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408 CheyTac
Trip Report, Shooters' Observations and Test Results
29 April 2001
By Dean Michaelis

SNIPING OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE

Date: 4/26/2001
Re: Trip Report, Shooters Observations and Test Results / .408 CheyTaC
This report is a wrap-up of the test shoot conducted at South Creek Flats,
Idaho. The intent of the test was to confirm the ballistic performance of the 419 gr. bullet
as well as long-range accuracy of the gun system. Additional data was collected as to
the shoot ability of the platform and recommended changes.
The test consisted of the following events and procedures:
• Grouping ability at ranges to super-sonic minimum velocity.
• Ammunition sensitivity to temperature changes and shipping conditions.
• Fire control systems capability to support the gun platform.
• Gun system ergonomic and shoot ability features.
Pre-Test Preparation:
Prior to doing the shoot in Idaho, I did a preliminary ballistics prediction of the
potential for the .408 CheyTac cartridge using the 419 gr. bullet from Lost River Ballistic
Technologies. The entire performance of the bullet was based on a predicted Ballistic
Co-efficient of .900 at a muzzle velocity of 2900 fps. I prepared a table of elevation
settings and windage corrections using SOE methods and techniques for long range
shooting. It is important to note that virtually every bullet's ballistic co-efficient value
degrades as the bullet flies downrange. Instruments were available for determining
Barometric Pressure, Air Temperature, and Ammunition Temperature and for
monitoring the barrel temperature.
General Range Conditions:
The test was conducted at South Creek Flats, Idaho. The range is in the
foothills of the Lost River Range and has excellent meteorological and environmental
variables that provide a good challenge for a long range system and the shooter. The
characteristics of the range were as follows:
• The altitude of the site is 5300' above sea level.
• Barometric Pressure ranged from 26.15 In. Hg. To 26.85 In. Hg. This required an
hour by hour recalculation of elevation settings.
• Air Temperature Ranged from 40° F to 65° F throughout the test.
• Ammunition Temperature was maintained at 70° F and monitored by NECO
temperature strips.
• Barrel temperature for the long range shots over 1700 meters was monitored and
shots were fired only when barrel temperatures were the same shot to shot.
Range Operations Day 1, 16 April:
We arrived early enough on Monday 16, April to get some range time in. We
took the opportunity to coordinate the gun/optics to the data set that we prepared. Initial
zero took place at 100 yards. The elevation on the Leupold & Stevens Mark IV M-1
scope was up 30 minutes of angle from the bottom of travel. This is due to the 1 degree
base that is on the prototype gun. This low angle was to plague us later on in the longer
range work. My initial observations on the gun were that the bipod legs were too tall for
good prone work. I compensated by digging the bipod legs into the ground about 2.5
inches. In doing this, I eliminated the need for the monopod as I felt that the monopod is
too unstable for good long range shooting. A heavy leather shooting glove under the toe
of the rifle served to manipulate the tail of the gun. Initial impressions were that with the
modifications to the gun, it is a stable, though a tall long range platform. We quickly took
the gun to 800 yards on Day 1. The predicted data was accurate to within .25 minutes of
angle for elevation and windage.
Range Operations: Day 2, 17 April:
We began operations on Day 2 at the 1000 yard line. I indexed a specified
24.75 Minutes of Angle on the sight and shot a group of three rounds. The group was
sub-minute and required and additional 1/4 MOA of elevation to center the group. Due
to the initial success of the predicted data, we decided to skip 1100 and 1200 yards and
shoot at 1300 yards. At 1300 yards, I indexed a predicted 34.75 MOA on the sight. The
group was again sub-MOA and required and additional 1/4 MOA to center the group for
elevation. At that point, it began to become evident that the ballistic co-efficient of .903
was NOT bleeding down at a decay rate that is consistent with other projectiles. All
elevation settings were based on a straight .903 BC with NO decay rate.
Range Operations: Day 3, 18 April:
We began range operations at 1700 yards. An initial elevation setting of 50.50
MOA was indexed. 3 rounds were fired into a sub-MOA group. The weather was barely
holding and we decided to push onto 1900 yards. The winds during this shooting
session were from a low of 0 mph to a high of 7 mph and from directions of 6 o'clock to
the gun-target line to a left to right condition from 10 o'clock to the gun-target line. See
below photos of the target at 1900 yards. The afternoon weather was too extreme for
long range shooting so we returned to Warren Jensen's shop to conduct velocity tests
on the indoor range. Details of this test will follow the long range summary.
Range Operations: Day 4, 19 April:
The range on this day was swung approximately 80 degrees to the East. It was
agreed that the dominating winds were across the original range for the majority of the
time. We swung the range and used the Wild theodolite to set the target at a range of
2300 yards. This was the first range at which we encountered mechanical difficulties
with the gun system. The problem was with the optics, not the rifle. At 2300 yards the
rounds were constantly high and to the right. We corrected mathematically what should
have been the data to get rounds on the target. After numerous rounds were fired, we
terminated the shoot to determine the problem. It was determined that we were at such
an extreme elevation setting on the L&S scope that the erector cell inside of the scope
tube was actually touching the inside surface of the tube. The scope base was out of
alignment enough so that with 0 winds on the gun and the scope zeroed for windage,
there was only 15 minutes of angle of windage available for right hand correction. There
was 30 minutes for left hand correction. The winds from the left to the right at about 7
mph, which required a 6.5 MOA left correction. This crowded the erector cell against the
inside of the tube and forced the shot group to carry to the right at the target. We were
getting 1 to 1.5 minute of angle groups, but they were spotted off of the target in the dirt.
Range Operations: Day 5, 20 April:
The test team met at the shop to discuss the options to fix the elevation
problem. I suggested that we remove the base and machine .023" from the front end of
the base, adjusting the base angle to 75 MOA from its original slant of 60 MOA. This
gave us the additional elevation travel to free up the windage. Additionally, Warren
