Hey guys, The factory ballistics (Federal) make these two look like virtual twins. Do you know of any advantage/dissadvantage to either of these? Availability, versatility, cost etc.
On the surface it looks like there is no point in producing both. I've toyed with the idea of getting a 300-Ultra but know little of the 300- weatherby.
Any input would be appreciated.

I think the 300 RUM holds a slight edge if loaded to its potential.

According to Nosler's loading data, max loads with 180 grain bullets in the RUM, depending on the powder used, use about 4.5 to 7 grains more powder than the Wby to achieve about 45 to 80 f.p.s. greater velocity. But the RUM will produce more blast, kick, and flash to do so.

Is it worth it? You decide what matters to you.

If your goal is to burn as much powder and produce as much blast as possible, then go with the RUM, or the even greater 30-378 Weatherby.

But I think 300 Weatherby owners (I'm one) need not hang their heads in shame or feel that they have become outclassed and outgunned.

The .300 Wby has been around for about a half century, it is known and used throughout the world, brass and loads are more available for it, and it has successfully taken every game animal on the planet. Although it is no doubt an outstanding cartridge, none of that is true of the 300 RUM.

If you are looking for one of the most powerful 30 cals on the market the 30-378 Wby or the Lazzeroni Warbird might be for you. At least you can find ammo and brass for the Weatherby. If it says Lazzeroni on it anywhere, it's REALLY expensive, even compared to Weatherby.

For one of the best, most useful 30 cal mags, the 300 Wby is hard to beat. Understand that the Weatherby ammo and brass is not cheap compared to say, 300 Win mag.

Ken....

Any ballistic advantage would lie with the Ultra Mag, as it is a bigger case, but in the real world I don't think it holds enough of an advantage to make much of a difference.

Both reqire 3.6 inch length magazine, but the Ultra Mag requires a modified box, as it is based on the fatter .404 Jeffery case vs. the Weatherby being based on the H&H case.

Factory ammo is readily avalible for either, although with Remington's new power level offerings you have the option of toning down the Ultra Mag if you're recoil sensitve.

Both are great rounds that serve the same purpose and will accomplish 95% of all the hunting you will ever want to do.

The 300 RUM and 300 Weatherby are NOT equal. The 300 RUM is about 100fps faster. If you handload the 300 mags with 180gr bullets break down about like this:

300 WSM 3000fps
300 Win 3100fps
300 Wea 3200fps
300 RUM 3300fps
30-378 3400fps

I've reloaded for multiple examples of all the above except the 30-378.

As far a effects on game 100fps doesn't amount to a hill of beans. Buy a rifle you like in either 300 RUM or 300 Weatherby and go hunting...........................DJ

I would decide on availability of loaded ammunition.

And the fact that the Weatherby is a long established round not likely to be dropped as a loaded cartridge from the manufacturers' lists.

Is there a difference in case neck length? If so I would go for the round with the longer case neck.

quote:

Originally posted by Heat:

Understand that the Weatherby ammo and brass is not cheap compared to say, 300 Win mag.

Remington makes 300 Wby ammunition, and also bulk brass. The Remington 300 Wby bulk brass is not significantly more expensive than their 300 Win Mag brass.

As a 300 Weatherby owener my self I will put .02 cents in too...

I hand load all my 300 loads no factory stuff I can get 100 300 weatherby cases from remington for $57 and that is realy cheep considering my 500 S&W mag brass from hornady cost me $32 for 50 cases

now I load all Barns bullets for my Weatherby and the 168-180gr are my two I use the most with the 180gr i load it using IMR 7828SSC the barns book calls for 84.0 grs that is what I use the book calls it out with a 24" barrel and a speed of 3145fps my avg with my vangard with a 24" barrel is 3250fps avg that is about the same as a factory loaded Reming ton 300 RUM leval III. now my Accu Mark with the 26" barrel shoots the same load at just a hair over 3300fps....3312fps avg

the 168gr TSX calls out for 85.5grs but i load mine to 85grs found that .5grs mad not that much diffrance in speed but made a differance in accuracy agin using IMR7828SSC the book says 3286 with a 24" barrle and I was getting 3380fps avg in my vangard and in the AccuMark I am getting 3450fps avg.....

IMO If you want a good Elk or Moose round for shooting 300 yards + eather one of thease 300 Weatherby,300 RUM or the 30-378 Weatherby is going to work "Dead is Dead" if people are going to think that 50-100fps is going to make that much diffrance well then more power to them if they can affored it let them get it...

But if I can hand load a 300 Weatherby Mag to go as fast as a 300 Remington Ultra Mag and it will cost less in the long run well then that is the one I will go with

Both great cartridges, the rum will outpace the wby by 100-150 fps with handloads.Neither are cheap to load for so pick the one you will be most happy with.If cost is important get a 300 win as there are no flies on the 300 win for long range

The 300WBY is a belted mag which some folks don't like.

