[braindead0]

A friend is building a roughly 6 pound .338 Lapua bolt action rifle (not sure who it's for). Everybody seemed scared of the idea, I said I'd shoot it...

Perhaps I'm nuts... I've shot 03-A3 with pretty stiff loads and the original steel butt, 7mm Rem Mag, .270 Wby Mag and I can shoot 12ga 3" magnum slugs all day (albeit with some soreness)...

I suspect this'll kick my hind end, but I'll try anything once :what:

[bogie]

Couldn't pay me...

[Mike Irwin]

A 10 pound .338 Lapua kicks like a freaking freight train with a mule on the back.

No way in hell would I light off a 6 pounder unless it had a muzzle brake.

[braindead0]

Hmm, perhaps I should be strapped in for this.. I suspect it'll have a muzzle break on it..but we'll see...

Luckily I've got good health insurance ;-)

[treeprof]

Depending on the load, you're looking at >60 to abt 85 ft lbs of recoil in a 6 lb rifle.

[Mornard]

Yes...yes you are.

That is not just my opinion. (In my younger days I tried a featherweight 300 Weatherby Magnum - NOT a good idea...)

[Kobun]

Just make sure you have a video camera when you fire it. :D
If things don't work out, you can be a Darwin Award candidate. :p

[braindead0]

I'll make sure my wife tapes it... good thing I weigh 260# or that could probably launch me into orbit!

I suppose this'll call for in-ear hearing protection (so as to not break my muffs) and a cheap pair of eye-gear...in case they go...

You guys are scaring me ;-)...

Would it be worse than a .577 T-Rex? I've seen the videos of that, quite fun(ny).

[Steve Smith]

Not for me!



Yes, IMHO it will be worse than the .577T becuase it will be a much shorter duration kick rather than a strong, hard push.

[Mute]

Picking a fight with Mike Tyson might be safer.

[foghornl]

Hmmmm

After firing the 6-lb .338 Lapua, and still in masochistic test mode, try this one...take a working table lamp, unscrew the bulb, and stick your tongue in the socket to see if you get shocked.

I suspect the "Kicks" will be about the same.

Seriously, I DO NOT advocate the 'lamp test'

[braindead0]

120v isn't anywhere near what folks here are describing... Now if the table lamp was 220 or so..that might be fun.

Has anybody here ever shot something similar? Or are these warnings just anecdotal and/or hypothesis?

Just curious if anyone has actually shot something similar...and survived.. ooh maybe they're all dead.

[genie]

you're a brave man, yup.

i classify this type of activity as kinda similar to eating unholy spicy hot wings...:D an adrenaline rush to be sure!

[ShaiVong]

I've fired 3" 12ga slugs out of a 3# stevens POS, is that compairable? Spun me 180 degrees :uhoh:

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Have to mention eye relief----if its being scoped up---get one with LOTS and LOTS of eye relief-----otherwise post pics of your nice shiner ......aka scope eye.

[braindead0]

If there's a scope on it, he'll be removing it before I fire.. I may be slightly crazy..but not stooopid ;-)

[HankL]

I've shot my friends 338 Lapua a few times. Not sure what it weighs in at but being built up on an Enfield action with moderately heavy barrel it's quite a bit more than 6 lbs. I would guess around 11 with scope, recoil reducer, muzzle break and recoil pad. Quite impressive to say the least!
I like to shoot it better than his 416 Rigby though.

[braindead0]

I've shot my friends 338 Lapua a few times. Not sure what it weighs in at but being built up on an Enfield action with moderately heavy barrel it's quite a bit more than 6 lbs. I would guess around 11 with scope, recoil reducer, muzzle break and recoil pad. Quite impressive to say the least!

Now that's not too totally scary.. I shot a very light aluminum and titanium 12GA pistol grip shotgun, with 3" magnums...once...and only once...

[coldshot03/04]

Yep, You're nuts.:D

[braindead0]

I'll post a report..as soon as I shoot it (and recover of course).. Not sure when he'll have it ready to test fire....

[Kestryll]

I don't know about firing the rifle but I can DEFINITLY attest to the fact that you are nuts!!! :p

Just seat it properly on your shoulder, lean into it, relax and have your friend brace you from the back with 2x4s!

Good luck and may the Schwartz be with you!!

