.

408 CHEYENNE TACTICAL

A Novel 2,000-Meter Tactical Cartridge
- Part I -

by John D. Taylor

The end of the U.S.-Soviet superpower rivalry drastically diminished the prospects of a global nuclear confrontation, but it unleashed pent-up global non-nuclear confrontations as well as pent-up ethnic, religious and territorial disputes that were simmering beneath the surface of the Cold War security system. The result has been steadily increasing conflicts ranging from North frica to Central !urope to the states of the former Soviet Union. These new wars have challenged the capacity of the United Nations, the United States, N T", or any other combination of powers to deal with them, leaving open the possibility for a continued escalation of the si#e and scope of these conflicts to levels that could rival the most violent episodes of the Cold War era. $owever, before any ma%or escalation of conse&uence develops, it is anticipated that a number of limited conflicts will continue to emerge with some leading to a ma%or escalation. 'n many cases, this escalation will be seen against a bac(ground of terrorist activities. 'n a changing environment, nations are now reviewing the capabilities of e)isting weapon systems and planning for

new ones. With the latter, these nations are especially interested in novel and redesigned weapon systems that can best fit the challenges of limited conflicts and terrorist activities. AN EMERGING THEME FOR NOVEL AND RE-DESIGNED WEAPON SYSTEMS Current logic behind emerging weaponry includes long-range precision control, and when necessary, surgical removal of situations resulting from limited conflicts and terrorist activities. Thus, one of the common threads is long-range tactical precision. *ong-range tactical precision is the weapon+s ability to launch a pro%ectile over a great distance, and precisely to find and eliminate the target without damaging the immediate surroundings. *ong-range tactical precision ranges from long-range missiles fired from tactical aircraft to longrange bullets fired from tactical rifles. TA!TI!AL RIFLES AND THEIR !ARTRIDGES Tactical rifles of both turn-bolt actions or semi-automatic designs, are

emerging from various U.S. and !uropean manufacturers in order to meet an increasing stringent demands by today+s military and police organi#ations. t the one end of the spectrum, e)isting rifle platforms, designed for game hunting, are being up-graded to tactical status, usually by cosmetic changes, while at the other end of the spectrum are rifles designed especially for precision tactical shooting. The cartridges being used include the ,.,-).,mm N T" /.001 2emington3, the 4.-0),5mm N T" /.167 Winchester3. To a lesser e)tent, and in an attempt to maintain accuracy over a longer range, the 4mm 2emington 8agnum, .166 Winchester 8agnum, and the new .117 *apua 8agnum are currently being used, but have not represented 9mainstream9 cartridges. :enerally in the hands of a &ualified shooter, the ,.,-).,mm N T" is capable of a ma)imum precision range up to ,66 meters; the 4.-0),5mm N T" is capable of a ma)imum precision range up to 466 meters; and the .166 Winchester 8agnum is capable of a ma)imum precision range up to <66 meters. 9=recision9 is defined here as 5 8" or better. Some readers will contest these ma)imum ranges as e)amples of precision shooting performed at greater distances do e)ist. Some of these e)amples, will be mentioned; however, these generali#ed values are presented here for 9benchmar(9 purposes only. The .117 *apua 8agnum cartridge has emerged as a cartridge that e)tends the ma)imum precision range of 466 meters, found with the 4.-0),5mm N T", out to 5,166 meters. 't should be noted that in this caliber, >a(ota rms guarantees 6., 8" for it+s T-4- *ongbow out to 5,,66 meters and rnold rms advertises that its 8ar( '' can shoot 1.,-inch and .-inch groups at 5,-66 yards /5,0<6 meters3; in both cases, in the hands of a &ualified shooter using appropriate ammunition.

?inally, specialty cartridges, best e)emplified by the .0.1 Winchester and the .,6 @rowning are also used in tactical situations. The .0.1 Winchester has been proposed by =laster /53 for urban countersniping because, unli(e the ,.,-).,mm N T", it can penetrate automobile glass. $owever, it does not possess the energy to ricochet through building walls as is the case with the 4.-0),5mm N T", an important characteristic for urban areas where innocent bystanders are numerous. The .,6 @rowning is found at the end of the spectrum representing large calibers. 't was originally designed as an anti-material cartridge and is capable of a ma)imum range up to 0,766 meters. Some manufacturers guaranteed 6., to 5 8" in the hands of a &ualified shooter using appropriate ammunition. ' suspect the guarantee is for 5,666 yards or meters and not beyond. Thus, up to 5,066 meters, a spectrum of ammunition e)ists which meets the re&uirements of the tactical shooter. @eyond 5,166 meters, many would argue that the .,6 @rowning is the logical choice. "ne might as(, 9*ogical choice for what ...antipersonnel or anti-materialA9 @eyond 5,166 meters, the advantage of anti-material has been shown to be more important than antipersonnel. The .,6 @rowning is not intended for anti-personnel deployment, but rather hard targets such as truc(s, armor personnel carriers, aircraft, and communications installations. $owever, it has been used as an anti-personnel cartridge on an ad hoc basis because nothing else is consistently viable past 5,166 meters. *egends have been established on successful ad hoc shootings. SHO"LD THE .#$ %ROWNING SERVE A NEW TA!TI!AL NI!HE& Cartridges proven for tactical situations e)ist for anti-personnel shooting out to 5,166 meters. @eyond 5,166 meters, there may be a tendency to use the .,6 @rowning even though its advantages are