Jensen shimmed the inside right claw on the forward mounting ring. This centered the
windage perfectly. We re-zeroed the rifle at 200 yards with three shots. We relocated
the gun position to the East - West gun - target line due to winds. I calculated the
elevation requirement of 83.50 MOA for a shot at 2300 yards under the following
conditions:
• Barometric Pressure: 25.65 In. Hg.
• Air Temperature: 51° F
• Ammo Temperature: 70° F
The first three rounds out of the gun struck on the target with 1 MOA vertical
dispersion and 1.6 MOA horizontal dispersion. Horizontal dispersion was due to winds
near the maximum ordinate at 52' above the eye - sight line. The calculated elevated
setting of 83.50 MOA was correct. By this time, the winds across the range were
starting to pick up, so we decided to shoot the 2400 yard range on the original North -
South, gun - target line. The data for the 2400 yard shot was calculated and an
elevation setting of 91.00 MOA was calculated. These shots were high and dropping
down to 88.50 MOA made an adjustment. This was attributed to a combination of
tailwinds and a drop in the barometric pressure. A small air temperature rise as well as
ammunition temp rise factored into the change. At this point, the original ballistic co-
efficient of .903 appeared to be holding true. Later, when I recomputed the true ballistic
co-efficient based on the 88.50 MOA setting, the true BC was calculated to .91413 at
Sea Level. The BC had actually stepped up in value. The weather conditions by this
point had deteriorated badly and we terminated the test at 2400 yards.
Chronograph Tests and Ammunition Sensitivity to Temperature Changes:
We tested the ammunition's sensitivity to 4 different variables. Results indicate
that the ammunition is more sensitive to colder temperatures, but far less than current
military ammunition. An average loss of only 65 fps was determined. Because of the
ballistic performance of the 419 gr. bullet, this change in velocity accounts for only .50
MOA of elevation change. Vertical impact changes due to hot ammunition are
considered insignificant. Velocity changes due to the positioning of the powder indicate
an insignificant change in the muzzle velocity.
• Nominal Muzzle Velocity: 2890 fps
• Cold Ammunition ( < 30° F ): Velocity = 2832 fps
• Hot Ammunition ( > 110° F ): Velocity = 2895 fps
• Powder Positioned Against the Primer: Velocity = 2882 fps
• Powder Positioned Against the Bullet: Velocity = 2870 fps
Fire Control Systems Capability to support the Gun Platform
The fire control system for the .408 CheyTac rifle for this test was the Leupold &
Stevens Mark IV, M-1 in 16x. This scope is perhaps the most respected 1/4 Minute of
Angle telescopic sight in the sniping community. The history of the scope goes back to
the early 1980s. It is combat proven in all the US services and with foreign armies
around the world. It is considered the standard by which others are measured. It is
important to establish the system setup as first presented on Day 1 of the tests to
understand the problems encountered at long range.
• Scope Base Angle = 60 Minutes of Angle / 1 degree
• Elevation Travel Capability of the Sight = 140 MOA
• Windage Travel Capability of the Sight = 50 MOA Total Windage
• Center of Elevation Travel is at 75 Minutes of Angle.
The relation of the scope base angle (60 Minutes) to the center of elevation
travel (75 Minutes) is critical. To obtain the total range of travel available on the L&S
scope (140 MOA) it is critical that the angle of the scope base be optimized so that
there are less than 10 MOA of elevation travel left below a 100 yard zero setting. This
would leave approximately 130.00 Minutes of Angle of elevation travel. While is true that
you would not use all of that elevation travel, you will need all of the windage capability
of the scope for long range work. The windage must be centered correctly on the scope
and this is based on whether the base on the gun is parallel to the bore. If our case,
during this test, the scope base was approximately 17 MOA out of alignment with the
bore. This resulted in a condition where the windage was already 17 MOA to the left,
leaving only 8 MOA left for windage. It is not that simple however. As the shooter brings
the elevation setting up above 85.00 Minutes of Angle under the above windage
condition, the erector cell began to touch off on the inside of the scope tube body. This
pushed the erector cell farther to the right. As the erector cell followed the inside circular
shape of the tube, the shots were forced higher and to the right, making strikes
impossible as you adjusted for windage.
At that point, we stopped the test and regrouped at Warren's shop to consider
the options. As before described, we re-machined the base angle to pickup an
additional 15 Minutes of Angle, as well as correcting the miss-alignment in the scope
base by shimming the forward claw mount.
Recommended Solution:
A customer may specify a scope from several different options. These are listed
with their optimum scope base angles based on the total elevation travel and their
centers of elevation travel. The base angle would be optimized for the user based on
the center of elevation travel. While it is true that you may NOT shoot the maximum
elevation capability, there is an advantage to having remaining elevation.
The farther away from the optical center of the lenses that you aim through, the
more it is likely that the shooter will encounter optical distortion. This occurs when you
look through the erector cell lenses into the outer edges of the objective lenses. This
distortion is called "optical vignetting". While not detectable with the naked eye, this
distortion can result in the shot being fired at something other than the point of aim /
impact. By having the maximum elevation setting that you may shoot near the center of
travel of the elevation, you are shooting through the center of the lenses.
For example, on the current sight system, the Mark IV M-1 16X, the center of
elevation travel would be at 75 MOA. With a base angle of 75 MOA, and having an
elevation setting of 88.50 MOA as was shot for the 2400 yard test, you would only be 10
MOA above the optical center of the lenses. This is a prime condition for long range
shooting. While the extra elevation seems like a waste of capability, you are avoiding
the possibility of optical vignetting and a potential missed shot.
OPTICAL SIGHT TOTAL ELEVATION TRAVEL CENTER OF ELEVATION
TRAVEL & BASE ANGLE
• L&S Mark IV, M-1 16 X 140 MOA 75 MOA
• L&S Mark IV, M-1 10 X 90 MOA 45 MOA
• Nightforce NXS 5.5 x 22 95 MOA 47.5 MOA
• Nightforce NXS 3.5 x 15 110 MOA 55 MOA
• US Optics (Any system) As ordered: up to 300 MOA As determined by center of
elevation travel
Gun System Ergonomic and Shoot Ability Features
Following is a list of observed positives and negatives about the gun system
itself.
• Cheek Piece Assembly:

