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Posted: 2/24/2006 2:00:52 PM EDT
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I'm thinking about one of these uppers as my next purchase, since I think I need another odd caliber AR upper and I hear that factory loaded ammo is now available for it. Anybody have one of these? Impressions please. Is this just another .30 caliber option for the AR intended to make up for the deficiencies of the 5.56 caliber? |
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Let me level the playing field a little here. You will have to give me some leave way as I have had a few drinks tonight! The .338 Spectre is not just another option for the deficiency (whatever you said) of the .223/5.56. It is a dream. It has virtually no recoil and is dead on at 100 yards. And the subsonics out of it - well, you will have to try them. I love my .458 but my father has the .338 and I am jealous as hell of it. Can not wait till we get to Spring Turkey season here - as I will be taking this damned thing on a turkey hunt and my intentions are to formally decimate a perfectly edible turkey breast with a .338cal bullet. But just FYI. |
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If you think about it the numbers make it an attractive choice in a calibur. A subsonic 300gr hpbtmk quietly taking out anything it reaches. And still makes good use out of what little room it has in the mag. And since there are now reliable producers of ammunition, the excuses not to get one greatly diminish. I say get one......... immediatly! |
Well, it's a .33 caliber ... The Spectre is a true "niche" cartridge. Its is NOT intended to fill any perceived gap left by the .223, its is meant for a specific role. If anything, it is designed to improve upon the .300-221 Fireball in terms of energy on target and BC of the projectile. It is also meant to offer a cartridge that is relatively easily implemented in the AK platform and improve upon some of the accuracy issues that have been attributed to the 9x39 Grom. It is intended primarily to deliver the 300 gr SMK at subsonic velocities, to do so with very little noise, to allow use of existing 9mm suppressors if necessary and to assist those that need a package that is quiet, low recoil, and effective for "up close and personal" work. The fact that it is fun to shoot and effective in those types of hunting situations where you might use the 357 Maximum or 44 Magnum is just a bonus. Those that have shot it, love it. It is one of those that you just have to try. Brouhaha went with me one the first outing with the initial 20" prototype. I was shooting the very first test loads with the 300 SMK and my brass was landing on his bench. He looked up, perplexed (he was shooting his SIG 55X) and asked if I was dry cycling spent brass? No, I replied, I was shooting, but why the question? He replied that he could not hear the shot being fired ... and that was unsuppressed. Between other sounds and his ear muffs, he could not discern that the rifle that was less than 5 ft from him was being fired .... mission accomplished  Recently, there has been high level interest in the .338 Spectre and hopefully later this year we can speak more to that. The availability of factory loaded ammunition plays a big role in that ... |
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I will be testing some factory 338 ammo next week. I was planning on doing it today, but it rained all day. I think the 338 is a great option for the AR. The only flaw in the 338 was the mags, but now with the ban gone the 7.62 and 6.8 hi cap mags work great. The brass is easy to form and cheap. It only takes one pass with the dies and you are ready to go. Any questions feel free to IM or email me. |
Simon - no go, 338 uses SHORT gas system in most barrels. USMA is the only one that is carbine length. IIRC your OS cannot accommodate that .... ETA - Most 300 Whisper barrels also use the SHORT gas system, they come with a custom system from SSK Cans - customers supply their own. SRT is one known. I'm building my own for a special project ... |
Typical users have 10.5" barrels with standard pistol length gas system. Most users go for the short version to keep it handy when making unannounced visits ... A few needed 16" to deal with local issues and USMA is the only one with a longer version - but he shoots quietly at extended range ... |
Doubt the Spectre will have the gas to do so ... think "9mm" |
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Reed's Ammunition has done some fairly extensive testing and developed some excellent loaded ammunition. Among those are a custom made 180 gr Hawk RN bullet that in testing expanded to almost 1.00". In addition, the 200 and 225 gr Hornady SP at ajust under 1500 fps did a great job expanding as well. I do not recall the 180 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip results. You can see some of the gel test results on their website Reed is also working on a custom 250 gr projectile similar to the Glaser projectile with a thin jacket, polymer ball in the tip and filled with 900 or so pieces of #12 shot. This would serve as an excellent frangible projectiles. Extreme Shock Munitions and SinterFire have both indicated to be willing to work with us to develop frangible projectiles as well. So the overpenetration issue can be addressed. |
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What all is required to convert my 16" ar to this round? It sounds like fun, but not being able to use standard mags makes me wonder what else is different. Maby (from what little I have read) the 300 whisper cartridge would be better for me, Will this round (.300 whisper) work with a standard bolt and mag? Thanks in advance. 
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To go to 338 Spectre you'd need a barrel, short gas tube and low profile gas block, bolt and magazines To go to 300 Whisper you'd need a barrel, short gas tube and low profile gas block. So the difference is bolt and magazines. Nice thing is that the Spectre bolt and magazines will work with the 6.8 SPC if you were inclined to get one of those ... |
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Marty, Would it be possible to get a .338 SPECTRE barrel say around 10.5/11.5 inch, with integral HK 3 lugs for a QD 9mm can? Also, can you get 1000 fps with a 300gr bullet out of that short a barrel? Is is feasible to have a twist rate that will work for both subsonic and suppersonic bullet weights? One last question, is an adjustable gas system possible so you could turn off the gas for single shots or turn it up for use FA with supersonic ammo? Sorry for all the questions, but I want to find out if the .338 SPECTRE is the best solution for me in a suppressed weapon. (On initial appearences, it is!) |
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Thanks for the reply. Where would I go about getting the items needed to do the conversion? (.300 whisper) Do the barrels come fully chambered, or are they short chambered? Also, in the FAQs at the top of the ar varients page it says "the sound level of a sub sonic load without a suppressor is usually described as “Half that of a .22LR”. How true ts this? If this is true, this means I could shoot my ar in this caliber W/O hearing protection?(I know it's not reccomended even with a .22) Lastly, on average how much do the parts for this conversion cost? Thanks again for any answers, and sorry for asking so many questions. |
Hope the answers help |
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Yes they do, thanks. Please see above for follow up questions. If you would prefer to take this to email that would be fine with me as well. |
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we were using 1 in 7 (which they had) but just commissioned 1 in 6.5
Marty et al... I got some of Mack's adjuster blocks so I can offer proper pistol length adjustable gas tubes with the added advantage of placing the adjuster block exactly where you want it to correspond to an existing hole in the handguard if possible. This is much less work than shortening an existing gas tube. |
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