Taking opinions on a 30 cal cartridge for a future build

[eshorebwhntr]

The primary purpose of this rifle will be long range hunting. It will not be a volume shooter of any sort. I plan to develop a load for it and take it on a few elk hunts and maybe a deer hunt or two out west. Also would be practice time with the rifle in preparation.

I'm not limiting myself to these two but they're the ones that I've kinda honed in on. The 300 RUM and the 30-338 Lapua. If brass availability weren't an issue I wouldn't even consider the 30-338. If Remington kept up with the brass production for the RUM it would be a simple choice. But with the Lapua's popularity it seems that can be had fairly easily although the price is up there. But if it last's 7-10 firings with a reasonable load, I could live with that.

Currently the only "big" 30 that I have experience with is the 30 Hart which is basically a 300 Weatherby Ackley Improved. It's a good cartridge but brass can be scarce at times and I really don't like the fireforming side of that deal. But other than that I can't say too much bad about it. I don't own one. I've just done load development with it.

I'd like to know what the basic pro's/con's are to each, ballistics, brass life, barrel life, rules of thumb, etc and any other knowledge folks have and are willing to share.

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I have a .300 Ackley, which is essentially the same thing as the .30 Hart that you described using. I have not shot any game with it yet, but target shooting it is an excellent caliber.

If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide to go for something other than the .30 Hart, if you already have experience with it? Was it just the fire-forming and brass availability, or were there other factors?

The .30 Hart should be very similar to my .300 Ackley. And if that is the case, they are so close to the .300 Wby case dimensions that you can get extremely accurate fire-forming loads, since they initially headspace off the belt... I know mine were very accurate, and I wasn't even shooting full-power loads.

I would venture to say that .300 Wby brass might be easier to come by than .300 RUM or .338 Lapua. It is definitely much cheaper.

300 Weatherby Magnum- MidwayUSA

300 Remington Ultra Magnum- MidwayUSA

338 Lapua Magnum- MidwayUSA

 

[eshorebwhntr]

My main reason for considering others than the 30 Hart was how much trouble I had finding brass for it when I was doing the load development (2013-2014) and the fire forming. Everything I found for the guy was 1x fired on the classifieds here. Hopefully those days are over for us shooting enthusiast. I'm glad to see that the link you provided to the Weatherby brass shows several options out there for that cartridge. Good to know.

I had pretty good luck getting good accuracy out of the straight Weatherby loads before forming but only out of the Norma brass that I found for it. The RP that I found was not as accurate before forming but shoots great after. The RP would also crack the shoulder on 1-2 out of 10 during that process. So then I had to go cream of wheat method as an intermediate step in addition to annealing. Norma never cracked and shot great but the pockets didn't last as long as RP and the load is pretty mild.

My main reasons for considering the 30-338 were seemingly good brass availability, great brass quality with Lapua that would maybe last 8-10 firings, and near 300 RUM performance.

Just wanted to weigh out all the options and see what others had to say. I'm still far from a decision or taking action so all discussion is welcome.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Yeah, I use new Nosler brass for mine. I haven't had any issues. When I first got it back from the smith, I was using some "once-fired" Weatherby brand brass I bought off a guy on here. I had a few necks split and primer pockets loosen to the point I couldn't use them after fire-forming. But that was not the brass' fault, that was the fact that if it truly was "once-fired", then those were some insane loads that were shot through them. But since getting the new Nosler cases, and using a light forming load, I have not had any issues.

I don't care much for Remington brass or ammo, their stuff is just not up to the quality of other brands like Nosler, Norma, or Lapua.

Good luck, and keep us updated with what you decide.

 

[Barrelnut]

I have a 300 RUM long range rig. I've decided that when the time comes to replace it I'm going to 338 Lapua and be done with it. For long range on elk the 338 is hard to beat and I don't consider it overkill on deer and antelope at long range. The 338 just shines at long range and wind seems to always be the biggest factor with antelope.

 

[geo4061]

I love my 300 RUM shooting the 230 Bergers into tiny little holes. Make sure you get a good brake. I have a DE brake on mine. It makes it my favorite rifle to shoot. No more than you are going to shoot it buy factory Remington ammo. Practice and then use the brass to work you up a hunting round.

 

[eshorebwhntr]

Agreed on the RP. The benefits of RP to me are the price and the pocket life. In most of the cartridges I shoot it lasts a good bit longer than Norma.

Hoping some 300 ultra and 30-338 guys drop in and share some experience.

 

[TH]

My vote is for the 300 Norma. Just load and go super accurate. Only downfall is you need a 338 Laupa bolt face.

 

[brentc]

Agreed on the RP. The benefits of RP to me are the price and the pocket life. In most of the cartridges I shoot it lasts a good bit longer than Norma.

Hoping some 300 ultra and 30-338 guys drop in and share some experience.

Contrary to internet wisdom, in the Ultra Mag cases and many others Norma/Nosler is the way to go. I've seen over twice the life in Norma cases loaded to the same velocity as RP cases. You'll use less powder to get there too. I'll only use RP or Federal in a pinch.

The mistake happens when people transfer their hot RP loads directly over to Norma/Nosler cases, which stretches the pockets early. I've found that in the RUM cases Norma/Nosler takes ~ 2 grains less powder to produce equal velocity to the RP brass.

 

[eshorebwhntr]

My vote is for the 300 Norma. Just load and go super accurate. Only downfall is you need a 338 Laupa bolt face.

What performance are you getting out of yours? Bullet, MV, and case life so far.

 

[TH]

I'm shooting the 215grn bullets 3178 out of a 32 inch barrel. My first barrel went aprox 2000 rounds. I have over 15 firings on my cases and they are still going strong.

 

[eshorebwhntr]

That's pretty impressive. Thanks for the info.

 

[geo4061]

There is a Defensive Edge rifle for sale on this site at a great price. If I were in the market for a big stick that would be the one(338 Edge).

 

[Predator 22]

+1 on the 300 norma.