JD338 info re 338RUM test firing with new brake installed

[jimpecheur]

JD338,

I am a new member of this forum and I also wish to add a quality muzzle brake to my Remington 700 LSS (left-hand action) chambered in .338 RUM.

This beautiful rifle is currently in stock condition except for the timney trigger and the butt stock spacers/Pachmayer recoil pad that were necessary to increase the length of pull measurement to 14.75" which fits me perfectly.

I have been following your entries re : adding the Williams tactical muzzle brake to your Remington 700 LSS .338RUM with keen interest and would appreciate any/all advice that you can share with me , especially concerning reloading, improving performance and reducing recoil.

Kindest Regards ,

jimpecheur

 

[FOTIS]

Welcome to the forum buddy. I am sure JD will chime in soon. I also have a williams on my 378 wby and it works great!

 

[Oldtrader3]

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of members who shoot .338 magnum cartridge variants who are members here. You should have lots of company. I am a .340 Bee and .338 Federal guy myself.

 

[JD338]

jimpecheur


Welcome to the forum, glad you are here.

We have the same rifle, except yours is backwards. :mrgreen:
I have a Pachmyer Decelerator recoil pad on my rifle and it does a good job of taming the recoil.

The Williams Tactical brake works very well. The 300 gr AB's at 2742 fps are plesent to shoot now and the 200 gr AB's at 3200 fps were a cream puff (308 Win level) to shoot. Workmanship of the fit and color match are perfect. It is difficult to see the seam of the break and barrel.
Contact Rob Canze at Williams, 810 653 2131

What bullet(s) are you wanting to shoot and I will help you with load data.

JD338

 

[FOTIS]

Here is mine

 

[DrMike]

That is some fine machine work.

 

[SJB358]

That is very nice Fotis. I am looking at Mr. Canze for some work, especially his brake. His work looks excellent.

 

[FOTIS]

It truly is.

 

[JD338]

Here is the Williams Tactical brake.
Works well too.

JD338

 

[DrMike]

Certainly fitted very well, Jim. It is a good looking brake. That'll tame the beast.

 

[jimpecheur]

Thank you ( FOTIS ,JD338, Oldtrader3 , Dr.Mike and SJB358 for your welcome and information re:338/358
caliber rifles.

JD338 - it seems that we share more than just our appreciation for the 338 - although you obviously prefer to use the wrong hand trigger finger - we seem to have the same first name , BUT don't EVER call me
Jimmy - one of those from Ga. is already too many - hope he keeps to building homes and leaves our gun
rights ALONE.

Since purchasing my Rem 700 in 2004, I have shot approximately 10 boxes of Remington or Federal
factory ammo primarily at shooting benches at 100 or 200 yd. ranges -( I've kept all of my spent brass)

A few years ago I made a big mistake by having a US marine armorer friend adjust the factory trigger to
2.5 lbs. The gun later discharged while I was sitting inside a 4ft. square air tight (with the door
and windows closed) deer stand. It was 30 minutes before sunrise and I had just chambered a round very carefully and slowly in anticipation of shooting a white tail deer feeding in the 10 acre food plot
covered by my tower stand.

Approximately 1 min later after pointing the muzzle down toward one corner of the stand, I slowly took
the safety between my bare thumb and forefinger and slowly moved the safety from off to on and the
weapon DISCHARGED !!! It took more than a week for my ears

 

[Oldtrader3]

Jim, that is why I always check sear engagement measurements and bounce the rifle on the recoil pad off the hard garage floor 3-4 times each time that I adjust a trigger for pull or sear over-travel and engagement. I am already deaf but would hate to shoot my foot with a .340 Mag or any centerfire rifle.

I have a Weatherby Accubrake on my .340 Mark V but I shoot about 150-200 .340 rounds per summer. The brake brings the .340 in line with my 7mm Rem Mag for recoil. I have never been a .35 caliber shooter, except for a Marlin 336 in .35 Rem but I have owned and shot some form of .338 mag since the late 1960's.

Larger bore, medium magnums have a fair bit of popularity on this forum and there are a number of elk and larger game hunters here. I lived in Georgia in the 1960-1970's for 6 years and shot my largest whitetail there in the Oconee (North) N.F. back in 1969.

