I am thinking of getting a rifle in .300 RUM.

Never had a .300 magnum before, just .308s and .30-06s. I have plenty of magnum rifles, from 7mm Rem. Mag. to .338 Win. Mag. to .375 H&H Mag. to .416 Rigby and Rem. Mag. to .458 and even to .500, but no .300s.

I like the flat trajectory and long range potential of the .300 RUM. Good to know it's there, if needed.

What do you guys that have one (or that maybe once had one) think about this caliber?

If you want to go fast, this is it. More efficient than the 30-378 Roy. This and the .338 are the (arguably) best of the RUMs. Own and shoot both. Life is short. Get it while the getting is good.

Mike, I've got a few spare rounds from 300 RUMs I've owned. Let me know when you score one and I'll send them your way.

Great caliber, but like any long-range caliber, don't go cheap. A 300 RUM that shoots 2" groups isn't worth much. On a rifle that has the capability of shooting past 500 yards, pay to get a good one. An HS Precision would be a good choice.

Even with handloads you don't get much velocity to justify the muzzle blast and recoil..Check the loading books...I had one for awhile, and its mostly hype and they loaded it to higher pressure to make it sell.

The new cheap shot artists that we used to call bean counters come up with all that high velocity at 65,000 PSI and compare it to its old counterpart whatever that might be loaded at 50,000 PSI....The loading books and factory specs are loaded with that kind of propoganda, and it sells the new calibers..They did it with the 458 Win. and the 264, then had to quitely ease off and not tell the masses..

The go on the assumption that there is a sucker born every minute.

Well I don't usually do this but I have to disagree with Ray. I bought a M700 300RUM when they first came out. I have a hand load that chronos a 180gr bullet at 3400fps. It shoots MOA or better all day long right out of the box and is badass on long distance elk. I put a brake on it and that was a mistake. First elk I shot it felt like someone had stuck a nail in both my ears. Got rid of the brake. The recoil is much less painful than the hearing loss.
I don't hunt elk anymore and it is overkill on our tiny blacktail. PM me and I might sell it along with dies and about 100 brass.

I have one in a Shilen barrel custom Sako L61. Very accurate with a lot of loads. I took it once to Namibia with 180 grain Partitions, fantastic performance. Downside is you need a long barrel.

I have the perfect action and barrel for sale in the classifieds, buy them both and I will even throw in some brass.

Had an early BDL for 5 shots. Got a terrible headache.

Have learned a bit since then. Lotsa powder takes a long barrel. Lotsa powder burns up regular barrels quickly.

Technology to the rescue. Was gonna build a 338 Lapua until I priced the brass and realized I didn't need a cartridge designed to work in automatic weapons.

338 RUM had the same ballistics, much less expensive brass. A 3 groove barrel has less friction, when Nitrided lasts far longer and when it's 36" long can burn all that powder.

Hardly a walk around rifle but nudging 3000 fps with a 300 gr Berger is impressive.

A 300 RUM hunting rifle built on a Ruger No. 1 would be interesting as you could have a 30" barrel with a reasonable OAL. A rich friend has a 30-378 like that equipped with very expensive night vision optics. Hunts Yotes at night at incredible ranges (he has too many cattle to count).

Without the long barrel a 300 WinMag would probably "git er done" without punishing your shoulder and ears.

Mike,

Contact Dan Atwood at ACRM in Chickamauga, GA, and he will fill you in on the .300RUM and .338RUM.

He mostly builds long range shooting rifles in those calibers and he knows what's he doing.

He does much of my gunsmithing, and wonders why I stick to such traditional calibers as .300 H&H.

His number is 423-605-4916

Mike

I watch my hunting buddy shoot an 4x5 elk at 520 yards away while taking a measurement with my Leica binocular rangefinder and he was shooting factory 180 grain Nosler Partition, I was very impress, it was a bang flop harvest. His rifle was a plain jane S.S. plastic stock with a Burris scope.

Mike,

I have a Remington Sendero in this caliber.

It is extremely accurate, and its velocity is better than a 30-378 Weatherby we have.

