Biggest Bore...Heaviest Hitter...Long Range

[30378wbymag]

Hello:
I’m looking for opinions on what caliber you would recommend for ranges out to 650 yards or so, using 180 grain bullets, or similar. It would be strictly for hunting, in a bolt action, and be delivered via a 20-22” barrel...without a muzzle break. The lighter the better , and no, recoil is not an issue. i’m looking for a heavy hitter in the .30 caliber class.
The .338 was the first thing that came to mind though I am hopeful for feedback. I love short barreled big bore rifles, and with a thumbhole stock I feel at one wit my gun,
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Only one, 30-378 BEE baby!!!! Enjoy the recoil and fireball W/20" bbl... HAHA

 

[rbTanzan]

This is not 30 cal class but since your comment on 338 I’ll throw this out there for an idea. Biggest, baddest that will work with a short barrel is 375 rum.

If you want light and 180grain then the 300WSM or 300PRC would do great. It you want to experiment with faster twist barrels, you could try the new 6.8 Western with an 8" twist (XPR) or 7.5" (Browning) and some new bullets like HH in 168gn .277".

The 338WM would work great, too. But for 600 yards you would probably want a bullet over 200 gn. And while on that thought, in line with the quote about 375 RUM extra long action, you could add a 375Ruger in a standard action Mossberg. Again, this would require a bullet in 250 gn range, like the 248gn HH at 2850-3000fps.

There are so many options for sending a bullet out to 600 yards with authority. (Disclaimer, I prefer keeping things under 400 yards, but I want rifles that could go farther.)

 

[Paladin300]

Only one, 30-378 BEE baby!!!! Enjoy the recoil and fireball W/20" bbl... HAHA

30378wbymag,

I assume you reload? If so do you need some brass or dies? I have about 60 pieces of once fired brass. (25 nosler, +\- 10 Hornady, and +/- 20- 30wby), I also have about a half a box of factory hornady and a 3/4 box factory wby loaded ammo and a set of RCBS reloading dies, I need to get rid of, if you are interested?

 

[Mikillium]

My buddy has a beautiful ruger #1 in 375 HH he will Let go at a reasonable price. Has less then a box of ammo through it and comes with a couple boxes. It’s pretty **** light, reasonable short overall and kicks like a FN mule on both ends. Email me if your interested. Lots of options brother

 

[duckklr]

Hmmmm, what comes between .30 cal and .338? Why its the greatest orphan of all times, the 8MM Remington Magnum. With 77 grains of IMR 4350 and an 8mm 170 grain Hornady SST, it'll squirt out the barrel at about 3100 fps. It will test your recoil resistance! I've killed Mulies with one shot each of the last two seasons (my favorite gun-expression "Bang Flop"). Don't hit anything that you might want to eat "cause it will hit with shock and awe" at closer ranges. I have 200-grain Swifts on standby as I wait for my Wyoming Elk Points to build up.
My Rem 700 has a new Bartlein 26" ss barrel and will shoot tight at the range. The full length, long-action, aluminum-reinforced Hogue stock does a pretty good job of shock absorbance but as I say I never feel or hear anything with a antlers in the sights when I squeeze the trigger,
Oh yeah, and if you want a big bullet with less recoil, I've got another Rem 700 in .270 (shot-out barrel) being bored out to 8MM-06 by Danny Pederson at Classic Barrel and Gunworks out of Prescott Arizona. (I've also got another Rem 700 with Danny who is going to rebore (if he can) the barrel on another .270 out to a 7mm-06).
One thing that helped keep 8mm down was the lack of bullet choices in the past, that is not the case now.

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

Ready to go...for under $2800... put some good rings and a Maven RS1

Rifle--$1000
Scope--$1200
Rings--$200
Gubment tax--$200

Sako ~ AV ~ .338 Win. Mag. for sale

Sako ~ AV ~ .338 Win. Mag. for sale online.

www.gunsinternational.com

Another contender:

NEW no Box Nosler Model 48 .338 Win Mag w/ 22" Barrel - Bolt Action Rifles at GunBroker.com : 889207412

Buy NEW no Box Nosler Model 48 .338 Win Mag w/ 22" Barrel: GunBroker is the largest seller of Bolt Action Rifles Rifles Guns & Firearms All: 889207412

www.gunbroker.com

 

[jefkmf25]

I’d check the Weatherbe line up. Just saying that I have an old Mark 5 I believe it was manufactured in Japan in the 70’s in a 300 Weatherbe mag that does an awesome job at those distances. Probably still would. However I’m not familiar anymore with what’s offered in short action. Just adding my 2 cents.

 

[CApighunter]

I’d do a Nosler or Rum case in your choice of 308 or 338 bore. 20-22 inch barrel is perfectly adequate. In long range hunting, efficiency can be damned. There’s no free lunch and if you want maximum energy/retained velocity on target at distance in a short package you’ll need a large case with the horsepower to do it. Remember that a 300 rum will push a 215 a hell of a lot faster than a 308 will of similar barrel length. Using N570 and a properly throated 300 rum, 3100 is doable from a 20 inch tube. I have a 23 inch win mag I’m having rebarreled to a 20 inch 30 Nosler. I’ll loose a little speed, but it’ll make up for it in handiness. Bullets kill, not headstamps.

