234 welcome to the, " WTF is that a Howitzer?" club lol. I dont shoot a 30/378 but I shoot a cannon that is equally as awesome, Lazzeroni 308 Warbird (Essentially the same case minus the belt and double radiused shoulder for better headspacing and it typically posts 50-100fps faster velocities than an equally setup 378). I bought the gun in 99 (Sako TRG-S) and grow fonder of it with each trigger pull. I specifically bought it for shooting large fields here in TN and gas lines and ranchroads on a lease I was on in TX when I first got the rifle. I have however carried it with me everywhere since. It is typically at home in MO and KS with me as it is here in my homestate of TN.

I site it in for " way out yonder" shooting and dont see why someone would buy such a cannon and NOT set it up likewise, I can shoot deer all day at 300-350yds + with my old 7mag. Its what happens PAST that range that makes big guns like ours really shine! I shoot Lazzeroni' s own 130grain Barnes X bullets (appx 3900fps from my 26" barrel) and have yet to have one even think about coming apart, regardless how close the shot was or what I was shooting thru (typically shoot for lungs, but have busted some shoulders just for experimentation). The bullets are just that danged tough. With such high velocities like our rifles, dependance upon weight for penetration isnt so much of a concern. I drove a doe lengthwise lastyear at 311 yards (rangefinder verified of course). She was facing dead away from me and the bullet still exited in front of her left shoulder. I knew then that more than likely there is NO shot under 500yds on a whitetail/mulie that will stop this bullet. I likewise shot a big buck two years ago at only 45 yds and the bullet still smoked through with very little expansion. To be honest I was expecting a hole like a baseball at that velocity, or complete bullet failure, but the bullet performed perfectly as it was designed to.

Typically the 165-180 loads will be the most accurate, but that was until Barnes' new bullet was released. The 150 Lazerhead. I have spoken with John Lazzeroni on the phone several times and email him as well about different loads and guns. You can take what he says to the bank. I doubt anyone has more hours behind " supermags" than he. He LOVES the 150 Lazerhead and it is deadily accurate yet can still be driven into the 3700-3800fps range without giving up any accuracy. It is an all copper hollowpoint boattail like typical Barnes design, but has some different features that make it more accurate. If you are going to load for this gun, that would be my first pick, elk-mulies-whitetails you name it. John reports that the 150 Lazerhead is penetrating equally to his 180 loads (Nosler Parts and Xbullets). That extra 3-400fps really makes a difference on penetration.

I like shooting the extratough lightweight bullets. You can get the most out of these kinds of guns. I have a 6x24x50 Swarovski PVS scope atop my Sako and with the 130s sighted 3" above the line of sight at 100 yds it is dead on at 400 and only 7" low at 500 (just gotta remember that at 2-250 it will be appx 5" high, but so far that hasnt been a problem, they die equally as fast!). The bullet is STILL making over 2k ft#s of energy at 500 with the lil 130 so power is no problem. At 600 I believe it is appx 1800#s. The 150 should put you right at 2k#s at 600. Short of going to a 50 BMG, I dont know what else makes such an awesome long range rifle! (BTW, I would prefer something different but John told me that he has shot elk and caribou with the 130s and it smoked em but didnt typically recommend them on game over 800#s for most situations.) The 150 Lazerhead just might change everything. I wouldnt mind a 1 bullet load for ANYTHING on this continent while still not sacrificing extra-long range ability. I might try some this season and if so, I' ll let you know how they do. Maxing out the 130s velocities over about 3700fps typically eats into their accuracy. Barnes arent typically as accurate as say a BT or a GameKing anyway. After 3 boxes my rifle tightened up to just under 1.5" at 100yds. It will shoot 180s in half the group, but I am willing to give up a lil accuracy for the awesome trajectory. The 150 tests are shooting in the .5" range, so I might go for that!

I believe 180Xbullets is what WBY offers in Barnes for your gun. That would be a fine load that would kill anything with a pulse, but its just not maximizing the big guns ballistics in my opinion. I REALLY think you are asking for heartache and misery with a Ballistic Tip in a supermag on deersized game. Would be awesome for target and varmints, but I know how fragile the bullets were in guns like my 7mag, I would hate to see what happens when cranked up to near 4k fps in a supermag. A good friend of mine has two 30/378s. One is a custom throated version that can only shoot handloads and the other is a stock version. However they were being finished last season so this will be his first season to get to use the guns. It will be interesting to see the difference between the two, the guns are identical except for the throats and scopes (the stock gun was given to him by his gun building buddy so what the heck!). I' ll let you know how we come out with them. He is going from a 270 to these monster mashers so he is excited to say the least. I know for me, this will be my 4th season with the big rifle and I simply LOVE it and have converted many friends to the " supermags" .

Drop em where they stand!!!
RA

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