I built one for our own wildcat, the 30/404, and used it on safari in South Africa.

It was an instant death on anything, from 10 yards to almost 500 yards.

The velocity we got from ours was over 3400 fps with 180 grain bullets.

I used a Remington Custom Shop KS in 300 RUM for a Plains Game safari in RSA when they first came out. I took 16 animals with 17 cartridges...the PH wanted me to shoot the Zebra a 2nd time to keep it from getting down into a ravine before it died. I took my Gemsbok at 418 yards. Greg Rodriguez was there with me, rest his soul.

Had one, got rid of it

Thanks for all of the info. Sounds like a winner. The increased recoil and muzzle blast don't bother me. That's just the price you have to pay if you want velocity and power. And with a barrel of decent length, the blast can be reduced.

I appreciate the rifle/action offers, too, but I will most likely start with a Winchester, or maybe a CZ, and go from there. I want a familiar, reliable, bolt action repeater, and I prefer Model 70 or 550 Magnum actions, modified to suit.

Thanks for the gunsmith reference, mdstewart.

pigmaster, who makes a three groove, nitrided barrel? Sounds like a good combo to fight throat erosion.

Also, as noted, I do want enough barrel to reduce muzzle blast, and also to get higher end velocities, but I don't want so much length that the rifle becomes unwieldy. This will be a carry-around-all-day-hunting-rifle.

Is 25 or 26 inches enough length for that?

Saeed, I'd be interested to know what length you settled on. And Biebs, I may take you up on your kind offer of ammo! Thanks, again, to all.

quote:

Is 25 or 26 inches enough length for that?

Michael,

My hunting squeeze, Tommy has a Semi-Custom 300 RUM on a highly modified Remington 700 Action, custom synthetic stock with a 28" pencil thin tube. A true lightweight he had it made for Sheep hunting and when he hands it to you; your initial impression will be he's handing you a 22lr sporter. It slaps a tad but for those that can concetrate on the shot; it really delivers "The Goods" downrange. It'll put 3 shots almost touching with my loads at 100 meters and way-y-y beyond that it's deadly. When distance may be a hunting parameter it gets the nod and for good reason - it works.

quote:

Without the long barrel a 300 WinMag would probably "git er done" without punishing your shoulder and ears.

I've taken a gander at a coupla 300 RUM barrels advertised here for the Blaser R93 (25.6") and in Tommy's opinion that's not enough tube for this cartridge. I agree, as there's always the risk of having a very loud 300 RUM that's a 300 Weatherby equivilant and I've already got a 25.6" 300 Witherbee Barrel, a good shooter but the RUM smacks harder (on both Ends) and further.

I also share your pain in your consideration of a rifle without an overly long tube but we now are firmly convinced that if you desire to make the 300RUM step successfully it requires a bit of barrel length.

Good Luck w/your Project.

quote:

pigmaster, who makes a three groove, nitrided barrel? Sounds like a good combo to fight throat erosion.

Scott Null 208-313-1570 got mine as part of a 338 RUM he built for me on a Savage action. He's in Idaho.

He specializes in Savages but would probably fit one to another action. The 36" 3 groove, 1" @ muzzle, Nitrided was about $1000. Not cheap but he has customers with 220 Swifts with 5000+ hot loads down the bore and still shooting bugholes.

My 338RUM built on a F class Savage left port single shot (no you can't eject a loaded round w/o pulling the bolt) is a 1/2 5 shot MOA gun to at least 500 (as far as I have shot it). This summer the 24" gongs go up @1000 and we'll see how it works.

Chuckle: "and wonders why I stick to such traditional calibers as .300 H&H." Now that's an easy question: because it is the coolest 30 caliber magnum, always feeds and, as proved by Handloader, is just as efficient as the 300WSM.

It would be fun to build a 300 H&H with a 36", 3 groove, Nitrided barrel to see what you could get. I know my 28" M70 target 300 H&H blows away any short barrel SAUM or WSM, and it is 60 years old.

Share your project, when you get it built.