weighted toward anti-material rather than anti-personnel. The &uestion now becomes whether the .,6 @rowning should be adopted as a 5,166-plus meter caliber for antipersonnel shooting on a routine rather than an ad hoc basisA s a general rule, the platform becomes larger and heavier as a conse&uence of using larger calibers with heavier bullets to obtain longer ranges. 't seems reasonable that an unloaded, scoped rifle would no longer be considered tactical when its weight e)ceeds 57 pounds and its barrel length e)ceeds 16 inches. @eyond these values, the rifle is too heavy and unwieldy to be handled by one man for e)tended periods of time. Some may argue that these specifications are too high while others may argue that they are too low. 'n order to establish a benchmar(, ' propose that the 57-poundB16-inch specification serve as the upper limit until convincing arguments can be brought forth or a consensus reached to the contrary. 8anufacturers of .,6 caliber tactical rifles have recogni#ed the need for a light and easy handling rifle. review of several e)isting unscoped .,6 caliber rifles reveals the @arrett+s turn-bolt 8odel <, at 00., pounds with a 0<-inch barrel and semiautomatic 8odel 870 5 at 16 pounds with a 0<-inch barrel; the =au#a+s semi-automatic =-,6 at 16 pounds with a 0<-inch barrel; and the 8c8illan @ros+ ,6 Caliber Tactical at 04 pounds with a 0<-inch barrel. These rifles do not e)ceed the 16-inch barrel specification, but do e)ceed the 57-pound weight limit previously mentioned. The @arrett 8odel <, and the 8c8illan @ros Tactical approach the weight re&uirements. 't appears that a case can be made -but %ust barely -- for the .,6 @rowning serving as anti-personnel in addition to its accepted role as anti-material tactical cartridge beyond 5,166 meters. 'n other words, an established anti-material caliber could serve as an anti-personnel caliber providing that it+s being launched from a light

enough platform. 'f this logic is sound, then one might want to e)amine the possibility whether the .117 *apua 8agnum, which is an established anti-personnel caliber, could serve as an anti-material caliber. Clearly the platform for the .117 *apua 8agnum fits the tactical rifle specifications. With this scenario, the .117 should be able to e)tend its primary anti-personnel role into a limited anti-material role, while the .,6 would assume an anti-personnel role in addition to its established anti-material role. SHO"LD THE .''( LAP"A MAGN"M SERVE A NEW TA!TI!AL NI!HE& Thus, the .117 and .,6 would serve as a continuum between anti-personnel and anti-material. @ut is the .117 up to the tas(A Several rifle manufacturers have promoted the .117 *apua 8agnum as a lighter alternative to the 4,6 to 766-gr. .,6 @rowning bullet with a mu##le velocity of appro)imately 0,466 fps. *apua *td. offers a .117 cartridge with their *oc( @aseC 0,6gr. bullet at an advertised 1,660 fps which offers substantial improvements in downrange energy as well as ma)imum precision range over the .166 Winchester 8agnum. This bullet is intended for longrange shooting. second .117 offering by *apua *td. launches a ?"2!DC Tactical 0-6-gr. at an advertised 0,746 fps. This bullet is intended for short-range anti-glass shooting. The bullet+s base is hollow which shifts the weight bias forward. *apua *td. in its promotional literature shows images of amour-piercing incendiary .117 *apua 8agnum cartridges, but to my (nowledge the characteristics of this cartridge have not been reported. ?rom a payload standpoint, a 0,6-gr. .117 caliber bullet can not come close to serving as an effective long-range anti-material bullet when compared to the heavier .,6 @rowning bullet /03. "rigin of the .117 *apua 8agnum cartridge is the 2esearch rmament 'ndustries+ /2 '3 7.,7)45mm cartridge, based on a nec(ed-down and shorten by

