Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

fw707

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Nov 12, 2010
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I've got an action that I'm not using, and I'm looking for an excuse to build another rifle.
What's the most extreme long range caliber that I can build on a 700 LA?
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

I know it's a pretty generic question and I apologize for that, but I don't have a .30 caliber rifle and I was hoping for some suggestions along the lines of the 300 WM.


Thanks!
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

338-416 improved
smile.gif


Im going through the same things, so many options!

Chris
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

300 Acc Int'l (Modified 30-375 Ruger).

It has a magnum bolt face but the same class of powder capacity as a 300 Norma Mag. Dave Tooley used it to test the Hornady 225's at 2000yd.

Without stepping to a bigger bolt face this would be my "go to" suggestion on a 30 magnum.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

338 Edge is a very economical way to push 300 grain bullets over 2800 fps, very consistently, with a standard magnum bolt face and long action.

Look up Shawn Carlock at Defensive Edge:
http://www.defensiveedge.net/

or Len Backus at Long Range Hunting:
http://www.longrangehunting.com/rifles/index.php

Shawn is one of the driving forces behind standardizing this round, and Len usually keeps some Edge's in stock, and may build one on your action.

Looking at the performance of the 300 grain Berger Hybrid (G7 BC of .418) at 2800+ fps is very impressive; supersonic past 1 mile.

I've got two .338 Edge barrels that Shawn smithed for me; both are very good shooters (around 1/2" average groups at 100 yards). I highly recommend a brake.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
-Bryan
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

I know 338's are the caliber in vogue right now but it's hard to beat a good sized 30 with heavy bullets. This coming from a guy who pushed for and got a good flat base 30 cal. bullet to compete at 1000 yds. with.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Dave Tooley</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know 338's are the caliber in vogue right now but it's hard to beat a good sized 30 with heavy bullets. This coming from a guy who pushed for and got a good flat base 30 cal. bullet to compete at 1000 yds. with. </div></div>

I believe either caliber will work well and with all the new bullets now being offered there probably isn't a bad choice either way.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

What about the 7mm offerings? Better ballistics than the .30 cal offerings with less recoil at same velocities. If you reload the sky is the limit.. but if you just want to buy off the shelf, your options become few.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

My first ELR rifle before there were RUM's was a wildcat in 7MM I designed on the RWS 404 case. Shooting a custom made 178 gr bullet from a guy in San Francisco. That thing at 3500 FPS was something to watch at 2K. Flat as hell but barrels don't live long.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

I guess depending on which action you have to work from, the .300 Norma sounds really appealing if you could work into a larger bolt face. Or the .300 Lapua mag/.300 hulk variants
I have a new Bighorn action LA/mag BF that has been signed up to be a .338 edge. I still second guess this choice every day-I am sure once it proves itself....different story.

probably should just build it into a 300wm-I can miss just as well with $.30 bullets as I can with $1.20 bullets.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bohem</div><div class="ubbcode-body">300 Acc Int'l (Modified 30-375 Ruger).

It has a magnum bolt face but the same class of powder capacity as a 300 Norma Mag. Dave Tooley used it to test the Hornady 225's at 2000yd.

Without stepping to a bigger bolt face this would be my "go to" suggestion on a 30 magnum. </div></div>

I can't wait to hear more about this cartridge. Do you have any other information that you can share about it, or know where more is posted elsewhere?
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

Dave - no doubt the 30 Cal. with s heavy pill can do a bunch that the 338s can do, especially when you look at the 208 and 210 grain and heavier current offerings; I prefer the 180+ grain 7mms these days, but then again I also prefer to shoot with no muzzle break.

I too have and use the S.F. connection for my 7mm bullets of choice. The BC is the highest of any 7mm jacketed bullet currently flying. Bob is just not very easy to get in touch with these days.

