A question for ELR enthusiasts

[johnfred1965]

I do not shoot ELR although I find the information on this site and others very interesting. As far as ELR cartridges go, there seems to be a big gap between the .40 cal rounds and the 50 BMG. One thing I read, was necking a BMG down to .40 would be too overbore and not allow a good powder burn for the slow powders of that size cartridge.

My question is: Has anyone built a custom BMG in say .45 cal? or maybe .475? I know the bullets in these calibers are usually blunt, but if you are using custom lathe turned copper, brass or bronze, what difference does it make. just the wonderings of an idle mind, but what say you?

 

[Sniper338]

no clue...

most long range guys are plying with cheytac based wildcats.

375 cheytac/snipetac is an example.. they way out perform the BMG case.

 

[dcali]

Have you looked at the .416 Barrett? It's a shortened necked down .50 BMG. No idea how well it performs, but it does exist.

 

[johnfred1965]

Have you looked at the .416 Barrett? It's a shortened necked down .50 BMG. No idea how well it performs, but it does exist.

Took a look on Barrett's website, they kind of handpick their info to make the .416 look good vs the .50 BMG. They compare their custom 398 gr brass bullet to the .50 cal ball. Not quite apples to apples. Drop a Hornady A-Max in the .50 with a G1 of 1.05 and the Barrett doesn't shine so bright.

If they can make a .375 bullet with a BC close to 1.0, imagine a .45 cal bullet conservatively at 1.2 being pushed by a full size BMG case. sounds plausible to me, but I can't afford $10 a round or the rifle to shoot them out of.

 

[Sniper338]

Took a look on Barrett's website, they kind of handpick their info to make the .416 look good vs the .50 BMG. They compare their custom 398 gr brass bullet to the .50 cal ball. Not quite apples to apples. Drop a Hornady A-Max in the .50 with a G1 of 1.05 and the Barrett doesn't shine so bright.

If they can make a .375 bullet with a BC close to 1.0, imagine a .45 cal bullet conservatively at 1.2 being pushed by a full size BMG case. sounds plausible to me, but I can't afford $10 a round or the rifle to shoot them out of.

Thats why we shoot 6brs and 308s! lol. cost of reloading, and the specialized equiptment for bigger cases is nuts!

 

[Tempest]

How far are you planning to shoot?

 

[dcali]

I'm not an ELR guy, but it's my understanding that the problem with the big bores (.50s) is that the trajectories are not flat enough when compared with smaller calibers (.375s) and the velocity variation winds up killing you in vertical. I haven't really looked into it in detail, but worth considering and running the numbers.

 

[moondog]

How far are you planning to shoot?

THIS is a good question for you. I was planning my ELR rig and was asked how far can I get out to practice and do load development. (without having to travel hundreds of miles!)
I have CLOSE access to 2100 yards was my answer. Cheytac, Barrett are over kill for
that distance. Barrel life, cost of components, range, got me a Reamer for 338LM Imp.
Ya gotta axe yerself, and answer honestly. If you have easy access go for It!!!
I got lucky and talked to the right guys who have done it. Not many guys shooting 50
bmg for elr. Much better choices accuracy wise if you go REALLY far. I can't

 

[Tempest]

Good points. And 2,100 yards is not a difficult for a standard .338 LM in decent conditions.

 

[johnfred1965]

How far are you planning to shoot?

Haven't considered shooting yet, just asking. I had a friend at work who said we could shoot between hilltops near his house in Eastern KY, but so far I have not gone past 1000Yds, and that was with a 6.5 x 284. My brother built a .50BMG on a EDM action, but he hasn't shot it ove 1000 either.

 

[johnfred1965]

My understanding is ELD shooting starts at 1500 yds to however far you want to try. I"m just wondering where the limit is with the 375 or 408 cheytac, 416 Barrett, or the Allen magnums in these calibers. A 50BMG shoots like a rainbow and a 50 BMG case supposedly is "too big" to be necked down to those calibers. Just wondering if a caliber somewhere in between these could better utilize this high volume of powder with a flat trajectory and a high BC bullet.

 

[Tempest]

As stated above, you can get well past 2,000 with an out of the box .338.
You still can use existing reloading equipment etc. Unless you have a place to shoot well past 2,000, I think you are spending (thinking) way more than needed. Just my $.02.

