I have now had a chance to wring out my little .338 Ruger Compact Magnum and have some more observations. There has been a couple of threads of late about how to make Rugers shoot. I confess that I have never had trouble getting a Ruger to shoot and this rifle is no exception. At 50 meters, it shoots 210 grain TSXs in to virtually the same hole. It also shoots 225 grain Hornady Spire Points into tiny little clusters. Both bullets at a muzzle velocity of over 2600 FPS from the short 20 inch barrel. I am sure that it will indeed group at less than an inch at 100 meters if I do my part.

The rifle itself is typical Ruger. Fit and finish are quite good for a gun in this price range. Barrel and action are satin finished but the bolt handle is in the white. It has a good set of iron sights. Overall length of the rifle is right about 40 inches and LOP is only 13 inches. I was concerned that the short length of pull would be a hinderance but it is perfect. The rife comes up like a shotgun and works perfectly with the Leupold Vari-II 2x7 scope I put on it. Out of the box, it weighs about 6 3/4 pounds. Recoil with the 210 TSXs is nothing. When you start pushing the 225 grain bullets much over 2600, recoil becomes much more noticeable. Again, the wood is typical Ruger, straight grained with no cheekpiece. In other words, a working rifle.

I really like this little cartridge as well as the gun that they made for it. It comes in both right and left hand, wood or synthetic. For those of you that want max performance, It also comes in the standard Ruger Hawkeye with a 13 1/2 LOP and a 22 inch barrel, again in right hand and left hand, stainless or synthetic. Me, I figure if you are going to get a compact magnum cartridge, you should get a compact rifle to shoot it in.

Anyway, if you like short, light, and handy, I would highly recommend this gun. I don't walk up mountains anymore looking for elk, but I sure wish that I had this rifle when I did.

Thanks for the info.
What does the 338 RCM do that the 338 Federal does not, in your opinion?

Karoo:

In a 20 inch barrel, it will give you about 150 feet more velocity than the .338 Federal witth a 22 inch barrel although I understand guys with the .338 federal have been getting over 2500 fps with a 225 grain bullet and Alliants new 2000 MR. In a 22 inch barrel, it will probably exceed the .338 Federal by 150-200 fps.

Would it be true to say then its .338/06 performance from a 20inch barrel?