Hoss50 Report post Posted May 14, 2020 Ever heard of a howage? I hadn't until I started looking at how to rebuild my Weatherby Vanguuard (Howa Action) in 257 weatherby that I burned the barrel out of. It is a howa using a barrel nut like a savage. I found Oregon Mountain Rifles online who is building pre-fit & pre-chambered barrels that are carbon fiber wrapped. For the price I had to take a gamble and be a guinea pig. OMR seems to be a newer company, but seem to build some nice stuff. Through the transition the owner Lee was great to work with and very responsive. I ordered a .257 weatherby mag barrel with 1:8 twist finished at 26". The barrel weighs 2lb 11.5oz. The barrel looks great despite UPS trying to destroy it. I also ordered a Bell and Carlson stock for it. The rifle already has a Timney trigger and Burris Veracity that will go back on it. Now I will be taking it all down to Eric @ Axisworks to let him work his magic and fit it, true the action, cerakote it, and add a muzzle brake. I CAN'T WAIT!!! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted June 19, 2020 Today was the day Axisworks called and said it was time!!! Huge thank you to the team at Axisworks. Eric is a great dude and has a great team. I dropped in this afternoon and picked up the new and improved 257 Weatherby Mag. Time to dust off the reloading bench and start pumping out some ammo to do load development with. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted June 19, 2020 The rifle ended up at 9lb 13oz as pictured minus the bipod. It has a good balance though so it should carry well, and be able to reach out and touch something when needed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeffro Report post Posted June 20, 2020 Eric does awesome work, and is a great guy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yotebuster Report post Posted June 20, 2020 Good lookin rifle! Let us know how it shoots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
50Caliber Report post Posted June 20, 2020 the carbon wrapped barrel is a good idea but one thing to remember do not shoot over 3 rounds a minute it retains heat and takes longer to cool off. This is from experience I ordered two barrels 28 inches long one wrapped in carbon the other a heavy target both in 6.5x55 with a 1-8 twist test fired both doing 5 rounds a minute the wrapped barrel kept the heat and caused problems the other unwrapped barrel heated up but cooled enough to keep shooting and do decent groups. The wrapped barrel is good for light target shooting and hunting you will like it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted June 21, 2020 I snuck out to the range this afternoon for a couple hours today with it to get some of the barrel break in done. I eye bore sighted it, and had a rough preliminary zero in 3 rounds. I only shot about 20rds total. I am going to try and get out this week during a morning to get out during cooler weather to get some more rounds shot. I had some 115gr Bergers and 100gr TTSX left loaded from my previous barrel so I shot those existing loads to start. I was typically shooting 2-3 rounds and I would run a patch and let it cool. It was showing signs of good accuracy but it wasn't 1 hole type stuff yet. The couple groups i tracked were after a patch. The first round would be in one spot, and then round 2 & 3 would usually be a little ways away but would stack on each other pretty tight. It was 106*f so I wasn't shooting more than 2-3 rounds without letting it sit and cool for awhile. The thing doesn't hardly kick with that 3 port brake on it. It wasn't a bruiser before, but it is super tame now. Blackjacks 131grs are on order and should arrive this week. I am going to try some Hammer 121gr too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted July 3, 2020 Blackjack delivered bullets in record time. I think I ordered on Friday or Saturday and I think they showed up on Monday. Anyway, i loaded some rest rounds with H1000. The closest I can get them to the lands is .02 with the bullet seated as far out as I dare. I also ordered a barrel cooler to help combat the 1000* heat here. Now I gotta get my stupid covid test back so I can go to the range. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted July 4, 2020 They finally called with the negative results for my COVID test yesterday afternoon so I decided to run to the range today. I had guessed at starting load data for the 131gr Blackjack with H1000 based on some Nosler data for 120gr bullets and my old load for the 115gr Berger. I guess I should have started lower. I started at 66gr and by the time I was at 70gr I was over pressure. The best group of the day though was 69gr and I would say that I am ok with these results. I believe the barrel still needs a little break in but once is seemed to get a little dirty it shot better. The barrel cooler really seemed to help the barrel cool down between strings with the heat today. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
duckhunter175 Report post Posted July 5, 2020 Nice shooting!! Any idea what velocity you got with the 69gr load of H1000? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted July 5, 2020 Not yet. I am going to finish load development and then borrow a chrono to see where the load ends up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoss50 Report post Posted August 2, 2020 Today's load development was a flop. I think the barrel was getting to dirty. The best group of the day was some random Nosler Partitions I loaded awhile back which was also the first 3 rounds I fired today. I just got done scrubbing the bore, and will try again another day. I also had a little assassin homie of mine stop by right before I left to help brighten the day. 120gr Nosler Partitions. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