Thanks, gentlemen.

pm, 36" long and 1" diameter? Ay, yi yi! too much for me.

Gerry, I might go 27" . . . .

I've got one. Its a custom put together on a stainless Sako 75 action, #3 26" Gaillard barrel and McMillan 75 Hunter stock. I put a 4.5-14 mark 4 on it for a dual use rig.Weighs 10 pounds with that heavy scope.

With 92 grains of H1000 its clocking 3300 fps with a 180 Accubond. That's the starting load in the Nosler book but its plenty warm in Nosler brass.

It's a death ray. I used one in Africa out to 590 yrds and it was great! Buy one you'll be impressed! Way better that those skinkin ways!-Rob

WE saw a blue wildebeest bull standing.

I asked Walter "Do you want to shoot a wildebeest?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Go on then, shoot it"

"Ha? From here? You are MAD! I can hardly see it!"

"Walter, it is not that far. Less than 500 meters"

"You shoot it"

I did.

He ran a few yards a dropped dead.

Our PH said "I want a gun like that"

Someone else said "you wouldn't have said that if Walter shot that gun"

"If Walter shot that gun the wildebeest would be standing there laughing his head off"

"Walter cannot shoot a proper gun. He is using that little German toy gun. What is it called? Oh yeah BLASER! One needs to be close enough to burn him with the muzzle flash before Walter can hit him with that one. You all saw what happened to the last wildebeest Walter shot with it. It ran too far and Saeed had to finish it off. Oh that was soooo FUNNY! I cannot wait to see the video!"

Saeed, it can be done, my friend, even with a Blaser. This one, a particularly big and beautiful Niassa bull, with an R93 in .375 Holland & Holland Belted Rimless Nitro Express.



I wonder how long is the barrel on your .375/.404? 3,400 fps with 180 grains of TSX appeals to me.

And thanks, too, to Dogleg and Rob. I think I have a new burn for this caliber.

Mike,

The rifle was 30/404 and the barrel is just shy of 27 inches.

I have a couple of them, both Remingtons and they both are shooters. Very accurate and dependable. I also took one to Africa for Plains game and the PH told me it wouldn't work. Said the bullet was too fast. He corrected himself after all the one shots kills on all of the game I took.

Thanks, Saeed. I meant to type .30/.404. I think 27" would be workable. A bit on the long side, but still okay for a hunting rifle.

pw, there does seem to be a lasting prejudice among PHs against high velocity rounds. Probably a hold over from the days when we were all stuck with more or less fragile bullets.

But happily for us, those days are gone!

Okay, maybe 27.5".

Westley Richards barreled their .318s at 28 inches.

Maybe.

Don't want a loud Win. Mag.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Okay, maybe 27.5".

Westley Richards barreled their .318s at 28 inches.

They were also down to 21-24inch barrels too.

Regarding the barrellength for your RUM.You would be well with 27-28" barrel. I have a 27" slim Lilja barrel on my .270Wea and I feel it´s not too long at all. The last inch helps to sqeeze the last breath out of this magnificent caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Thanks, Saeed. I meant to type .30/.404. I think 27" would be workable. A bit on the long side, but still okay for a hunting rifle.

pw, there does seem to be a lasting prejudice among PHs against high velocity rounds. Probably a hold over from the days when we were all stuck with more or less fragile bullets.

But happily for us, those days are gone!

In the old days, very few people bothered questioning what was written in gun magazines.

And when they did, it might never make it to print.

Thanks to the Internet, everyone can state their opinion in real time.

Sadly, one has also to believe and who to just ignore, as so many arm chair experts are around us nowadays, and some get to be very vocal.

I'm using RL25 with 180 TSX. After putting on the muzzle brake then taking it back off the factory barrel is down to about 25 1/2 inches. Still clocking 3400fps. Maybe it is just a fast barrel but you may not have to go too long to get great velocity.

I built mine with a 26" medium contour barrel and really don't think a longer barrel would make enough difference to worry about. I'm shooting 230gr Bergers to 3075fps and 200gr Accubonds to 3250fps with half MOA accuracy. Good stuff!

