Ultra Mags vs Rem Mag and Win Mag

[Deerhntr71]

Are the 7mm Rum and 300 Rum worth the extra cost and recoil, or are the 7mm Rem and the 300 Win just as good if not better choices? Is the 7mm Rum dying off and a round to stay away from? If a person goes with a Rum, is the 300 Rum the better choice?

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Better for what? The RUMs will have a greater effective range by about 100-200 yds. They also consume more powder and have shorter barrel life.

IMO, a serious long range hunting rifle should have a brake so recoil is a non issue, but I have shot a 300 RUM for a couple of years without a brake, and yes it kicks hard. I put a brake on my recent built 300 RUM and 6-284. Sure didn't need it on the 6-284 but it makes it much easier to stay or get back on target quickly and just nicer to shoot.

The worth or value is up to you.

 

[Doublezranch]

I love the potential that the ultra mags offer. They are workhorses especially in ND. You can load them as hot as you want (with in reason of course) and there performance can be as consistent as any. I have the 7 RUM, 300 RUM, 338 RUM, and 375 RUM's respectively. The 7 rum is the easiest to get brass for but you can burn a barrel out if you (as Rhian would say) hit the giggle switch too many times in a row without letting her chill out. All the ultras with the exception of the 375 are considered long range caliber rifles with the 300 and 338 most available. I am truly going to try and make my 375 a long range killer. Might take some money though .

The 300 win is a very good caliber. I have one. But it just doesn't have the horses that my 300 RUM has and sometimes I like to let those horses run along ways!!

The 7 RUM is not, to my knowledge falling off the map anytime soon. Of course these are just my opinions. Find a gun that you want and love to shoot, and then shoot it all the time. It's so fun!! gun)

 

[MudRunner2005]

Are the 7mm Rum and 300 Rum worth the extra cost and recoil, or are the 7mm Rem and the 300 Win just as good if not better choices? Is the 7mm Rum dying off and a round to stay away from? If a person goes with a Rum, is the 300 Rum the better choice?

The 7mm RUM offers no advantage over the 7mm STW, other than about 100 fps. However, it consumes about 15grs more powder to do so and cuts the barrel life down significantly from such a massive burn and huge muzzle-blast...So it is not a cost-effective 100fps. The .300 RUM however, is an efficient caliber...And has much better barrel life than the 7mm RUM.

7mm RemMag and 300 WinMag are VERY effective and cost-effective calibers. Both are very capable long range calibers, and very common calibers.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

The 7mm RUM offers no advantage over the 7mm STW, other than about 100 fps. However, it consumes about 15grs more powder to do so and cuts the barrel life down significantly from such a massive burn and huge muzzle-blast...So it is not a cost-effective 100fps. The .300 RUM however, is an efficient caliber...And has much better barrel life than the 7mm RUM.

7mm RemMag and 300 WinMag are VERY effective and cost-effective calibers. Both are very capable long range calibers, and very common calibers.

Now we all know you like your STW but barrel life is not going to be all that much better than the RUM, all else being equal such as pressure/heat and rate of fire.

When it comes to efficiency, anytime you climb the case volume ladder in the same cal, you're gonna loose efficiency. A 7-08 is going to be more efficient than a 284 Win which is going to be more efficient than a 7 RM which is going to be more efficient than the STW which is going to be more efficient than the RUM. With the 7 RUM, you do have a very overbore case which restricts the number of good powders that will work well in it but RL33 and RL50 should do very well.

Same goes with the 30 cals. I would agree that the 300 RUM is a little more efficient than the 7 RUM because it is not as overbore, but IMO the 7 RUM is a great cartridge to push the 180 and 195 size bullets. It takes more powder but that's the price you pay.

 

[500mag_guy]

I love the ultra mags!! Specially the 300rum. In all honesty the 300rum will always be in my arsenal!!

Ya the 300 win is good but in my opinion the ultra mags are the way to go for what I need. Well worth the extra cash!!

+1 for the 300rum!!

 

[aramarine6]

I've owned, a 300 win mag, 338 win mag, and currently own a 338 RUM. There is nothing wrong with the win mag line up. But I will say that the 338 RUM out performs both very easily. For $1500 I built what I refer to as a poor mans lapua by going with a 338 RUM cartridge. I havn't owned a 7mm RUM but it's always in the back of my mind as a cartridge I'd like to try someday. The performance advantage of the RUM line up is there. It all depends if you can/will accept the added reloading costs and recoil. I shoot my RUM without a brake on a 15 pound gun. I'm 180 pounds and can run about 50 or so rounds before my shoulder is sore. Some think I'm crazy. I think heavy recoil is fun

 

[AKGuide]

I too am a big ultra mag fan. My 300 shoots bug holes and does very well at 1000 yards and more with the 240 SMK's. I like the RUM line so much that I am in the process of building a .416-.375 RUM for my guiding companion. Although I believe that the minimum length of barrel used for the 7, 300, and 338 should be 28" or more to see what the cartridge is truly capable of.

