.338 300 grain A-Tip in F-Open

It could just be a mere coincidence, but shortly after I delaminated a 195 EOL through a 36 inch Saum barrel on record 19 of my last string in Phoenix, (having done me well at 600 and the Palma) this awaited missing piece of a yet-higher BC combination appeared from UPS as a siren song before the next “big match”. We all know that F-Open is .35 caliber friendly yet I don’t see many takers.

Is the shunned, forbidden apple truly all bad, or is the “red pill” in this case a possible path to fewer wind miss 9’s?

Pictured below is a .284 beside the A-Tipped LM that is easily good for 2,750. My F/O single shot surgeon XL actions were originally intended for the .338 LM, so that’s not an issue but rather a “homecoming” of sorts. Two 5R barrels are hooked up, the longer being 35.5.

Just getting feet wet with the bullet. Project Feasible? (I’ll say in prior sporadic matches the 300 Scenar was faultlessly accurate but required bigger wind holds than a .284 with 195’s, defeating all F/Open purposes.).

 

what does your shoulder say at the end of a day ?

for me , never

 

Losing hurts a lot more . But truly, it’s not like it would seem. 22 pounds soaks it up.

 

Just got an email from Bayou Rifles stating they'll now be giving out a new award called the David Joe Cup for whoever has the highest target velocity at Bayou matches.

 

Try it and let us know!

 

Even in 1000yd Heavy Gun (where guns can weigh whatever the shooter can carry) the 338s never really set the world on fire, most sticking with big 30s at the most. With the lighter 10kg F open rifles and no brakes allowed, not many people ever go larger than 300WSM, though a very few do use a 300 PRC

 

I will be standing back with popcorn watching a 338 be shot in FO..... Problem is, I doubt they will shoot as good as a 7SAUM or a 300WSM to make it worth the extra expense, recoil, etc.

 

I find the 300WSM about my limit for recoil. (Also about the limit of muzzle energy in most ranges in Australia unfortunately)

I can’t imagine shooting a 3 day comp with the 338, recoil fatigue is a definite factor to consider.

 

Battle wagon is packed for a trip to 600 with the ShotMarker.

 

He who reads the wind the best wins, IMO.
Steve Bair

 

Steve Has it Right .

“It’s not the Arrow , It’s the Indian “

 

There’s 45 degree head/right to left up to 12. These are going to be very workable. Present setup is McMillan Kestros Z rail with Seb Max / Seb rear bag.

 

The .284 shooting 195’s below is a good combination (no one else accepts though) at both mid and long range. The .338 will never be a midrange round but the retained velocity at 1,000 should be very impressive.

 

Can you manage the heat?

 

Will admit that switching guns from the two .338’s and some 40 rounds to .284 felt pretty nice on the shoulder.

ShotMarker question for the experts, if the larger target frame size I inputted didn’t take because I didn’t press the green check mark, would my true groups have been smaller or larger than what the screen showed? And would that have affected reported velocity?

I caught that after shooting the .338’s when changing to the .284. (I had put a unit that was paired to a 925 mm square frame on a frame with mike spacing at 1539 mm, but the input hadn’t taken which I discovered and corrected.)

 

Looks like the back seat of my crew cab when I take a trip to Detroit to visit my son.

My retained velocity at 1000 yards is ticking 2000 fps. It's the improved version so a bit more than the straight 338 LM. Haven't shot the 300 ATips yet. On order and will run them soon

 

^^ This...

I think 20 shot strings burning 90 to 100 gr of powder is going to roast a barrel.

I saw one guy try it in Oak Ridge a long time ago, he didn't finish one match due to recoil and heat.

Man I do love the things your trying, and I've gone out into the unknown with some things in F-TR myself, but the 338LM in competition shooting just doesn't seem like a viable option. You might ask around some of the guys who have been in sling shooting for a long time, the ones who used to shoot the 300WM in 1000 yard sling matches would probably have some good info for you.

 

Barrel heat was a big issue the first match I shot LM in. I was running unnecessarily fast loads. If memory serves 97 or 99 grains of RL33 with 300 OTM’s. I had a hand towel and bottle of isopropyl alcohol by the barrel to swab it down.

Presently my barrels can finish a string at rsaum temperatures. I’ve backed off the load and use either H-1000 or RL 25 and run 300’s at 85-87 grains. That big reduction was to mitigate heat. However I couldn’t shoot inside my 7’s with that load. I had found that Scenars scored higher for me, but that I was holding a ring or more in wind than my .284 with heavies. (My often expressed affinity for the 195 since 2016 is that my .284’s will shoot inside an rsaum with 180/184, moving briskly, and this was a pretty heretical combo then, maybe even now too, but my longest string of x’s at 1000 was with it, second 10 shots on paper targets, as well as my LRHM card. Only the rsaum with 195’s shoots inside the 284 with 195’s. Berger is tiptoeing to that same conclusion with its 184 and now the 190 both openly marketed for the .284).

Back to .338, so they couldn’t shoot inside 7mm loads without roasting. They were a ring or more wider, and so they went into hibernation awaiting a bullet advancement. The situation was bleak, the 300 Scenar had a noticeably lower BC than the tipped 195’s, and shot slower than a mere .284, let alone a saum. The OTM’s had a higher BC than either, but didn’t group as readily for me.

Enter finally a “highest” BC new .338 the A-Tip with .863/.435. Barrel heat would likely be a big problem over 2,800 FPS but the charts say they will shoot inside my saums, even below 2,800, which are pushing 195’s over 2,950. But more importantly, A-Tips probably won’t blow up at that speed, and 195’s can, a few of us know now.

Planning to shoot them soon in a 1,000 yard club match.

 

Are you finding the companies advertised BC of the 300 ATips are reasonably close ?