Oldbloke wrote:This must be an expensive PITA.
Another good reason to just do what most people do. Buy off the shelf in a popular calibre.
Not really that expensive, just having issues with not having the right contacts to get the job done quickly.
Yes, it would be easier to buy a rifle off the shelf but it would also be easier just to buy beer from the bottle shop and knives from the camping store.....
I do like the idea of developing a new cartridge, even if just a tweak on someone else's design. If i can get it to achieve similar velocities to a 223rem with less than half the powder it will save money in the long run. That whole concept of doing more with less is very appealing. Had the die maker and reamer/go-gauge timed as planned, this thing would have been running 18 months ago at a total build cost of around $1300-1400 including reamer and dies. As it is, i am thinking of a 1:14 barrel to be better suited to 35-40gn bullets, so that will cost a bit more. It will be perfect for the pests i shoot and i reckon would make a great little fox rifle as well.
As it is, i still have it in 223rem and it cost me about $1000 to build. Not bad going for a rifle that plugs 5 rounds into less than 0.5moa at 300yds with 50gn bullets.