Jeffvn
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

jeffvn

I think Bob's been trying to sell the business since I first met him in the early 90's. What made his bullet work was he used Sierra 30 cal jackets, redrew them to 7MM, and they would live in a 9 twist@3500 FPS <span style="font-weight: bold">most</span> of the time. I'm like you I don't like all the recoil of the 338's although my life has been under the control of 338's for awhile now and it appears that's not going to change anytime soon but 30's are the lazy way out. They cover the 80/20 rule rather well. I question whether the average shooter can manage the violence associated with a 338. Shooting is supposed to be fun.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

Hi Dave,

I heard AI had you busy with .338 chamberings on the Bartliens. Nice work but a bit of a groundhog day ?

Your 7mm BooBoo you did for Tony S which I bought from him was a hell of a rifle! Bringing that into F Class over here got me the National Championship ... so if I havent said "thanks" before ... let me say so now.

I got that rifle in 2005 and the barrel did 1600 rounds with what I put through it plus whatever Tony did. I expect an overall figure of 1800 rounds to be about right. Since then I have stuck with 7mms and most of our League followed suit ... I have shot out two other Bartliens in 7mm and had a further 1800 rounds or so from each. They however were using a 300 WSM case necked down to 7mm.

I have a few other barrels in 7mm Boo Boo which are still going but for ES benefits and less fouling issues I prefer the WSM case with less powder. However for smaller round counts the Boo Boo has an ELR advantage in that it can push the thick jacketed Berger 180 VLD's to 3250 fps without sacrificing the primer pocket life too much. You can also get the ES's down to 15 fps or so ... the WSM case can get ES's down to 8-9 fps and stay fairly low for a higher number of rounds... but tend to work best around the 3150 fps range.

The Boo Boo or WSM work VERY well out to a mile and slightly more ... but 2000 yards has them running out of speed to be fair and how they handle transonic and subsonic velocities is a bit hit and miss ...

When I wanted a rifle to go for further distance I decided upon a .375 Chey Tac and am presently working it in. The results so far are pretty good but getting down the ES's for consistant elevation at ELR is the key and the more powder the case holds the harder the task is ...

Allowing for this what seems to be working best for you ?

I can say that in comparison shoots with military .338's the 7mm's ace them out to 1850 yards ... factory .338 ammo though is perhaps the main weakness and hardly makes for a level playing field but even with hand loads the 7mm's would only be equaled and not beaten.

When Bob C's dies were'nt too old and the bearing surface for his bullets mic'ed spot on for 7mm's they were the best bullets I had used too ... I am now sitting on a 1000 of these though which mic at .289+ and the coppering they leave in the barrel means that the Bergers seem to work better. There are a few of us over here still scratching our heads as to what to do with them. I might try them in the old barrels I have and see how things work? When they do work they are very impressive!
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

Hi Peter

Good to hear from you. I was planning on a trip over this summer to see Jacko and Steve with a visit to Diggle but that didn't workout. I have to do that soon. None of us are getting any younger. I really miss seeing the gang. Those were some good years when I could come over on regular basis.

I don't buy into the idea that one cartridge is more accurate than another but the BooBoo in either 7MM or 30 had something going for it. The right capacity and good RWS brass made it work. I know you are stuck on 7MM's and I understand why. You got tired of Dunny kicking your butt with his but have you ever thought about switching to a 30 cal? The only reason is bullet selection. Have you ever thought about getting Bartlien to make a barrel with larger groove diameter for your fat bullets? You would need a larger freebore diameter to match the increase in bullet diameter. That may be an issue you have now. Tight throats are over rated.

Great strides have been made in the 338 world the last few years. We're getting close now. I have a thing or two to test next, probably after the first of the year. There is no reason a 338 shouldn't perform very close to a 30. It's tough at times doing this development work on my own. It always boils down to time and money.

Stay in touch and I'll see you next summer at Diggle.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cegorach</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bohem</div><div class="ubbcode-body">300 Acc Int'l (Modified 30-375 Ruger).

It has a magnum bolt face but the same class of powder capacity as a 300 Norma Mag. Dave Tooley used it to test the Hornady 225's at 2000yd.