[dakotasin]

no, you are not crazy and in fact, i wish the rifle were being built for me. recoil isn't that big of a deal...

i've touched off a 6 pound 12 ounce 338 win mag, complete w/ leupold vx-3 2.5-8x. i'm seriously contemplating having a 338 rum built that will weigh in at 6.5 - 7 pounds...recoil doesn't last forever. the pain is momentary. yeah, you'll get bruised, but that goes away in a week or so and doesn't hurt while it is there...

these are not the kind of rifles you sit down to a bench w/ and shoot string after string after string on. these are rifles that get shot 10-15 times per week, and then in the fall they are carried (by hand) for the bulk of the time, and fired once, maybe twice. here is where weight is paramount - and lightweight rifles carry so nice...

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Dakota-

The .338 Lapua and .338 RUM are quite a bit more than the .338 Win.

Be carefull what you ask for---you just might get it.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

[Steve Smith]

One thing I'd suggest is that you fire it standing, not from a bench.

[uglygun]

NAW, SHOOT FROM THE PRONE!



Shudder the thought...

[HankL]

My friend has fired the Lapua from the bench enough to get the scope zeroed to his satisfaction. Three shots is what I recall him taking before being satisfied. :) He has a bipod for it and was fully intending to use it on an occasion but the grass was too high for him to see through the scope.

I have no idea of what the customer has in mind but on a #6 rifle a muzzle brake wouldn't add any real weight if muzzle blast redirection wasn't a problem.

Braindead, you are a large enough person where this thing should not hurt you much if you do your part shouldering and firing it as long as your friend is 100% in his putting together a 6# rifle around a very intense cartridge.

Let us know how it works out. BTW I'm 5'9" and 145# If I can do it with an 11# rifle you know that you can do it with one that weighs only 5# less.
Your weight is 1.8 of mine and the rifle I shot is 1.8 heaver than the one your friend is building. Should be perfect right.

Best Regards,

[Chugach]

Hmmm...

You're a big guy, but I'm with Steve Smith. I'd be concerned about a detached retina.

What barrel length? Gonna be loud, right? Too bad you can't get muffs over muffs.

[ShaiVong]

Jump and shoot it a the same time, see how far you go :p

[AnchorYanker23]

Jesus, a 6# 338 Lapua? this is just sick.:what:

[braindead0]

Yes, I'll be doing it standing, leaning waaaay forward.. probably with leather gloves (better grip, in case I start sweating)..etc..

I may end up with cheap muffs over plugs (in case the stock bashes the muff, I'll not care).

Haven't even seen the rifle, it's supposed to be done soon.. may even be shooting it tonight.. There will be a full report, along with pictures/video ;-)

You gnow, we've got these all terrain carts (kinda like little red wagons with big tires).. perhaps I should sit on one of those and fire... get two E-ticket rides for one!

[blue86buick]

wow...that sounds like fun. The worst/most fun I've shot is a .45-70, although I have no idea what load it was. After seeing that page, I want to get one though!

(gun) .45-70 : (load) 500gr at 1700fps : (weight lbs) 8.5 : (ft/lbs) 41.1 : (acceleration) 17.7 :D

[max popenker]

i've fired .300 win mag from 7lbs Merkel K1 kipplauf (break-open single-shot rifle). of cause, there were NO muzzle brake (can you imagine one on kipplauf, anyway)? 2 shots were well enough for my shoulder, which gave me pains for next 2 days.

6lbs rifle in .338 lapua... you need a very good muzzle brake and a decent health insurance program, IMHO.

[falconer]

braindead0,


I want to know when you are going to shoot this. This is something I gotta see. Just remember, what are a redneck's last words? "Hey Y'all come watch this."

[braindead0]

I'm not sure that I'll have any warning what-so-ever about when it's done.. It'll just show up at one of our matches, or Thursday night shoots... ;-)

There will be Video though, assuming I don't forget the camera.

[Preacherman]

I'd suggest a PAST recoil shield on your shoulder (or two, or three, or...) :what:

[braindead0]

I'm actually going to wear my motorcycle jacket, the shoulder areas have heavy padding, and kevlar + padding + plastic plates on the arms.. not only will it cushion the recoil, it should also protect me if I should happen to fall over backwards (with rifle in front so I can protect it with my body ;-)

[Kestryll]

Which motorcycle jacket?
I just picked up a Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket and this thing rocks!
Almost transparent to air but armoured on the shoulders, spine and arms.
Just because they don't quite match I almost regret getting the Alpinestars SP-3 gloves. Almost, they are Alpinestars after all!

How much 'home design work' does this jacket have?

