Custom 7.82 (.308) Lazzeroni Warbird

[gator378]

People crap on things that; A - they can't afford, B - didn't think of themselves, and C - beats everything they have designed themselves.

John came with light and fast while heavy and high BC was popular...but things have changed a lot the last few years and the Lazzeroni rounds are at the very top of performance, especially for not being a wildcat.

If it puts a smile on your face get it and shoot it. That is how I fell about my 300 Weatherby

 

[Tac-O]

Dang. I didn't know about this one. It would be a hoot to hunt with some monometal 150s and have a 3-4" radius mpbr

 

[436]

I have three Lazzeroni's. I have the 7.82 as well as the 8.59 titan and 6.53 scramjet. They are a good design for sure. They are barrel burners. I'm on barrel number 3 on my scramjet and barrel 2 on my 7.82. The 8.59 in the original barrel and is still fine. The early brass is all I've owned as I bought a bunch of it when i built them. The brass is soft and doesn't last like a 308 or a 223. That is to be expected when hot rodding any cartridge.

Nice, of my favorite I think it would have been the 8.59 Titan, I remember being at Shot many years back when I first saw and heard of Lazzeroni's cartridges, I think I still have a couple of the 7.82's I received from them in my cartridges collection. I just never got around to building that 8.59...

 

[Snowman33]

I have one in a 700 has a shilen barrel and hs precision stock i love it i do have a custom brake on it but shoots like a dream

 

[floyd kittrell]

Mine is at the gun smith getting barrel #3 , I love shooting it .

 

[Swamplord]

Look for a 338 lapua bolt face. I've got a sako action on my warbird. m995 trg-s. I'm going to build another one on a terminus action waiting for bartlein barrel with their new 400modbb steel have the action already. Mcmillian lazzeroni stock triggertech trigger. Going to use the sako action to build an 33xc. Also you can use Peterson 33xc brass for the warbird as well. Neck it down and shorten it. Good luck with your build. You just need a long action with a lapua bolt face .588

FYI ....

While the 7.82 Lazzeroni Warbird is considered proprietary and technically does not have a parent cartridge to neck down and up from ..... It does share the exact same case rim & web dimensions as the 338 Excalibur/300 Pegasus that it is based on, both of those cases can be used to make Warbird brass, you'll have to cut them down, neck down to create a headspace shoulder & fireform, then turn the necks.. fairly simple work for wildcatters ..... John Lazzeroni shortened it to appropriate length for the actions and box/magazines he was working with at the time without sacrificing any performance, The Warbird is a very well designed cartridge that is capable of extreme accuracy, even in the factory Sako TRG-S m995 hammer forged barrels, it consistently shot sub moa 1/2" to 1/4" groups with hunting bullets, 180 gr & 200 gr Accubonds & A-Frames in the 3 rifles I messed with all shot better than most of my custom built guns with target bullets at the time ...

Most of the negative bs around the 7.82 Warbird was fueled by jealousy and sissy Nancy's terrified of recoil and loud noises, both of which are common in large magnum cartridges ......, my bro & I hunted Alaska with factory Sako TRG-S m995 7.82 Lazzeroni Warbirds for 10-12 years, killed a bunch of moose, griz, deer, black bear, wolves, coyotes, cranes etc... no muzzle brakes and alway loaded it hot for maximum velocity that it works best at for extreme accuracy and single digit sd's, most well designed cases run best at peak performance levels... the only issue surrounding the Warbird was the brass..... to reach the famed 3500 fps with 180 gr bullets ... you sacrificed the brass to two firings ..... now back in 2003 a 20 pc box of new empty cases at $99.99 was considered a lot of cash, the original brass was made by MAST Tech and is no longer made, new stuff is supposedly made by Hornady for Lazzeroni, heard it was better but I have not had the chance to try it yet to make any comments

NOW we "Circle back" and all of a sudden it is in vogue to send 30 cal bullets screaming downrange at 3500 fps .......


Need I remind y'all that John Lazzeroni designed an awesome 6.5 cartridge that was totally blasted by everyone at the time but now is considered the Holy Grail of 6.5's since wHorenady hijacked it in the form of 6.5 PRC ?

How many of you will champion the next "new" 30 cal magnum copycat because wHorenady did it ?

nothing new under the sun indeed .....


one thing I want to point out is that you CANNOT use 33xc brass to "Neck it down and shorten it" to make Warbird brass ... completely different web & rim dimensions on the two, the 33xc is based on the 338 Lapua case stretched to CheyTac length with different top of body, neck length and shoulder dims and is NOT usable to form Warbird cases.....

 

[tooth doc]

Thanks, I would prefer a 700 action or a Weatherby, I know someone with a warbird and the thing is a shooter for sure

weatherby for sure!

 

[tooth doc]

Sorry if this sounds really dumb but what caliber should I buy the action in to make the modification as easy as possible? I not very educated on that side of things, I know ballistics better

buy a weatherby 30 378. simple rebarrel, or may be able to set barrel back and rechamber. they are pretty much ballistic twins but no belt on the lazeroni. really pushing a 700 to do this. a pierce action would be a good choice. 10x, im buliding a 33 xc on a 10x ti.

 

[tooth doc]

He (Lazzeroni) has never admitted it, but the case dimensions mirror the Rigby.
So he must have had an inkling of this design prior to bringing it out.
Just as they say that the Chet-TAC has no parent case…yes it does, the 505 Gibbs.

As to actions, Stiller, BAT, Borden and Fierce all make actions suited to Rigby size case head.

Cheers.

and pierce

 

[tooth doc]

Oregonsmithing has the reamers a friend had one built last year , it's a blast to shoot.

wayne is a gr8 guy and easy to work with!

 

[floyd kittrell]

If you can find a Remington ADL , which is what mine is built on , you will be able to seat your bullets out further due to the ADL having a blind magazine which is longer than the BDL action . Also the bolt on mine is modified and has redundant extractors , Sako type as I recall .

 

[big johnson]

I have a Weatherby 378 action complete that I would consider selling , pm me if interested. I will be unavailable Friday -Monday.

 

[xxDunkeyxx]

Building a custom Warbird would be awesome as you get to hand pick your parts. But don't overlook the ability of the factory Sako/Warbird combo. I bought mine about 10 years ago and it is by far the best performing / most accurate rifle I own and my go to for large game. Last year when I zeroed before hunting season it shot .375 MOA (I zero mine at 300).

The factory radial brake it came with did a good job of taming recoil, but when I purchased a suppressor it was a total game changer. It improved accuracy and made the rifle an absolute pleasure to shoot. The factory Sako stock is total garbage, I upgraded to a McMillan. It fit perfectly, shot well and didn't require bedding. These actions are sensitive to torque so you have to be sure to use a torque wrench when tightening the action screws. I shoot a 185g. Berger VLD at 3400 fps. John was very helpful when I was working up my load and gave me good advice along the way. He is very personable and likes to help people working with his calibers. I don't have any brass I would consider "newer" and primer pockets loosening is an issue, but I work with it.

Either way you go, this caliber is real hot rod and an interesting deviation from the more "run of the mill" performance cartridges.

What Suppressor did you go wit? I have not had good luck finding one that is rated for the pressure.

 

[derrickmanx1]

Talking John years ago when I built mine. I believe he used the .404 Jeffries. When I visited with him that was the case we discussed. I have the 8.59 Titan, 7.82 Warbird, 6.53 Scramjet. Not the Jeffery's.