largest case per caliber choice?

264wm has been my go-to since i was 11 ('76) and have bloomed since then. in '15 (or '14) i decided to get the 300wm since it's belted just like the 264 is for reference is familiar to me. i don't hunt (as i've stated many times in other post), but love the reloading game and learning thereof! having 3 30cals w/different capacities and range of uses (300bo, 308win & 300wm) is there any benefit to having the largest 30cals available (not counting wildcats and improved) like the 300nm, 300lm and 30-378wby (300rum, 300prc & 30nos maybe)? the only benefit i can think of is the largest cases can use a shorter barrel to get the job done of the smaller magnums to make the firearm more compact and lighter? the cost of the extra powder for more velocity at hindrance of lower barrel life (consumable) and its possible worth? for hunting use it might be as it's not being shot very much (say 20 shots per year?) can last a long time. SO, what large capacity cases do you have per caliber and your decision to have them?

side note, if i decide on the mk22 (308win, 300nm & 338nm package) the 300nm can do the same job as the 300wm @ 3" less barrel length.

I made a 6.5-.338 RUM and a 7-.338 RUM. Why? More velocity. Like they say in drag racing: No substitute for cubic inches.

For me it was always what I could tolerate both in recoil as well as packing. Its also changed over time.

Rewind 15 years ago and eveyone was going longer than 26 inches, as suppressors hadn't fully dominated like they are and the sport was much more geographically dominated by folks in the wide open spaces. Velocity gains from massive overbore cartridges are much more appreciated in a long tube. Seems like the overall lrh game certainly chased more overbore cartridges back then.

Bullets have also changed, used to be sporadic batches of heavy for caliber wildcat bullets to feed the heavy high bc setups. Now everybody and their brother has some crazy heavy for caliber bullets across all the caliber range. Certainly changes what cartridges are used. When I first got into this lot of guys were shooting target grade berger and smks, to get a high b.c. bullet you had to step up to a 338 around 300 grains.

These days you can get bomber wind bucking bullets in 6.5, 7, and even 25 cal without having to rely on intermittent botique companies. So it takes less oomph to get the higher b.c., lets be honest 28 nosler or similar chucking 175+ pills is a lot easier to handle than the same rifle flinging 300s from a 338. Add to that the trend to lighter weight and shorter barrels and it seems like we all have trended towards more moderate magnums.

My personal happy medium is the 7 rum, about 15 years ago a friend and I did rum and wsm based rifles from 6.5 to 338. On the rum side the 6.5 wildcat at the time was limited as we didn't have the bullet selection nor slow powder selection we have now. Barrels were done the way young men shot then under 500, we got 700 outta the 7rum closer to 1k on the 300 rum and we never shot out the 338 edge we pieced together. If I was killing paper and didn't have to pack the rifle up mountains, I'd upsize bore to get better life and compensate with a heavier barrel and stock.

I do like the short fat cartridges, 300wsm being my go to. I'm looking at a 6-6.5prc or a 6-300wsm, not as extreme as some options out there, but I think they'll do what I'm looking for.

ARlife4me said:

264wm has been my go-to since i was 11 ('76) and have bloomed since then. in '15 (or '14) i decided to get the 300wm since it's belted just like the 264 is for reference is familiar to me. i don't hunt (as i've stated many times in other post), but love the reloading game and learning thereof! having 3 30cals w/different capacities and range of uses (300bo, 308win & 300wm) is there any benefit to having the largest 30cals available (not counting wildcats and improved) like the 300nm, 300lm and 30-378wby (300rum, 300prc & 30nos maybe)? the only benefit i can think of is the largest cases can use a shorter barrel to get the job done of the smaller magnums to make the firearm more compact and lighter? the cost of the extra powder for more velocity at hindrance of lower barrel life (consumable) and its possible worth? for hunting use it might be as it's not being shot very much (say 20 shots per year?) can last a long time. SO, what large capacity cases do you have per caliber and your decision to have them?

side note, if i decide on the mk22 (308win, 300nm & 338nm package) the 300nm can do the same job as the 300wm @ 3" less barrel length.

Click to expand...

Carbine barrels on bolt rifles is a fad with many flaws. It will pass.

I have wildcats on the following cases, WSM, Belted mags (full length), RUM & Rigby Improved.
The most successful for me have been the Rigby Improved cases, they start at 30 then 338, 375 & 408 (still developing that one).
Have considered 7mm, but the 7RUM is ample case capacity.

300 Weatherby for 6.5mm is ample case capacity, or even a 6.5STW, which I had several years ago. Have done a 6.5-270 Weatherby, but that and 264WM are neck and neck.
I really love my custom 264WM, it is amazingly accurate.

