5mm Remington: Too bad you don't have them.

[Andrew]

I got to play with a new varmint round today. Centurion Ordnance in Texas sent me some of their production 5mm Remington Magnum "Varmint" ammo with a 30 grain HP bullet. Marine PMI and I had tested their prototype ammo and found it excellent, but things sometime have a way of changing when the rounds actually hit the market. In this case, it wasn't so unless it was that the bullet was moving faster!

 

The weather was rainy and I fired little for accuracy and more for chronographing, but the zero-verification groups showed it to shoot as good as I could hold; a ragged hole at 25M.

 

At 15 ft the speeds went between 2464 and 2494 fps with a 30 grain HP for a muzzle energy of 408 ft/lbs. I had earlier shot prairiedogs and rabbits with the prototype of this round and it was devastating. I had my 2.5X 'walking' scope on my 592M Remington today but I think I'm going back to a 3 - 9X for rimfire varminting.

 

I know that the 5mm is a non-event in the UK but I just thought I'd pass that along. It really is on the top of the heap for rimfire varmint rounds.~Andrew

[nemasis243]

Your one lucky guy there Andrew getting to play with all the new toys.

Hope your ok overther, did you get that Buck after??

ATB Andy

[Andrew]

Not yet. I'm off to South Dakota in October.~Andrew

[Bazooka Joe]

I know that the 5mm is a non-event in the UK but I just thought I'd pass that along. It really is on the top of the heap for rimfire varmint rounds.

 

Just hope one day it'll land over here, there'll be a few cheap 17's for sale I bet,

 

BJ

[ejg223]

That is some performance for a rimmy.

I'd be tempted if we could get them here.

 

edi

[alled12]

Andrew

Read about this round making its reappearance, seems to be a bit of a success. Are they considering making new rifles in this cartridge as well or are they just making it for those who were lucky enough to own and keep one of the originals? I would agree if this cartridge does become a commercial success and hopefully come to our shores I will be up at the top of the pile for one. It seems to be a happy medium between .17hmr and .22wmr. I look forward to reading how you get on with it.

[Andrew]

The original plan was to produce ammo that would feed the 50,000+ original rifles Remington built and the Thompson Center Contender barrels that were made for it. In that respect, the cartridge is a success; providing low cost ammo for the Remington 5mm freaks that were spending upwards to $125 US for a box of old original 36 grain ammo. I think that a few manufacturers have been looking at it but with a recession hitting the US and global economies, they are being cautious. Taurus out if Brazil makes a 9 shot revolver in 5mm and Thompson Center lists Encore barrels in their catalog. What I would like to see is CZ stepping up to the plate with a revamped 452.

 

I know the 5mm lives in abstract in the UK, but believe me. It is THE most powerful rim fire varminter there is. Here at my home in Montana I calculated the BC at .1334 (3500 ft elevation, 31.5" Hg, and 65% Relative Humidity at 90 degrees) and with a MV of 2480 that computes to an 8.8" drop at 200 with a 100 yard zero. That is spot on with the 17HMR but it arrives with 127 ft/lbs of energy. Compare that to the 68 ft/lbs of the 17HMR. It is really something else entirely in Rimfire; as the chart below illustrates. ~Andrew

 

[Andrew]

I tagged a flea ridden rabbit last evening with the new 5mm Varmint round at 65 yards. Messy, isn't it?~Andrew