loaded to SAMMI spec 2.810 inches. These figures are perfectly acceptable for a tactical rifle out to around 800 yards and, if you want a 308 to remain supersonic out to the ‘golden’ 1000 yard mark, choose a longer barrel! The whole ethos of the DTA build is compact and this is the trade off in a 308.
Moving up a notch
The 338 Lapua barrel arrived just in time for a trip to the WMS Steel Challenge in Wales and, thanks to Andrew Venables the owner, I got my chance to shoot steel plates in real world scenarios from my favoured grassy knoll prone position. A full day of shooting gave me the opportunity to exhaustively `mess the gun around` i.e. mercilessly swap barrels and bolts, re-zero and generally give the gun a thorough test. The two conversion kits on test offer a true test of the multi barrel concept and adaptability of this rifle’s chassis format as well as opposing ends of the target shooter’s ballistic envelope. As well as swapping barrels, which can honestly be done in the advertised 60 seconds, these boys need a bolt, magazine change and bolt limiter swap as well and I’m pleased to say this only stretches the total change to 75 seconds.
I only had the 338 barrel for a day and Bench Grade Brands supplied 50 rounds of their own custom recipe ammunition - a Lapua case and Viht N560 combo driving a 300gr Sierra Matchking. The one missing component was a recorded muzzle velocity but one of the pleasures of a modern handheld ballistic computer combined with a non-gallery range and sand traps the size of tennis courts, is that figures can soon be calculated the old fashioned way and then re-fed back into the computer to approximate a velocity. You can optimize on the figures through the day, further refining the firing solutions. Although this sounds onerous, it was actually very interesting, a real learning process and satisfying test of all the components of long range shooting, eventually generating a figure just shy of 2800 fps.
1500 metres
I didn’t want to waste too much 338 ammo zeroing, or on the shorter ranges where the 308 would be just as much fun to shoot. A quick barrel swap and 4 shots at 100 yards produced a hole less than 1 MOA from the 308 zero and a 3 shot blob of half an inch total size - equating to approximately ¼ MOA accuracy. Andrew and I needed little convincing of this gun/load combo and, combined with its laterally ported brake, it was a pussycat to shoot.
11
DESERT TACTICAL ARMS DTA REVIEW
We wasted no time going straight out to 700 metres and ended up running out of elevation on the scope at 1500 metres, shooting 20 inch steel gongs. I’m no great wind-reader and at these ranges the tiniest of changes will push a bullet way off a target, even of this size but we had good weather and I was pleased to record consistent accuracy, well within my ability to read the wind. The great thing about shooting at these ranges is that you shoot, the gun recoils and settles, you then see the bullet disintegrate on the target (magnification dependant) and have time to take your earmuffs off to hear the faint `clang` in the distance. The time factor in this is quite surreal as the time of flight is around 3 seconds before you see a `splash` and the return of noise is even longer!
Throughout the testing of both calibres, repetitive barrel changes proved both return to zero being within ½ MOA and the difference between the two barrels only slightly more than the minute. When a gun is advertised, albeit for police and military use, to offer scenario-specific barrel changes, this is the type of consistency needed although I wouldn’t fancy beating my 58 second barrel change record with someone shooting back!
Conclusions
I really enjoyed using the rifle and quickly adapted to the slightly different operating procedures made necessary by the bullpup design. Fast and positive bolt operation required a slight alteration in technique. Heavy bolt-lift presented a slight hindrance but should be avoided anyway - it is a pressure warning sign after all!
The balance and feel of the rifle was different to the well evolved feel of the standard rifle layout and the virtually solid metal construction of the gun did give a very `dense` feel but neither bothered me and, to be honest, it was more shootable in 338 mode as the slightly longer barrel and brake, even in this large calibre, tamed the slightly barky and jumpy, ultra compact 308 layout.
On a negative note, the straight-line design of the chassis and polymer stock shells, combined with a very tight head position on the stock did lead to a very tiring, resonant `ring` being driven directly into your cheekbone and skull with every shot. Cheek-weld is one thing but I would have used what would normally
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