QUOTE ]

Not married. Who has time for women when there's guns to be built! Even if I had the time, this gun is still cheaper than a woman by a long shot, no pun intended!
I was planning on making a shot like that this year but the gun didn't make it in time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



[ QUOTE ]
When are you scheduled to be in Twin Falls or Boise Idaho?

[/ QUOTE ]

It looks like we'll be in Twin the last weekend of March or first weekend of April. I'll get you more details as the time gets near.



[ QUOTE ]
And lastly, only if you want to tell, muzzle to butt, how much $?$?

[/ QUOTE ]



Well, I'm not really sure. Brian's got way more money into it than me so far, but I know it's over $4500 and that's not including the SLR harbor mount I want to get for it. That's another grand!