6.57-inch ..5- 2igby case. 't was designed in the early 5<76s as a new .117B4.-0),5mm N T" convertible 8odel 166 sniper rifle 2 ' built for the U.S. Navy. The 8odel 166 was the step below the .,6 2 ' 8odel ,66, better (nown as the $as(ins rifle. The converted..5- 2igby cartridge case falls short of launching an ade&uate long-range anti-material cartridge even when a 1,6-gr. . 14, bullet is considered /13. ' propose that what is re&uired is a bullet, with a caliber and corresponding weight between the .117 *apua 8agnum and the .,6 @rowning, and launched from a cartridge case large enough to ta(e advantage of the new bullet+s weight to yield the highest possible downrange energy. DESIGN OF A NOVEL )$$$-METER TA!TI!AL !ARTRIDGE 'n designing a new tactical cartridge that would fill the gap between the .117 *apua 8agnum and the .,6 @rowning, criteria must be established. 't seems reasonable that the caliber should be between .117 and .,6; i.e., appro)imately ..06; weight of the bullet should be between the 0,6 and 4,6 grains; i.e., appro)imately ,66 grains; and the ma)imum precision range should be between 5,166 and 0,766 meters; i.e., appro)imately 0,666 meters. Without specially designed cartridge cases, chamber pressures should not e)ceed the low -6s Epsi. 'n order to achieve the 0,666-meter mar( with a ,66-gr. bullet, a cartridge case with a volume larger than the .117 *apua 8agnum is re&uired. convenient approach would be to nec(-down the .,6 @rowning and to use a receiver whose bolt face would accommodate the .,6 @rowning cartridge case. third approach would be to design a new cartridge case from scratch. This is probably the best approach, but would be cost-prohibitive. The third approach would be to use an e)isting large capacity cartridge with a smaller rim diameter than the .,6

@rowning. The re&uirement would be that it could be used in a long-magnum receiver where its bolt face would accommodate the rim diameter. comparison of rim diameters and total case volume suggest that the .,7, Fan $orn !)press, the .,6, 8agnum :ibbs /aka .,6, :ibbs3 and the ..46 2oyal might be good choices /see Table '3. The .,7, Nyati probably should not be considered because its rebated rim could be detrimental in a tactical situation. The .,7, Nyati is composed of a .,46 Nitro case and .,6, rebated rim. The total case volume of the . ,7, Fan $orn !)press is 0.7 grains of water while the .,6, :ibbs and ..46 2oyal are similar with 004 and 000 grains of water respectively. The lac( of readily available cartridge cases would present serious handicaps for the .,7, Fan $orn !)press and the ..46 2oyal which would leave the . ,6, :ibbs as the prime candidate. .,6, :ibbs cartridge cases can be purchased from -S&uare, @ertram @ullet, and $>S. *i(e the ..5- 2igby that was used as the parental cartridge case for the .117 *apua 8agnum, the .,6, :ibbs is an old !nglish big game cartridge that was designed to accommodate .6 Epsi pressures. "ne of the disadvantages to these old cartridge cases is the thic(ness of the sidewall %ust forward to the web. >uring ignition, the cartridge+s base, forward to the bolt face, is not supported. The case is driven bac( against the bolt face which results in the stretching of the case, particularly the sidewall immediately forward of the web. When the sidewall resists the outward e)pansion against the chamber, the pressure stretches the case thereby increasing its length resulting in the sidewall becoming thinner at that stretch point. 'f the .,6, :ibbs was to be used as the cartridge case of choice, particular attention should be directed toward the case+s web and sidewall immediately forward to the web to accommodate chamber

pressures reaching -6 Epsi or higher. 'n modern solid-head cases, the hardness of the brass is the ma%or factor that determines a case+s pressure limit before undergoing plastic deformation. *apua *td. solved this problem when they used the ..5- 2igby as the parental case to the .117 *apua 8agnum. They created a hardness distribution ranging from the head and web /hard3 to the mouth /soft3 as well as a strengthened /thic(er3 case web and sidewall immediately forward of the web. This resulted in a case which can achieve a ma)imum average pressure of ,< Epsi with a recommendation not to e)ceed -4 Epsi. Not* This author has measured chamber pressures on the *apua+s cartridge case of pressures up to -1 Epsi which revealed no visible changes in the case; however, at this pressure primers begin to flatten. 'n response to my re&uest, @ruce @ertrum of @ertrum @ullet Co. =ty *td. / ustralia3 strengthened the web of his .,6, :ibbs cartridge case /?igure 53. ?or initial trials a diameter of ..67 was chosen rather than ..06. 't is a solid S ! --6 bron#e pro%ectile /bullet3, weighs ..6 grains, and features a ..67 driving band with the reminder of the shan( being ..66 in diameter /?igure 03. The driving band will provide a seal between the pro%ectile and bore while at the same time, impart spin to the pro%ectile. The driving band should minimi#e wear on the barrel; i.e., minimi#e the frictional wor( arising from the driving force as the pro%ectile passes along the groove profile. 't is generally accepted that the driving band should be as narrow as possible so that the radial stresses in the pro%ectile as the driving band is 9engraved9 remain within permitted limits. When seated, the pro%ectile e)tends slightly below base of the cartridge case+s nec( /?igure 13. Computer modeling predicts that we should be able to achieve 0,<1, fps with -..< Epsi with a predicted ballistic coefficient of 6.755 at 1,666 fps.