Without stepping to a bigger bolt face this would be my "go to" suggestion on a 30 magnum. </div></div>

I can't wait to hear more about this cartridge. Do you have any other information that you can share about it, or know where more is posted elsewhere? </div></div>

300 AI, PTG has reamer and gauge sets on special now I think.

Dave Tooley helped develop it and he'd be the go-to guy to ask on it.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

Hi Dave,

Getting Bartlien to do a specific barrel for the fatter 178g bullets has always been mooted. If someone timed it right they could pick up the stock others hold and have a fair old "stock pile" to play with ... I guess it would be down to who took the plunge first ... trying an old high round count barrel first though would be a cheaper option and worth a go ...

I have to agree with you as well on your observations of tight throats ... especially in F Class with it's high round count ... the ideal rifle chamber is one which is lose enough to stop fouling creating pressure and MV increases but well enough done to ensureproper run out and accuracy. My own experience has been that too tight a tolerance has usually been the downfall on a barrel which starts out great but drops off at the end of a 20 round string or into the second string starts to drop off.


On the .30 cal option people have tried a few times to make an "alternative" rifle ... one guy did well one year with a 30-338 winning the League with a mixture of this and a 7/300 WSM. The barrel he had though was one of those rare finds which did'nt seem to foul up badly. His second barrel/rifle in the same calibre did suffer from this and he was out of the running ...

Some guys also shoot a straight 300 WSM but are middle ranking on the score board ... no one has yet rolled out a 30 Boo Boo using the new bullets although I had one you did on a lighter barrel profile at 28 inches with a fluted barrel back in 2005 and it did well with the Sierra 200g bullet but not better than the 7mm and the 7mm had less torque/twist when shooting.

The prospect of the new bullets in .30 cal and something like a 30 Boo Boo with one of your off set benchrest stocks to assist with torque ( I still have two of them which need to be finished off at some point ) might be a project for later on but right now the competition is so tight at the top that most people are sticking with what they know will work if they can land on "the right barrel" and going with a 7/270 WSM or a 7/300 WSM. There is also a good following for the .284 Shehane by some ... but it gives up noticeable "horse power" when we shoot at 1100 and 1200 yards ... and the safe bet is the WSM route.

If you can get over next year that would be great ... plenty of folks would love to see you and share a pint or two ... myself included !
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

I really like the .338AI, extremely nice and a pleasure to shoot plus not as hard on the wallet, plus a huge asset to the LE community vs the Lapua and Norma's. Standing by to hear more about it hopefully soon. The .300AI, kinda cool and neat but another .30 magnum??? But overall the .300 and .338 AI's do have more pro's vs con's if only it were offered by Hornady!
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

A .338 Edge would be your best bet. I am working on one right now based off of a Savage action. The .338 Edge has ballistics slightly better than the .338 Lapua. There is a wide selection of high-BC bullets available too. Lehigh makes a 245 gr solid that has a BC of .869.

A .338 Edge is made by necking up .300 Remington Ultra Magnum brass to .338. So all you would need is a new barrel,.338 RUM dies (just use the expander in the die), and, unless you like recoil, a muzzle brake. If you work it out, a .338 Edge can cost less than the Lapua and outperform it. It is the cheapest high-performance .338 that I can think of right now, plus .338 Edge sounds cooler than .338 Lapua.

Just to let you know, people are getting amazing accuracy from these rifles for one reason or another. Accuracy in the .2s-.3s at 100 yards is not uncommon.

Keep in mind that to justify such a beastly weapon, you would really need a long range to shoot at. The reason I am building the .338 is because my 7mm Rem Mag struggles to get the 3000+ yards I have afforded to me. Where I shoot, the Edge should remain supersonic past 3000 yards with the aforementioned solids. If you don't have the distance, just go with a plain and simple .300 Win Mag. Excellent ballistics with an excellent price, and, in my opinion, one of the best bang for your buck cartridges. A .300 Win Mag pushing a .648 BC 208 gr Amax at 3000 FPS is a hard combo to beat; I use this combo when long range shooting with my .300 Win Mag; it even goes through the sound barrier without any issues.

Have a good one
-Fernandez
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

I know this is crazy but have you considered the 7-300wm, essentially just a 300wm necked down to 7mm it has guys pushing 180 bergers or the like to 3100fps+ which is pure awesome sauce in my book.

