Building a coustom 300 or 338 RUM, need advice.

[Casey Napier]

i just ordered a Rem 700 300RUM, one of the cheap guns from Walmart. I plan on building an Elk rifle to use next season. I already have an HS precision stock, off of a Sendero that I would like to use. I would like to keep the rifle as lite as possible, because I would like to be able to pack it. My first question is what size barrel should I use, I would like to keep it fairly thin, but I do not want it to look funny in the barrel channel of my HS precision? I do plan on fluting it to save a little weight. My next question is should I go with 300 or 338 RUM, and how much weight will going with the 338 save me, being that the bore will be a larger diameter?
Thanks
RidgeRooster

 

[James Jones]

The differance in weight between the 30 cal and 338 cal barrel fo same conture would be no noticable.
If your gonna shave weight the barrel would be the last place to go , you could get a lighter stock , use Aluminum rings and bases set the gun up as an ADL instead of a BDL all in all you might be able to trim a pound and a half maybe more or less.
I would go with the Sendero conture and have it heavly fluted , call Dan Lilja or Mike Rock and talk to them about what you want they'll know best about the barrel conture and flute size to maximize stiffness and minimize weight.

BUT , barrels don't have to be big and heavy to shoot accuratly , especialy if your using it for an Elk rifle where you might have to make 3 shots but generaly one will do it.
Check out Hightech Specialties for a light stock also Lone Wolf ,I have one of their Carbon thumb holes and its simply awsome

 

[Wild_Bill]

Hi i would go with a 338-300 RUM or 338 Edge as it is called it is better than the 338 Ultra or the 300 ultra as it will fire the 300gr MatchKings very well and have a better barrel life than the 300 RUM. But if you decide to go with the 300 make sure you get at least a 9.5 twist but a 9 would be better so you can shoot the 240gr Sierra it is awsome in big 300's.

In the end it will come up to your decision but the 338 will give you more energy at a longer range than the 300 but get a quality muzzle break for either and a 26" barrel at a minimum in length if you can a 28 would be better.

Have fun but as stated above get a sendaro profile and flute it but my choice is the 338 with 300gr MatchKings and if you go for a 300 a 9 -9.5 twist with 240gr MatchKings.

Cheers Bill
Australia

 

[jwp475]

You can save wieght with the barrel and not sacrfice riggityby going with an ABS Carbon wrapped barrel. I don't know if the LRH special pricing is still available or not. I have 2 on order now one in 338 Cal and one in 30 cal both tyo finnish at 30".These are Mike Rock cut riffled barrel blanks before wrapping

Checkout the web site:

http://home.alltel.net/mdegerness/

 

[hoghound]

If it were my project, I would box the barreled reciever and stock up and send it to either Kirby or Shawn and tell them to accurize and true the reciever, bolt with sako extractor, Rifle Basics trigger, and a 26" #7 6 groove, 1-10 twist Lija S/s fluted barrel, with Shawn's brake of course.

When you go that far don't cheap out on glass. Load up the 200gr. Accubond to it's full potential and enjoy.

Later Tim /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Shawn Carlock]

RR,

I think everyone has you headed down the right road. There are many options for you all of them pretty good. The 300 Ultra, 338 Ultra, 338 Edge choice is 6 of one 1/2 a dozen of the other out to a certain distance, past that distance the 300 gr SMK is tough to overcome in 30 cal. I agree with using a Sendero profile fluted this makes a fairly light rifle. If you can stand 28" + a brake that would be great. Let us know your performance specs like max distance etc.

 

[Fiftydriver]

RidgeRooster,

For your Sendero stock, I would recommend a barrel contour of at least a #6. Just for an example, a #7 Lilja is basically the same contour as a Factory Sendero barrel but with a longer full diameter barrel shank. The #6 is slightly smaller, about a lb lighter and should still look pretty good in your stock.

Fluting a barrel of 26 to 27" will drop around 1/2 lb off the barrel if you use 6 large flutes.

The 338 barrels will certainly be lighter but not by as much as you would think. The difference really is not worth consideration in my opinion between the two.

For elk, both will work fine. The 300 will be slightly flatter shooting (depending on range you shoot) but the 338 will have a bit more authority on game. Both are completely up to the challange for elk and any realistic range.

