Should I go to a 300 RUM???

samson

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2003
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295
Location
PA
I have been shooting an accurized 300WM for 3 years now and am going to have a custom rifle built. Some people are telling me that I should go to a 300RUM. I do not know if it is worth the extra expense and KICK. I am hunting Whitetails in PA from 500 to 1000 yards. Occaisionally out west for mule deer and elk. Is there any accuracy improvement? Any help would be appreciated.
 
I don't think there would be an improvement in accuracy per say but what you would get is an improvement in energy, more killing range.I have a 300 RUM in the Savage 116 SAK
that shoot great, I really like the 300 RUM necked to .338 with a little free bore in 30" pac-nor select match with Matthews brake, it is awesome down range with the 300SMK loads of energy and fights the wind.
 
Hey I just got back from a Black Bear hunt.Because I was hunting with a 300RUM,I now have a frezzer full of Black Bear meat.I love my 300RUM,I've done alot of Handloading for it.My rifle is a Rem 700 with a sporter BBL(thin&Light). It shoots great,plus I have a VIAZ muzzel brake that takes and easy 60% of recoil.With out it it kicks your head off!!!!!.
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Iron Worker, I want to make sure I understand you. You're saying that because you were hunting with a 300 Ultramag, you were able to kill a black bear? Were you hunting over bait or at extreme long range?

Samson, I am familiar with the 300 WM and shoot a 30 cal with a bit more performance than the RUM. You will indeed gain a worthwhile performance advantage (wind deflection & terminal energy) out there at the limit of your range (1000 yards). This by shooting bullets over 200 grains with high BCs. The 300 Win will shoot those heavies of course. But flight time, and thus, wind deflection will suffer compared to the RUM...
 
I know what STL is saying.. his prefered 30 cal is a bit more involved that the RUM but it performs exceptionally well...

I'm not so sure you need more than the 300wm.. you can get more velocity from the RUM but I am not sure it is worth it in your instance.. in PA the 300WM is more than enough and alot fo guys are shooting the 300WSM up to 1K in PA.
If your rifle can handle the 210 JLK or the 200 gr accubond I'd try them from the 300WM first...
 
Samson, you seem to have had a lot of success with and are happy with your .300WM. As you have already suggested, power, or lack thereof, isn't the issue as the .300WM has plenty of it. If you're after an accuracy gain, it makes little sense to switch to a bigger, harder hitting (at both ends) cartridge that would be more difficult to hold. Logic would dictate that to gain any accuracy without an appreciable loss in power, a smaller but slightly faster calibre might be the option such as a 7mm of some description.
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Samson,
I know just what you are going through. Sometimes us gun lovers just want a little change. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I just changed from a 300 weatherby to a 7mm ultra mag. Don't get me wrong, I love and always will love my weatherby. I just wanted to experience another round in the feild. I've purchased a rem model 700 sendero sf chambered in 7mm ultra mag, and I love it. I hunt moose and caribou with it in Alaska, and whitetail in Arkansas. It is a splendid round, flat shooting and powerful. Needless to say the recoil is very bearable. My good buddy has a model 700 lss in 7 rum, and he feels the same way.
Congrats on your new custom rifle and good luck hunting. Hope this helps.
 
No reason, just because I have a great .308 caliber round. I wanted to experiment with a different cal. From what I've seen, I can load smaller rounds for flatter shooting and varmit hunting.
Don't get me wrong, I think that the 300 ultra is a outstanding round. Plus the 7mm ultra is easier on the ol' shoulder.

[ 10-24-2004: Message edited by: duckinalaska ]

[ 10-24-2004: Message edited by: duckinalaska ]
 
Duckinalaska, I've been toying with the idea of a long range rig and of course, the plethora of fast cartridges around makes for an awful lot discussion. I was initially thinking .30 calibre and hence started the topic on the .300 WM vs .300 WSM.

If you had to pick your tippy-top favourite cartridge for long range work for game up to the size of elk, which would it be and why?
 
Longreach,
You are exactly right, this subject makes for a AWFUL lot of conversation.
My pick would be the 300 weatherby, because I can load a 200 grain nosler at 3100 fps producing 4200 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. At 500 yards your looking at 2200 ft/lbs of energy. However, you can meet these ballistics with the 300 rum. My Dad is a avid fan of the 300 WSM. The 300 WSM is a great cartridge, but you can't get big results out of the heavier bullets.
I get alot of grief from my hunting partners about my "magnumitis." They are the 30 caliber "non-magnum" shooters. As in the 30/06, and so on. What's wrong with being infatuated with a little power. It's just my thing.
 
Duckinalaska,

I have to agree, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being infatuated with a little power, as long as one can handle it!
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This is especially valid when talking of long range hunting. Sure, for 'normal' hunting ranges out to 250yds, the .06 family and the like will do it every time.

Ok, so you're in the .300 Weatherby/RUM range as far as your favourites go. My pick of the two would be the RUM largely because of the availability of suitable long range rifles such as the Sendero. There's an H-S Precision HTR in .300 Win Mag available here but the price is $A4500! It would solve all my long range hunting/shooting problems though!
 
Do you feel that the 300 Wby is more accurate due to the longer neck or doesn't that make much difference? And it looks like the Wby has better choice of brass than the 300 RUM.

The other issue I have is the 210 VLD. Does anyone use it to hunt with?
 
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