Mind you i am bias i am currently building a 7 rem mag on trg 42 and i have 2000 old style cautericios 176gr bullets with .72 bc. hopefully this will be my elr rifle mind you my limit is around a mile realistically since farthest i have currently shot is 1450yds.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

The 7 mag and 7-300 RM are great calibers, so don't this as a detraction to your comment, just a piece of advice on the numbers you quoted.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TeamSendIt!!!</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know this is crazy but have you considered the 7-300wm, essentially just a 300wm necked down to 7mm it has guys pushing 180 bergers or the like to 3100fps+ which is pure awesome sauce in my book.

Mind you i am bias i am currently building a 7 rem mag on trg 42 and i have <span style="font-weight: bold">2000 old style cautericios 176gr bullets with .72 bc</span>. hopefully this will be my elr rifle mind you my limit is around a mile realistically since farthest i have currently shot is 1450yds. </div></div>

That BC is only valid for speeds in excess of 2700fps; the average value of the 189 Caut. is 0.695; tipping will get them to 0.720 average.

The 189 and 176 are the same shape with a different core weight. To figure out what your bullets' average BC is take the numbers I gave you and multiply them by 176/189=0.931

Untipped that puts the 176 = ~ 0.647
Tipped that puts the 176 = ~ 0.670

They are an excellent bullet, however when you start shooting them at distances in excess of 1500yd you'll see the numbers line up a lot better when carefully taking into account all of the atmospheric conditions, updrafts, etc.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TeamSendIt!!!</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know this is crazy but have you considered the 7-300wm, essentially just a 300wm necked down to 7mm it has guys pushing 180 bergers or the like to 3100fps+ which is pure awesome sauce in my book.

Mind you i am bias i am currently building a 7 rem mag on trg 42 and i have 2000 old style cautericios 176gr bullets with .72 bc. hopefully this will be my elr rifle mind you my limit is around a mile realistically since farthest i have currently shot is 1450yds. </div></div>
that's not going to be your match rifle, is it?
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ranger1183</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TeamSendIt!!!</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know this is crazy but have you considered the 7-300wm, essentially just a 300wm necked down to 7mm it has guys pushing 180 bergers or the like to 3100fps+ which is pure awesome sauce in my book.

Mind you i am bias i am currently building a 7 rem mag on trg 42 and i have 2000 old style cautericios 176gr bullets with .72 bc. hopefully this will be my elr rifle mind you my limit is around a mile realistically since farthest i have currently shot is 1450yds. </div></div>
that's not going to be your match rifle, is it?</div></div>

Only for kettle falls or really long range matches, the shorter faster stuff will be handled by my trg 22 in 243 pushing the dtacs
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Fernandez</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> A .300 Win Mag pushing a .648 BC 208 gr Amax at 3000 FPS is a hard combo to beat; I use this combo when long range shooting with my .300 Win Mag; it even goes through the sound barrier without any issues.

Have a good one
-Fernandez</div></div>

Man, if I could get my 300 win mag to shoot the 208's within 200 fps of that id be happy.

I cant get it to shoot faster than 2775, with powder flush with the neck.

But I agree 300 wm is an excellent cheap caliber

Chris
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

338 edge. Single shot. Have a custom reamer made that will allow you to pull the bullet out of the case. Those 300 grainers take up a lot of boiler room.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

My choice would be a 300 wsm long throated to shoot 210 or 230gr. berger bullets. My long action rem 700 works perfect. I don`t have to alter mag box or feed ramp. Get you some norma brass and your ready. The ultra mags and edges are too long for long range bullets unless you seat them deep then you lose powder capacity. The wsm long throated will keep up with the 300 win mag or weatherby. Use a 26 inch barrel for velocity.
 
Re: Caliber suggestions for a 700 LA magnum bolt face?

7mm WSM because of less recoil than 30 and 338 calibers with similar BC pushed at similar velocity. I agree that the 338 lapua and edge can beat out most other calibers with 300grs and crazy high BC, but they do it at significantly higher costs than 7mm mags.