.300 Weatherby vs .300 RUM

[30 Caliber Mag Fan]

Friends-

I have a dilemma. I have a .300 Weatherby and a .300 RUM. Both firearms shoot extremely well. My quandry comes from the fact that I don't think that the .300 RUM can do anthing better than the .300 Weatherby. In fact, I don't think I can get the .300 RUM to achieve the same velocities than I can achieve with the .300 Weatherby with anywhere close to the same efficiency.

O.K., set efficiency aside for a moment what would you long range shooters rather have from a performance standpoint, .300 RUM or .300 Weatherby and if so, why?

Thanks in advance.

 

[rost495]

Are you saying your 300 RUM is as slow as your 300 wtby with all things the same? That makes about zero sense to me but could be possible.

As to efficiency, getting more speed after a certain point, is usually costly. The answer to the question then, is do you really need OR want it. You have to answer that.

Jeff

 

[30 Caliber Mag Fan]

Jeff-

I did a lot of testing and load development with .300 Weatherby. I worked up a load that is pushing a 150 grain bullet at 3620 fps. Granted, I can only get 3-4 loading per round of brass from this load but I am hard pressed to find loadings of .300 RUM that greatly exceed this performance. Thus the performance gap between the .300 Weatherby and .300 RUM does not seem to be that great.

Hopefully, my original statement makes a bit more sense and I should have put more context into my original post.

 

[brian b]

I have loaded for both of these cartridges and with 180's the top loads in a 300 Weatherby are pushing 3200fps and the 300RUM are pushing 3400fps if you can really push a 300 WBY as fast as a 300RUM something is wrong, it might not be as efficient but the 300RUM is faster and probably a bit more accurate because it is not freebored like the weatherby .
B

 

[sniper2]

I have friends that shoot the 300 wby and the 300RUM usually walks the dog on them! What barrel lengths are you talking about and what powder are you using?

 

[goodgrouper]

I see why you're seeing less performance than what you're expecting. The Ultra mags "advantage" of a larger case pushing a bullet faster narrows considerably when shooting lighter bullets. When shooting 180's or larger, Brian B is exactly right with velocities. The Ultra mag has the muscle to push the heavier bullet faster than the 300 Wby. That being said, a 180 grain bullet at 3200 fps versus the same bullet at 3400 gives up roughly 5 inches at 500 yards. That is only 1 minute! 4 clicks! That is it! To get that 5 inches, you burn almost 20 grains more powder. Is it worth it? In all reality, neither the elk nor the gong is going to be able to tell the difference. A well placed shot from a .30-06 might be slightly harder to place because it drops a bit more than a 300 Ultra, but if you've done your homework, it is not a big deal. Just takes 4 to 8 more clicks!

 

[30 Caliber Mag Fan]

Accepting the premise that the .300 RUM is the top performer, is rechambering the .300 Weatherby to .300 RUM easy? It seems intuitive to me that it would be a really easy rechamber job save and accept for cleaning up the freebore. Any comments or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[TOM H]

I own both and the 300rum is faster than the 300wby. I try not to fall into the trap of comparing one cal against the other. Both are very good rounds. I shoot afew Ackely round and for the guys that don't like them one reason is the amount of powder for the velocity gain isn't worth it. To me the extra 100yds in shooting range is worth it and I think you have to look at the 300rum like that besides the velocity you have to look at the energy. Me I say enjoy both rifles.

 

[Newbweatherby]

I nderstand this is an old thread but iam in the same dilemma as this gentleman's i have a Remington 700 classic that may need a new barrel would it be easy enough to cjange the barrel and rechamber to the 300 RUM?

 

[wheatmiester]

I have both calibers in my collection. The ultra is a better case for heavier bullets, keep it 180gr or under and there is far less difference. I am currently having a 300 wby rebarreled. I strongly considered going with the RUM on this build but decided against it based on past experience with the weatherby cartridge, small performance gain and brass quality and availability. Weatherby makes good brass and you can get a hold of it. Can't say the same for the RUM.

 

[Newbweatherby]

Wheatmiester,thanks for the info this surprising because i have had frustration on top of frustration with my Bee and its feeebore.

 

[Capt RB]

Wheatmiester,thanks for the info this surprising because i have had frustration on top of frustration with my Bee and its feeebore.

Shop around for someone that has a 300 bee reamer set-up for the bullet you'd like to use. Asstated the Rum is faster by a bunch with big bullets the brass availability is the issue. If you can get 300 cases for the rum go that route if not look at the Bee or the Nosler or a wildcat 300 Lapua if you want a big dog 30. The other thought would be go 338. No shortage of good ones there either

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

Avoid the brass hassle, a good old tight necked .300 win mag will be more than enough without all the expense and hassle of the other two... NO animal or target will ever notice the difference !

 

[FEENIX]

Wheatmiester,thanks for the info this surprising because i have had frustration on top of frustration with my Bee and its feeebore.

Not knowing your loading attempts history it's hard to provide any recommendations but I do know there a few here that have no problems loading their .300 WBTYs.

The .300 WBTY is no slouch compared to the .300 RUM. I originally going to build a .300 RUM but because of the brass issue I went a different route and went wildcat (.30 LARA) ... just because. gun)