.40 Lobaev Whisper
Where is the limit of accurate shooting subsonic bullet? Most of the serial sniper rifles using the most common army caliber - .30, allow you to confidently hit targets at the turn of 200 meters. Silent sniper weapon, using heavier .338 caliber bullets, pushes the distance of confident destruction to 400 meters. Limit? Not at all, because the heavier the bullet, the less for it the loss of energy on the trajectory and the magnitude of the wind drift, and this caliber is not the maximum for sniper systems.
.50 caliber subsonic cartridges (for example, .510 Whisper) are capable of demonstrating accuracy within one minute at 600-meter distance. It is very likely that this distance is not the limit for an accurate shot, but as the shooters working at such distances with subsonic bullets joke, then you will need a mortar sight. But the fiftieth caliber, with all its merits, means a large mass of weapons, ammunition, as well as the solid cost of each shot. Is it possible to achieve the same results, but with a smaller caliber? A new cartridge .40 Lobaev Whisper was created to answer this question.
The birth year of the .40 cartridge Lobaev Whisper could be 2009. The DVL silent sniper system project appeared that year initially included two calibers: .338LW and .40LW. However, they only managed to develop “three hundred and thirty-eighth”, and then plans had to be corrected in connection with the relocation of the design team to the UAE. So .40 Lobaev Whisper was created already there, in the 2012 year.
Unlike the "younger brother", developed on the basis of the cartridge sleeve 7,62х39, .40LW is based on a much more spacious cartridge sleeve .338 Lapua Magnum. However, for subsonic speeds, its internal volume, which allows it to accelerate a 250-300 grand mass bullet to 900 m / s, is somewhat redundant. Therefore, in the first stage of production, Lapua's high-quality liners are shortened by 25 mm, then they re-mold the shoulders and shoulders simultaneously with the calibration of the barrel under the new diameter - .408 inches (10,4 mm).
Fill the sleeve charge high-quality powder №320 famous brand VihtaVuori. Tests confirm the high stability of burning of this powder, which ensures the excellent accuracy of the new cartridge of the Lobaev Whisper line. However, the experiments are not finished yet, and there is a possibility that the .40LW serial cartridge will receive a slightly different composition of the powder charge.
The caliber chosen for the cartridge allows the use of bullets created for the .408 CheyTac cartridge. These heavy solid copper-nickel alloy bullets weighing 419 gran (27,15 g) demonstrate good stability at subsonic speeds and retain enough energy at a distance of 600 m to ensure that they hit the target. In the process of development, tests were carried out with foreign match-class bullets from such well-known manufacturers as Lost River and Lutz Möller, and with Lobaev Ammo bullets. All of them showed almost the same high accuracy, so for a serial sniper cartridge .40 Lobaev Whisper a bullet of its own production was chosen. The initial velocity of the bullet at the exit of the DVL barrel is 310 m / s, and its muzzle energy is 1305 J.
Due to the high ballistic coefficient of the heavy bullet .40LW - on the subsonic flight, it varies within 0,9 ... 0,94 - it loses speed and energy extremely slowly. At a distance of 600 m, its speed will be about 272 m / s, which gives energy to 1004 J. This is almost one and a half times more than that of the SP-5 cartridge at the outlet of the barrel, which guarantees not only a sure defeat of the target, but also a break through helmets and body armor. How steep is the trajectory? Tests have shown that the expenditure of the amendments of the sight in the 60 MOA is enough for normal aiming.
Does the .40 Lobaev Whisper have foreign analogues? Probably the closest to it are the cartridges .375 Whisper and .416 Whisper, created on the basis of the sleeve 7mm Remington Bench Rest. However, they cannot be called popular; mostly their use is the lot of individual gunsmith enthusiasts.
The main weapon for which the .40 cartridge Lobaev Whisper is designed is a silent DVL-10 sniper rifle. But with him she shows her outstanding results, demonstrating the effective range of fire to 600 m and technical accuracy of about half an angular minute (in a group of 5 hits on 100 m). In this case, the noise level measured during the tests is only 118-122 dB.
Test shooting conducted at distances 100 and 300 m, confirms the stated level of accuracy of the silent sniper complex. In addition, .40LW field tests were successfully carried out at a distance of 500 meters; when shooting on metal poppers with dimensions 60х60 cm the number of exact hits was equal to 100%. However, the process of testing and modifications of the cartridge is still ongoing, and its characteristics will be refined.
It is worth adding a few words about the practical shooting of the .40LW subsonic bullet at maximum distances. Its steep trajectory and solid wind demolition, which only relatively compensates for the heavy bullet weighing 419 gran, require accurate calculations made in the process of aiming corrections, and any error or estimate “by eye” here almost certainly ends in a slip. Previously, ballistic calculators were traditionally used to calculate the corrections, but now, with the ubiquity of mobile devices, it would be strange not to use the potential of the latter. Currently, a ballistic calculator is being developed for iOS, which will allow any fan of shooting to do the necessary calculations as quickly and comfortably as possible. Of course, there will be a separate module for the .40 Lobaev Whisper.