[Sunray]

You aren't no. Your buddy on the other hand....he owns it. I'd almost bet he'll dump it after his first two shots. Mind you, if you are the one who takes said shots then, we'll all point and laugh for sure.

[braindead0]

Which motorcycle jacket? I forget the brand, they no longer make them.. no mods of any kind, it's just the way it came.
You aren't no. Your buddy on the other hand....he owns it. I don't actually know who it's for, I just know the gunsmith that's building it...

[Futo Inu]

I'm with Steve S. - fire it standing, not sitting, preferably with a stiff pad of some sort behind the buttstock to more evenly distribute the recoil - go with the flow, to some extent; don't try to brace against any recoil, if that makes sense. Prone would get you broken collarbone and/or separated shoulder in all likelihood - not good. Dunno about the force required to detach a retina - prolly depends on your age and state of general tissue strength/health, as well as the position/method of shooting. Any docs here? I would say just hold your neck a little loosey-goosey, so that the impact is not immediately distributed through a stiff/braced neck, up to the eyes.

Reminds me of an article in a gun rag one time when they came out with the .460 Weatherby Mag. Ol' boy gunwriter sits in a child's red wagon while firing, then measures the distance the wagon traveled with recoil. Can't remember the distance, but I believe it was between 2 and 4 feet - and he was a largish man.

"..satisfied after 3 shots..." :) Tee hee. Oh, now what was the username of the thread starter again? :D

[Atticus]

From Chuck Hawks:
"The recoil and muzzle blast of a .338 Lapua Magnum rifle shooting a 225 grain bullet at a MV of 3000 fps is fierce. According to the "Rifle Recoil Table" the shooter with a 9.5 pound rifle is looking at 37.2 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. Loads with heavier bullets will kick even more. It is strongly recommended that any .338 Lapua rifle be equipped with an efficient muzzle brake, and that the rifle be fired only when the shooter is wearing maximum hearing protection."


Sounds like plugs and muffs might be a good idea. Looking forward to the video...you might become an internet legend (hmmm..could be good, or bad?)

[artherd]

Double up on GOOD plugs AND muffs.

And use lots and lots of *elastic* material to dampen recoil on the way to your shoulder.

Hold your body slack, do not 'expect' the recoil and tense. (your slack muscles will elongate and slowly absorb all recoil. Tense muscles can tear.) Hold it almost like you are drunk. That's the kind of elasticity you want.


Lastly, let your friend take 3 shots first! If he lives, try it! ;)

[kentucky bucky]

To shoot it prone!!!!:what:

[ProCharger]

When is this rifle suppose to be complete.....I wanna hear the details on this.

Brett

[Sven]

:what:

[theCZ]

A good laugh-getter would be to have a trigger on that 338 like on my 8mm mauser, one that you pull forever. After mine heats up, that steel butt feels mighty nice especially after the agony of pulling the trigger forever. Try as I might I can't help myself from flinching with that one, good luck with your Don Quixote like quest.

[seeker_two]

braindead: What did your shoulder ever do to you to make you hate it so much?...:scrutiny:

[Glamdring]

IIRC Ross Seyfried made a 7.5 lbs 416 Taylor on a Blaser action back when he was a PH. His reasoning was that it was carried far more than it was shot. He used to stop at least one Lion.

[braindead0]

I'm still waiting to shoot it.. I think it's mostly ready to do, just the weather has been nasty and the owner may decide that it should never be shot ;-)

[BryanP]

Does the phrase "Not this little black duck" mean anything to you?

Not even if I were wearing a suit of armor. Me big wuss-boy, yes me am.

[Kestrel]

Would this 6# .338 Lapua kick more or less than a .458 Lott in a 9.5# rifle?

Thanks,
Steve

[Balog]

Hmmmm, how would the recoil on this puppy compare to that of a 20mm Solothurn?

[cratz2]

Ha! I missed this thread the first time around...

Worst rifle I've ever shot was a 300 Win Mag that I think weighed just under 6 lbs with the scope... No brake. One of the custom builders like Brown but it wasn't a Brown. Now, I'm not what I would call recoil sensitive. I've shot most reasonable cartridges but this thing... The 300 was just so fast of a jolt, plus not only to lightweight rifles not absorb the recoil, they don't slow the recoil velocity down as much as heavier rifles. I don't think I have any eye damage but when I shot it, it felt like my cheek had frostbite and everything went red for probably 10 seconds. I don't think I opened my eyes for a couple seconds, but when I did, everything was red. I blinked a couple times and colors started coming back to where they should be. It was a really nasty experience.