 

[jimpecheur]

Oldtrader3,

being a natural born luddite, I hit the "submit" button prior to completing my last post in which I had hoped to convey the rest of the story in which I immediately removed the Remington trigger , ordered and installed a timney trigger assembly and adjusted it to 2.5 lbs pull weight.

My plan is to purchase the necessary set of RCBS .338RUM dies/components and have the Williams tactical muzzle brake installed by Williams in Michigan this summer (once again thank JD338 and the rest
of you for your input/photos re: the .338 muzzle brake).

My first cousin Bill in Buena Vista Ga. is an avid reloader who has all of the RCBS reloading equipment (sans
the .338 RUM die set) and he has volunteered to assist me in reloading various Nosler 338 hand loads that I can fire in order to determine what combinations will maximize accuracy out to about 600 yds.

Ideally, we can discover two or three different hand load combinations with different bullet weights
that will perform well in this rifle and load at least 80 rounds of each load so that I can get back to hunting white tail deer and very large feral hogs often found in the areas where I can hunt.

Any advice re: bullets/powder types/powder loads/magnum primers will be appreciated.

Kindest Regards,

Jimpecheur

 

[JD338]

Jim,

Pretty scary to have an accidental discharge.

What bullet weight are you going to start loading?


JD338

 

[jimpecheur]

Jim,

I plan to start with the 180 gr. AccuBond, 200 gr. E-tip and 200 gr. combined technology ballistic tip.

As for the powder types and loads , I will be relying upon data from Nosler reloading manuals; primer selection
is dependent upon research data and recommendations from experienced reloaders like yourself.

Hunting deer and boar with the 338 is overkill since a large buck in our area would weigh +/- 200 lbs.
whilst we have taken boar as large as 300 lbs; both of these game animals can be seen in our largest fields with ranges exceeding 500 yds.

The main purpose for my newly rekindled interest in this caliber is just the sheer pleasure of medium
distance (200 - 600 yd.) range shooting while searching for maximum accuracy.

jimpecheur

 

[Richracer1]

Hey Jim, when you get around to loading for your RUM, give 7828SSC a try when working your 200ET load. 93gns of this powder was the ticket for mine.

 

[jimpecheur]

Richracer!,

Thank you for the data and I have entered the info in my new reloading log book.

By the way , I have been reviewing expert authored ( i.e. German A. Salazar ) articles re: the importance of primers w.r.t. cartridge accuracy.

Are match grade large magnum rifle primers worth the extra money ?

All things being equal , I should possess the RCBS 338RUM die set by 4 July and reloading can begin
shortly after this date; I still need to purchase the bullets, powders and primers from Midway USA.

Thanks,

Jimpecheur

 

[Richracer1]

Federal GM215, 210, & 205M primers are all I use. They're worth the few extra $$$, IMO.

 

[JD338]

Jim,

I plan to start with the 180 gr. AccuBond, 200 gr. E-tip and 200 gr. combined technology ballistic tip.

As for the powder types and loads , I will be relying upon data from Nosler reloading manuals; primer selection
is dependent upon research data and recommendations from experienced reloaders like yourself.

Hunting deer and boar with the 338 is overkill since a large buck in our area would weigh +/- 200 lbs.
whilst we have taken boar as large as 300 lbs; both of these game animals can be seen in our largest fields with ranges exceeding 500 yds.

The main purpose for my newly rekindled interest in this caliber is just the sheer pleasure of medium
distance (200 - 600 yd.) range shooting while searching for maximum accuracy.

jimpecheur

Jim,

Remember, there is no such thing as over kill. :wink:
The 338 RUM is very impressive on game.I have used the 210 gr PT on elk, black bear and mule deer and all were pole axed.
I agree with Rich, the GM215M primers are the way to go.

I ihave not used the 180 gr but I have used the 200 gr E-Tip and 200 gr BT and AB bullets.
Rich has had great luck with the 200 gr E-Tip so follow his lead there.
As for the 200 gr BST, try 90.0 grs RL 22. My best 4 shot group went .325" at 100 yds.
The 200 gr AB worked best with 92.0 grs RL 22 for a MV of 3200 fps. My best 3 shot group at 440 yds went 2.265", 2 were .507".

Let us know if you have any more questions, we are here to help. Keep us posted on your load development.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

That 200 AB at 3200 would have to be pretty fearsome and to be honest on just about everything. With the retention it has, I wouldn't be scared of putting it into about anything.