B-17 Bomber - Savage T/A .458 Brux- 100/500 yards

[Deleted]

Cheesy name I know, I took it from the fact that the barrel is a .458 Brux 1-17 twist... Hence...B-17 Bomber



Savage T/A
31" Brux .458 1:17 twist
Hart LRT stock with a Whidden aluminum block bedded into it
Nightforce 20 MOA base and Ultra Light rings
Sightron SIII 10-50x 60mm
Harrel brake
Factory Savage target trigger
Swing Lock Full form die
17.8 lbs with scope
No Savage barrel nut, it is a shouldered barrel
209 CCI-M primers
.041" T-100 bushing
No boosters were used with these loads
1-2 hands of loading pressure

I finally got a chance to shoot the gun a little today.
I shot (2) different bullets today.
1) 310 APBs .458 Full formed
2) 327 MHs .451 Land riders

I fooled around getting the bullet sizing in the ball park and shot (2) 3-shot groups with each bullet.

The 310 APBs I shot with IMR 4831 and H4350.
IMR4831 likes a heavier bullet, so the ES's were a little bigger than a guy would like to see.
The ES's with H4350 were pretty good , but the wind was picking up when I shot that group in the upper right hand corner and you can see it by how the group is strung out horizontally.

I started out shooting the 327 MHs without wads to see how the gun shot.
The powder ignition was fine, but the ES's and accuracy was lack luster.
I believe this is from the fact that IMR4831 is a very slow burning powder in a .458 and the .451 land rider bullet wasn't obturating as fast as it would with a 4198. So gasses were probably escaping around the .451 bullet before it fully swelled to fill the bore.
Once I used the wads with the 327 MHs the ES's tightened up and so did the accuracy.




And yes Richard...I had to save the wallet group for last...



500 yards: 327 MH @ 3070 fps

[12ptdroptine]

Very cool.....more pics please?

[muzzleman 54]

Great looking gun !

[Deleted]

Very cool looking rifle!

[rambler]

That's a really tough looking rig!!

[fishhawk]

You do know a yard is 3 feet? WOW!

[Deleted]

That's a beast, and a nice looking one. Great trigger work Josh.

[rambler]

If that barrel is 31" how long was it originally to get a barrel drop??

[Richard]

Josh..............Very nice rifle and love the wallet group!
Richard

[Jon]

Impressive gun and groups

[Deleted]

great looking rig and its showing some great promise.

[Deleted]

Awesome build! Really like the stock and love the groups!

[7mmfreak]

That gun is awesome and that is great trigger pulling! This may be a stupid question but did you bed the V-block or barrel shank? I only ask because a couple of my guys had guns built on Manners stocks with the V-block mini-chassis and Accurate Ordnance insisted on bedding them. They shoot great but that prevents using them as switch action stocks. I have never bedded V-blocks but am curious as to what you did.

[Deleted]

Wow what a 500 yard group!

[kralik4jr]

Beautiful gun and great shooting as usual Josh!!!

[Deleted]

Thanks guys!
7mmfreak, I didn't bed the action or barrel.
Rambler, I think the barrel started out as a 33" blank.

[7mmfreak]

Cool. I'm considering putting a Whidden block in a McMillan A3 for a switch acton stock for the SML guns. I use one right now in the KRG chassis (same gun in the Bushnell HDMR review I just posted in the equipment section) and have done pretty well with that rifle. Are you using that stock as a slave for several of your target actions or are you using the target action as a switch barrel rig and just using the one action in the stock. I'm still trying to solidify my opinion on switching actions in a v-block/chassis but so far I think it works fine. No need for bedding action or barrel in my experience thus far.

[rambler]

Dec 27, 2014 23:18:47 GMT -5 Earnhardt said:

Thanks guys!
7mmfreak, I didn't bed the action or barrel.
Rambler, I think the barrel started out as a 33" blank.

I really like that gun.   That is a long barrel, I bet you'll be able to work up some vicious velocities with that bad boy

[bigmoose]

You must be much man to tote that rifle in the field, now thats were a gun porter would come in handy.
Good looking rifle and fine shooting
Good luck

Marty

[jims]

A good name, the B17 delivered.

[rambler]

Earnhardt:   This would be appropriate head gear when shooting with this unit: 

[deadeye]

since the rifle is balanced(butt outside of rest) //any weight added in the butt stock for balance? also what contour# is that barrel?

nice shooting again!

[Deleted]

Dec 28, 2014 10:39:12 GMT -5 deadeye said:

since the rifle is balanced(butt outside of rest) //any weight added in the butt stock for balance? also what contour# is that barrel?

nice shooting again!

deadeye, I didn't put any weight in the stock.
The barrel contour is 1.25" for 8" then a straight taper to 1" at the muzzle.

[dannoboone]

That is some fantastic shooting with one beautiful rifle!
Length of that barrel makes my 28"ers look like carbines!

[7mmfreak]

Josh,

Given the Barrel OD you mentioned to Deadeye (and from the looks of the picture) you did away with the barrel nut, yes?

[Deleted]

Dec 28, 2014 12:27:29 GMT -5 7mmfreak said:

Josh,

Given the Barrel OD you mentioned to Deadeye (and from the looks of the picture) you did away with the barrel nut, yes?

Yes the barrel is a shouldered barrel, so there isn't a barrel nut. (I'll add that in the info above, thanks)

[7mmfreak]

Dec 28, 2014 13:23:39 GMT -5 Earnhardt said:

Yes the barrel is a shouldered barrel, so there isn't a barrel nut.

I like your style.

[airborneike]

Josh,

Nice to see the B-17 take flight and not a bit surprised with the results.

Any problems with the system?

Best,

Mike

[Deleted]

Mike, everything works great!!!

[markb317]

Very nice looking gun and great shooting, I like the longer barrels also for more velocity.