Reuben

 

[MudRunner2005]

Now we all know you like your STW but barrel life is not going to be all that much better than the RUM, all else being equal such as pressure/heat and rate of fire.

When it comes to efficiency, anytime you climb the case volume ladder in the same cal, you're gonna loose efficiency. A 7-08 is going to be more efficient than a 284 Win which is going to be more efficient than a 7 RM which is going to be more efficient than the STW which is going to be more efficient than the RUM. With the 7 RUM, you do have a very overbore case which restricts the number of good powders that will work well in it but RL33 and RL50 should do very well.

Same goes with the 30 cals. I would agree that the 300 RUM is a little more efficient than the 7 RUM because it is not as overbore, but IMO the 7 RUM is a great cartridge to push the 180 and 195 size bullets. It takes more powder but that's the price you pay.

Yep, those who have never owned or shot an STW will never truly understand its greatness. It truly is King Author's Excaliber with the 168+ bullets. Mine shines thumping the 180's downrange.

Based on barrel life of several others on here, it appears you could get significantly better if you take extreme care of the bore and throat.

 

[BadDogPSD]

Are the 7mm Rum and 300 Rum worth the extra cost and recoil, or are the 7mm Rem and the 300 Win just as good if not better choices? Is the 7mm Rum dying off and a round to stay away from? If a person goes with a Rum, is the 300 Rum the better choice?

As others have asked, what do you need/want it for? The mission drives the equipment!

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

Yep, those who have never owned or shot an STW will never truly understand its greatness. It truly is King Author's Excaliber with the 168+ bullets. Mine shines thumping the 180's downrange.

Based on barrel life of several others on here, it appears you could get significantly better if you take extreme care of the bore and throat.

I've got 500 or more shots on my current 7stw with zero visible throat wear. 400 of those shots are documented on targets in my shop. My rifle was bought used a year and a half ago. My 7rum was tired to the point accuracy was falling off in just over two years and 600 shots.
It's all how you flog these beasts; I had a bit to much bench time on the 7rum for the caliber it is. As a comparison, I'd hazard a low guess of 1400+ rounds (likely more) on my former stw and the last group fired with her was .4" at 100 yards. The rifling origin was shallow but she still shot well. Both my current stw and my old 7rum wore blued barrels, and the old stw was a sendero sf.

Your use dictates what you'll need. If you aren't needing the extra power, go with the 300win, etc.. If you need to step up, the 300rum is a heck of a cal..

I just picked up a lh stainless 7rum with unknown round count. I can still see the milling marks in the origin, which tells me it's under 100 rounds or so. I'll be sure to say when I fry this pipe out as I'll be looking at a replacement barrel. I'm guessing I'll get 500-800 rounds from her depending on the thrashing I give it.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

For me it's a belted vs non-belted.

I have one belted and don't want any more.

Barrel burners, yup, all of them. Some more than others. Nature of the beast.

The belted mags are old technology.

Just kidding...

 

[Michael Eichele]

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of shooters that say how many rounds they have down their 300 and 7mm rums and are still shooting lights out. I must have the worst luck with barrel longevity. After two 300 rum barrels, you couldn't pay me to own another rum other than the 338 rum.

After my experiences with rum based calibers, I'm more than happy with the 300 win mag. If you run 208-230 grain pills inside of 1300 yards there is no real benefit to the rum. Sure it will hit harder and drift less but not enough to make it worth torched barrels. Hell by the time you work up loads and get to know its quirks it's time for a new one. If that floats your boat go for it.

Paper ballistics are always exciting. Heck running 140 VLDs at 4000 feet per second on the calculator is a lot of fun but replacing barrels every 100 rounds to meet the excitement in real life puts a sour taste in my mouth. Kind of like cotton candy. It tastes so good but it disappears in record time and all you're left with is rotten teeth and a stomach ache.

 

[ivo]

This tread is exactly what I've been looking for. I am planning another build, this time for a "one gun long range hunter". I already have a 6 SLR, 260AI and 7WSM so I figure a .30 cal is the next logical choice. I was leaning toward the 300 RUM anyway, this thread just confirmed it.

Thanks for the info and opinions fellas!