I am nearing the end of a four year build for my dream deer gun. LR308 chambered in 45 Raptor, subsonic and suppressed. Working up a load that will cycle. Wondering if anyone has tried anything like this... With any success.
Subsonic 45 Raptor AR supressed
- Thread starter Raptor77
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Why not go AR15 and 450 Bushmaster? While not *technically* a straight wall cartridge, it's still Ohio legal for deer... and the AR15 is smaller/lighter/less expensive than AR10 variants.
That said, if you want the Raptor over the Bushmaster for the option of running full power big-boy loads, I absolutely get it.
That said, if you want the Raptor over the Bushmaster for the option of running full power big-boy loads, I absolutely get it.
It's a whole lot easier to make a small case cycle subsonic loads than a big case. The Raptor is the wrong direction for that purpose, unless you're using bullets heavy/long enough that you need the capacity and case length. That's gonna take a fast twist barrel though.
I have a 16" barrel 1/20 twist pushing 480g lfn bullets over 20.1g H110 at 1045 fps. Looks promising so far
Place the first shot well and sub-sonic is moot. Unless you are planning on shooting more then one at a time.
OFG
OFG
This is an interesting round. If you reload it makes more sense, still it's a hammer. I shoot in fairly dense brush often so I would like to have something that punches through brush.
I really had considered a 375 Raptor build. If you look at the case, it is fairly similar to a larger copy of a 300blk. You can get barrels from Xcaliber. But I ended up streamlining my shooting gear and simplified down to 4 cartridges and sold my Wildcats off.
Did you get your barrel from Xcaliber?
I really had considered a 375 Raptor build. If you look at the case, it is fairly similar to a larger copy of a 300blk. You can get barrels from Xcaliber. But I ended up streamlining my shooting gear and simplified down to 4 cartridges and sold my Wildcats off.
Did you get your barrel from Xcaliber?
Yes. Xcaliber 16” barrel carbine gas diamond fluting 11/16x24 threads and black cericote 1/20 twist
What bullet is that that expands so well subsonic? And what did you shoot it into for the expansion test?
The bullet is a Factory second 480g lfn. Not really an expansion test. I would like to do that but never have, don't know how. Shot at a steel target I have. I know it's not the same as what it will do on game, just thought it was impressive. I would like to do some kind of ballistic jell test. Any ideas how I might? I have some Hornady 500g DGX bullets ordered. Want to see what I can do with those.
Never done a ballistic gel test. Should be some youtube tutorials on how to cast your own. You probably need quite a bit of gel, though.
Just fill gallon milk jugs with water, and set a thick phone book in front of them. It's not a perfect correlation (nothing is) but it's a consistent test.
Yea the milk jug will work, put yourself a backdrop behind it to help catch and recover the bullet. Pretty impressive out of that 480gr. Makes me want to build a 375. I've already got a ton of 375 projos which is why I lean toward it.
It is an interesting round, how does it cycle subs?
It is an interesting round, how does it cycle subs?
No, not just one water jug and a backstop. You want enough water jugs to catch the bullet. Letting the bullet smash into a backstop defeats the purpose.
Yea that makes more sense. I've seen videos of it done that. Line up enough jugs so that it the bullet eventually sticks in one as it slows down. May take some trial and error on the number of jugs but that would be a cheap, easy way to try to get an idea of how it will perform.
I've never tried it but you can make ballistic gel, but it's a pain to make iirc.
I've never tried it but you can make ballistic gel, but it's a pain to make iirc.
Cycles great. I opened up the gas block all the way. The only way to get it to cycle is to use the super heavy bullets. Going to get some 500g Hornady DGX next time. If you limit the velocity (subsonic), you might as well have as much mass as possible for penetration. I might try the gallon jug thing as I have plenty of them laying around.
The DGX bullets are .458 caliber (45 caliber rifle), and the raptor is .452 caliber (45 caliber pistol). I'm not exactly sure what happens trying to shoot the .006 larger diameter rifle bullets through the barrel, but I'd def look into that thoroughly before trying it.
LOL, have fun trying to size down those DGX bullets. That's a whole different thing than sizing cast bullets. And yes, I've done quite a bit of this; you're in for a challenge with those.
I'm not sizing cast bullets. They are factory second bullets, copper jacket and yes, it was a job.
Contact Kevin at Mars Armory. He has done a ton of work with the 45 Raptor and is pretty knowledgeable about the caliber. Also built an awesome 450 BM for me on a LH bolt gun I had
The Raptor has good performance, and as stated earlier, if your shooting suppressed velocity is not in the discussion. I liked the fact that I can find factory 450.
I also have a Wilson 458 HAMR, and it does just that on deer and hogs, but that is another discussion.
The Raptor has good performance, and as stated earlier, if your shooting suppressed velocity is not in the discussion. I liked the fact that I can find factory 450.
I also have a Wilson 458 HAMR, and it does just that on deer and hogs, but that is another discussion.
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Going subsonic was a big mistake. Accomplished all of my design criteria; cycled perfect, heavy round, subsonic. Problem on deer size game was subsonic. Didn't produce large temporary wound cavity. Went supersonic with 395g Hornady Sub-x round going 1600 fps. have yet to see results on game.
Good terminal performance with subsonics (in any caliber) can be a tricky thing, depending on your expectations. My best results have always been with custom made cast bullets designed for that application, generally with a heavy shank and massive (for the caliber) hollow point. I've often been disappointed with subsonic performance of off the shelf bullets, with just a few exceptions, and faster almost always kills better if quiet isn't a criteria.