The cheek piece does not extend forward enough for a good stock weld during
prone shooting. With the optical sight in the slot nearest the shooter and good
eye relief, the cheek piece sets directly under the cheekbone of the shooter.
While it is not uncomfortable, it does not lend to a good stock weld. This is very
 critical when having extreme elevation settings on the scope. At extreme
elevation settings, the scope begins to "cat-eye" requiring super precise eye
relief. Good cheek support is essential to establishing this critical eye relief.
Solution: Extend the existing cheek piece 1.5" to 2.0" forward or develop an
attaching extension.

• Pistol Grip Assembly:

The pistol grip as provided is based on the design of the M-16 rifle. That angle is
designed for combat patrolling and providing comfort to the soldier while carrying
the rifle at low ready. The angle is too extreme to the rear for good prone
shooting. Note that all the long range competition guns have a nearly vertical
pistol grip. This was pointed out to Willi Wordman and a recommendation made
as to a replacement at similar cost. The design is similar to the grip on the H&K
PSG-1 rifle, being more vertical, with a palm swell and a palm rest platform,
which is removable and adjustable.

• Trigger Pull Setting:

The rifle had a measured trigger pull of over 8 lbs. This is unacceptable for long
range shooting as it is too easy to disturb the lay of the gun system while trying to
get a clean release. The trigger weight was adjusted down to 3 lbs for the last
day of the test. The resultant change yielded excellent trigger pull characteristics.
The deep curve of the standard Remington trigger is extreme. When the trigger
pull is heavy, that deep curve lowers the mechanical advantage that the shooter
has. In that situation, any creep is accentuated and the impression is that of a
heavier than measured trigger pull. Solution: Replace the Remington trigger with
a Jewell or other match trigger with a longer length (vertical) and a more vertical
profile.

