300 Rum elk rifle

[Maverick254]

While I'm a "big" proponent of the Barnes Bullets, you should take a look at the Hammer line of bullets. People seem to be getting exceptional accuracy, with minimal load development. And Steve appears to be very helpful! Good Luck with your new rifle! memtb

Long time lurker first post, go easy on me fellas.
Just picked up a new dedicated elk rifle-Browning x bolt hells canyon speed 300 rum with a burris veracity 4-20x. After barrel break in with factory ammo (Barnes 190 LRX), I tried three powders yesterday. H1000, did not group well at 88grs, magnum at 93gr did ok, and retumbo at 91.5gr shot pretty well. These powders were pushing a 200gr AB which would be my bullet of choice for elk. Issue, factory barnes ammo shot better or just as good as the retumbo. Looking for input on best terminal performance bullet selection for elk. I shoot bergers 168 hunter classics/64.5gr of N165 from my 7 rem. mag. This rifle however is strictly for elk unless a stud deer gets in the way. 1-8 barrel twist, with a 26 barrel/muzzle break. I've read just about every 300 rum thread available. Heading back to the range today to try retumbo loads of 91gr, 91.5gr, 92gr. COAL- 3.58 Thoughts and input appreciated. Don't want a jacketed bullet so barnes or accubond preferably. Wondering about terminal ballistics of barnes LRX bullets or the accubond LR. Thanks guys.
No *Rule 4 Violation*ing matches about berger bullets, I've taken 3 bulls with them, last year at 561 yards. However living in Griz country with long walks out in the dark, I would like a non fragmenting bullet. And no deer stories, this is an ELK rifle

Long time lurker first post, go easy on me fellas.
Just picked up a new dedicated elk rifle-Browning x bolt hells canyon speed 300 rum with a burris veracity 4-20x. After barrel break in with factory ammo (Barnes 190 LRX), I tried three powders yesterday. H1000, did not group well at 88grs, magnum at 93gr did ok, and retumbo at 91.5gr shot pretty well. These powders were pushing a 200gr AB which would be my bullet of choice for elk. Issue, factory barnes ammo shot better or just as good as the retumbo. Looking for input on best terminal performance bullet selection for elk. I shoot bergers 168 hunter classics/64.5gr of N165 from my 7 rem. mag. This rifle however is strictly for elk unless a stud deer gets in the way. 1-8 barrel twist, with a 26 barrel/muzzle break. I've read just about every 300 rum thread available. Heading back to the range today to try retumbo loads of 91gr, 91.5gr, 92gr. COAL- 3.58 Thoughts and input appreciated. Don't want a jacketed bullet so barnes or accubond preferably. Wondering about terminal ballistics of barnes LRX bullets or the accubond LR. Thanks guys.
No *Rule 4 Violation*ing matches about berger bullets, I've taken 3 bulls with them, last year at 561 yards. However living in Griz country with long walks out in the dark, I would like a non fragmenting bullet. And no deer stories, this is an ELK rifle

Long time lurker first post, go easy on me fellas.
Just picked up a new dedicated elk rifle-Browning x bolt hells canyon speed 300 rum with a burris veracity 4-20x. After barrel break in with factory ammo (Barnes 190 LRX), I tried three powders yesterday. H1000, did not group well at 88grs, magnum at 93gr did ok, and retumbo at 91.5gr shot pretty well. These powders were pushing a 200gr AB which would be my bullet of choice for elk. Issue, factory barnes ammo shot better or just as good as the retumbo. Looking for input on best terminal performance bullet selection for elk. I shoot bergers 168 hunter classics/64.5gr of N165 from my 7 rem. mag. This rifle however is strictly for elk unless a stud deer gets in the way. 1-8 barrel twist, with a 26 barrel/muzzle break. I've read just about every 300 rum thread available. Heading back to the range today to try retumbo loads of 91gr, 91.5gr, 92gr. COAL- 3.58 Thoughts and input appreciated. Don't want a jacketed bullet so barnes or accubond preferably. Wondering about terminal ballistics of barnes LRX bullets or the accubond LR. Thanks guys.
No *Rule 4 Violation*ing matches about berger bullets, I've taken 3 bulls with them, last year at 561 yards. However living in Griz country with long walks out in the dark, I would like a non fragmenting bullet. And no deer stories, this is an ELK rifle

 

[19elkhunter51]

If your group with the factory ammo is satisfactory, nothing wrong with that load and the Barnes bullets. I use the Barnes exclusively for elk and have only good or great results with that bullet. If the gun shoots well enough for you to be confident with the factory load, I would shoot the heck out of the factory load and be happy. Chasing some mythical velocity or group size will only give you more gray hair or cause you to pull out what little hair you have left.
I haven't ever tried the hammer line of bullets so no comment.