I have the perfect action/barrel for sale in the classifieds- might be a tad bit heavy, but there would be very little felt recoil.

With all of these postive reviews, I just spent some money and bought myself a New Haven Winchester Model 70 Classic Sporter with a 26" barrel.

I'm curious to see how it shoots before I do anything to it. I may or may not rebarrel it, depending on my accuracy and velocity results. Thanks, all, for the help and advice.

Here are my thoughts. I have been hunting with a .300 RUM for 10 years and I absolutely love it. Is it fun to plink at the range with? Not really. Is it a lethal, accurate and versatile hunting caliber? Absolutely. I shoot 200grn TSX bullets through it exclusively and have taken everything from whitetail to zebra with it cleanly. It does less damage to a pronghorn than my buddy's 30.06 with Noslers. It drops elk in their tracks like they were struck by lightening. I have taken over 50 big game animals with it and have lost no game and the longest run was maybe 50 yards with a lung hit whitetail. I take no shots over 300 yards but it certainly has the reach to stretch it out there if you were so inclined. It is a devastating, hard hitting round with premium bullets. I would not hesitate to hunt Alaskan moose or coastal grizzly with this thing. Penetration is phenomenal with the TSX bullets on heavy game. I'm a high shoulder fan on bigger animals and 100% penetration is expected. It's a fantastic round.

Mine is in a MacMillan Stock. Jewell trigger and Remington action.

I have owned five mod 70 300 rums all would shoot a 200 grain bullet to 3200 fps. Unfortunately all I did was shoot them at the range. Its no worse than shooting a 300 win mag in the same rifle IIHO.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Mike,

I have a Remington Sendero in this caliber.

It is extremely accurate, and its velocity is better than a 30-378 Weatherby we have.

I can second that a Sendero is a good starting point in a factory rifle. A friend of mine has one and it was a reasonable package with regard to weight and was really accurate. I've been told that they are long throated, almost like Weatherbys, to permit low pressure for factory ammo, but he handloaded and it worked great. He was shooting 220gr at around 3000fps with our local South African powders.

That said, I have used a 300 Win Mag extensively and I've never needed more. I mainly used 200gr bullets at around 2800fps and with US powders you can do a bit more than that. With 180gr you should get around 3100fps with a 26" barrel.

If I started out without a .300 Magnum, the Ultra would be very tempting. I like the ability of the bigger cases to run the heavy bullets at a decent velocity, but I've not found a need for that yet.

On the game that is so large that I feel it needs more bullet weight than 200gr I start thinking of a .33 caliber.

I can confirm that over here it is a lot more expensive to run than a .300 Win Mag. But the Ultra Mag remains an impressive caliber if you fee lthe need for the performance.

If it´s just extra speed and power you want buy a 300 Win or 300 Wby. The 300 RUM is a bit faster then the 300 Wby and a tad slower then the 30-378 Wby (except for Saeed's). The 300 Win and Wby brass prices will be much less then the boomers. It's just food for thought but do you really expect to take shots on game past 600 yards?

Ken....

I am convinced that more speed, and more bullet diameter and weight at speed, are better at any range, as long as the bullets are good and the shooter can hit with them.

That's why I started looking at the .300 RUM.

I have been running a 300rum since it came out. I have no problem getting 3350 FPS with a 24" tube, but I am using Mike Rock barrels.
I see no reason to use a 26"+ tube on a hunting rifle, but if it floats your boat have at it.
Muzzle blast isnt any worse than a 300 weatherby or a win mag for that matter.

Nobody mentioned Dakota, Jarret, or Lazzeroni ???

quote:

Originally posted by Pancho:
Nobody mentioned Dakota, Jarret, or Lazzeroni ???

Not until you, Pancho. My answer is: No. Thank you, and also the horse you rode in on . . . .

Just picked up a custom SS M700 in the RUM. Has a Gaillard 26" fluted barrel and a McMillan stock.

What powders are you guys using to get 3400fps with a 180gr?