Cheers.

Been shooting the 257 Weatherby for about 30 years now. It set the bar pretty high for shooting fast and flat, it's still tough to beat by much even after all these years of "improvements".

RichCoyle said:

I made a 6.5-.338 RUM and a 7-.338 RUM. Why? More velocity. Like they say in drag racing: No substitute for cubic inches.

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…and just like drag racing you rebuild a lot of motors and in your case rebarrel a lot of actions! It sure is fun though!

AussieWriter said:

Carbine barrels on bolt rifles is a fad with many flaws. It will pass.

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My fad started 40 years ago. Lol

AussieWriter said:

Carbine barrels on bolt rifles is a fad with many flaws. It will pass.

Click to expand...

Snowboy said:

My fad started 40 years ago. Lol

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Those that like the xp100's (example) are probably "diehard's" which isn't bad. It's their choice for sure!

I can see non-magnums in those, but no way I'll own 1 as it doesn't suit my needs/wants.

Gary in MD said:

Been shooting the 257 Weatherby for about 30 years now. It set the bar pretty high for shooting fast and flat, it's still tough to beat by much even after all these years of "improvements".

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Yep. Got my first one in 1977. They teach you a lot about long range and wind.

AussieWriter said:

Carbine barrels on bolt rifles is a fad with many flaws. It will pass.

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Maybe, but I'm doubtful. Personally think the market is going to trend towards platforms that focus on making the shorter barrels experience more efficient.

Suppressors have made their mark in the generation that's roughly 40, and I don't think that's going to change. The rifles that make them practically packable trend towards shorter than what would have been the historic barrel length. (When I started rifles were 24 inches for standard cartridges 26 for a "magnum" and a carbine was 22 inched).

Couple years back I got sick and house bound. Wife decided my brain needed to do something so I was drafted by here to help friends and family find thing that were out of stock. Ended up focusing on hard to find boat parts and bolt gun parts. As such my laptop has a spread sheet of a little over a dozen guys barrel purchases from my peer group. Over the last 5 years it's a little over 30 barrels, only one was over 26 inches that was for hunting there were several longer ones but for comp/prs guns and the rest were under 22 inches.

I've had more guys ask about wssm rounds in the last years than the decade before, guys are interested in effective bore length but not giving up short tubes.


Think the "moderate magnum" and shorter barrel trend is going to stick around a bit longer.

RichCoyle said:

I made a 6.5-.338 RUM and a 7-.338 RUM. Why? More velocity. Like they say in drag racing: No substitute for cubic inches.

Click to expand...

Yep, no replacement for displacement.

comfisherman said:

Maybe, but I'm doubtful. Personally think the market is going to trend towards platforms that focus on making the shorter barrels experience more efficient.

Suppressors have made their mark in the generation that's roughly 40, and I don't think that's going to change. The rifles that make them practically packable trend towards shorter than what would have been the historic barrel length. (When I started rifles were 24 inches for standard cartridges 26 for a "magnum" and a carbine was 22 inched).

Couple years back I got sick and house bound. Wife decided my brain needed to do something so I was drafted by here to help friends and family find thing that were out of stock. Ended up focusing on hard to find boat parts and bolt gun parts. As such my laptop has a spread sheet of a little over a dozen guys barrel purchases from my peer group. Over the last 5 years it's a little over 30 barrels, only one was over 26 inches that was for hunting there were several longer ones but for comp/prs guns and the rest were under 22 inches.

I've had more guys ask about wssm rounds in the last years than the decade before, guys are interested in effective bore length but not giving up short tubes.


Think the "moderate magnum" and shorter barrel trend is going to stick around a bit longer.

Click to expand...

As I age lighter is better. Who knew that I would shred my favorite 300 WM with a 26" barrel for a 300 WSM with a 24" fluted stainless with a recently acquired carbon fiber stock which shed enough weight to make it under 8lbs with scope and I wish it had a 20" barrel.
I like the 300WSM because it is efficient in the shorter barrel and shorter action. I wish the 300 RCM would have been more accepted but the 300 WSM is the next best thing IMHO.
I guess I am currently considering something like a NULA with anywhere from 18" to 20" barrel. 300 WSM would be nice.
Ps. My deer rifle is a Rem. Model 7 in .308 Win with 18.5" barrel sporting a new Stockys Carbon fiber hunters stock. I have hunted with it for 35 years and never felt at a disadvantage. I have taken many deer, moose and caribou with this rifle. One particular memory of a caribou at 440 yds in January on the Hudson Bay tundra is special.
My first bolt action was a Remington 700 with a 20" factory ordered barrel in 1974. Who knows maybe it was a trend.