My shiny new light .338 Norma Magnum build thread!!

[jjmp]

Very nice & well thought out ,Congrats ,recoil not with that brake ! Cheers n thks for posting

 

[codyadams]

Well got all the clay prep done after work to keep the bedding out of where I don't want it. Tonight the goal is to get pillars cut, tape off the stock and apply release. Then all is left is to mix bedding, put it in the stock, put it together and tape it in for a stress free bedding.

Weighed the bare rifle with pillars, 7.1 lbs.

 

[codyadams]

Also going to bed the scope base/ring combo while I'm at it.

 

[David Lindler]

Some of you may have seen bits and pieces of this in other threads, but I like having threads dedicated to each rifle build I do (more for my reference later so I can document and review why I did what I did ha ha) so this is for my most recent build, and so far my favorite I have done yet!!!

I have hunted for quite a while with a 13.5 lb .260 AI with a 29"+ brake barrel, and while it has served me well, and taken over 50 animals ranging from doe pronghorn to bull elk for myself, family and friends, I wanted something more manageable and better suited for elk, so brainstorming began.

Whatever I built, I wanted it to be 8-9 lbs, much lighter and rifles can get somewhat challenging for longer shots, and didn't want it any heavier for back country pack in hunts. As far as chambering, I wanted something big elk worthy, and also considering I hunt in Wyoming where Grizzly encounters are possible, I was led to either a .308 or .338 cal. I also had a Rem 700 long action to run on, and after extensive research, decided on a .338 Norma.

I know it's not a .750 bolt, and they can be prone to lug set-back, but after reading a thorough write up by Kirby Allen, who stated essentially that the reason .588 bolt face cartridges can cause lug set-back on 700 actions is that with tough brass such as Lapua and Peterson, you generally don't see the pressure signs on this brass until you are well above standard pressures. So, if you do a standard pressure work up until you see your regular pressure signs, you are likely at least 65,000 psi and very likely higher than that. Peterson even states on their site that they torture tested their .300 and 338 norma brass at 70,000+ psi without primer pocket loosening or other pressure signs. In Kirby Allen's opinion, the 700 Action is strong enough to handle the .588 bolt face, IF loaded to actual proper pressures and not overloaded. Also, Remington is making .338 Lapua's in standard 700 actions, so they are confident in them, at least with factory ammo. Kirby Allen did say that the chrome moly receivers tend to do better than stainless ones, but again, he stated if loaded properly both with handle it fine. So on my load workup, instead of loading until I see pressure signs on my Peterson brass, I will watch my velocities instead and make sure not to go over what the cartridge should be doing at standard pressure according to quick load, and try to give myself a little wiggle room as well. This also means my brass will likely last a very long time.

So then I had to carefully figure out how to meet my weight requirements, and also have the rifle be shootable as far as recoil is concerned. So for a Brake, I decided on MBM 5 port Beast Titanium. I wanted the lightest contour that I could still thread 5/8x24, pretty much the smallest thread that you want to do in a .338 bore. That turned out to be about a #5 contour (Krieger/Lilja #5) and I wanted to save as much weight as possible, so fluting was in order, and spiral fluting takes the most weight. Lilja offered spiral fluting, so they are who I went with. According to Lilja's weight calculator, spiral fluting in the length I wanted it to run would save me about .6 lbs off the barrel, and when weighing it, that was right on, so over half a point from spiral fluting that Lilja did. I had the fluting set up to where If I had the shank cut to extend 1" in front of the recoil lug, the barrel length would be 24". This gave me just enough meat at the muzzle to thread 5/8x24 and still have enough shoulder to seat the brake.

For a stock, I wanted light, but that didn't really narrow it down a ton, as there are several good carbon shelled stocks out there. However, I saw the Manners Elite Arctic camo, and thought it would look fantastic with the spiral fluting and stainless action, so an EH-1 was ordered.

I then sent off the bolt to be fluted by LRI to save some weight, but mainly for looks to match the barrel. They did fantastic, had quick turn around with a VERY fair price.

In another .338 NM I load for, the OAL with 300 Bergers is just under 3.7" OAL seated .020" off the lands, so I wanted a little more than the standard rem mag box. Wyatt's filled that gap with their 3.850" extended box.

For the bottom metal, PTG offers a BDL type aluminum guard that weighs almost nothing, so they got my business.

For the rings, I wanted something solid and 1 piece but light, so after research, that lead me to DNZ mounts. However this one was tricky, most of their mounts are right handed only due to the positioning of their crossbar, and I wanted it to have 20 MOA of cant and a 30mm tube. Their 4 screw tactical mount however, has the bar in the center, has 4 screw ring caps, and has 21.5 MOA of cant. Only issue....they only have it in black!!! Well, one phone call to them, and they custom made me one anodized in silver. Awesome!!

