1:12" twist on the factory barrel that is the 32"-long-heavy-barrel version. 25 lbs and 50" overall for the rifle, a bullpup M99 single-shot bolt action, the most accurate Barrett in either 50 BMG or .416 Barrett.

Not bad for factory stuff. Triggerman yours truly. Reloading dies are available from Lee.

Here are the first 5 shots fired using the Barrett factory ammo and a Barrett M99 with a Bushnell scope, fixed 10X with mildot reticle. This is a factory package that has promise. It came already factory-bore-sighted this close:


BTW, I like this target pattern a lot. One could duplicate this with a color copier, centered on an 8.5"x10" piece of white paper.

Perfect for everything out to 1000-yards.
We would hope to challenge the 50-BMG out there, with the .416 Barrett, and keep all shots inside the black square, after the barrel is broken in and before it wears out.

Now will Rob want to take me to the woodshed over that suggested challenge of the 50 BMG?


Barrett site: www.barrettrifles.com/rifle_99.aspx


Compliments of www.municion.org :

Yaaaaaawn.........

Is that all you guys can come up with??

What does it do at 1000 yards in three shot groups 20 seconds apart?

My out of the box .460 MK V shoots that well.

Brother Bear Head,
Thanks for coming to play.

Yes, I used to own a Japanese-made Weatherby Mark V Custom Deluxe in 460 Weatherby that I would get out about once a year and shoot a few 1/2" 3-shot groups at 100 yards with it. Accurate right out of the box with integral Pilkington Dekicker muzzle brake, and using a handload of 115 grains of IMR-4350 and Hornady RNSP's. That was "Pilkington" wasn't it?

I shot a water buffalo with that rifle using factory ammo that was doing 2650 fps with the 500-grain soft point that looked like a Hornady RNSP.

The water buffalo was hit broadside in the lungs at 50 yards. It just stood there, did not move, but it did look kind of sick and was dripping blood from both nostrils.

I finally got tired of that so I took my .375 H&H from my gunbearer, who was a Pfizer drug rep named "Lemuel," and I shot the water buffalo in the neck, dropping it as if thunderstruck by the 300-grain Swift A-frame.

I never could find any of the factory 460Wby bullet fragments in all that mess when I hurriedly skinned that water buffalo with the assistance of good ol' Lemuel. I think that bullet plumb disintegrated.

One day I will post a 1000-yard target for three shots fired in a little longer than 20-seconds with the .416 Barrett.

This was off the shelf factory ammo in the .416 Barrett, handloads might do better, especially with something like the GSC SP.

Why the 20 second requirement for such shooting? I can probably get off one good shot in 20 seconds, and one good shot is what is usually needed, with this kind of rifle, eh?
And then another ... and another ...

The GSC SP .416/420-grainer is second from left here:



Extreme left is the .510/720-grain SP for 50 BMG.

Third from left is the .408/385-grain SP for the .408 Chey-Tac.

The .395/340-grainer is fourth from left, a big seller ... NOT ... not yet.

Did you ever locate your missing bullet maker?

Those are most attractive projectiles Herr RIP!

So my .460 is a USA made custom and likes to eat 118 x RL15 and Barnes X 500's. Never shot anything but cellulo-saurus with it so couldn't tell you what that recipe would do to a Water Ox. Doubt he would be upright after a broadside.

What are those bug GSC's costing per 100 and how do you get them from the RSA to Upper BogMoorfordshire where you are?

It depends on how hard The Black Hole in the USA-RSA postal conduit is sucking at any given time.

Currently the scarcity of GSC bullets in Kentucky, or Arizona for that matter, is heart breaking.

We still wait for the details. I am putting out some feelers for the GSC .416/420-grain SP.

Will let you know if Gerard is still alive.

I did exchange e-mail with the illustrious Gerard a short time back. He was amused by my web site but....alas his machinery is not Phat enough to make 2-bore parts and bits.

