.375 RUM longer barrel and other q's.

[snake]

Hello, im a newbie poster,long time reader. I've tried the search but very little luck getting it to work so Im sorry if i've asked a question or two thats been discussed a million times.

I've got a rem 700xcr in .375rum and with the stock 24" pipe. I'd like to extend the range and power of this rifle and mostly will be target shooting and maybe a little hunting. More shooting than hunting anyways.

Im looking for recommendations on a good brand barrel and twist for heavier bullets like the 350gr smk.(due to its higher BC level)

I assume the longer 350gr bullet won't cycle in my bolt gun but be more of a single shot since the overall length of the cartridge will be too big to fit in magazine???

What muzzle brake would do the best for taming the harsh recoil?

Does anyone use a .375rum for any real long range big game or target shootin? I see alot of guys have custom actions which is awsome but out of my leauge I wish....some day... The power weight is much less than the larger .375's you guys are used to running by 50grs or so. I do realize that which sucks for me.

I do reload so if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations i'd love to hear em' with open ears. Im just trying to learn and love the forum so far. Thanks!

 

[groper]

The 350gr SMK was designed to run in a 1:11.5 twist barrel same as cheytac use. This is fine for a 375 RUM also, anything between 1:10 and 1:11.5 will work for the 350gr SMK.

As for a barrel length, i would choose 28-30inches to maximize the velocity you can achieve from your case size. Any match grade button rifled barrel would be fine, or there is some evidence that you have have slightly higher chance of getting an accurate barrel if its a single point cut rifled barrel. Most cut rifled barrels makers have long lead times after ordering however. If you only want to shoot long heavy bullets, get it chambered with a longer throat so you seat your bullets out further, this will increase your case capacity and give you a bit more velocity. And if your ordering a new barrel, you also have to option to get it chambered in a 375RUM IMPROVED with the shoulder pushed forward. The you have even more case capacity and some people have reported 3000fps with the 350gr SMK in an improved 375RUM. The particular one im thinking of was the 375 tejas. Im not sure of the name of the gunsmith responsible for it, some searching with LRH forums will find it tho if you use "tejas" as a search query.

Definately put a muzzle brake on the end of it to tame recoil, otherwise it will be very unpleasant and painful to shoot, especially from prone or a bench. There is heaps to choose from and they all seem to work well enough.

Depending on your rifle and magazine, yes you may have to single feed the cartridges if you shoot the 350gr SMK.... however, you can buy extended internal and removable magazines from wyatt outdoors, badger ordinance and seekins to fix this if you still want to use a magazine. Personally, i dont see the need for a magazine when target shooting or LR shooting, the bullet flight time and time to make wind/elevation adjustments is much greater and has much more effect on follow up shots as opposed to simply cycling the bolt.

With careful attention to precision reloads, you will have an excellent long range rifle capable of shooting past a mile with this caliber. Best of luck to you.

 

[groper]

I also should have added, since your considering rebarreling, you have even more choices than this.... another good option would be to rebarrel to a 338EDGE or edge improved etc, same bolt face and is another proven long range hammer....

so many options...

 

[snake]

I also should have added, since your considering rebarreling, you have even more choices than this.... another good option would be to rebarrel to a 338EDGE or edge improved etc, same bolt face and is another proven long range hammer....

so many options...

THANKS Groper,im not totally aware of all the options. Im open to all options but really like the idea of what other .375's are out there. The Edge is on the back of my mind but its there.....I'll definatly ponder it and not to mention theres much more load avalible it seems like!