• Monopod Assembly:

This shooter didn't use the monopod as the gun was lowered as low as possible
to obtain a stable shooting platform. The steel weight makes the gun excessively
heavy and vibrates loose. Replace the entire assembly with a composite unit
made of Delrin.

• Scope Base:

Much more extensive testing of the armored aluminum should be conducted to

determine the repeatability of zero when removing and reinstalling the optical
sight. Damage to the base was noted from the claws on the scope ring during
testing. Dings and dents will affect the zero repeatability of the system. It was
observed that the base bearing surface was too thick. It was measured at .270".
The specification was for .250". This resulted in the claw mounts on the rings not
bearing correctly on the scope base. While this did not affect the accuracy of the
gun, it contributed to the misalignment of optical sight (and non-centered
 windage). The over thickness also contributes to non-repeatability of the optical
sight when removing and replacing the sight.

Solution: Recommend the following base changes:

1. Strongly recommend the use of steel in the scope base. The expansion
rate of the aluminum (when heated) is different than the steel rings. The
expansion rates of the base and rings should be the same to insure
repeatability of the day sight. The weight gain is worth the insured
repeatability.
2. The cross slots for the ring mounts should be machined all the way to the
end of the base. This allows for the use of ocular lens attached night
vision devices such as the PVS-14 with the Monoloc device.
3. Use a base angle optimized to the optical sight specified.

• Forward Bipod / Gun System Support:

The bipod in its current configuration and location has four major faults.
1. It makes the overall system too heavy.
2. The bipod, though already shortened from its original length, is too tall.
This raises the shooter's head and neck to an uncomfortable position and
may promote physical injury. It is more favorable to bench rest shooting
positions than prone tactical positions.
3. The bipod is located to close too the rear of the gun.
4. The bipod and its mounting method does NOT allow the gun system to be
fired in any other method. (i.e. sling supported, resting on non-standard
objects, such as a rucksack, tree branch etc.) Recommended Solution (s):
The rifle was tested with an extended bipod attaching rod. While the rod
was heavy, it greatly contributed to the overall stability of the system.
When a bipod is located closer to the shoulder of the shooter than it is to
the muzzle, the system becomes very susceptible to shooter induced
disturbances. A little shake at the recoil pad makes for a lot of shake at the
muzzle. Extreme range shooting demands a super-stable system. In a
tactical environment, military snipers will be tired, shaking, hungry and
quite often, in a state considerably less than that desired for the task at
hand. At a minimum the bipod should be extended 13 - 15 inches.
5. The gun system must be able to be fired from other than bipod supported
positions. The system must be able to be fired from ALL conventional and
unconventional shooting positions. These would include provisions for
sling supported shooting, resting the system on branches, rocks,
rucksacks, vertical suspension systems for use in helicopters, etc. This
can be accomplished by using a tube system similar to that in use on the
AR-15 rifle. These tubes comprise of a round aluminum tube integrated
into the barrel nut. The tube is an attaching point for sling and rail devices
 so that lasers and other aids to aiming can be attached. It is a system
rather than a mere support.

Summary:
The EDM Arms built, .408 CheyTac is an extremely capable extreme range
interdiction rifle. To this shooters experience and knowledge, no other rifle / ammunition
combination comes close to the accuracy and unknown distance potentials of the .408
CheyTac cartridge and weapon. With some fine tuning and further development of the
heavy bullet as well as the light bullet configuration, the .408 CheyTac will dominate the
extreme range sniping environment.

POC this Document:

Dean Michaelis, Director, Sniping Operations Executive

Additional Photos
• 1900 yard target (95kb)
• 1900 yard target with tape 86Kb)
• 1900 yard target with tape showing drop (82Kb)
• 2300 yard target with test team2 (56Kb)
• 2300 yard target with two shooters (36Kb)
• 2400 yard fall angle (48Kb)
• .408 as seen from left front (32Kb)
• .408 as seen from left rear (28Kb)
• .408 from right rear with calculator and ammo (60Kb)
• .408 from right front (34Kb)
• .408 on the range from right front (55Kb)
• .408 as seen from right (34Kb)
• The firing position at the Idaho Range (49Kb)
• The firing position from the front (56Kb)
• Gun from the rear showing entire range (57Kb)
• From the left side on the Idaho Range (55Kb)
• The range line in Idaho (38Kb)
• The shooter with a 2300 yard group (44Kb)

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