 

[Depart123]

As stated above, you can get well past 2,000 with an out of the box .338.
You still can use existing reloading equipment etc. Unless you have a place to shoot well past 2,000, I think you are spending (thinking) way more than needed. Just my $.02.

A 338LM is a 2000 yard cartridge in just about exactly the same way a 308 is a 1200 yard cartridge. It can be done, but not with any acceptable level of repeatability. A 338LM is a solid 1500 yard cartridge, and fairly repeatable at a mile.

 

[johnfred1965]

As stated above, you can get well past 2,000 with an out of the box .338.
You still can use existing reloading equipment etc. Unless you have a place to shoot well past 2,000, I think you are spending (thinking) way more than needed. Just my $.02.

Considering my financial situation, Thinking is all I can do right now, so why not think big!

 

[johnfred1965]

A 338LM is a 2000 yard cartridge in just about exactly the same way a 308 is a 1200 yard cartridge. It can be done, but not with any acceptable level of repeatability. A 338LM is a solid 1500 yard cartridge, and fairly repeatable at a mile.

I guess I was thinking in these terms also. I consider the .308 a good 800 yard rifle. Just to get to 1000 accurately, those F-TR guys are going with bullets, chambers, and barrels that are quite removed from your average .308. Just my opinion though, my .308 won't hold MOA accuracy.

 

[VaRandy]

Considering my financial situation, Thinking is all I can do right now, so why not think big!

Exactly. i was going to tell you to run the numbers on cost for a .375 to a .50 and solve your problem about making a decision. Nothing worse than eating beans for a year to build a brute that you cannot use without driving 1k or more miles.

 

[Pigdog]

How far are you planning to shoot?

This reply is not in regards to ELR but shooting in general. I wish someone had of pointed this out to me or I had pointed it out to myself before getting my first precision rifle. I only have access to 600m close by and due to laws in Australia we cant shoot on public land so this is as far as I will get to shoot for the foreseeable future. I bought a 6.5x47l which is fine for 300-600m shooting I do but if I had thought about this question a bit more before deciding I would have went with a 6BR I think. Reasons being similar barrel life to 6.5x47l, less powder, 6mm bullets cheaper and less recoil. Less overall running costs.

Moral of my story and advice to anyone looking into precision rifle ask yourself the question what distance do you have easy access to shoot without driving hours as stated above base decision on that.

 

[johnfred1965]

This reply is not in regards to ELR but shooting in general. I wish someone had of pointed this out to me or I had pointed it out to myself before getting my first precision rifle. I only have access to 600m close by and due to laws in Australia we cant shoot on public land so this is as far as I will get to shoot for the foreseeable future. I bought a 6.5x47l which is fine for 300-600m shooting I do but if I had thought about this question a bit more before deciding I would have went with a 6BR I think. Reasons being similar barrel life to 6.5x47l, less powder, 6mm bullets cheaper and less recoil. Less overall running costs.

Moral of my story and advice to anyone looking into precision rifle ask yourself the question what distance do you have easy access to shoot without driving hours as stated above base decision on that.

I have thought about this myself. Given my current situation, A 22LR would fit the bill for me. This large caliber thread has really been a thought more than action type thing right now. The rifles I do own now are fine for the 1K competitions I can get to, and ELR shooting is just a fantasy until I can get on better financial footing.

 

[Just Dave]

This reply is not in regards to ELR but shooting in general. I wish someone had of pointed this out to me or I had pointed it out to myself before getting my first precision rifle. I only have access to 600m close by and due to laws in Australia we cant shoot on public land so this is as far as I will get to shoot for the foreseeable future. I bought a 6.5x47l which is fine for 300-600m shooting I do but if I had thought about this question a bit more before deciding I would have went with a 6BR I think. Reasons being similar barrel life to 6.5x47l, less powder, 6mm bullets cheaper and less recoil. Less overall running costs.

Moral of my story and advice to anyone looking into precision rifle ask yourself the question what distance do you have easy access to shoot without driving hours as stated above base decision on that.

.
Get hooked up with these guys, and maybe things will change over/down there.
https://www.facebook.com/LRSCAu/pho...41828.174943746240321/458787171189309/?type=3
.

 

[MRogersII]

Another, perhaps minor, detail that I have learned along the way is this. Aquiring a rangefinder that will consistently, accurately range random objects at 16 to 17 + is not cheap either.