 

[Maverick254]

I am new to the group also. I shoot a 300RUM on elk hunts in Colorado. I have had great success with the Remington Scirocco 180 gr. bullets. I took a bull at 380 yds with one shot. I have seen others need multiple shots on these large animals and have even watched a couple get back up after going down. I have not had that problem with these bullets. Shows an MV of 3250, however these are pricey and the reason I am getting set up to reload. I do have some of the scirocco's ready to reload once I decide what powder to use. I would love to hear what others have reloaded for their 300RUM's.

 

[Orange Dust]

With the 8 twist I would try a heavier bullet or a mono. Try 225's

 

[Window]

Long time lurker first post, go easy on me fellas.
Just picked up a new dedicated elk rifle-Browning x bolt hells canyon speed 300 rum with a burris veracity 4-20x. After barrel break in with factory ammo (Barnes 190 LRX), I tried three powders yesterday. H1000, did not group well at 88grs, magnum at 93gr did ok, and retumbo at 91.5gr shot pretty well. These powders were pushing a 200gr AB which would be my bullet of choice for elk. Issue, factory barnes ammo shot better or just as good as the retumbo. Looking for input on best terminal performance bullet selection for elk. I shoot bergers 168 hunter classics/64.5gr of N165 from my 7 rem. mag. This rifle however is strictly for elk unless a stud deer gets in the way. 1-8 barrel twist, with a 26 barrel/muzzle break. I've read just about every 300 rum thread available. Heading back to the range today to try retumbo loads of 91gr, 91.5gr, 92gr. COAL- 3.58 Thoughts and input appreciated. Don't want a jacketed bullet so barnes or accubond preferably. Wondering about terminal ballistics of barnes LRX bullets or the accubond LR. Thanks guys.
No *Rule 4 Violation*ing matches about berger bullets, I've taken 3 bulls with them, last year at 561 yards. However living in Griz country with long walks out in the dark, I would like a non fragmenting bullet. And no deer stories, this is an ELK rifle

Long time lurker first post, go easy on me fellas.
Just picked up a new dedicated elk rifle-Browning x bolt hells canyon speed 300 rum with a burris veracity 4-20x. After barrel break in with factory ammo (Barnes 190 LRX), I tried three powders yesterday. H1000, did not group well at 88grs, magnum at 93gr did ok, and retumbo at 91.5gr shot pretty well. These powders were pushing a 200gr AB which would be my bullet of choice for elk. Issue, factory barnes ammo shot better or just as good as the retumbo. Looking for input on best terminal performance bullet selection for elk. I shoot bergers 168 hunter classics/64.5gr of N165 from my 7 rem. mag. This rifle however is strictly for elk unless a stud deer gets in the way. 1-8 barrel twist, with a 26 barrel/muzzle break. I've read just about every 300 rum thread available. Heading back to the range today to try retumbo loads of 91gr, 91.5gr, 92gr. COAL- 3.58 Thoughts and input appreciated. Don't want a jacketed bullet so barnes or accubond preferably. Wondering about terminal ballistics of barnes LRX bullets or the accubond LR. Thanks guys.
No *Rule 4 Violation*ing matches about berger bullets, I've taken 3 bulls with them, last year at 561 yards. However living in Griz country with long walks out in the dark, I would like a non fragmenting bullet. And no deer stories, this is an ELK rifle

There are many good options and I'll stand with most that there's not a perfect bullet for every situation. I've had experience with Berger, AB and Barnes. I've switched nearly a dozen rifles this year to the Hammers and have been very Impressed accuracy and terminal performance on both deer and elk at all ranges. In the last couple of days, I started working up a load for a friends 300 RUM with 181 Hammer Hunters on top of 92gr of H1000. You mentioned you were loading 89gr of H1000 with the 180gr Barnes. All starting loads I've seen have stated 90gr min with 94gr being max. 92gr showed no pressure sings at all with <1/2 MOA. Velocity was 3230 and feel there's more to get. Next will be a ladder test to finalize and I'll share with you the results.
Good luck and have fun but most of all keep it safe!

also with the 1-8, you could go heavier with the Hammers.

 

[Litehiker]

With the monster recoil of a 300 RUM I'd rather have an SWFA 3 - 15 x 42 SS HD scope because I know that recoil will not damage it.

Eric B.

 

[memtb]

With the monster recoil of a 300 RUM I'd rather have an SWFA 3 - 15 x 42 SS HD scope because I know that recoil will not damage it.

Eric B.

Recoil is not that severe, in a 9.0 pound rifle (scoped, loaded, slung), it's only approx. 42 ft/lbs. recoil.....just a little more (3 pounds) than my wife's rifle, and 20 less than mine. A good ole Leupold can handle that with ease! memtb

 

[RevJim]

I had a custom Mod 700 made up for my Marine SIL for his return from the Sandbox. A Shilen 26" in 300 RUM, slimmed/trimmed/checkered Boyds Laminate. He put a Huskemaw 5.5x20 dial em in on it. I worked up a load with Retumbo and the 200NAB pretty fast. He killed a cow elk with it a tad over 440yds with it a few years back. Its a good round. His rifle has a brake ( 3 perpendicular hoes type.)

