300 RUM to 300 Tomahawk. Worth it?

[aaroncarp]

I am shooting a 300 RUM right now (rem 700, 26" barrel, 10" twist, vortex viper 6.5-20) and recently discovered the 300 tomahawk on this website. Apparently it can push a 190 grain bullet 3600 fps, and it is designed to push 240 SMKs at 2900. I have just read about this so I have no idea on the true numbers behind it so that is why I am here. I am the kind of person that loves to have unique things, especially guns. I do not like having the same gun as everyone else so I thought that this would be a cool thing to do. The gun is basically a bare bones 700 sps stainless now. I have a couple questions on the subject though.

1. Is switching to the tomahawk worth it performance wise?
2. Cost wise? (Brass, dies, extra powder, etc)
(As I am not in the spot to drop $800 plus into the gun right now)
3. Would I need a totally new barrel or can the one I have be machined to fit the tomahawk?
4. If it could be machined would 26" be too short anyways?
5. About what would this cost me?

Also, this is my first post on this forum so any extra info on the cartridges would be awesome. My main focus is hunting. I love target shooting but to me pulling the trigger is only half the thrill. Basically my goal is to turn this gun into something that is not too heavy to pack around the mountains, and is capable of killing elk at 800-1000 yards. I know 800 yard shots take a lot of practice and skill, I am only talking about the guns potential in this thread though. If I decide to keep it as a 300 RUM what can I do to it to improve long range accuracy? Right now I love the way the 208 A-maxs and the 210 bergers shoot with the gun.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I am shooting a 300 RUM right now (rem 700, 26" barrel, 10" twist, vortex viper 6.5-20) and recently discovered the 300 tomahawk on this website. Apparently it can push a 190 grain bullet 3600 fps, and it is designed to push 240 SMKs at 2900. I have just read about this so I have no idea on the true numbers behind it so that is why I am here. I am the kind of person that loves to have unique things, especially guns. I do not like having the same gun as everyone else so I thought that this would be a cool thing to do. The gun is basically a bare bones 700 sps stainless now. I have a couple questions on the subject though.

1. Is switching to the tomahawk worth it performance wise?
2. Cost wise? (Brass, dies, extra powder, etc)
(As I am not in the spot to drop $800 plus into the gun right now)
3. Would I need a totally new barrel or can the one I have be machined to fit the tomahawk?
4. If it could be machined would 26" be too short anyways?
5. About what would this cost me?

Also, this is my first post on this forum so any extra info on the cartridges would be awesome. My main focus is hunting. I love target shooting but to me pulling the trigger is only half the thrill. Basically my goal is to turn this gun into something that is not too heavy to pack around the mountains, and is capable of killing elk at 800-1000 yards. I know 800 yard shots take a lot of practice and skill, I am only talking about the guns potential in this thread though. If I decide to keep it as a 300 RUM what can I do to it to improve long range accuracy? Right now I love the way the 208 A-maxs and the 210 bergers shoot with the gun.

That answered your own question right there... A custom set of dies is $300+ by itself. If you don't have $800 to drop on the gun, you don't have the extra money to drop on everything you will need to convert it to .300 Tomahawk.

Just FYI, if you're gonna play the wildcat game, you're gonna have to pay. If you're in a tight spot right now, i'd wait till you get to a better point financially where you can afford to drop that cash and still not be hurting on your other debts.

Trust me, I've been there, and I'm still there. I work REALLY hard to make sure I have enough money to feed my hobby as best I can, while juggling all my other bills.

 

[aaroncarp]

Thank you. I am thinking of installing a new trigger in the next couple months (most likely a timney) assuming that Remington's recall does not improve their trigger immensely. Most people tell me that if I can handle the recoil to not worry about a brake, and at this point the recoil doesn't bother me. What else can I do to improve long range accuracy other than work on developing an awesome load and practicing? I know I could fiberglass or aluminum bed the stock. I do not know how much accuracy I will gain from that nor do I know how much that would cost.

