My mission to find the best short barreled big 338!!!

[Elk Hunter 338]

A big reason I find myself on this forum less and less. Super annoying.

I have noticed crazy things with h1k in barrel wear (or lack there of) as well. Nearly 200 rounds down my 30 nosler, and the throat looks like this

View attachment 462232View attachment 462233
My standard .338 Norma mag I had showed significant signs of fire cracking at under 100 rounds. The 30 nosler adg brass is about 102 grains H20 capacity, and I believe Peterson .338 NM is about 107, so 5 grains more but also a larger bore, so bore/capacity ratios should be similar, if not then the Norma having more favorable ratios for bore life.

The difference? I ran N570 in my Norma. It's well known n570 burns hotter than H1000, but my observed difference in throat wear between the two is significant, if not surprising. I know barrels are wear items, and barrel life isn't a huge concern when working with large magnums, however if I can get 50% more barrel life from my fire breathing elk thumper, while keeping awesome consistency, temp stability, and loading forgiveness, with a powder I can find easier, and the only thing to give up is 50-100 fps max? Yup, I'll take it every day of the week.

Cody, I'd liked to have seen the results if you had run 570 or rl26 for those rounds.. I would bet an elk steak dinner that it wouldn't look that good!

As easy and fast as that rifle tuned and stayed stable is a true testament to the reliability of H1000 .. like you said I'll take that consistency everyday and twice on Sunday!!!

 

[Bravo 4]

My previous .338 RUM barrel (26") ran 2850 fps with H1000 & 300 grain Bergers. I decided to chop the barrel down to 20" & run suppressed and lost 250 fps with the exact same ammo. I never tried any other powders and burned that barrel out being happy.
And just for closure sake (); a .338 NM will not outperform a .338 Lapua if everything is equal. The Norma is a shortened Lapua case. Most foreign military issued .338 Lapua ammo I've shot fails to maximize the Lapua's potential in both bullet selection and velocity. That ammo would/will be trumped by some of the Norma ammo I've shot/tested. Y'all can put that to rest now.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Just ordered a 22" Papua prefit for a "Salvage"...anything in my neck of the woods will not be happy...

 

[TheFishBox]

@Bravo 4 everyone knows due to magic voodo somehow the smaller Norma outperforms the larger lapua it's very similar to how the 6.5 creed works.

 

[BAKPAKR]

@Bravo 4 everyone knows due to magic voodo somehow the smaller Norma outperforms the larger lapua it's very similar to how the 6.5 creed works.

That magic apparently doesn't kick in until 1500 yards…

 

[odoylerules]

This is definitely the build I want for elk…338 shorty. It's the suppressor that bums me out a little. 338 cans are huge and heavy.
I absolutely LOVE my G.A. Precision Jager can for hunting. I need someone to invent a smaller 338 can, rated for the "lower" pressure/velocity 338's we're talking about here.

Jäger Suppressor

The ultralight hunting suppressor of your dreams!

www.gaprecision.net

 

[MtnMann]

This is definitely the build I want for elk…338 shorty. It's the suppressor that bums me out a little. 338 cans are huge and heavy.
I absolutely LOVE my G.A. Precision Jager can for hunting. I need someone to invent a smaller 338 can, rated for the "lower" pressure/velocity 338's we're talking about here.

Jäger Suppressor

The ultralight hunting suppressor of your dreams!

www.gaprecision.net

Rugged Suppressors came out last year with the Alaskan 360 (11.8oz) and the Alaskan 360TI (6.6oz w/direct thread mount) that would probably fit the bill perfectly for this type of build.

Alaskan360Ti™

The Alaskan360Ti™ is one of our best lightweight .36 cal rifle & pistol suppressors rated for calibers of 9mm, .556, .308 up to .338 lapua

ruggedsuppressors.com

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

I hate the fact they are as big as they are but **** I haven't been around a can yet that compares to a TBAC

 

[odoylerules]

Rugged Suppressors came out last year with the Alaskan 360 (11.8oz) and the Alaskan 360TI (6.6oz w/direct thread mount) that would probably fit the bill perfectly for this type of build.

