I haven't reloaded any ammo for it yet, but here is an independent appraisal of the off the shelf stuff.

50 yard initial sighting in:

270 grain Hornady RNSP
Three rounds averaged 2935 fps

300 grain Swift A-Frame
Three rounds averaged 2803 fps

Then a longer session at 100 yards, zeroed 3" high at 100 yards:

300 grain Swift
14 rounds averaged 2780 fps
High 2831 fps
Low 2751 fps
ES 80 fps
SD 24 fps
Smallest 3-shot group 0.549" with the Swift.
Did not test the Hornady for group at 100 yards. Both shot to same POI at 50 yards!

Then a 300 yard fling with 3 shots of each:
Both gave 3 to 3-1/2" 3-shot groups at 300 yards, the Hornady slightly better than the Swift at 300 yards. But the Swift was only 3" low while the Hornady was 5" low as best I could estimate from three rapid shots each with a little bit of wind gusting, and the barrel needing cleaning by then.

The rifle is the Remington 700 LSS with 26" barrel that is 0.650" at the muzzle. I took the laminated stock off (I would insist on pillar bedding before using it as it is compressible) bolted the plastic Remington 700 BDL Magnum after market stock on, adjusted the trigger to 3-1/2 pounds, epoxied some Leupold QRW bases on with JB Weld, and stuck a Leupold 2.5-8X scope in some QRW rings and went to the range. Simple as that. Weight is 8-1/2 pounds without ammo or sling, and scoped as above. With 4 rounds of ammo and a sling, just over 9 pounds, field ready.

About as authoritative as a pushfeed can get! It functioned flawlessly in feeding, extracting, and ejecting.

With hand loads, who can predict what it will be capable of? the factory ammo varies from about 1.5 to almost 0.5 MOA in 3-shot groups.

I will reload some cases with GSC 265 grain HV's and 270 grain FN's while I am waiting for the 300 grainers from GSC to arrive ... someday.

I would guess that H4831SC should give great performance in this cartridge.

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Rifles And Bullets r us: RAB

The mod 700 LSS in 375 RUM is something I have been thinking about. Looking around at the Remington website they list the LSS at $797MSRP, about $100 more than the standard BDL.

What do you think of the stock? I have not held one in my hands, but I like the idea of laminated wood istead of plastic...and a few extra ozs will not hurt the recoil of the gun. You said it needed pillar bedding - is that what you are planning or are you gonna leave it in the plastic stock?

BTW, how the recoil? I can't imagine that is is pleasant...do you need the bag of lead between shoulder and gun? With the addition of a triple-magnum pachmyr pad would it still require me to replace dental work after 20 rds?

Phil

Ron,
We are assembling our buffalo box for testing the 300 gr HV / FN, but if my 375H&H bends one of them, they are history. See http://www.african-hunter.com/site/firearms/solidsvmono_04.htm for an example. My feeling at this stage is that the HV might be ok but I am not sure about the FN. We will know after the weekend.

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Gerard Schultz
GS Custom Bullets

Gerard,
Fantastic! If you have reservations about the FN...well, my fingers are crossed! BTW, aren't those Barnes solids made of bronze? Aren't they longer than a flat nosed FN of copper, for a 300 grain weight? I'll bet your design will perform flawlessly, better than the ones that Saeed brains elephants with, with a single shot. I'll bet they will feed better too, in any rifle.

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Rifles And Bullets r us: RAB

[This message has been edited by R. A. Berry (edited 11-20-2001).]

perrydog,
I like the laminated stock. I just didn't have time to properly bed it before test firing the gun. The plastic one is a few ounces lighter, but the recoil is not bad. I like a nine pound field ready loaded weight for this gun. I used a past recoil shield at the bench, but offhand and hunting, you will not notice anything obnoxious with this gun. Try it. You'll like it.

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Rifles And Bullets r us: RAB