He may have been trampled by the little known nocturnal Cape Jack-o-pottomus while on an evening traverse from his tent to the mens tree room.

I do have a DHL world import account if he can make some goodies. I could then disseminate them stateside.

quote:

What does it do at 1000 yards in three shot groups 20 seconds apart?

My out of the box .460 MK V shoots that well.

I'd like to see those 1000 yard groups!

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:

quote:

What does it do at 1000 yards in three shot groups 20 seconds apart?

My out of the box .460 MK V shoots that well.

I'd like to see those 1000 yard groups!

Give him hell, Rusty.
What bullet will Macifej use in his 460Wby for 1000-yard shooting?
This could get informative.

WHOAAA!!!!!!

Seems we have some gramatical incongruence going on here!

That's a .460 "Shoots that good" at 100 yards like the nice little targets RIP posted here!

Never tried to shoot a Phat bore that far but might be minute of Buffalo with enough glass.

BUT maybe a sabot'd 6.5mm in a .460........

Ok you guys work on that for a while I have to go break some stuff.

OK, I'd settle for some hundred yard .460 groups!

What a hammer
Way cool calibre that .416 Barrett.

Cheers,

André

Welcome back, Andre!

quote:

Originally posted by JefferyDenmark:
What a hammer
Way cool calibre that .416 Barrett.

Cheers,

André

And it can even compete with a 460Wby at 100 yards!

Ought to be a winner for Barrett. Might give a 50BMG a run for the money at 1000 yards or 2000 yards: a little less BC, a lot more velocity.

The .408 Chey-Tac claimed to have some advantages over the 50BMG. If so, the .416 Barrett will be even more so.

Barrel life will be the down side compared to a 50BMG. Maybe half the life of a 50BMG, or could it be not quite that bad???

Some study of wind drift and drop will see if the .416 Barrett has any advantage for ease of long range hits:

.416 Barrett BC = 0.900? and velocity = 3250 fps
50 BMG BC = 1.050? and velocity = 2750 fps

Heading for the external ballistics program for a stab at it with those rough numbers ... or sumbuddy who know already???

I believe you'll find there are better platforms for that kind of work. For instance 14.5mm Soviet bolt guns.

So now are we going to get onto some big knock down drag-out on the topic of anti-material rifles here??

I need Ratzeputz if I have to dig up that old stuff!

There was this little device (IWS 2000) from Steyr which I'm guessing is in use in small numbers by those who remain nameless. Everything else is primitive in comparison.

Macifej,
Dang! That thing looks like a space ship!

I haven't had a chance to dig up the ballistics, so feel free to crack open a new bottle of Ratzeputz. I gotta go kill something and drag it home. Later ...

Out in your yard huntin' for the illusive Noctunal Cape Jack-o-pottomus again? You want some ballistics on the heavy metal I presume. Let me see what I can post. (Switching from Spaten Optimator to Bombay Sapphire....now)

RIP- No woodshed trip but 100 yrd groups do not a 1000 yrd gun make. My worst .50BMG will print one holers at that range ever time. Lets see what it will do into a 20 MPH wind gusting at 1000 yrds. A true consistent 1 MOA gun and shooter under those conditions is a rare bird indeed. I do wonder what the barrel life will be too.-Rob

quote:

RIP- No woodshed trip but 100 yrd groups do not a 1000 yrd gun make. My worst .50BMG will print one holers at that range ever time. Lets see what it will do into a 20 MPH wind gusting at 1000 yrds. A true consistent 1 MOA gun and shooter under those conditions is a rare bird indeed. I do wonder what the barrel life will be too.-Rob

Affirmative Dr. Rob!

Rusty - Sorry no .460 targets laying around here. I never had a need to keep them. I wasn't overly or underly surprised at the < MOA performance at 100 yards with tiny glass. Doubt I will try to break any records with that thing anyway. No time to demonstrate - have to continue development of the big rig.

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
Welcome back, Andre!

Withworth
Thanks.
It looks like you have the upper hand in that picturte you post in your messages.