Alaskan360Ti™

The Alaskan360Ti™ is one of our best lightweight .36 cal rifle & pistol suppressors rated for calibers of 9mm, .556, .308 up to .338 lapua

ruggedsuppressors.com

This thing just might be the ticket!! 5.6 oz…wow!!

 

[WeiserBucks]

I hate the fact they are as big as they are but **** I haven't been around a can yet that compares to a TBAC

A wise man once told me that you should use a muffler bigger than your Johnson, TBAC 338 Ultra is the logical choice.

 

[TheFishBox]

so what do you feel you are giving up overall with these short barreled magnums? Loosing several hundred FPS but what does that equate to in the field distance wise, the shorter barrel and lighter overall rifle has to be nicer to pack and swing but for long range is it worth it over a longer one?

 

[pawater]

Tag

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

so what do you feel you are giving up overall with these short barreled magnums? Loosing several hundred FPS but what does that equate to in the field distance wise, the shorter barrel and lighter overall rifle has to be nicer to pack and swing but for long range is it worth it over a longer one?

I'm actually not giving up anything!!
I will have an ultra short rifle when the can is removed (which wont happen unless it is in a case)
It will hunt just like a standard 26-28" barrel but be super quiet.
less actual felt recoil with a lighter bullet which is good.
ballistics that surpass a heavier slow motion bullet ..
People have got to remember ... velocity is what makes a bullet work, its not rocket science ,, If you have turd at the start you have a pile of **** at the end!!!

This I why I believe you are seeing more and more "run offs" and "weird bullet performance" than ever before because people forget.. the bullet has to work when it gets there.. it has great BC but the impact velocity is terrible then it perform terrible!! No one looks at these numbers .. all they care about is the BC which doesn't mean anything if the bullet isn't operating at its peak.

I will absolutely not shoot a 285-300gr bullet at 2600fps when I can shoot a mid weight bullet with a decent BC at 3000+ fps!! impact numbers dont lie!!! I want them wrecked, not wounded!!!!

It makes no sense to me to run a slow heavy bullet in a setup like this ... THAT IN FACT WILL GAIN ME NOTHING BUT RECOIL!! ..

For those places where i feel the need to bring out the heavies I have a 375 Cheytac for that !!

I shot a 223 hammer hunter last year at 3180fps in a 22" 338,, it was impressive to say the least.. the BC is terrible on this bullet but I shot it to a 1000 to true curves and it proved to be very accurate!! I wanted to try it and i did.. it worked flawlessly!!

I hunt with a suppressor for a reason I LOVE THEM .. and i build all my personal rifles around them!!

 

[Rick Richard]

I'm actually not giving up anything!!
I will have an ultra short rifle when the can is removed (which wont happen unless it is in a case)
It will hunt just like a standard 26-28" barrel but be super quiet.
less actual felt recoil with a lighter bullet which is good.
ballistics that surpass a heavier slow motion bullet ..
People have got to remember ... velocity is what makes a bullet work, its not rocket science ,, If you have turd at the start you have a pile of **** at the end!!!

This i why i believe you are seeing more and more "run offs" than ever before because people forget.. the bullet has to work when it gets there.. it has great BC but the impact velocity is terrible!!

I will not shoot a 285-300gr bullet at 2600fps when I can shoot a mid weight bullet with a decent BC at 3000+ fps!! impact numbers dont lie!!!

It makes now sense to me when I'm not using these rifles for 1000 and beyond .. I have a 375 cheytac for that !!

I shot a 223 hammer hunter last year at 3180fps in a 22" 338,, it was impressive to say the least.. the BC is terrible on this bullet but I shot it to a 1000 to true curves and it proved to be very accurate!! I wanted to try it and i did.. it worked flawlessly!!

I hunt with a suppressor for a reason I LOVE THEM .. and i build all my personal rifles around them!!, that it worked

Bonafide, verified, substantiated proof