The 300RUM is not belted but the rim is rebated for standard magnum action bolt faces. Sometimes that rebated rim can be trouble for CRF actions.

quote:

Originally posted by djpaintles:
The 300 RUM and 300 Weatherby are NOT equal. The 300 RUM is about 100fps faster.

yes by 100fps,thats 3.125% faster.
and 3% is equal in my book.

the reason i chosed a .300wby was because i've heard the .300rum could be tricky to load for(i was a newbie then, a year ago)
and the Weatherby is kind of a classic(1944 if my memory serves me correctly).

but i think your rifle choice is more important.
if your considering a beautiful Mark V, you should of course go with the wby cartridge.
if Remington is what you want, go for the rum.

Much better brass for the Weatherby!

Hard to go wrong with a 300 WBY.

My 1st experience seeing a 300 WBY in action came about on an Elk hunt in the late 70s near Mount St. Helens. A very experienced hunter from our camp had one. One cool early morning I watched him pull the trigger of the 300 WBY. On a big bull Elk just under 400 yards aways. To my surprise that big bull dropped like a lighting bolt struck him. I was impressed to say the least. As it was not very common to shoot an Elk at that kind of range in those days. I've seen Elk take 3 or 4 hits at much less range with other rounds and still be on their feet.

These days own a few 300 WBYs in various rifles. And one Rem 700 300 RUM.

The 300 WBY has been around for many decades so it is very well established with a good selection of factory loads and bullets if you don't always handload. For me the 300 WBYs seems to be less finicky about bullets and loads than my only 300 RUM. Perhaps my Rem 700 300 RUM isn't the best example? don't know.

Either way don't think either one is a bad choice as they both have plenty of horsepower to deal with anything in North America.

My two cents....I have the Rem .300 UM and well to say the least it is a shooter. I bought it a few years back to go elk hunting and well needless to say have'nt made it to the elk woods as of yet!!lol BUT I have used it in the deer woods and I can honestly say it is TOO much gun for thin skinned game but it is just the ticket for some of the Texas and Oklahoma porkers I go after ...My .300 really like 200 grain bullets in just about any factory load...

quote:

Originally posted by LE270:

quote:

Originally posted by Heat:

Understand that the Weatherby ammo and brass is not cheap compared to say, 300 Win mag.

Remington makes 300 Wby ammunition, and also bulk brass. The Remington 300 Wby bulk brass is not significantly more expensive than their 300 Win Mag brass.

My mistake, I keep forgetting that you can get some Weatherby ammo and components from other manufacturers. I load for the 257 and 338-378. I don't know if any other manufacturer loads the 257 but I know the 338-378 is Weatherby only. Does get a little pricey but I knew that going in, hence the reason I took up handloading.

Ken....

The .300 Weatherby depends on significant freebore (rifling-free groove diameter space of about 1" in length) to achieve its velocities. It also has a rather unique double-radius shoulder. Neither of these features contribute to accuracy (although some Weatherbys certainly are accurate). To achieve .300 WBY velocities at slightly lower pressures and with a normal shoulder and leade, then you need to step up to the .300 RUM.

That said, there is little or no practical advantage to a .30 caliber bullet propelled any faster than the typical 3050 fps that most .300 Winchester rifles can achieve with a 180 grain bullet. All of the .30 magnums will have significant muzzle blast and recoil. You can ratchet it up with the super-sized magnums, but it's hard to make a convincing case (no pun intended) for doing so.

Something to look at also on the 300 RUM is the 3 levels of ammo offered by remington. You can have a 30-06, 300 win mag, and a 300 RUM all in 1 rifle just by buying the level of Remington ammo for the Cal. you desire. I have tried all 3 in mine and they performed as advertised.

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
Much better brass for the Weatherby!

NOT!

.........................DJ

I own the 300 RUM and took it to Africa shooting the plains game. It did a fine job shooting 200gr bullets.

If you are one of the guys that likes to beat textbook numbers, yes the RUM has bigger numbers. With the proper bullet for the game in both calibers, you would be tested to really prove the true difference in terminal performance in the field. Either caliber is a winner for North American game.

You can buy Nosler brass for the 300 RUM now....

Where the RUM beats the Weatherby is it's lack of freebore, so usually they will shoot much better and not be as fussy with loads.

Nosler in it's #6 manual states they achieved "near benchrest accuracy with mid weight bullets and IMR 4350" from the RUM.

The inherent accuracy of the RUM over the Weatherby is where it's at; the ballistics favour the RUM as well, but for me that is not as vital as the accuracy advantage.

I tried the Nosler ammo and got poor results in Group size and in Reloading. Some of the once fired brass had the primer pockets enlarged, the rest of them were oversize after first reload. Called Nosler and told them about it. They allowed some of there earlier Brass might have been bad and they would have someone call me back. That was over 4 months ago, still waiting on the call. I have had my best results with Remington Brass. I used Remington ammo in Namibia with the 200 grain Swift A Frames, I recovered 3 Bullets and they had performed perfectly. I will be using Remington ammo in my .416 Remington with the 400 grain A Frame for Buffalo in tanzania next month.