I think I remember reading in one of the gun rags (might have been written by Boddington) about someone just starting out in the Marine sniper training. There was a 50 available and someone was talking about the recoil of it with the muzzle brake. The guy said he would shoot it without the muzzle brake and proceded to do so... Prone! Pushed him back against the ground a couple feet, broke his collar bone... couldn't finish sniper school and whoever wrote the article said that as much as they put into these guys, even if he could have physically completed the training, they probably wouldn't have let him. They train these guys not to do stupid things and that was a very stupid thing.

A 338 Lapua in anything less than probably 9 lbs would be just about intolerable in my book and I agree that it would probably be worse than an 11 lb .577 due to the speed of the recoil. That's definately a rifle that you will want to bore-sight before going out because unless it is braked with a very effecient brake, I can't see anyone being able to put more than three rounds through it in a day. I guess you could get about six shooters together and each takes a shot and then makes the adjustment...

This is truly a thread to use this smilie -----> :what:

[Sven]

Dude, don't shoot it.

[Mike Irwin]

"The guy said he would shoot it without the muzzle brake and proceded to do so... Prone! Pushed him back against the ground a couple feet, broke his collar bone..."

I'm actually sort of surprised that it didn't collapse the shoulder socket and pneumo-thorax his stupid behind, too.

The simple fact that he shot it prone, instead of upright from a bench, may also have saved him from a serious neck injury, possibly even death. The neck can take a lot, but that kind of rotational force is a little much.

There's a reason why there are muzzlebrakes on .50s -- because they generate over 6 TONS of energy at the muzzle (military .50 BMG loads are in the 12.5K ft. lb. range).

[ProCharger]

just curious....whats that convert to in terms of recoil?

[Mike Irwin]

According to the calculator on Handloads.com, and guessing on a few things:

Bullet weight - 720 grains (Ball M2)

Velocity - 2810 fps (Cartridges of the World)

Powder Charge - I'm guessing here, but I figure a case that large, 120 grains?

Weight of firearm - Another guess, but I'm throwning in 20 pounds.

That calculates out to a free recoil energy of 99.28 ft. lbs.

That sounds low to me, but I just ran a 150-gr. .30-06 at 2900 fps. with 51 grains of powder in a 9 pound rifle and it returned 14.4 ft. lbs.

[ProCharger]

with a 750 GR. bullet from what i looked up on a reloading chart 233.0 grains of H50BMG powder gets you 2800 fps....

233 grains of powder!!! lord that numbers gotta be low....

[Mike Irwin]

230 grains of powder?

That is going to make a BIG difference...

Just under 140 ft. lbs. free recoil energy.

That's a lot more along the lines I was thinking.

[Art Eatman]

"Am I nuts?"

Only if you shoot it. If you do, there should be a musical accompaniment, and my suggestion is "The Masochism Tango".

:D, Art

[artherd]

Just under 140 ft. lbs. free recoil energy.


From: http://www.chuckhawks.com/50BMG.htm


The "Rifle Recoil Table" shows that a shooter with a 30 pound .50 BMG rifle firing a 750 grain bullet at a MV of 2800 fps delivers a crushing 94.8 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. That is undoubtedly why every .50 BMG rifle I have ever seen is equipped with a muzzle brake.


The brakes however, with so very much powder to work with, do quite an effective job I am told, eating over 70% of the recoil energy.

That brings the .50BMG back down to 28.2lbs of recoil energy in a 30lb rifle, not too shabby at all for one *hell* of a whallop, at any range. .30-06 is about 20ft/lbs of recoil in a 9lb rifle.

Make sure that brake is on there tight :)


Oh, also from: http://www.chuckhawks.com/338_Lapua.htm


The recoil and muzzle blast of a .338 Lapua Magnum rifle shooting a 225 grain bullet at a MV of 3000 fps is fierce. According to the "Rifle Recoil Table" the shooter with a 9.5 pound rifle is looking at 37.2 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. Loads with heavier bullets will kick even more. It is strongly recommended that any .338 Lapua rifle be equipped with an efficient muzzle brake, and that the rifle be fired only when the shooter is wearing maximum hearing protection.

Note this is a MUCH heavier rifle (that 3lbs matters!)

[George Hill]

My clavical hurts...

[MeekandMild]

6 pound .338 Lapua, am I nuts? That pretty much sums it up. Could you make a movie of your results and post it on the internet? Maybe do it in black and white so the blood won't offend the kiddies.

