Finally put together a 300 Norma, almost time to shoot!

[Precision Underground]

I have been stalking parts like an ex girlfriend for a while now and am finally pulling the trigger on them to get this thing rolling. Sure it won't be the build that some may choose but I like to put together rifles that look cool, shoot lights out, and don' break the bank.
Shout out to @RWSGunsmithing for putting up with all of my questions and being a really good, very reasonably priced source to get this done.
Going with a 700 ultra mag receiver with PTG bolt, Timney 517, Rock Creek 9 twist M24 @26", probably an ACC 2 port brake, all massaged in by RWS.

I searched and toiled over the chassis. I was 100% set on a used AX (remember I'm cheap)but nothing was coming up. Then I came across a used Ashbury precision chassis here and almost bought it but it was silver and I really wanted FDE. The more I looked at the APO chassis the more it grew on me. I got with APO and they had a sale going on that I couldn't refuse. Their rep even let me swap rail colors to get it exactly how I wanted it. It will be FDE with black rails and 10 round CIP length mag. Once I ordered I searched to see if I could find a pic of this color combo and found an image that I think was from a hide raffle. This thing is freaking beautiful! I encourage anyone looking for a chassis to check these out. There were a few hiccups in the price/ordering process and APO went above and beyond to make it right. Thank you David Myles!

It will probably be a month or two before it is all put together and damn I am impatient....

 

[Barney88PDC]

What brand 10 round mag?

 

[Precision Underground]

What brand 10 round mag?

I’m assuming it’s an APO mag but maybe they outsource.

 

[Precision Underground]

Brass is here. Ummm yea that’s a little bigger than the creedmoor!

 

[WeiserBucks]

What brass did you get?

 

[Precision Underground]

What brass did you get?

Peterson

 

[WeiserBucks]

Peterson

Good job , that alone will save a lot of frustration.

 

[Precision Underground]

Getting close!

 

[Dirty D]

I picked up a Savage model 10 with the APO chassis and really like it, APO makes good stuff.

 

[Supersubes]

I’ll second WeiserBucks on the brass. Night and day better than Norma.

What action are you using for it? APO?

 

[Precision Underground]

I’ll second WeiserBucks on the brass. Night and day better than Norma.

What action are you using for it? APO?

No I would get kicked out of the house if I spent that kind of money lol. It's a 700 Ultra Mag action with PTG 1 piece bolt, rock creek barrel, 517 flat trigger. A "budget" build if you asked some guys around here but I'm betting it will shoot as good as any. I've heard nothing but good about RWS gunsmithing and he has been incredibly helpful so far.

 

[chasedeer]

I like your choice of APO chassis really great stuff this would turn out to be a great built might consider one

 

[Precision Underground]

I like your choice of APO chassis really great stuff this would turn out to be a great built might consider one

Thanks. Yea I was aching for an AX chassis but man there are so many out there and it seems like everyone has one. I wanted something that looked good, functioned good, and was a little different. I think I found it! I’ll give you the sale guys number if you want to hit him up. He had a few offers I couldn’t refuse!

 

[Precision Underground]

Well if it shoots as good as it looks I’ll be in business!

 

[CBlack]

Nice piece. I love my 300 NM. Did I miss where you said which twist rate you went with?

 

[Precision Underground]

Nice piece. I love my 300 NM. Did I miss where you said which twist rate you went with?

Its a rock creek 9 so it starts at 9 and gains just a little.

 

[Precision Underground]

Got it out today to warm the barrel up and make sure everything was gtg. Had a little issue with the extractor but after talking with RWS we suspected the ejector spring may have been a little stout. Clipped about 1/8 of an inch off of it and it was smooth sailing after that. Guessing the PTG drilled hole for the ejector was a little shallow or the spring was just too stiff. It took a ton of force to depress it whatever it was.

The rifle did really well, especially for just shooting some light loads to break the barrel in a little. The heaviest load I shot was 84 gr of Retumbo with ELD 225 and I was getting around 2850 FPS. That is promising considering that it should speed up as it breaks in and I can hopefully go up another 2-3 grains. Three shot groups were probably .75 which is dang good considering I was a little rushed and also doing some cleaning between groups. I def wasn't putting a lot of effort into accuracy. Hoping to get back out tomorrow and push it a little and see how good it will shoot. Side note, I was very curious of what the recoil would be like on this. The badger mini FTE seriously makes it feel like a stout .223. It def moves a lot less than my unbraked 6.5.

 

[CBlack]

I remember shooting one at SHOT, unbraked, and it felt more like my old RPR 6.5.

My custom I run now has a WTO brake on it and it's like a stiff .223.

I run 84.5g of H1000 with 225ELDM at ~3025fps. I also have 1-10" twist.

Next barrel will be 1-9".

 

[Precision Underground]

I remember shooting one at SHOT, unbraked, and it felt more like my old RPR 6.5.

My custom I run now has a WTO brake on it and it's like a stiff .223.

I run 84.5g of H1000 with 225ELDM at ~3025fps. I also have 1-10" twist.

Next barrel will be 1-9".

Nice. Whats your barrel length?

 

[CBlack]

Krieger HV 28"

 

[Precision Underground]

Finally getting some time for development. I ended up taking the brake off because it nealry blows my soul out of my face with the pressure wave lol. I actually don’t mind the recoil. I will admit it is taking some time to get used to it and to get the hang of controlling it but I’m almost there. I was seeing hits at 200 today. It def lets you know if you aren’t set up right though.

So far 92.5G of RL33 and 230 Hybrid Targets have shot pretty well. The rifle is def shooting better than me which is good to know because I feel like the recoil is forcing me to get better as a shooter. I’m getting 3020 FPS from a 26” barrel. That’s faster than I was expecting.

2nd outing testing the middle node.

Back to play with seating depth at 200 yds. I read where frank was talking about it being easier to shoot larger magnums at 200 than at 100, it is definitely easier to shoot this gun at 200. Two shots thrown out as they were obvious misses by me, not the load. I am getting a lot of horizontal when I am not square on the rifle or if I flinch a little. I’m def not quite there yet technique-wise with it but the fact that it shot well despite that fact is promising!

 

[Barney88PDC]

Are those mags 10 round capacity and if so what is the name of them?

 

[Precision Underground]

Yea its a 10 round. It came with the apo chasssis. I’m not sure if they make them or outsource them. If I remember correctly AI mags will work as well. This could be an AI mag I’m not sure. I haven’t been able to bring myself to drop nearly $100 on an extra mag yet!

 

[Barney88PDC]

Is there a name stamped on the mag somewhere? Side or bottom?

 

[Precision Underground]

Is there a name stamped on the mag somewhere? Side or bottom?

No, just caliber. I’ll email them and see what they are. I will want an extra at some point so I need to know.

 

[Dirty D]

It’s probably an Accurate Mag magazine, AM does OEM for a bunch of companies.