Had my smith put it all together, and then the wait started for the stock. Well, 7 months and 2 weeks later I had it, and here it is!!!View attachment 160544 View attachment 160545 View attachment 160546 View attachment 160548 View attachment 160549 View attachment 160550 View attachment 160552 View attachment 160553

The scope is on loan from a very generous friend, I will likely end up putting a Sightron SIII 6-24 on it sometime after the holidays. That scope is about 2-3 oz lighter than the March that is currently on it. The weight is without bedding and pillars, so should end up about the same.

This rifle came out very handy, and feels light in the hands, the balance point is at or just behind the front action screw. Can't wait to get out and shoot it, I will post up more photos as I bed it and get it shooting!!

Nice gun.
Cerakote your barrel one color and your flutes another to make it pop.
I am starting a 338Nm imp after the first of the year.
I have a 388 lapua and edge. Love them.
Try out the 260 grain hammer hunters. I am getting 1/4 MOA @100 YARDS. Devistating on game. Shot a 250lb muley two weeks ago. The exit splatter was the size of a 5 gallon bucket. Found lungs on the ground.
How much did the finished rifle weight?

 

[sable tireur]

Try out the 260 grain hammer hunters.

This is one of the bullets I use in a Norma Mag. That and the 250 gr. Elite Hunter. I skip the 300 grain Berger as unnecessary because of the weight vs performance. The pendulum will start to come back around where these heavy for caliber bullets will left on the shelf in favor of the bullets balanced for the cartridge and loads.

 

[Canhunter35]

Very nice rifle, Cody
I'm curious not about felt recoil, I'm sure it's manageable, but how the recoil in a lightweight 338 affects your accuracy from less than optimal field or field simulated positions

 

[North Idaho Hunter]

I'm sure it's manageable, but how the recoil in a lightweight 338 affects your accuracy from less than optimal field or field simulated positions

this is where I had the most trouble!

 

[codyadams]

Very nice rifle, Cody
I'm curious not about felt recoil, I'm sure it's manageable, but how the recoil in a lightweight 338 affects your accuracy from less than optimal field or field simulated positions

Well I do my load development from a bench, but after that it is all field positions, so I will see. In the last 4 years of hunting however, I have only had to take two shots that weren't from a solid prone position, and both of those were sub 200 yards, so not nearly as important. So as long as it is consistent from prone, I'll be good. I generally won't take a very long shot if I'm not able to get down prone.

For the type of hunting I do (glass from a high point, sometimes shoot from my glassing position, sometimes stalk to within range that is dictated by current conditions) I generally have a good amount of time to plan out my shot and where I will take it from. Sometimes pronghorn hunting makes me improvise my positions due to flat landscape and tall sage, but that is what the .260 AI is for!! Though I'm not going to lie....I'm definitely going to whallop a few goats with it this coming August ha ha

 

[Canhunter35]

Well I do my load development from a bench, but after that it is all field positions, so I will see. In the last 4 years of hunting however, I have only had to take two shots that weren't from a solid prone position, and both of those were sub 200 yards, so not nearly as important. So as long as it is consistent from prone, I'll be good. I generally won't take a very long shot if I'm not able to get down prone.

For the type of hunting I do (glass from a high point, sometimes shoot from my glassing position, sometimes stalk to within range that is dictated by current conditions) I generally have a good amount of time to plan out my shot and where I will take it from. Sometimes pronghorn hunting makes me improvise my positions due to flat landscape and tall sage, but that is what the .260 AI is for!! Though I'm not going to lie....I'm definitely going to whallop a few goats with it this coming August ha ha

And it'll be used to make one deliberate shot, I've had recoil affect me a lot when I'm out of position shooting coyotes and trying to 2 or more of them. That's why I like a heavy low recoil gun that's dummy proof lol. I've taken my 300wby coyote hunting a few times, lol so I get that.

 

[Liu Kang]

Sweet!

 

[codyadams]

And it'll be used to make one deliberate shot, I've had recoil affect me a lot when I'm out of position shooting coyotes and trying to 2 or more of them. That's why I like a heavy low recoil gun that's dummy proof lol. I've taken my 300wby coyote hunting a few times, lol so I get that.

I could definitely see that. I'll see how picky it is this coming spring and summer, I should have a couple hundred rounds downrange by next season.

 

[sp6x6]

 

[sp6x6]

mine 1 oz heavier than your.These 300 otm off my bipodyours looks GREAT

 

[codyadams]

mine 1 oz heavier than your.These 300 otm off my bipodyours looks GREATView attachment 169629

Thank you! That is encouraging for sure!! Like I said in another thread, your light 338 nm is what gave me the idea to build mine, it seemed yours works quite well for you. I think something that plagues these light, braked heavy recoiling cartridges is optic mounting issues. I have heard of the #6 screws shearing off, rings not gripping the scope properly, things like that end up causing consistency issues. I opened up my receiver and base to #8-40 screws already, my base is bedded to my receiver with release only on the screws (though when I have done this in the past it still just pops off when the screws are taken out) and I lapped my rings well and have them torqued down good with locktite all around, so that should keep everything tight I'm hoping. Also my optic isn't overly heavy at 25 oz's. Hoping that will keep everything consistent and eliminate any possible future points of failure.