[bogie]

Remember that the pleasure from being able to show the video to your friends while you're recouperating in the hospital will only last a short while, but stuff like detached retinas tends to be permanent...

[Mike Irwin]

ArtHerd,

I was figuring a 20 pound rifle in the computations that I made. I've NO clue what a .50 BMG rifle weighs.

I shot one many years ago and remember thinking that the recoil wasn't all that bad for what the cartridge could do, so you're right, the muzzle brakes work like troopers.

[Navy joe]

Hmm, the original poster hasn't gotten back to us. Maybe the bloodhounds are out looking for bits of his shoulder?

[HankL]

Hmm, the original poster hasn't gotten back to us. Maybe the bloodhounds are out looking for bits of his shoulder?
He's still posting here with or without shoulder.

[braindead0]

There will most definately be a video clip outt this.. I don't know when.. and I'll be certainly wearing my heavily padded and armored motorcycle jacket.. it's got enough on the shoulders to help out .. and if I go down the plastic plates will help out a lot ;-)

[Gewehr98]

I passed up buying that Colt Light Rifle in 7mm Remington Magnum. Ouch. :(

[MeekandMild]

I was kidding about wanting a video. It still makes me cringe to remember the one with that little Pakistani guy testing the elephant rifle. He probably never recovered. :uhoh:

You need to take this s*** seriously. A guy can have permanent injury to the nerves of the neck or bleed to death from internal injuries if they tear the blood vessels that go to the shoulder. :scrutiny:

[M1911Owner]

Dude, you'd have to be brain dead to shoot that thing! :what:

[ProCharger]

I had to bring this back up......any news on this gun/shooter?

[MLC]

I predict something along these lines (http://www.serveroptions.com/humor/dariush.mpg)

[only1asterisk]

I think it will look more like this: http://www.serveroptions.com/humor/40.mpg


If I can't kill it with a 338 Win Mag I don't think a 338 Lapua will help.

David

[MLC]

That was the one I was looking for.
Rather amusing.
The fellow with the bloody nose got a new respect for firearms.

[patentnonsense]

Besides retinal damage, I believe you can also get nerve problems in your cervical vertebrae which will end your shooting career. I'm not sure of the medical details, but Donald Hamilton was one notable example.

Typical 50BMG rifle weights run around 30 lbs for anything that's going to be carried - the Marine Corps sniper rifle (from some company whose name I can never remember, KMT or some such) actually has a detachable barrel, so the spotter can hump half the load.

There are "funsie 50s" which are lighter, but you'll notice they tend to have really short barrels - less bullet energy hence less recoil energy. (I've heard that 50BMG cartridge and loadings were originally developed for the 45" barrel length, so lengths below 36 mean that a huge amount of energy is wasted.)

Recoil energy is nearly proportional to muzzle energy times the ratio of bullet weight to total gun weight. (I say nearly proportional because this ignores any disproportion between propellant mass and muzzle energy.) This rule of thumb isn't precise, but lets you get a quick idea.

Just for fun I ran my own recoil tables with some military rounds which have been shoulder-fired at one time or another -

If we take a 55-grain load in .223 as a baseline (ME=1280 ft-lb), then we get the following rough numbers for how kick scales up with bigger and/or hotter rounds:

.308: 7 times as much, for equal weight guns;

.338 Lapua: 17 times as much, for equal weight guns;

.458 Win Mag: 36 times as much;

and then it gets fun: taking ME and bullet weights for some military cartridges, we get

for a sample ball load in 50 BMG, 117 times as much; (i.e. a 50BMG rifle would have to weigh 120 pounds to kick as little as a 7-pound .308);

Steyr's 15.2 AMR was a proposed NATO anti-material rifle which would have fired a tungsten dart, and I think was planned as a two-man weapon of some sort: >200 times as much;

the Russian 14.5x114 (a WW2 antitank-rifle round): >300 times as much:

for 20x82 (the MG151 cartridge, which I think is the 20mm round the Lahti and Solothurn rifles fired): >500 times as much;

and, just to be totally outrageous: somebody has offered reloading dies for 23x115NS, which is an aircraft cannon round, and if anybody were insane enough to put this into a rifle it would kick more than 1300 times as much as the 223!