I would agree that if you are going to go with a custom barrel, get one suitable for the heavy bullet weights, 200-220 in 30 cal and 250 to 300 in 338. For a repeating rifle, the 300 gr 338 bullets may not be what your looking for but there are alot of 250 gr pills that will perform very well and do not overlook the 225 gr Accubond in 338. Very impressive bullet for this class of round.

Get the receiver fully accurized, get rid of that factory extractor and have your stock skim bedded. Tune the factory trigger down to 2.5-3 lbs or get an aftermarket trigger if you want a lighter bullet and you will have a serious elk hammer in either caliber.

Good shooting!! Keep us posted with the results of your project.

Kirby Allen(50)

 

[Takman]

RidgeRooster, I had a 300Rum built with a 26' Hart barrel in 4 taper with a brake on accurized Rem 700 action and bedded in a Mcmillan Sporter stock . She shoots well out to a 1000 but if I had to do it over I would have done a fluted #6 in the same length and probably a different Mcmillan model(not sure which one). Good luck and have fun. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif P.S. Kirby, I am contemplating a second 300 Win project on custom action and I am interested on your thoughts on the trigger and extractor.

 

[Casey Napier]

I have thought about the carbon barrels, but I know very little about them. The gunsmith I usually use (Perfromance Guns) recommended using one to keep the weight down. I do not see very many post about them on LRH, and I am curious why? One concern is chipping the carbon. Can anyone share thier experience with them.
Thanks for all the advice so far.
RidgeRooster

 

[Casey Napier]

Shawn
I guess that I am more concerned with being able to pack the rifle than extreme long range precision. This gun will be built for my first elk hunt, and I am told that I will need to pack it a little ways. A couple guys I work with are hunting with the outfitter that I am planning on using right now, so I will know more when they get back to Kentucky. I would also like to use it around KY for whitetails out to 500 yards max, so what twist should I concider to maybe shoot some 180 grain bullets if I go with the 300 Ultra.
Thanks for the great advice from all of y'all, this is a great forum!
RidgeRooster

 

[Shawn Carlock]

If I was going to settle on the 300 Ultra in a 26" #4 or something I'd get a 1-10 twist, shoot 200 gr Accubonds for everything and be a happy guy. I highly recommend you choose a bullet and practice with it alot and not have multiple loads. If you take a Hart # 4 fluted and a HS sporter stock, your gun will weight 3-4 oz more than the factory 700 but will make you all warm and fuzzy when you shoot it. You might give some thought to selling or trading in your Sendero stock and getting a sporter if you want a packing rifle.
Here is a #4 fluted this rifle is mine in 300 Ultra, weight is under 9 lbs as you see it and it has considerable LR ability

 

[tsmiller4]

Shawn, bad a## gun. Was that 9# with the scope, I assume it was, you said as you see. RidgeRooster, I sure like shootin ridge to ridge here in the ol' bluegrass state, don't you. I have a Rem 300 Rum and it loves the 220 smk over h-1000. Have shot 5-6 deer 200-500yds, all one shot kills and the SMK performed flawlessly. All kills were bang, flops. DOA The RUM sure prefers the heavy bullets and shoots sub .75 MOA with regularity. Good luck, who and where are you elk hunting with.

 

[Wild_Bill]

Hi as others have said dont use lighter projectiles than 200gr in the 300 RUM you are realy wasting your time. At the long ranges they do not have the eneergy and are effected more with wind drift. The 200gr Accubond or 200go + Sierra MAtchKings are the go and in a 10 twist you may get the 240gr to shoot. I would look at a 9.5 twist so i could shoot everything including the 240gr Sierra and i would start there with bullet selection. I would also use Retumbo as a starting powder as it is fairly stable in all temperature. I would use 1 load only if the 240gr Sierra did not work the 220 surly would then i would only use it as stated above if you switch loads all the time you will never know where your zero's are and you will find it hard to get used to your wind drift.

Cheers Bill
Australia

 

[Shawn Carlock]

Thanks, it is under 9 lbs (barely)as you see it with optics. It shoots quite well I hit my 10" disk @ 1148 yards pretty regular with it.