Characteristics of the .40 Lobaev Whisper cartridge
Bullet caliber .408 in (10,4 mm)
Bullet weight 419 grains (27,15 gr)
Initial bullet speed 310 m / s
Muzzle energy 1305 j
Technical accuracy 0,5 MOA
Range of sure defeat 600 m
Speed at a distance of 600 m (approximately) 272 m/s
Energy at a distance of 600 m (approximately) 1004 J
.50 caliber subsonic cartridges (for example, .510 Whisper) are capable of demonstrating accuracy within one minute at 600-meter distance. It is very likely that this distance is not the limit for an accurate shot, but as the shooters working at such distances with subsonic bullets joke, then you will need a mortar sight. But the fiftieth caliber, with all its merits, means a large mass of weapons, ammunition, as well as the solid cost of each shot. Is it possible to achieve the same results, but with a smaller caliber? A new cartridge .40 Lobaev Whisper was created to answer this question.
The birth year of the .40 cartridge Lobaev Whisper could be 2009. The DVL silent sniper system project appeared that year initially included two calibers: .338LW and .40LW. However, they only managed to develop “three hundred and thirty-eighth”, and then plans had to be corrected in connection with the relocation of the design team to the UAE. So .40 Lobaev Whisper was created already there, in the 2012 year.
Unlike the "younger brother", developed on the basis of the cartridge sleeve 7,62х39, .40LW is based on a much more spacious cartridge sleeve .338 Lapua Magnum. However, for subsonic speeds, its internal volume, which allows it to accelerate a 250-300 grand mass bullet to 900 m / s, is somewhat redundant. Therefore, in the first stage of production, Lapua's high-quality liners are shortened by 25 mm, then they re-mold the shoulders and shoulders simultaneously with the calibration of the barrel under the new diameter - .408 inches (10,4 mm).
Fill the sleeve charge high-quality powder №320 famous brand VihtaVuori. Tests confirm the high stability of burning of this powder, which ensures the excellent accuracy of the new cartridge of the Lobaev Whisper line. However, the experiments are not finished yet, and there is a possibility that the .40LW serial cartridge will receive a slightly different composition of the powder charge.
The caliber chosen for the cartridge allows the use of bullets created for the .408 CheyTac cartridge. These heavy solid copper-nickel alloy bullets weighing 419 gran (27,15 g) demonstrate good stability at subsonic speeds and retain enough energy at a distance of 600 m to ensure that they hit the target. In the process of development, tests were carried out with foreign match-class bullets from such well-known manufacturers as Lost River and Lutz Möller, and with Lobaev Ammo bullets. All of them showed almost the same high accuracy, so for a serial sniper cartridge .40 Lobaev Whisper a bullet of its own production was chosen. The initial velocity of the bullet at the exit of the DVL barrel is 310 m / s, and its muzzle energy is 1305 J.
Due to the high ballistic coefficient of the heavy bullet .40LW - on the subsonic flight, it varies within 0,9 ... 0,94 - it loses speed and energy extremely slowly. At a distance of 600 m, its speed will be about 272 m / s, which gives energy to 1004 J. This is almost one and a half times more than that of the SP-5 cartridge at the outlet of the barrel, which guarantees not only a sure defeat of the target, but also a break through helmets and body armor. How steep is the trajectory? Tests have shown that the expenditure of the amendments of the sight in the 60 MOA is enough for normal aiming.
Does the .40 Lobaev Whisper have foreign analogues? Probably the closest to it are the cartridges .375 Whisper and .416 Whisper, created on the basis of the sleeve 7mm Remington Bench Rest. However, they cannot be called popular; mostly their use is the lot of individual gunsmith enthusiasts.
The main weapon for which the .40 cartridge Lobaev Whisper is designed is a silent DVL-10 sniper rifle. But with him she shows her outstanding results, demonstrating the effective range of fire to 600 m and technical accuracy of about half an angular minute (in a group of 5 hits on 100 m). In this case, the noise level measured during the tests is only 118-122 dB.
Test shooting conducted at distances 100 and 300 m, confirms the stated level of accuracy of the silent sniper complex. In addition, .40LW field tests were successfully carried out at a distance of 500 meters; when shooting on metal poppers with dimensions 60х60 cm the number of exact hits was equal to 100%. However, the process of testing and modifications of the cartridge is still ongoing, and its characteristics will be refined.
It is worth adding a few words about the practical shooting of the .40LW subsonic bullet at maximum distances. Its steep trajectory and solid wind demolition, which only relatively compensates for the heavy bullet weighing 419 gran, require accurate calculations made in the process of aiming corrections, and any error or estimate “by eye” here almost certainly ends in a slip. Previously, ballistic calculators were traditionally used to calculate the corrections, but now, with the ubiquity of mobile devices, it would be strange not to use the potential of the latter. Currently, a ballistic calculator is being developed for iOS, which will allow any fan of shooting to do the necessary calculations as quickly and comfortably as possible. Of course, there will be a separate module for the .40 Lobaev Whisper.
Characteristics of the .40 Lobaev Whisper cartridge
Bullet caliber .408 in (10,4 mm)
Bullet weight 419 grains (27,15 gr)
Initial bullet speed 310 m / s
Muzzle energy 1305 j
Technical accuracy 0,5 MOA
Range of sure defeat 600 m
Speed at a distance of 600 m (approximately) 272 m/s
Energy at a distance of 600 m (approximately) 1004 J
Information