Nice.

Cheers,

André

quote:

Originally posted by RIP:

quote:

Originally posted by JefferyDenmark:
What a hammer
Way cool calibre that .416 Barrett.

Cheers,

André

And it can even compete with a 460Wby at 100 yards!

Ought to be a winner for Barrett. Might give a 50BMG a run for the money at 1000 yards or 2000 yards: a little less BC, a lot more velocity.

The .408 Chey-Tac claimed to have some advantages over the 50BMG. If so, the .416 Barrett will be even more so.

Barrel life will be the down side compared to a 50BMG. Maybe half the life of a 50BMG, or could it be not quite that bad???

Some study of wind drift and drop will see if the .416 Barrett has any advantage for ease of long range hits:

.416 Barrett BC = 0.900? and velocity = 3250 fps
50 BMG BC = 1.050? and velocity = 2750 fps

Heading for the external ballistics program for a stab at it with those rough numbers ... or sumbuddy who know already???

For those places where the .50 BMG is banned this might be the thing

I like it
I hope the millitary adopts this caliber! This would mean that API and other cool Exploding bullets would be available, with the right connections.
Exploding bullats would be ideal for small game

3250 fps
A true big bore zapper.

Cheers,

André

quote:

Originally posted by Robgunbuilder:
RIP- No woodshed trip but 100 yrd groups do not a 1000 yrd gun make. My worst .50BMG will print one holers at that range ever time. Lets see what it will do into a 20 MPH wind gusting at 1000 yrds. A true consistent 1 MOA gun and shooter under those conditions is a rare bird indeed. I do wonder what the barrel life will be too.-Rob

Rob,
Being a culturally deprived Kentuckian, my long range shooting has been limited to firing a 500A2 Ruger No.1 with 750-grain Hornady A-Max bullets at 2150 fps in a cow pasture belonging to friendly "Farmer Brown." At 942 yards
I can keep my bullets in a 2-foot circle most of the time, if the wind is not bad. This is shooting off a tall bipod from a sitting position on the ground.

I am experimenting for a real forray into 1000-yard shooting. I am also experimenting with an AR-30 in .338 Lapua and it is a one-holer at 100 yards. I have loaded some 850-grain GSC HV's in an AR-50 and they were too slow but one-holers as was the 750-grain A-Max at 100 yards.
Gives me some ideas for more target posting.

Hey, this was a factory M99 and factory ammo. Not too shabby for the first five shots. I am ordering some Lee reloading dies and looking for the best bullets now. Gotta go slow on the barrel burn-out in the .416 Barrett, aye.

.416 Barrett 400-grainer with BC of .943 and 3250 fps
vs
50BMG 750-grainer with BC of 1.056 and 2750 fps

No contest on drop and wind drift.

Will the .416 Barrett be besting the 50BMG at 1000-yard matches?

quote:

Originally posted by Macifej:
You want some ballistics on the heavy metal I presume. Let me see what I can post. (Switching from Spaten Optimator to Bombay Sapphire....now)

All I can do right now is assume the 400-grain .416 Barrett PBTS (pointy-boat-tail-solid) has a BC = .943 which I have seen quoted in a book. Assume 3250 fps in a 32" barrel.

RCBS.Load quotes 1.050 as the BC for the 50BMG 750-grain Amax. Assume 2750 fps in a 32" barrel.

If both are zeroed at 200 yards with a 10 mph crosswind the 1000-yard-arrival results are:

50BMG
TOF = 1.295 sec
vel = 1955 fps
drop = -235.9"
drift = + 29.6"

.416Barrett
TOF = 1.105 sec
vel = 2274 fps
drop = -169.6"
drift = +26.4"

To get less wind drift with the 50BMG than the .416 Barrett, the Amax would have to be started at 3000 fps, 2950 fps won't do. How much barrel length would 3000 fps from the 50BMG require? Is it possible? There are diminishing returns with barrel length and negative returns past some point.

