Well it's time for some fun.

Match #7 went well in light gun no mistakes on my part. Shot a 98 score and a 7.1 to win relay for score and then shot a 99 in the shoot off to win shoot off. Shot two different light guns both Dashers and both using the 105gr JLK bullets they are really working well. Match hurt new bad for light gun shooter of the year I had to qualify in 14 matches since I only had 9 shots on target that knocked me out of the running but no big deal my best friend took that spot. So now I can kid him that I left him win because I really had everyone beat by a 1/2 inch.

Got the Cutting Edge 275 gr bullets today boy are they long. 1.877 I did a quick check on the AOL length of around 20 they are all exactly the same length. The Ogive is exactly the same and so is the seal tite band and every other thing I could measure. the weights were better than they advertise a low of 274.860grs to a high of 275.044grs. So I can honestly say there is nothing to check on these bullets just take them out of the box and load them.

The big question is can I make them shoot. I did shoot the 6.5 133gr single feed match bullet from my 6.5/284 and they shot very well but not better than what I was shooting so to save money I didn't shoot them in competition. So when the weather cools down I will do some testing with new missiles.

I’ll be waiting for your results 

That is always a major concern of just how well a bullet will perform at long distance on game and produce a clean kill. I have taken a lot of game with the 300gr SMK and have never had any problems with that bullet doing a really good job. A whitetail deer is really on the small side for that big bullet but it has been really effective. It really performs better on mule deer and especially elk.

The CE 275 is just a test to see how they shoot. They say they will open up down to 1600fps so depending what speed you start off at you may be limited to 1000 yards or less. The Hornady 285gr ELDM has just as good of a BC as the CE 275gr but there again its a target bullet but so is the 300gr SMK. One important thing to do on the 300gr SMK is to check the opening of the hollow point it really helps to make sure it is open and it doesn't hurt to drill them open a little more than factory.

My son and grand kids live outside of Nashville to the south. I know TN. pretty well you right about not having good long range hunting compared to where I live in Pa. We have some great long range hunting spots in what we call the Grand Canyon area. The best long range hunting is definitely in the West. Col. and Wyoming and other states. High altitude really makes a big difference in how guns perform. 9500 to 10500 ft above sea level really is a game changer.

With 40 years of long range experience behind me and witness to well over a 100 kills with ranges from 700yards out to 1950 yrds we have not lost any game. Yes we have had some people but some poor hits on animals and the vast majority were not one shot kills especially once the range got beyond 1,000 yards. We have always recovered everything we shot. When conditions are perfect and you have a very accurate gun you can make a one shot kill but conditions in the winter time are rarely perfect in Pa. its cold and windy to the point that we don't shoot its simply not worth crippling a deer over that.

The golden rule is never long range hunt alone. You need at least one good spotter to call your shots the more the better. We usually have 4&6 guys that hunt in our group that way there are always 2&3 guys glassing for game at all times and you have enough people to help get the deer or bear out after you killed one.

Over the years we have used 6.5/300 7/300 30/378 and 338/378 338/416 IMP .338 Edge and 338/408 Chey-Tac The 338 caliber is superior to all the others when it comes to long range performance the .338 Edge is a good compromise and it duplicates my old .338/378 which I had great success. The .338 Edge cost less to shoot which is a bonus. I am pushing my Edge harder than you with a 31 inch barrel I am getting 3080fps with a 285gr Hornady bullet that makes it a very good combination. I am surprised the CE 252gr didn't do a better job for you I always run 9 twist barrels instead of 10 twist the seem to shoot better past 1000 yrds and they seem to kill better just my experience. We always run faster twists than standard.

Well I got to test the 275gr CE bullets today. Used my standard load that shoots the best in this gun with 285gr ELDM and 300gr SMK.. I load 15 up with different seating depth from just touch the land to back off .030. No of them shot at all at 100 yards. This barrel hates Berger bullets and I can add these to the list. So I will stick to what works. I am not surprised that they didn't shoot better I have found that a barrel will either hammer with them or simply hate them if you don't try you will never know.

I went that route before with the Berger's and it was pretty ugly for my standards. The 275CE really opened up once I got past touching the lands. It looked like .025 off might shoot but when I went to .030 off they really had a mind of there own. What I did see was on new fired brass my max load of RL33 really didn't show any expansion on the case mainly because the bullet itself is undersize for the bore the sealing ring is what is actually over size without the sealing ring you would get blow bye on this bullet also a common problem with other solids.

Not saying the CE are bad bullets they are very well made but if your barrel doesn't like them I don't waste much time anymore trying to make them shoot since I already have two good bullet options for this gun.