300 Norma Improved with Berger 245 LRHT

[Piercision Rifles]

So I built a brand new 300 Norma Improved for myself a few months back. I decided I wanted to get it as light as possible and still be able to spot hits. I went with the Bat Vesper action as it will enable the use of the 3.950 mags from Unknown Munitions as this will be built around the 245 Berger LRHT. I knew the LRHT bullets work on game based on previous experience from customers etc. The 245 LRHT is a very long bullet and has a BC of .846. That puts it way ahead of any other bullet out there that would also work on game. I throated the 8.5 tw 26" Benchmark Carbon Sendero way out there for the 245 berger. It won't fit in 3.770 mags unless its way off the lands. This would put it below the unsized portion of the neck, which I don't want. During barrel break in I put 100 rounds down the barrel with 245s and N570. During this time I shot at my 890 yd target in winds up to 25 MPH. Not one shot went out of elk vitals. No wind flags. I was very impressed with how well this 245 did in the wind.

After the barrel was done speeding up I did a powder charge test and noticed there was a mile wide node at 2900 fps. ES was 8 fps for a grain spread in powder. While its definitely not a fast load this combo still holds 1500 ft lbs of energy past 1500 yds at elk hunting altitudes. Brass will last over 20 firings no problem. A 300 gr berger cant beat this combo til its going 3000+ fps. With a little seating depth testing I found the sweet spot around .040 off. It shot a 3 shot group at 100 that measured .070". And has shot several 1/4 moa or better groups at 100 since then. At my 890 yd target it will hold 2-3" every time. At 1160 yds it was 4" vertical for 5 shots. We did shoot a group at 1905 yds that appeared to be right under 1 moa based on measuring with the reticle.

I did find that I had to put the NF ATACR on it to balance it out since I had a TBAC Dominus on the front end. Between putting the 4-20 ATACR on it and throwing the MDT bipod on it that set the bipod further forward it made this rifle track like a dream. A well balanced rifle is easy to shoot. Reticle hardly leaves the target during recoil. When it wasn't balanced properly it hopped all over due to being front heavy and the bipod a hair further back.

This rifle will be the one I grab for any hunt that has a chance of some longer shots on big game.

Rifle has the following parts:
Bat Vesper
Manners Pro Hunter in high plains camo
Benchmark 26" 8.5 tw with 1.250 shank
Triggertech Diamond set at 1.5 lbs
Unknown Munitions Bottom metal and Mags
NF ATACR 4-20
TBAC Dominus SR
MDT Lightweight Double Pull bipod

Rifle is 7 lbs 12 oz without suppressor, optics or bipod.
10 lbs 3 oz with NF 4-20 ATACR and no suppressor or bipod.

Lead times on builds are 6 months right now. Parts are on the shelf.
Finishing up a pile of builds in the next month for customers so that will make room for more builds.

 

[Piercision Rifles]

Well yesterday was the calm before the snow storm. Wind was fairly calm so I decided to test out a node with the NEW 22" barrel 300 norma improved and the Berger 245 gr LRHT. There was two nodes that were each over a half grain wide. 2760 fps and 2795-2800 fps. The lower node didn't shoot near as good as the upper node. I shot 3 shots of the upper node into 1.6"/.171 moa@890 yds and it had .82"/.088 moa vertical. When I did the ladder test this powder charge also impacted the same spot on the target as the charge right next to it. As a side note the 245 LRHT impacted at the same spot vertically at 900 yds from a velocity window of 2765-2810 fps. So the harmonic node is a mile wide as is the powder charge window. Seeing as this is a very mild load the brass will last 30+ firings. At 2800 fps this 245 berger has about the same amount of wind drift and energy at 1000 as a 215 gr berger with a muzzle velocity of 3200 fps. After 1000 the 245 pulls ahead. I cant hit 3200 fps with a 215 unless its in a 26" barrel and the top node of n570. Im using a mild load of n570 with this 245 lrht and a 22" barrel. For a comparison to a 6.5 prc and 156 berger the 245 gr has as much energy at 1000 as the 156 berger at around 350 yds

For a compact suppressed long range big game hammer I think this combo really cant be beat. Recoil with the Silencero Hybrid 46 and a 30 cal anchor brake on the end makes it super easy to spot hits with. The brake on the end of the suppressor makes a huge difference in recoil reduction. Was noticeably less recoil than when the 338 ultra suppressor was on it. Itll be interesting to try out the TBAC SR magnus S RR when it gets here in a few weeks.

 

[Flyjunky]

If you wanted to push these bullets what velocities are you seeing on the upper end? Anyone getting good results in the 2950+ that you know of?

 

[Piercision Rifles]

If you wanted to push these bullets what velocities are you seeing on the upper end? Anyone getting good results in the 2950+ that you know of?

That wouldn't be a problem in a 26" barrel. I have customers pushing em at 3000 fps

 

[Mike D Texas]

This is pretty much the exact combo I’ve put together with the barrel I got from you.


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