Seems to me the .416 Barrett is about the ultimate. Anything more will be too hard on barrels or require too long a barrel to be practical, or be too big to be single-man manageable ... That is where Macifej's "space ships" fit in ...

Just what does it take to beat a .416 Barrett?

True RIP!

Even the little "Spaceships" are two man affairs. To really get some boogie on you'll need an 80 to 120 lb platform. Smells like < MOA @ 3000M on hardened targets. Forget the cost of the device.....can you afford the glass?

Relax the standard to 3 shots. Good enough for hunter-killers, excuse me paper punchers.

3 shots into a one-meter circle at 3000 meters, approximately?

How is it possible to make windage adjustments when the wind changes directions several times along the trajectory? Spotter shots and then shoot fast enough that the wind does not change much?

Maybe a "smart target" that is "bullet seeking." I can only imagine a bullseye with legs on it.

And yes, must be some good glass to even see through the haze and mirage at 3000 neters.

Exactly! Nice for anti-material that's about it though.

How do you see your spotter shots at 3000 meters?

http://www.steyr-aug.com/amr.htm

Steyr 15.2mm IWS 2000 Anti-Materiel Rifle (AMR)



It only weighs 18 kg, is 1.8 m long and has a 1.2 m barrel length.
Any whimp ought to be able to fire that offhand.

They claim a practical range of 1000 meters and able to penetrate 40 mm of RHA plate at that range. "Probable range of 1500/2000 meters."
Suitable for anything but a "Main Battle tank?" at 1000 meters.

20-gram tungsten darts at 1450 m/s MV: A smooth bore dart gun!
15.2mm Special APFSDS (Armour Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot):



How do they keep from blowing off the muzzle brake with the sabots?

And when will there be a belted version of this case?

Regardless, there needs to be one of these in every home. Even if it means using a 10X Bushnell scope on them.

Come on RIP! 3000M isn't that far really! I know you usually hunt from the back seat of your '75 Eldorado Cabriolet but get with it! These kinds of platforms are used against really small (NOT) targets like APC's, Airplanes, Fuel storage depots, etc. If you're off a foot it doesn't really matter. My GUESS is that this little Steyr will get the job done out to 3000. If it's not big enough for ya RIP, I can build ya something Mo Badda! Just send lot's of $$$$$$.

@4750FPS I wouldn't be too worried about the expansion rate of the sabot. It and the shockwave are probably lethal to about 20M.

O.K. 4757 fps with a 309-grain tungsten dart = 15,526 foot-pounds at the muzzle.

But what is the BC of that dart so we can calculate the 1000-meter KE producing the spew and spall on the backside of that armour plate?

Chamber pressure is 69,600 psi (4800 Bar) max, and that of the .338 Lapua for comparison, is only 68,150 psi (4700 Bar) max.

As soon as I get finished with the 500 Mbogo and the various .395's under way, I'll be wanting one of these. O.K.?
Could be a while though, since the .395's are looking like a RIP Van Winkle project.

That's a Roger Big Ripper! Shall I begin work now in anticipation of a late 2008 delivery? You'll need to contact these guys about your desired optik formula:

Zeiss

One of their stateside guys is my client if you would like I can send him your request $$$$$$$$$$$$...........

Sure, reserve some submarine optronics systems for my bass boat too.

You might need a custom underwater firing pin too!

Yes indeed, Andre -- killed that one a couple of months ago!

RIP -- can you post a photo of the cartridge -- preferably next to a more "standard" cartridge for comparison? Thanks!

Whitworth,
Glad to.
Here you go:

Left to Right:
Ruger cats .375, .395, .416, .423, .458: dummies and mockups by Rip
then
.408 Cheyenne Tactical: dummy gift of Marc Jamison
.416 Barrett (3.266" long case, 4.567" COAL): factory loaded round
577 Tyrannosaur: dummy gift of Mitch "Master Blaster" Carter

Familiar enough?
Ain't that .395 Ruger Max a beauty?

Thanks a bunch, RIP!