 

[cohunter14]

The long range accuracy is basically predicated by how accurate you and your gun shoot. The good news for you is that the RUM can easily take elk at 1,000 yards if you are accurate enough. What I would do is figure out how accurate you can get the gun in the current state. If you can get it to be a 1/2 MOA gun, you don't need to do any upgrades. If not, upgrades might be in order. A timney will definitely help. If the gun is in the basic SPS stock, I would not bother bedding it or adding pillars. Instead, buy a good stock like a Bell & Carlson with an aluminum bedding block. Free float the barrel and see what you can do.

Once you get the gun as accurate as possible, then it is just a matter of practicing those longer distances, learning how to adjust for the wind, etc.

 

[Timber338]

First, welcome to the forum!

Here's my $0.02: 300 RUM easily has the energy to hunt with out to 1000 yards and well beyond, and like Cohunter said, you just need to get it shooting to 1/2 moa. I've got a 300 win mag that will get the job done out to beyond 1000 yards. And although a 300 win mag may not have the cool factor that a RUM or Tomahawk does, it's still going to put the bullet in the right spot with plenty of energy for a whole lot less money especially when you consider barrel life. So in my opinion it is definitely not worth the money to upgrade to a Tomahawk when you are already chambered with an "ultra" cartridge.

 

[aaroncarp]

Thank you for all of your input. I am hoping to get out to the range here again soon. I just finished getting the stock dipped and then remington recalled the trigger so I need to wait for all of that stuff to finish. Off the bench at 100 in january at about 10 degrees I had a load with A-Maxs that shot about a 1" group at 100. Hopefully at more comfortable temperatures and less wind I can narrow that group to 3/8" or 1/2" then move out to 2 and 300 and see how it groups. I know that I will put the new trigger on it whether it will improve accuracy or not, the Xmark is just uncomfortably heavy.

 

[Doublezranch]

Aaron,

It would be a lateral move. Your looking at 50 fps more with the Tomahawk. Then added expenses you have already mentioned. Stick with the RUM. Mine is a freak nasty son of a gun. I'm pushing the 230 target 3200 fps. The rum has lots of potential and you can find it with help from all the good people here. I'd be more than happy to help you in anyway I can. The rum is just a great cartridge.

 

[TitaniousReaper]

Thank you for all of your input. I am hoping to get out to the range here again soon. I just finished getting the stock dipped and then remington recalled the trigger so I need to wait for all of that stuff to finish. Off the bench at 100 in january at about 10 degrees I had a load with A-Maxs that shot about a 1" group at 100. Hopefully at more comfortable temperatures and less wind I can narrow that group to 3/8" or 1/2" then move out to 2 and 300 and see how it groups. I know that I will put the new trigger on it whether it will improve accuracy or not, the Xmark is just uncomfortably heavy.

A heavier barrel will cut down on barrel whip and also a muzzle break would too but truly ether or will do the trick. My stock 26" stainless rum whips something fearce causing the gun to be act just like your talking about. Honestly the best bet would be just build the standard rum with a 28in medium bull barrel you can still pack but will be heavy enough to counter the whip. The extra 2"s will increase velocity a tad bit which will also help if it fits into the accuracy node of the rifle. I'm planning on building my rum to do it all from hunting 100yds-1500yds(with enough practice and the right conditions of course) and as for long range shooting I've took it out to 1860yds on targets and have had some good shooting but I feel like after I fully customize it.. it will shoot unbelievably accurate.
Honestly if you save the money to have a complete build done on the 300rum, it will snuff milk jugs with heavy, high bc bullets out to a mile no problem. Especially if MarkandSam(on youtube) shot it out to 2725yds decently with 250gr monsters. Not ethical at that range for game of course but it has the ability to reach out there for fun

I hope this helps even though I feel like I just rambled off I figured it was good input.
If its just nonsense to you than I'm sorry for bothering you gentlemen.

Or if you want more info im always researching and have a decent amount of experience with multiple bullets from 212Eld-x's to 230smk's all running h1000.

 

[TitaniousReaper]

I dont even know if you guys are still around lol, Google popped these posts up when I was looking for the information and I figured If there's a chance yall are around I'd like to learn how your rums performed after you guys got them dialed in.