LR Caliber Options

[WildRose]

Not to be trying to pick an argument here W R, but a lefty CZ 527 in 223 was the absolute worst gun experience in my now very long life.
It was to be a special birthday gift from me to me, but it for sure didn't turn out that way.
Actually there was a total of 4 of them before the thing was over. I couldn't get any to shoot the many different loads I tried under 1 and 1/2 inches, and when each was sent back to CZ they confirmed that it in their words (didn't perform well), and sent me another. After the 4th they agreed to what I had asked for on the first one, my money back. Which they finally did, but the final insult was they wouldn't refund the 6% sales tax I had paid on the roughly $800 gun, nor the almost $50 I paid to ship the first one back.
So I bought a Savage, and the very first load shot a nickle sized group, which for me is pretty good for a cheap factory gun.

You should have called them. I'd almost gurantee they'd have replaced it for you.

Those early varmint models had one flaw, they were all slow twists made for very light bullets, that could have been your issue.

My .204 shot lights out up to the .36gr pills and fell completely apart from there.

 

[Trm82]

If I had a gun built for strictly shooting steel it would be a 32" 338 lapua improved. Not much mentioned would out perform it.

 

[yobuck]

If I had a gun built for strictly shooting steel it would be a 32" 338 lapua improved. Not much mentioned would out perform it.

Except all those having more powder. lol

 

[yobuck]

You should have called them. I'd almost gurantee they'd have replaced it for you.

Those early varmint models had one flaw, they were all slow twists made for very light bullets, that could have been your issue.

My .204 shot lights out up to the .36gr pills and fell completely apart from there.

Well mine wasent the varmit version, just standard weight no sights barrel which is what I wanted since I already had a heavy version 223.
I was on a first name basis with the nice folks who worked at KC since we talked so often for several months. Hey I forgot, I even paid to have the stock on the first one glass bedded.
The others came to me in that same stock as per my instructions. So I got stuck for that cost also.
I finally told they guy in the tech dept to shoot the gun first before sending another, and he did.
Thats when they decided to refund my money.

 

[Varminator 911]

Tikka rifles still suffer from not enough twist. I'd buy one but they are for the most part just the standard old slow twists. Maybe they'll chamber some of the new rounds that have faster twists as standard.

Browning on the other hand is supporting long range shooters with some of their rifles. The 26 and 28 Noslers are now 7 and 8 twist respectively in some of their long range rifles.

 

[WildRose]

Well mine wasent the varmit version, just standard weight no sights barrel which is what I wanted since I already had a heavy version 223.
I was on a first name basis with the nice folks who worked at KC since we talked so often for several months. Hey I forgot, I even paid to have the stock on the first one glass bedded.
The others came to me in that same stock as per my instructions. So I got stuck for that cost also.
I finally told they guy in the tech dept to shoot the gun first before sending another, and he did.
Thats when they decided to refund my money.

That's what I would expect from them. Even the best company can produce a dud occasionally, it's how they handle the customer service that separates the best from the worst.

 

[woodnut]

Back to your build. If all you will do with it is whack steel no farther than 1100 yds., poke varmints and deer, then I would give a long look see at the sleeper 6 Creedmoor. I have both the 6.5 CM and 6 CM and shoot steel to 1000 and maul varmints. I absolutely LOVE this 6 CM round! I have shot and reloaded for most of my long life and this is one of the best rounds I have ever shot and reloaded. Low recoil, good energy, and super accurate. My rifle is built on a Remy 700, has an 8 twist 26" barrel and with 108 ELD pills, gets 3170 fps. I have no trouble twanging steel at 970 and shot a 2 1/2 " group at 500 the other day with my "thrown together" reloads. Have not hunted deer, but can't help but believe it will get the job done very well. I do know from past experience with a 243 and the older 100gr. bullets (at aprox.2900fps) we used to use would drop them very quickly. Good luck to you and congrats!

 

[Mike 338]

Lots of good suggestions here. For a large caliber, I like the 338 Norma. Lapua now claims to be making brass for it (although for some reason, I haven't seen it yet). Frankly though, you might find yourself always grabbing a light, handy 22-250 or even a 223 walking around gun. Think about which shoes you always put on your feet when a particular occasion doesn't dictate the choice. A free action and barrel doesn't mean you "must" get the biggest and most bang for your buck so you can relax a little bit with your choice. It's almost a free gun so there is no wrong answer. Personally, I like a plain-jane 243 for just snagging and popping things with, in some sort of basic configuration and mid-range twist rate.