 

[wkdwdg66]

Hmmmm, what comes between .30 cal and .338? Why its the greatest orphan of all times, the 8MM Remington Magnum. With 77 grains of IMR 4350 and an 8mm 170 grain Hornady SST, it'll squirt out the barrel at about 3100 fps. It will test your recoil resistance! I've killed Mulies with one shot each of the last two seasons (my favorite gun-expression "Bang Flop"). Don't hit anything that you might want to eat "cause it will hit with shock and awe" at closer ranges. I have 200-grain Swifts on standby as I wait for my Wyoming Elk Points to build up.
My Rem 700 has a new Bartlein 26" ss barrel and will shoot tight at the range. The full length, long-action, aluminum-reinforced Hogue stock does a pretty good job of shock absorbance but as I say I never feel or hear anything with a antlers in the sights when I squeeze the trigger,
Oh yeah, and if you want a big bullet with less recoil, I've got another Rem 700 in .270 (shot-out barrel) being bored out to 8MM-06 by Danny Pederson at Classic Barrel and Gunworks out of Prescott Arizona. (I've also got another Rem 700 with Danny who is going to rebore (if he can) the barrel on another .270 out to a 7mm-06).
One thing that helped keep 8mm down was the lack of bullet choices in the past, that is not the case now.

I've had a couple 8mm-06AI. Super fun rifle and yes.......bang flop with 190 gr nosler partitions.

 

[smokey3]

I have quite a few big bores that I use
as “follow-up” weapons when guiding in Alaska, but want to start hunting out of the country and yet still have a great all around rifle. I have a few .338’s, a .300WSM in a Kimber, and a short barreled (20”) 7mm WSM. I want a long range, short barreled rifle for hunting in Asia. Ibex...possibly others. The shooting opportunities can be in excess of 500/600 yards. I wanted something different in a long range sledgehammer..of that helps.

Sounds like you have some great rifles already. Whatever you decide to go with, just make sure you can get ammo and/or components for reloading, things are tough right now unless you have what you need already. I often buy my ammunition or reloading components in advance of my firearms purchase and that sometimes influences my caliber choice. I bought a 6.5x300 Weatherby this past summer and thankfully I found loaded factory ammo and new cases also, they are not available anywhere I have checked lately. I have a 300 WSM with a 22" barrel that does fine and is a very efficient cartridge for the powder it uses. Both of the WSM's you have would serve you well I would think. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[bdlesh]

Don't over think this.....a 300 or 338 wm has worked for 50+ years. If you are just looking for a solid hunting rifle......they are all you need. Now if you want something different....go wildcat

 

[tim_w]

After going thru the whole thread and putting the trail of info from the op in a number of posts this is what I have gathered in terms of goals, gun use, range, and secondary gun you will have access to.

Ideal barrel length: 20"

Caliber minimum: 30 cal or larger

Min bullet weight: 180gr or more.

Hunting location: Alaska, International(Asia, game Abex)

Max distance: 500- 600+ yds

Backup Gun: Short distance brush /charge gun 416 Ruger Guide Gun

Current Armory Inventory: traditional barrel lengths in a few .338’s, a .300WSM in a Kimber, and a short barreled (20”) 7mm WSM.



IMO, as you reduce fairly short barrel lengths for a given powder volume there are benefits to be had by increasing caliber size as it helps offset the loss of bore volume and can regain loss energy by the increase in mass in a comparable ratio..

If there is any ofbthe thick skinned African game that has min caliber restrictions you would be stuck to .375 up but given your stated experience I will assume you know this and would have stated it.

The main thing is possible 650yd max possible shots with a case shooting 30 cal and larger with enough velocity for an ethical kill in terminal performance from a 20" barrel. In terms of the Ibex I have seen numerous kills posted using a 300 win mag 24"-26" 180 gr to 400-450 yards results being they flopped right over. So to me it seems ideally we need to equal the terminal perf of a 24" 180 gr 300 WM @ 450 yds but from a 20" @ 650 yds.

RUM would get you there but its a very long COAL especially if bullet is ideally positioned in case neck. The Norma Mags fit the bill well as they have that great ratio of case diameter/length and will work with wyatt and DBMs. The other choice would be a Nosler Magnums

If we go with a NM that of course needs the .590 face/.750 lug bolt action. The Nosler uses standard mag .532 bolt.

My opinion from my knowledge would be to lean toward a 338 given the short barrel length. A 338 bore 20" has 98% of the bore volume of a 24" 30 cal. So for a given powder volume the 338 in a 20" will burn as efficiently as a 24" 30 cal all things equal.

Looking at some of the most experienced long range elk hunters on this forum they seem to indicate, that even taking into consideration of the fantastic bc of the heavier 7mm & 30 cal bullets today, 338 seem to handle switchy winds better and hit with more terminal authority from their observations.

Based on all of this I would think a 33 Nosler or 338 Norma Magnum using an action compatible with wyatts cfe-9 or cfe-12 box respectively would meet your goals. Something like a 250gr EOL or similar running 2700-2775 using RL26 H1000 N165 N560/5 Retumbo @650yds will duplicate and/or exceed the 180 hunting bullets (AB, TTSX..... EOL) mv 3100fps @ 450yd perf

 

[wildwilderness]

You could get one of these with a 20” in 338 RCM

Lite SabR Rifle System

www.gunwerks.com

that's if you had an extra $12k

 

[300fortheWIN]

A Weatherby MK V 300WM is my standard rig these days. I also have a Weatherby MK V RC 338-378 that has factory ammo available. The 338-378 is 100’ per second faster then the 338LM. The RC is a Range Certified three shot group, tested by Weatherby with factory ammo and guaranteed sub MOA with data on the testing (Mine tested at 5/8” MOA).
If you ever bought a rifle, only to find out that it will not do better the 1 MOA, you will appreciate a guarantee and actual testing before you buy.
I am not taking about keeping up with custom $4k-$5k guns guaranteed .25-.50 MOA. I’m talking about a factory built gun at half the price with a MOA guarantee. I except this to hit like Thor’s Hammer.