Getting Into Long Range Hunting - Ongoing thread

[The Claw]

Looks like a just right setup. Nothing too expensive or flashy but all bases covered. Good bullet, stable rifle, repeatable scope. Now just shoot the shit out of it!!!!!

You could wait 17 months for an ultra super match precision custom barrel in .317 Lardo Ultra Wildcat with a bore hand lapped by Venetian midgets using handfuls of Keira Nightleys pubes. Have an NZ Gunsmith screw it (crooked) into an action which is an imported CNC lathe produced REM 700 that is 5 times heavier, 5 times straighter, 20 times shinier and 5 times more expensive. Mount it into a stock that looks like a MillSpec coated Darlics cock. Fit a trigger that breaks at 4 ounces. By coincidence, after purchasing it your credit card now breaks if you try to spend $4. Wait another 10 months for custom dies from whoever created .317 Lardo Ultra by necking down .318 Lardo Magnum. Another five months for hand turned custom solids designed by some guy who used to sweep up at NASA. Spend three weeks and 2000 dollars fire forming your brass. Wait another 5 months for more projectiles. Do your load development. Change your muzzle break. Wait five months for projectiles. Re-do your load development with the new muzzle break. You go to a LR shoot with the guys from NZHS. Everyone loves your rifle, under their glowing admiration you cant resist letting everyone have a shot. Wait another five months for projectiles. You shoot a deer. Your barrel is now shot out. Order another barrel.

After that will you be a better shot than if you buy a second hand rifle off Kiwi Greg and a second hand M4 and then spend the time shooting?

I fucken doubt it.

Yep, all pretty much on the money. KG will know better than most about not being able to get projectiles to shoot... A reliable source of "sensible" projectiles should be one of the first things that is considered when developing a load/building a rifle.

This is a major reason that I built a 338 rather than a 375 for LR. The 300gr SMK was readily available and the 300gr Hybrid was coming. There was (still is) all sorts of wild fantasy 375 ultra high bc projectiles being tested through specialised gain twist etc barrels. Building something based around one of these would result in a very expensive safe dweller "coz I'm waiting on projectiles for my ultra specialised barrel as it won't shoot anything readily available (which are all flying bricks designed for close range big game felling)" (in my opinion). Sure, barrel life is better in a 375 (who really cares when you are building something like this?) but the projectiles at $5 a pop would make for a much more expensive beast to run, not to mention that you couldn't afford to shoot it coz either (1) its to expensive, and/or (2) you don't have any projectiles...

It is also the main reason I have a 7mm as my main hunting rifle. Either 162gr amax or 180gr hybrids/vld's make excellent LR projectiles, and there are heaps of choices for closer range things.

In saying all this, both my 7mm and 338 are custom cases, with custom dies, but since Greg Duley had done all the the load development/testing, it cut out basically all the BS of building something a bit different. Not wanting to push Greg's stuff, but I think his light weight LR rigs are a very good combination of parts without going crazy with custom actions etc.