 

[JW74]

After weighing all of the pros and cons I decided to go with a true designated long range rifle. I am going to build a 338 Norma on a Defiance action and Bartlein barrel. I have been shooting my 300 WSM to a mile from time to time but that's pushing that round. I figure if I want to try and go out to 2000 yards at some point that the 338 Norma should be a solid choice.

Next I need to start looking at stocks or a chassis. On my other rifles I am running:
300WSM - McMillan A5
280 AI - Manners MCS EH1A
6.5 Creedmoor - Cadex Lite Competition Chassis

Has anyone had any experience with the HS Precision Adjustable Tactical stock or the Grayboe stocks? Would a chassis be the better route for a heavy rifle?

 

[WildRose]

Back to your build. If all you will do with it is whack steel no farther than 1100 yds., poke varmints and deer, then I would give a long look see at the sleeper 6 Creedmoor. I have both the 6.5 CM and 6 CM and shoot steel to 1000 and maul varmints. I absolutely LOVE this 6 CM round! I have shot and reloaded for most of my long life and this is one of the best rounds I have ever shot and reloaded. Low recoil, good energy, and super accurate. My rifle is built on a Remy 700, has an 8 twist 26" barrel and with 108 ELD pills, gets 3170 fps. I have no trouble twanging steel at 970 and shot a 2 1/2 " group at 500 the other day with my "thrown together" reloads. Have not hunted deer, but can't help but believe it will get the job done very well. I do know from past experience with a 243 and the older 100gr. bullets (at aprox.2900fps) we used to use would drop them very quickly. Good luck to you and congrats!

Even handloading each shot will cost you about 1/3 of what it costs to shoot any of the big .338's as well and if you want to do a lot of shooting that adds up quicklyu.

 

[yobuck]

After weighing all of the pros and cons I decided to go with a true designated long range rifle. I am going to build a 338 Norma on a Defiance action and Bartlein barrel. I have been shooting my 300 WSM to a mile from time to time but that's pushing that round. I figure if I want to try and go out to 2000 yards at some point that the 338 Norma should be a solid choice.

Next I need to start looking at stocks or a chassis. On my other rifles I am running:
300WSM - McMillan A5
280 AI - Manners MCS EH1A
6.5 Creedmoor - Cadex Lite Competition Chassis

Has anyone had any experience with the HS Precision Adjustable Tactical stock or the Grayboe stocks? Would a chassis be the better route for a heavy rifle?

Sounds to me as though the gun will be primarily used for extreme distance shooting. Id keep an open mind as to how you might end up doing that as for shooting position, and that could have an impact on the best stock style.

 

[yobuck]

Even handloading each shot will cost you about 1/3 of what it costs to shoot any of the big .338's as well and if you want to do a lot of shooting that adds up quicklyu.

30 years ago one might do a double look at a boat having 2 big outboards on the back.
Today you wouldn't, even if it had 3 or even 4 big 300 hp on it. And yes they burn more fuel.

 

[nmbarta]

After weighing all of the pros and cons I decided to go with a true designated long range rifle. I am going to build a 338 Norma on a Defiance action and Bartlein barrel. I have been shooting my 300 WSM to a mile from time to time but that's pushing that round. I figure if I want to try and go out to 2000 yards at some point that the 338 Norma should be a solid choice.

Next I need to start looking at stocks or a chassis. On my other rifles I am running:
300WSM - McMillan A5
280 AI - Manners MCS EH1A
6.5 Creedmoor - Cadex Lite Competition Chassis

Has anyone had any experience with the HS Precision Adjustable Tactical stock or the Grayboe stocks? Would a chassis be the better route for a heavy rifle?

I would build a norma over the lapua if I had it to do over, I think that's a great choice.
RL33 or retumbo behind the 285 eldm or 300 berger works pretty well.
I've shot with the Cadex, AI, XLR, and Mcrees. I liked all of them except when I'm carrying them. With a big rifle like that, this is probably not much of an issue.

I doubt I'll ever build another chassis rifle. I like the feel of a stock better. They are equal in accuracy potential, so it's mostly about feel.

 

[JW74]

Hello again everyone. I wanted to update you all on the build. As I mentioned before I decided on the 338 Norma after much research and the advice here. I have the stock, went with the Grayboe Renegade and had the KMW cheek rest hardware installed. I painted it in GAP camo and that turned out pretty good. It also came with the M5 bottom metal. The action (Defiance Machine) and barrel (Bartlein #9 contour) are arriving this week. My first question is will the M5 LA bottom metal accept the CIP spec 338 LM mags or will I need a different bottom metal or standard 338LM magazine?

Secondly, will the Terminator T3 brake be enough for the 338 norma or would I be wise to go to a T4? On my 300wsm the T3 all but eliminated recoil even with 230gr bullets. I feel like the T4 will look huge on the end of this barrel!