Is it worth it?

Brambles

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Apr 20, 2008
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Hey everyone

I have a Stainless M700 300 ultra mag, shoots alright, .75 to 1 MOA, with 200gr Nosler Accubonds at 3200 fps using 95 Gr Retubmo.

It has a Zeiss Conquest, 6.5-20x50 scope on it. With Burris Zee rings offset to approx 15MOA.

Its Bedded into a Bansner Sheep Hunter stock with a factory cheekpiece.

Thinking of going a little further with a LR build, unsure if I should stick to the 300 Ultra mag or ???

I would like it capable of taking Elk and Moose to 1000 yards which Im sure the 300 ultra mag is capable of doing.

I'd like to keep the cost of shooting down and I don't want a 15lb gun, don't mind packing a 12 pound rifle all in at the very most.

In my case is there any advantage to going with a 338 ultra mag or other 338 variant? Looks like cost of shooting goes up with the more exotic LR choices.
I ran the ballistics on a 338 RUM and a 300 RUM and didn't see any advantage to the 338 RUM with the exception of wind drift.

With the Zeiss I"m thinking I might need as flat a gun as possible as they don't have a lot of elevation adjustment.

What would be the recommended barrel length and contour to meed my goals?

What do you think of the scope? Are they up to the task?

Thanks
 
Hey everyone

I have a Stainless M700 300 ultra mag, shoots alright, .75 to 1 MOA, with 200gr Nosler Accubonds at 3200 fps using 95 Gr Retubmo.

It has a Zeiss Conquest, 6.5-20x50 scope on it. With Burris Zee rings offset to approx 15MOA.

Its Bedded into a Bansner Sheep Hunter stock with a factory cheekpiece.

Thinking of going a little further with a LR build, unsure if I should stick to the 300 Ultra mag or ???

I would like it capable of taking Elk and Moose to 1000 yards which Im sure the 300 ultra mag is capable of doing.

I'd like to keep the cost of shooting down and I don't want a 15lb gun, don't mind packing a 12 pound rifle all in at the very most.

In my case is there any advantage to going with a 338 ultra mag or other 338 variant? Looks like cost of shooting goes up with the more exotic LR choices.
I ran the ballistics on a 338 RUM and a 300 RUM and didn't see any advantage to the 338 RUM with the exception of wind drift.

With the Zeiss I"m thinking I might need as flat a gun as possible as they don't have a lot of elevation adjustment.

What would be the recommended barrel length and contour to meed my goals?

What do you think of the scope? Are they up to the task?

Thanks
Well... the 300 Rum will do what you want and do it economically.

Is a .338 Rum or other super .338 mag going to do it better at a 1,000yds? Sure it will but there's an enormous number of factors that are even more important than bullet weight.

Put a Sendero Taper or slightly less on a 28" barrel, and get an ultra match quality Krieger, Shilen, Brux or other high quality barrel and you'll have the best of all worlds and still be able to shoot more economically.

The scope you have is a good one. It's major limitations compared to the NF or Mark 4's is that it won't give you quite as much time in low light situations and has less adjustability but you've offset that with the 20 MOA rail so it's a wash.

I went to 50mm Obj's and 30 and 35mm tubes on my latest round of scopes but I did just fine with the Conquests for many years.
 
If your not goinf to shoot past 1000 yards there isnt any point in going to the .338 RUM. your 300 RUM will hang right in there and then you have no added cost of new dies and you'll have a handle on reloading for that round. I have a .338 RUM and love it, but if I had a 300 RUM in my hands I wouldnt go looking for the switch.
 
I'm a huge fan of the 30 cal. In fact I wish my 300 Wby, was a 300 RUM, so when I shot out the bbl I could re bbl in 338 Edge. (338-300RUM) more case capacity than 338 RUM.
The 338 RUM is an awesome round, but why bother when you have all your 300 RUM brass?
If it were me personally, is use the 300 till it was toast. With the right bullet its more than capable of doing all you ask. Then re-piping into an Edge later will be a snap if you choose to do so.
DON'T get caught up in the grass is always greener thing. You have an awesome set up as is. That's my opinion anyway.
 
I would echo the advice so far. Skill comes with trigger time wear this barrel out then decide. All things being equal the 338's have an advantage, but there is nothing inadequate about the big 30's with 200+ grain bullets. Fool around with other 30 caliber
bullets, again nothing wrong with what you're using, but the higher BC bullets might shape your decision as well come rebarrel time
 
It varies from bbl to bbl but generally anywhere from 50-150fps.

I agree about every bbl being unique.
I doubt it would be anywhere near 150 fps. total tho.
See "Fastest 338 without Cheytac" thread, Last pg. Post #29 by Kirby Allen (fiftydriver) in this section, page 3.
Im guessing somewhere in the 20-40 fps per inch with the RUM. I could be WAAAAAY off here, but if I'm interpreting Kirbys results correctly, I'd say you'll gain some for sure, but not any massive amount. Maybe I'm underestimating a bit, maybe not, but I'd rather figure low, & be pleasantly suprised with any extra.
I used to go with the 50-60 fps per inch theory, but looking at the link, & the post Kirby wrote, I don't know that it even aplies at all anymore.
 
For me it's been no contest, 338 RUM!!! I've gone through the 7mm, 300 and 338 RUM in some variations and with the 338 your getting something for your powder and barrel!! With your 300 RUM your only getting 140 ft lbs of energy more at 1000yrds than I do with my 270 WSM loaded with a 175 gr Matrix and I use only 64 gr of Retumbo.
 
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I agree about every bbl being unique.
I doubt it would be anywhere near 150 fps. total tho.
See "Fastest 338 without Cheytac" thread, Last pg. Post #29 by Kirby Allen (fiftydriver) in this section, page 3.
Im guessing somewhere in the 20-40 fps per inch with the RUM. I could be WAAAAAY off here, but if I'm interpreting Kirbys results correctly, I'd say you'll gain some for sure, but not any massive amount. Maybe I'm underestimating a bit, maybe not, but I'd rather figure low, & be pleasantly suprised with any extra.
I used to go with the 50-60 fps per inch theory, but looking at the link, & the post Kirby wrote, I don't know that it even aplies at all anymore.
The rule of thumb is 50-100fps, but I think it's more like 30-75fps which is why I went with the possible spread I did.

Quality of the barrel and chambering makes a big difference as does the powder being used.

Like most things we discuss here there are a hell of a lot of factors involved.
 
will a .30 cal 1:10 twist stabilize the high BC 210 gr bullets in a 300 RUM?

Are some barrel makers routinly producing faster barrels than others or is it a "get lucky" scenario
 
will a .30 cal 1:10 twist stabilize the high BC 210 gr bullets in a 300 RUM?

Are some barrel makers routinly producing faster barrels than others or is it a "get lucky" scenario
Spend the xtra hundred or so to get their best "ultra match" or equivalent barrel that the maker has hand lapped.

As for twist rates, I'm not an expert but if I were specifically thinking in terms of long range with max weight bullets I'd probably go with 1:9 or 1:9.5.

Talk to whomever you are ordering from, tell them exactly what you are doing and go with what they tell you they believe will work best.

When I overhaul my STW I'm just going to send the whole thing to Krieger, have them true it, and do the complete install. That way if I have any issues I only have one person to deal with.
 
A 1-10 will stabilize a 210 nicely, Berger lists the 230gr OTM for a 1-10 twist as well. If I ever went back to the 30 cals it would be to shoot the upper level of weights where you can get more for the bang but your still going to have the possibility of eating barrels.
 
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