338 Raptor Magnum Teaser from APS

It is a 1.350" diameter shank but its the barrel contour I use for my lightweight 338 Allen Magnums. Its a much lighter barrel contour then the LRSS contour. The shank is shorter and unfluted and it tapers down to a smaller muzzle diameter then the LRSS barrel contour.
 
Talked to the ranch owner tonight and yesterday and last night they had a wildfire burn up the east half of the ranch which was all of their winter pasture and several out building and a ranch house.....

I figured the hunt was off but he said tonight he saw the big 6x6 out in the meadow again feeding which he said was on the far west end of the ranch so the fires did not seem to effect the elk movements much at all so he said we are still on.

I asked him if he needed me to postpone the hunt and he said no, that him and his boy needed to do something normal and a weekend of hunting was the perfect thing to get their mind off other issues!!!!

We certainly all need some rain in this country, at least most of the country in the middle.
 
The 338 Raptor is looking like the next gun for me. Kirby, do you think it would be possible to use a Seekins 3.99" DM for the shorter bullets like the Accubond? I could then load the longer bullets single shot as well if I wanted to. What do you think the barrel life difference would be between the Raptor and the 338 Allen Magnum? I really appreciate your passion and commitment to push the performance envelope and bring these awesome guns to life for the rest of us. Keep up the amazing work. You're reputation is well deserved.
 
The 338 Raptor is looking like the next gun for me. Kirby, do you think it would be possible to use a Seekins 3.99" DM for the shorter bullets like the Accubond? I could then load the longer bullets single shot as well if I wanted to. What do you think the barrel life difference would be between the Raptor and the 338 Allen Magnum? I really appreciate your passion and commitment to push the performance envelope and bring these awesome guns to life for the rest of us. Keep up the amazing work. You're reputation is well deserved.


Simply put, NO, it will not work with the Seekins. Even though its called a 3.990" mag box, in reality, it only allows around 3.920" in OAL to be comfortable. This 338 Raptor only has a 0.090" throat length and with the 250 and 225 gr Accubonds I was running a 4.070 to 4.090" OAL seated 10 thou off the lands. Even if you totally eliminated the throat, you would still be in the 3.990" to 4.010 range when you figure in the leade angle. If you wanted to jump the bullets to the lands I guess it may be possible but you would be getting very close to where the ogive would start to be under the case mouth when seating bullets.

The 300 Raptor version should be much more practical as a repeater but that will have to be tested to be sure. Have no idea how fast a 200 gr Accubond will be able to be driven to but I would suspect quite fast. Probably in the +3600 fps range pretty easily depending on barrel length.
 
its a totally different stock then the A-5. This Lazzeroni stock is more of a true sporter type stock and has a very exaggerated offset grip angle which I am not sure I like, almost to much.

In all honesty, I prefer the A-5 for sure but I had this one sitting on the rack so decided to use it.

For this type of rifle, the A-5 is a better choice. That is why I use it on my Raptor LRSS rifles.
 
What is the water capacity of the cases you have for the 338 Raptor?

I have a 338 Excalibur and can't get much over 3000 fps with 300 gr. SMK using A-Square brass - out of a 36" barrel no less. It appears the brass can't handle much pressure - 55 -58K psi max. Might seriously consider having you re-chamber my Excalibur for the 338 Raptor once you have it up and running.

Any idea on what the cases for the 338 Raptor from Bertram will cost - hopefully less than the $4 for Excalibur brass?


Kevin
 
I do not have a water measurement yet but I can tell you its around 10-12% larger then the improved 338 Excalibur design.

in a 36" barrel length, 3200 fps will be very realistic as I am seeing 3125 fps with very comfortable pressures in a 32" barrel length. With proper chamber specs you would see a noticable increase in performance.

The A-Square brass is worthless. Jamison brass was much better and I am sure you would easily see another 75 to 100 fps with the Jamison brass if you can find any anywhere. This Bertram brass seems to be pretty good, at least with the limited shooting I have done with it. Consistant in weight and volume. Neck tensions are a bit inconsistant on first firings but after that they are great.

Cost will be in the $3 each range most likely. $4 for A-Square is actually pretty cheap from what I have seen but WAY overpriced for what you get in that brass.
 
Elk hunt was not good. Got a good bull but the hunt was very poor. Will post a story here soon when I get caught up with e-mails. Was not able to use the 338 Raptor on this hunt, will explain later. Not for any reason of the rifle or round, wildfire blew through the hunting area a week before we got there, was very sad to see........
 
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