Posted on 01/03/2007 8:49:17 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
This is interesting. But I believe the date that this was published needs to be corrected -- the article was posted at Defense Review on November 30, 2003. Is that correct?
Looks to be sticking around. Not sure why this is a "press release". Most gun mags were on to this in late 04 early 05.
Not bad specs for a deer rifle either. The round should have a good civilian market as well. Someone will start putting it into lightweight, short-action bolt rifles.
May I see a picture of the round?
338 Lapua
If the pricing on the barret .50's is any indication, they will cost 4 times what they are worth.
Great round on paper. I'm currently in the process of building one and look forward to testing it out..
However, I doubt we will ever see adoption on a large scale by the military due to the logistics and politics involved. It's a shame as I feel it strikes just the right balance between 7.62x51 and 5.56x45. It's light enough to allow a soldier to carry numerous rounds and packs a great deal more power at closer range than the 5.56.
--the latest update of the 6mm Lee-Navy--sort of on the order of the Browning .22 that is a rimless .22 Hornet lite--
2003 is correct...
....what becomes of the .308? I've always thought of the 5.56 as a varmint round provided nothing was in the way.
My 'long range iron is in a 30-06 keeping in mind the widespread ammo availability.
I'd considered getting something in .308 due to the seeming military standardization, but this muddies the water.
What's the new strategy???
Might be too "hot" for military sniping, re: barrel throat burnout. Generally, for long barrel life at high precision, hot rounds are counterindicated.
A velocity of 2750 to 2850 fps is a right in line with the 30-06 and .308, and a lot less than the 5.56. Not really a hot cartridge at all. Shouldn't be particularly hard on barrels.
--here's a link to some people apparently making the ammo--
--http://www.ssarmory.com/
I have a 6.8 barrel for my T/C Contender rifle. Have already taken a 175 yd deer with it. The Encore can handle high pressure rounds, but not the Contender G2. The 6.8 gives me far better ballistics than the available 30-30.
308 (7.62x51) is not going anywhere anytime soon. Even though it is no longer the military's standard round, outside of LMGs and snipers, so many 308s exist in the civilian market that ammo will always be plentiful.
My strategy is to have at least two (preferably more) rifles in every major military caliber.
I wouldn't worry too much about 6.8. It's a great round but will never be adopted by the military so ammo will be scarce and expensive. It has developed a niche market among serious shooters and hobbyists but that's about it.
Stick with the widely available calibers - 7.62x51, 5.56x45, 7.62x39 and even 5.45x39.
That's for full length barrels, not for shorter carbines.
I found this article on the new round. It's good to see the old venerable .270 getting the military treatment after all these years but I don't believe the round will make any inroads into the hunting community since the performance looks almost identical to my .270 Win Savage.
I guess running out of ammo in the field and not being able to find the special stuff laying around.
Screw that.
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