Following are the bullet and ME values I used to figure this:

cartridge grains ME kick energy (scaled to .223)
223 55 1280 1
308 180 2745 7
338L 250 5007 18
458 510 4945 36
50 BMG 662 12488 117
14.5x114 980 22360 311
15.2 AMR 540 27225 209
20x82 1698 21090 509
23x115NS 2699 35446 1359

Thinking about these big rounds is entertaining - but firing a 6-lb .338 Lapua prone - now that's scary!
----------------------------------------------

[only1asterisk]

MLC,

I thought that might be the case, it's everyones favorite. In case anyone out there doesn't know the videos above and a hundred more can be found at accuratereloading.com They once had a thriving forum, but now you have to fight the trolls of with a stick.


david

[braindead0]

I'll not be firing it prone, that's for sure. I can't wait.. but it's snowy and nasty.. and nobody wants to shoot ;-)..

Like I said, this will be videotaped (even if I don't get to take the first shot, the owner may get crazy.. he is a base-jumper after all.. what's a widdle boom boom)

[cratz2]

Yeah, all else aside, there's no way in HELL I'd be the first to shoot it. :D

Let the owner take the first few shots, then maybe another guy. If they are both still looking straight ahead and their eyes haven't turned compeltely red with blood, I might take the next shot.

[SunBear]

Anybody got a ballistic table handy? I wa thinking the 338 Lapua was roughly equivalent to the 340 Weatherby in velocity. Happy trails.

[only1asterisk]

The 338 Lapua has more usable case capacity than the 340 weatherby. Weatherby factory numbers have some air in them. The 340 will do an honest 2825-2875 with a 250 grainer the Laupa will pick up another 100-150 fps in a 26" barrel.

The recoil will be nothing to sneeze at, but I don't think it will detach retinas. It may cause an nasty flinch. I think I'd rather shoot a 9lb 458 Winchester.

David

[artherd]

.338 Lapua was designed to, and achives, 3000fps from a 250grain bullet. (I belive from a 26" barrel)

[Wryfox]

Had my fun with big magnums (300wthby, 30-378wthby, 50bmg) and in last year have gone back to 308 for all manner of fun, particularly competition. BIg guns are fun for a while but they do wear on you. Got tired of my shoulder being sore all the time.

Got over the big magnum handgun thing too, that was by necessity after permenently damaging my right wrist with a 454 revolver. Thank goodness it's only big bores that aggravate it (unfortunately includes 45ACP), so I'm just dandy happy with my new fun in 38 super.

[Balog]

So, have you shot that bugger yet braindead0?

[braindead0]

I wish, I think they were just teasing... :banghead:

I know the rifle is done, ammo is ready.. I'm ready.. Perhaps one of our thursday night shoots I'll have a chance to rip a few...

gotta remember to bring the video camera.. for sure...

[mimikamimi]

Just curious, what is the load? I shoot a custom Rem. 700 .30-.338
with a load of 73 grains of reloader22 pushing a 180 grain nosler ballistic tip. it has a break, but is not that bad to shoot. Don,t get me wrong I don't take it to the range to shoot 50 rounds, but it is awesome. The bear I hit last year not only never knew what hit him, but the rounds energy also knocked every drop of water off of him. It is nice when a rifle not only kills the animal, but dries the coat for you also. Just make sure you plant that thing in your shoulder good. Have him put a mercury switch in it, or at least a limbsaver pad on it. :uhoh: :uhoh: :uhoh:

[braindead0]

Not sure about the loads, if I remember correctly they're about 10-15% shy of full power.

[p8riot]

I fired a 45/70 Derringer ........................once.

[braindead0]

Turns out Bill (the owner) and a couple of friends shot it a few weeks ago, so much for me getting first shot.

He claimed it wasn't as bad as shooting a .308.. if that was the case I'd guess the loads were very light.

Oh well, it was fun anticipating the fun, perhaps sometime he'll want to crank out some full-power loads ;-)

[falconer]

Why am I not surprised to find out Bill was the one who had that rifle built. He seems to be a pretty cool guy, and he sure doesn't slouch when it comes to building a range!

[braindead0]

So true, just wait until we get Steel-Rain all in order, things outta be hopping ;-)

the Lapua was actually his brothers I think, never completed.. so he had Dave L. finish it up for him.

[artherd]

He claimed it wasn't as bad as shooting a .308.. if that was the case I'd guess the loads were very light.

If the rifle has a good brake, I belive it.

My Armalite AR-30 .338LM recoils kind of like a light .243, thanks to the huge brake.

[tex_n_cal]

I believe somebody built a 6 lb .375 H&H a few years ago. I don't think it actually matches the LM, but it should be close...

My .375 weighs about 8.5 lbs with scope, and with full power loads, 285's at 2600 fps, it's all I care to handle from the bench.