For years British snipers have used the .338 Lapua Mag as their long-range platform to augment their Accuracy International .308 rifles. In fact, the British have almost totally abandoned their .308 rifles and have for the most part gone to the .338 Lapua Mag caliber for its effective long-range capabilities and enhanced penetration with the ability to be a great tool in the urban environment. A similar situation is also occurring here in the United States.
The US military and numerous federal law enforcement agencies have tested, and continue to conduct extensive testing of the .338 Lapua Mag to fill the gap between their primary weapons system and their extreme long-range systems. But still theres the need to shoot flatter, faster and more accurately at greater distances than even the .338 Lapua Mag can reach.
Thats where the .408 CheyTac comes into the picture.
For those of you who havent heard about the .408 CheyTac until now, you have been missing out. CheyTac Intervention has been in business since 2003. Corey Kupersmith, who owns the company, is a civilian shooting enthusiast who bought the company out of his love for long-range shooting.
Gun Details
The CheyTac M-200 in .408 caliber rifle has a CNC machined receiver with an attached Mil-Std-1913 base, integral bipod, a 30-inch detachable steel barrel, 3.5-pound trigger and an extremely effective muzzle break. The rifle weighs 27 pounds and measures 55 inches with its retractable stock fully extended.
The CheyTac fires two primary rounds, a 419-grain bullet with a BC of 0.94 moving at 2900 fps (feet per second) and a 305-grain round with a BC of 1.12 moving at 3300 fps, both of which are lathed turned bullets made out of a copper nickel alloy, which allows one to easily reach out to 2500 yards and beyond.
Jamison International currently makes .408 CheyTac ammunition and components. CheyTac ammunition can be ordered through CheyTac or directly from Jamison, which rumor has it, will be changing its name to CheyTac Ordnance in the coming year.
Recently, a new .408 armor piercing round was designed and developed by Dr. John D. Taylor with the help of William Wordman. The new .408 AP round is a 370-grain projectile with a standard velocity of 3100 fps with capabilities that are superior to the M2 ball and the M8 .50 caliber due to its efficiency and the high energy of its patent pending lathed turned projectile. Made from a proprietary copper alloy, the bullet is drilled and plugged with a tungsten carbide penetrator core.
The weight and thickness of the projectiles outer copper alloy body allows the bullet to act like a buffer letting the tungsten carbide penetrator stay solid for a longer period of time before it loses its energy. Currently, not a lot of test information has been publicly released about this new round. I have been told that the new AP round will easily penetrate through a 1-inch certified AR500 piece of steel at 100 yards, and a ½-inch certified AR500 steel plate at 775 yards.
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