Wildcat Cartridges

Handheld Wind Meter for Shooters.

“The effects of wind and weather play a huge role in our sport. Not only does the wind affect the flight of the bullet, but differences in altitude, pressure, and temperature can also change the bullet’s impact,” said Emil Praslick III, Head Coach of the National / Palma® Team. “Tools like the Kestrel Pocket Weather Tracker can often mean the difference between being a winning team, or being at the weather’s mercy.” The Kestrel family include the Kestrel 1000 ($99), which measures solely wind speed, probably the most valuable information for shooters.

A complete hand-held weather station, the Kestrel 4000 NV measures every major environmental condition: barometric pressure, altitude, density altitude, temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind chill, dewpoint, wet bulb temperature and heat stress. This pocket-sized unit is more than just a weather meter for checking the current conditions; the Kestrel 4000 NV is a tracking device that allows users to log the environmental data for entire expeditions or flights. The Kestrel 2500 NV and 3500 NV operate similarly, but sample some (but not all) of the same information as the 4000.

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If your interest is in long range shooting the 338 Xtreme would probably interest you.  I spotted this cartridge at the Shot Show in the American Tactical Imports (ATI) booth.  With an eye toward the market for long range accurate rifles, the guys at Xtreme decided to build a new cartridge with the idea of maximum velocity, and therefore flat trajectory.  A 266 grain bullet design with a Secant Ogive and boattail design was selected to maximize the terminal ballistics of this cartridge.

Compared to the 338 Lapua, the 338 XT produces velocity of almost 400 more fps.   That translates into nearly an additional ton of energy over the Lapua as well as more than 100 inches LESSdrop at 1000 yards.   Combining this cartridge with Lapua’s new 300 grain Scenar bullet would make an impressive combination.

Xtreme Machine is also building rifles for this cartridge.  Barrels are available in 26 or 30″ length.  Single shot and repeaters available, the repeater uses a 7 round detachable box magazine.  Trigger is adjustable, comes set at 2-2.5 lbs.  Overall length of the rifle is 49″ and the weight is approximately 20 Lbs.  A 40 MOA Picatinny rail is included with the rifle.  International Cartridge Company is loading ammo for the 338 XT wit the 266 grain bullet described here.  An interesting package.

The next new Item I saw in the Lapua booth at the Shot Show was a 300 grain Hollow Point Boat Tail Scenar bullet.  Intended for the 338 Lapua, reloading data is supplied on the technical specifications sheet for this new bullet.  Max velocity listed for the 338 Lapua with a 27.5″ barrel is 2746 fps.  They are available either loaded in Lapua ammunition, or in boxes of 100 as components.  According to the charts supplied, this huge 300 grain bullet when launched at 2700 fps still retains 1000 Ft. Lbs. of energy at a little over 1500 yards.

While we are talking about long range Lapua has also introduced new Drag Coefficient Data for QuickTARGET Unlimited TM.  Utilizing Doppler radar Lapua has collected data for all their bullets at various velocity levels.  Such data allows you to calculate trajectory more accurately that with simplified B.C. numbers.  The data is also available at the Lapua web site, WWW.Lapua.com

300 Grain Scenar Bullet alongside Lapua's new 222 Rem. Match brass.