 

[Ninefingers]

Went to the range every day this week! lots of late nights in the shop prepping. With 91gr of retumbo, 3 shots, 2 holes touching with 200 AB's. Then it all went to $hI!. The next 3-4 shots groups were all over the place. My torqued and loctite (blue) talley rings loosened up. Re-torqued and shot some more. AB's never came back around to a great group.... scratching my head...can i blame the wind? Especially because i tried 200gr LRX with 86 of retumbo and got a nice 1/4" group at 100y. Also tried a little magnum at 91, very hot load but wouldn't group. No pressure signs though. I assume powder loads are lower for the LRX due to case space being taking up by the longer copper bullets? anyways i'll try to share the pics soon. Stuck at work the next four nights.

 

[Ninefingers]

forgot to mention my AB groups yesterday i used a 3.600 and 3.585 lengths. didn't see much difference. Going to mess with the LRX some more next week.
Not sure about the "monster recoil" with the 300 rum. Mine shoots like a dream with the factory brake.

 

[memtb]

While admittedly having "zero" experience with the 300 RUM, I have almost 30 years experience with Barnes X, TSX, and TTSX bullets. I've always ended up with compressed loads when loading. I know that many people avoid "compressed loads", but I've had good success....."knock on wood"!

In fact prior to RL 17 becoming available, I was using RL 19. It being a bit too slow, requiring a "compressed load" to get "even close" to maximum potential. The powder was just below the case rim (using a drop tube). Now, envision seating a 270 grain Barnes TSX!! You seated very slowly, as "not" to bulge the case! They were superbly accurate though! memtb

 

[Rich Coyle]

Check the scope!

 

[lancetkenyon]

Why buy a 1:8" .300RUM and handicap it with a 200gr bullet? Push a 215 to 250gr and use that barrel to it's potential. Or a heavy mono like the 200LRX or 199/214/227 Hammer.

As for powders, H1000, Retumbo, RL26, RL33, N570.

 

[SnowbirdUT]

I have two 300 RUMs that I use for hunting and target. In fact, I am going out for cow elk today and tomorrow (in the Uinta mountains of Utah). Both actions are Remington 700. One is a stock Remington action and the other Defiance. I use Manners stocks on both rifles (same stock) and Jewel triggers. I have a Proof research barrel on the Defiance action and Krieger barrel on the stock action (both barrels are 29" and I shoot both rifles suppressed). Both barrels have a 1:10 twist which works well at the altitudes I shoot, however, when it is time to rebarrel, I will use a faster twist. Both rifles group well but the Defiance/Proof rifle is slightly better. I attribute the improved accuracy to the stiffness of the Defiance action (that action is awesome). In addition, I would rather hunt with the Defiance/Proof Research barrel for obvious reasons (it is a lighter rifle).

I run the same load in each rifle. My load is 230 gr Berger Target Hybrid with 88 grains of Retumbo. I like the Target Hybrid because it has a Hybrid ogive so it isn't as critical to seat the bullets so the ogive's are super close to the lands. The 230 grain bullets are so long that I need to seat them so they will fit in my magazines. To fit my magazines, I seat the bullets with the Ogive more than 0.050" from the lands. I run Norma brass in the Proof Research barrel and Nosler in the Krieger (I need to use different brass in each rifle to avoid mixing up the brass). I use Federal 215 GMM primers. I get 3005 fps from the Proof barrel and 2998 fps from the Krieger barrel.

I've killed a lot of animals with Berger Target Hybrids and Berger Elite Hunters (I use those in my daughter's 270 WSMs). I don't not see a difference in terminal performance between either the Target Hybrids or Elite Hunters. I use the 300 RUM rifles for Elk, Mule Deer and Antelope. My longest kills using the 230 grain Target Hybrids were; Elk 850 yards, Mule Deer 500 +/- yards and Antelope (a doe) 900 yards. In all cases, the shots were well placed and animals died quickly.

I also use the 300 RUM rifles to shoot steel (we also shoot 1 gallon milk jugs at that distance). I also have two 338 LM's and use 300 grain Bergers (MV of those rifles is around 2780 fps). At one mile targets, I have to dial in an additional 1.5 to 2 meters of drop on my 338 LMs than I do on my 300 RUMs. Said another way, the 230 grain bullets have a high enough BC relative to the 300 grain 338 Bergers that the 230 grain 30 cal bullets out perform the 300 grain 338 bullets.

I cannot recommend the 230 grain 30 cal Target Hybrid bullet enough in the 300 RUM for both hunting and target. I think the 300 RUM is the best chambering in 30 Cal for long range hunting (for Elk, Mule Deer or Antelope). I absolutely love my Defiance/Proof Research rifle.

I hope this helps.