Caliber choice for Krieger Barrel

[trueblue]

I have a 26" Krieger barrel 30 cal 1:10 twist. Want to build something on it. At present I am looking at the 30/338 Lapua AI, 300 RUM, or the 308 Bear. With a 26" tube, not sure of pros or cons with these choices, or their performance. With the 1:10 twist, probably look to shoot 210 BERGER or something in that weight class. This will be a long range carry rig, weight in the 10-12# range. Feedback on choice would be appreciated.

 

[Guy M]

I love those Krieger barrels! Have used them in competition, and for hunting for several years, always with good results.

Of the cartridges you list, the only one I've loaded for and shot was a .300 RUM. What a cartridge! Big. Fast. Powerful. Capable of some outstanding accuracy with very limited load development.

From a 26" barrel I even saw some factory Remington 200 grain cartridges break 3200 fps! This slightly boggled my mind - and when I started handloading for it, 3150 fps was no problem with 200 grain Sierras and a healthy, but less-than-max load of Retumbo.

Some have had issues with Remington factory brass - I never did - it was reasonably decent stuff that cleaned up well. So... I can't think of a reason to not use the .300 RUM. Good factory ammo. Decent components and great results.

Krieger - good choice!

Regards, Guy

 

[J E Custom]

The 300 RUM or the 30/378 Weatherby.

The RUM would be my first choice,and for a real power house the 30/378.

Both are factory rounds and ammo can be bought.

I love the wildcats but some times the advantages don't make up for the
Disadvantages of special brass,fireforming,cost of dies and reamer and
headspace cost.

Plus cartriges like the 30/378 will match or beat most wildcats in 30 cal.

Just my 2 cents
J E CUSTOM

 

[trueblue]

Hadn't thought of the 30/378 Weatherby. I will have to look into that. I didn't know if the 26" barrel would dictate which caliber would make a better choice over the other, concerning burn rate of powders and such.

 

[J E Custom]

Trueblue

All of the big 30's benefit from longer barrels and 24'' to 26'' is considered
minimum.

The capicity of the 30/378 is just over a 120grs depending on type of
powder used.

My best load with a 27" tube is 118gr H-50 BMG with a 200gr accubond
@ just over 3200 ft/sec.

Best group to date .092" 5 shot at 100yrds.

J E CUSTOM

 

[highridge1]

300 ultra mag would be the best choice in my opinion

 

[uncleB]

I agree with J E Custom on some of his posts, have respect for some of his posts that I dont agree with but a 30-378 is perhaps the worst factory chambering EVER !!!
A properly tuned 300RUM will out shoot a 30/378 every single time (that I have witnessed) and with significantly less powder. if you step up to the 338/378 it is a whole different story.
UB
The 30/338Lapua AI is a much better choice because of better brass and design, but is way too over-bore for very much barrel life

 

[3006savage]

I would choose the 300RUM especially in a 26" tube. The 30-378 would gain very little in a 26" barrel except in recoil. I also think you will limit your selection of actions with the 30-378.

 

[britz]

I would suggest the RUM as well, don't improve it - very little to gain. you can shoot factory ammo in a pinch, in a 26 inch barrel the gain to a bigger cartidge will be less significant. If you need more power and range than the RUM, then I'd suggest getting rid of the 30 cal barrel and get a 338 cal set up on an Edge or a RUM.

 

[J E Custom]

I agree with J E Custom on some of his posts, have respect for some of his posts that I dont agree with but a 30-378 is perhaps the worst factory chambering EVER !!!
A properly tuned 300RUM will out shoot a 30/378 every single time (that I have witnessed) and with significantly less powder. if you step up to the 338/378 it is a whole different story.
UB
The 30/338Lapua AI is a much better choice because of better brass and design, but is way too over-bore for very much barrel life

Thanks UncleB

I respect your opinion also and agree with the majority about the 300 RUM being the
best choice .

And I have both the RUM and the 30/378 and I have had just the opposite experience.

And my 30/378 will shoot 200ft/sec faster than my 300 RUM (But it does take a lot more
powder) and my best group with the 300RUM is .271 5 shot at 100yrds (Just over 1/4
MOA) . But the 30/378 has shot .092'' 1/10th of a MOA 5 shot group at 100 yrds.

The main advantage of the 30/378 is with 225 and 250gr bullets and a case capacity
of over 120grs and with 200 ft/sec more velocity than the RUM.

I believe that any calibre can be made to shoot well if the weapon is well made and
has very close tolerances.

The 300RUM seems to be easy to reload to get good accuracy , but so does the
30/378 to me .

If you want more than a 300 RUM can deliver why go to a wildcat when you can go to
a factory chamber and ammo that will match or beat most of the big wildcats.

At present I only have 3 rifles that shoot less than a 1/10th of an inch and one of them
is the 30/378.

Again ;This was not an attack on UncleB just a reason why I would recomend
the big Weatherby.

J E CUSTOM