Still trying to learn

Hello,
I know I have asked or brought up some thoughts about a rebarrel or rechamber future project. My barrel is shot out of my 28 nosler. I only got 700 roonds.
So in continuing to think outside the box of conformity. What about a 300 SAUM. Built on a long action, have a long throat to load the 210 bergers or 215 bergers. I would have a Carbon Six 28 inch barrel. I am sorry for all the questions. So much information here has lead me to want to build a 30 cal for elk 500 and in. I know there are all sorts of calibers that people claim to be good but I am a believer in 30 cal or bigger for elk. I want a dedicated mountain, midrange elk gun that I hunt everything else with. What is the Barrel life like? What performance can I expect?

Darrin

For elk out to 500, so many choices. For a mag bolt face LA:

In .308":
300SAUM
300WSM
300SS
300MAX
300MEGA
300WM
300PRC
30 Nosler
30-28 Nosler
300 Wby
300RUM

Don't discount a 7mm for elk. 500 is easy for any of the mild to wild 7mm short mags or mags.

300 Winchestershire Magnum

6,5 PRC…..you'll thank me later!

lancetkenyon said:

For elk out to 500, so many choices. For a mag bolt face LA:

In .308":
300SAUM
300WSM
300SS
300MAX
300MEGA
300WM
300PRC
30 Nosler
30-28 Nosler
300 Wby
300RUM

Don't discount a 7mm for elk. 500 is easy for any of the mild to wild 7mm short mags or mags.

Click to expand...

7-300 WSM; 7mm heavies ballistic performance with a bit more case neck. Kinda like a .284 Win with bigger ballz

nksmfamjp said:

6,5 PRC…..you'll thank me later!

Click to expand...

I do not want a 6.5 caliber for this application. If I was building a rifle for medium size game Deer, sheep, goats, antelope I would most deffinantly build a 6.5.
Brathany, I love an old 300 win mag. Those 215's out of the winny are leathal! Just looking for something different than the norm. Maybe a 300 mega?
I will only shoot reloads. Barrel life i want is a minimum 1500+ rounds. I will only use the most consistent compnents; Lapua, ADG, Peterson brass.

Darrin

The Sherman Wildcats would certainly tickle that unique spot for you. Maybe even the 30 Sherman. Don't sweat barrel life. Barrels are consumable just like tires. But you really don't need a 30 cal for elk. Especially 500 and in. You could pick a smaller cartridge/bore diameter and have a much easier to shoot weapon system. Cheaper too

Personally, I'm old school. I would go with the 300 Win Mag.
1st off, Brass is more readily available and probably cheaper than most of the other calibers and you can get high quality brass.
2ndly, you may wind up with feeding issues with the shorter magnum cases. The SAUM brass is almost 5/8" shorter than the Win Mag.
3rdly, the small gain in b.c. that you'd get with the 210 would hardly be noticeable at 500 yards over, let's say, a 180 elite hunter, at the same speed (I used 3000fps). With a 5mph, 9 o'clock wind, you are talking about 9/16" difference in drift at 500 yards and maybe less because you can theoretically push the 180 a little faster. Berger has a ballistics calculator on their site. Run some numbers. In my opinion, a 180 grain bullet running out of a 300 Win mag, is more than enough to kill an elk at those distances. A 180 elite hunter starting at 3000fps, still has almost 2100 ft-lbs of energy at 500 yards.
Some opinions may vary.

Barrel life seems to be the primary impetus of the OP's post. He also states he wants a 30 cal that is a little less common than a 300wm. If I understand his desire for input, offering cartridges that don't fit his stated goals don't seem to help. I am not an expert on 30 cal magnums, but I'm sure there are plenty of members that can provide input on his specific questions.

As you move toward less popular rounds, sourcing quality brass may prove expensive or problematic.

If i wanted something middle of the road, 300WSM, something more unique and performance oriented, perhaps a Sherman Wildcat.

300 PRC - I have a Bergara and shoot 190CX.
You can mix and match you own pet load, 200s and up. There is more than enough umph to have those expand properly at 500 yds

300 SAUM seems like a decent choice. So would a 300WSM in my opinion but I'm a little biased toward the 300WSM since I have two. I haven't really looked up brass offerings for the 300 SAUM but both ADG and Lapua offer it in the 300 WSM and the Lapua is a little cheaper oddly enough. If you wanted something more unique than the WSM, you could try stepping up to a 300 NormaAI but the SAUM and WSM would be plenty for 500 and in.

darrindlh said:

Hello,
I know I have asked or brought up some thoughts about a rebarrel or rechamber future project. My barrel is shot out of my 28 nosler. I only got 700 roonds.
So in continuing to think outside the box of conformity. What about a 300 SAUM. Built on a long action, have a long throat to load the 210 bergers or 215 bergers. I would have a Carbon Six 28 inch barrel. I am sorry for all the questions. So much information here has lead me to want to build a 30 cal for elk 500 and in. I know there are all sorts of calibers that people claim to be good but I am a believer in 30 cal or bigger for elk. I want a dedicated mountain, midrange elk gun that I hunt everything else with. What is the Barrel life like? What performance can I expect?

Darrin

Click to expand...

I have a lot of ADG 300 saum brass. I am doing the same as you and thinking the same. Making an elk rifle out of a 300 saum on a long action. Has a long freebore to give the 215's some leg room to work with. If you need some 300 saum brass then here ya go. Before they are all gone