The cartridge is called the ..67 Cheyenne TacticalG /..67 CheyTacG3. Comparing the ..67 CheyTac with a spectrum of tactical cartridge si#es, reveals that it fits nicely between the .117 *apua 8agnum and the .,6 @rowning /?igure .3. Terminal ballistics will be an important consideration during the on-going development and testing of this 0,666 meter cartridge. The ..67 CheyTac is intended to posses greater anti-material properties than the .117 *apua 8agnum. =ro%ectiles with anti-material capacity, particularly armorpiercing, are referred to as (inetic energy pro%ectiles. They produce the desired effect by (inetic energy alone. =enetration of (inetic energy pro%ectiles depends upon the following factorsH caliber, pro%ectile energy, angle of impact and the &uality of the materials of which the pro%ectile and the armor are composed. Einetic energy pro%ectiles include monobloc pro%ectiles, hard-core pro%ectiles, and discarding sabot pro%ectiles. t terminal velocity, monobloc and hard-core pro%ectiles are superior to discarding sabot pro%ectiles, but the latter have the advantage of substantially higher mu##le and terminal velocities, so that its penetration power is correspondingly greater. The ..67 CheyTac represents an e)ample of a monoshot pro%ectile and will be evaluated accordingly. Table '' contrasts the velocities and energies of the .117 *apua 8agnum, the . .67 CheyTac and the .,6 @rowning. These values are computer generated and are for comparison purposes only. !nergy differences between the .117 *apua 8agnum and the .,6 @rowning are stri(ing. The ..67 CheyTac represents a good intermediate of the three cartridges. 't has appro)imately ,,I more energy than the .117 *apua 8agnum at both 5,666 and 0,666 meters, while it has appro)imately ..I and ,,I less energy than the .,6 @rowning at 5,666 and 0,666 meter respectively.

The platform selected to test the ..67 CheyTac consists of a :il(es aluminumBsteel insert, long magnum receiver modified by Sea $orse of 8ichigan and , Star :2 into a drop maga#ine repeater with a Jewell trigger. To this is added a Erieger $eavy =alma 8atch, chrome moly, 16-inch barrel. The barrel is bra(ed by a 8c rthur =:2S mu##le bra(e. Chamber reamers are by Clymer 8anufacturing while fire-forming %ig and loading dies were by Sea $orse of 8ichigan. ?uture studies with the ..67 CheyTac will focus on its terminal (inetic energy properties in addition to internal and e)ternal ballistics. =art '' will provide cartridge specifications as well as data on internal, e)ternal and terminal ballistics of this novel cartridge. ?inally, it has not escaped our attention that the ..67 CheyTac would be a good candidate for replacing the 4.-0),5mm N T" in the :eneral 8achine :un category. 't probably would have to be modified by increasing the body taper by 6., degree to obtain ideal feeding properties.

.)nmaker; Voice: 3'3-12&-1 &3" #$%: 3'3-12&-1 2(. REFEREN!ES /53 =laster, J. *. ;he <ltimate Sniper. 5<<1. =aladin =ress, @oulder, C". /03 Steadman, N. 05st Century mmo. What Tomorrow+s Troops Will @e Shooting. #ighting #irearms. =o)rnal of $rmed >rofessionals. Winter 5<<,. @ounder, C". /13 Taylor, J. >. =arental Cartridge Cases... The ?uture. Shooter?s @e*s. June, 5<<4. North "lmsted, "$. /.3 $owell, E. 3esigning and #orming :)stom :artridges for 9ifles and Aandg)ns. 'nternat+l. Cart. rch. Stevenville, 8". 5<<,.

John D. Taylor+ Ph.D. !h*y*nn* Ta,t-,al Lt.. Vo-,* '/'-#00-)(00 FA1 '/'-#00-/$2' E3a-l ,h*y*nn*456n.5,-*n,*.7ayn*.*.6 Acknowledgments: My partner in this endeavor is Willi Wordman (Seahorse of Michigan; Voice: 313- 1- !3" #$%: 3131-&''3(. #or previo)s and on-going assistance" *e *o)ld like to thank +r)ce Mc$rth)r (#lint , #ri--en .)n Shop; Voice: /0 -1/2-3333; #$%: /0 -1/'-1 2 (" 3r. Steve #a4er (#a4ri5)e Scientific" 6nc.; 7mail: sfa4er8mcs.net(" .ordon 9o4ertson (2 Star .9" #$%: &1!- 01-/'2 (" 3avid Manson (:lymer Man)fact)ring :o." 6nc.; Voice: 1'- 23-2222" #$%: 1'- 23-123'( and $nthony .ilkes ($nthony W. .ilkes"