Best .30 Caliber Chambering

[JARHEAD1371]

Since you handload you might want to consider the 300-338 Lapua Improved. With a good action, and 28"-30" barrel, pushing the 230 gr Berger Hybrid around 3200 fps is possible. The brass is more expensive, but you get what you pay for. If you tone it down to around 3100 fps the brass will last a very long time. It is more expensive to go this route, custom dies and reamers, but the end result is worth it IMO. Good luck in your decision and keep everyone posted. Again, welcome to LRH.

 

[liltank]

Im sorry but when you say hot rodding it are you reffering to shooting fast or shooting fast loads?

Very high pressure loads. Pushing the maximum loads available and further. I'm going to suggest the straight 300 Norma. Uses about 10grn less powder than the RUM, but is just as accurate and deadly with heavier bullets. It's very efficient.

Tank

 

[Michael Eichele]

Im sorry but when you say hot rodding it are you reffering to shooting fast or shooting fast loads?

Either.

Top loads and beyond will destroy the throat area and heat crack the living crap out of it ahead of the throat.

In other words, if you try and drive 180's at 3400FPS, which is physically possible, you will have trouble. I have found that if you stick to about 3200-3250 with 180's in 27-28" barrels, life is much better. Both yours and the barrel's

The last 300RUM I hot rodded went to crap in about 70 rounds. A couple hundred frustrating rounds later I threw in the towel. It was awesome for those 1st few though. I have another with 1100 rounds and still going strong. Then again, I run mid range laods.

What I am trying to say is that there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you want a laser trajectory you will have to pay through the nose to get it.

 

[Good]

Im sorry but when you say hot rodding it are you reffering to shooting fast or shooting fast loads?

To me, that means squeezing every last bit of velocity out of it right up to the unsafe pressure point.

If I were you, 300RUM gets the nod, but I would urge you to look at other rounds than the 30 cal. Look that the 7 RUM and the 338 RUM and others like them. Compare real life speeds/bullets on JBM ballistics from these chamberings and weigh the benefits with the obscurity of the rounds and see which are the most important categories you will be willing to sacrifice other categories for.

Michael said it best when he said, "More BC and trigger time." That's the way I see things- if you are in perfectly still conditions all the time, BC isn't as big of a factor, but if the wind is 10mph full value, there is a HUGE difference at range between a 150g bullet fired from a .308 and a 300g bullet from a 338AM and certain bullets/chamberings give you a higher percentage of hitting your target than others. Even more so if the wind is 25mph. Do a little research on these different rounds on JBM's website and decide what you want. Personally, a .243AI with 1:7 twist shooting 117g Matrix Ballistics bullets, and a 338RUM battery is perfect for me, for now. Eventually, add a .375Allen Magnum and some other junk, you know how it goes. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Flare]

Your cost difference is minimal if any between a 338 RUM and a 300 RUM, anything that ends in RUM almost has to have a good brake IMO.

Why do they require a good brake?

Corey

 

[300 SAUM]

300 saum

 

[IdahoCTD]

Why do they require a good brake?

Corey

The powder consumption goes up drastically over WSM's or most belted mag cases therefore considerably more recoil. For example a .300 Win. uses in the 70-75grs of powder range for heavier bullets and a .300 RUM uses from the upper 80grs to mid 90grs. It's also why they burn up barrels faster. That's why I shoot a .30-8mm Mag instead of a .300 RUM. It's about midway between a .300wm and a .300 RUM for velocity. I shoot 210gr bullets at 3100fps out of a 27 1/2" barrel using 76grs of powder.

 

[300 SAUM]

You guys are all gung ho on big powder and fast speeds, but all that means nothing if you don't have top accuracy. The Big Powder High Pressure cals are good for the first two shots, but the third will stray because of the tremendous heat.

 

[bigngreen]

Why do they require a good brake?

Corey

Lighting 90gr ish of Retumbo or H1000 will get your attention first of all, then just trying to shoot accurately at long range the brake really allows you to shoot better and spot your shots. I can do my 7RUM without a brake at 10 lbs weight but it's not conducive to accuracy due to how aggressively I have to control the recoil, shooting prone long range the last time whanked me so bad I ended up at the Chiropractor getting straightened out. The 300 RUM with 200+gr bullets I just can't do the recoil, the 338 RUM with 300gr Bergers I've never shot without a brake and have zero intention of doing it based on the previous two. You put a good brake on any of the RUM's and you go from aggressive recoil and mildly fun to shoot to hard to put down and way to fun to shoot. Just what I've experienced.

 

[Korhil78]

You guys are all gung ho on big powder and fast speeds, but all that means nothing if you don't have top accuracy. The Big Powder High Pressure cals are good for the first two shots, but the third will stray because of the tremendous heat.

IMHO, if you can't put something down in the first two shots then you shouldn't be shooting that far to begin with.

Accuracy, BC of bullet then speed is the order that I go in. But why not go with a gun that will give you all of those?

 

[IdahoCTD]

You guys are all gung ho on big powder and fast speeds, but all that means nothing if you don't have top accuracy. The Big Powder High Pressure cals are good for the first two shots, but the third will stray because of the tremendous heat.

Most people that shoot long range do so with barrels heavy enough to deliver 3-5 shots down range with sub MOA, or better, accuracy out to 1000yds. Why would you think that 2 is all your going to get before things go to hell? Maybe out of a sporter barrel but I've seen sporter barrels shoot some pretty amazing groups at 800+yds too. I think almost everyone on here will agree accuracy is paramount to shooting long range. Velocity comes after that.

 

[WildRose]

Ive seriously been looking at the 300 RUM in the Sendero platform. Do you think that the 300 RUM is a cartridge that it would be worth while to get a muzzle brake installed? Also, what are your opinions on your sendero, i kinda like the 700 just because of how versatile it is to modify and get parts for.

Great platform and most certainly worth putting a good muzzle brake on if you plan to do much shooting.

With minimal tuning/bedding etc you can easily get to sub MOA even with quality factory ammo with the 300 RUM in a Sendero.

As for which 300 is best? It's hard to really justify needing more power than you can get from the .300WM except for a few specific applications such as 1,000yds Plus Elk and Moose and the barrel life is going to be dramatically better with the 300 WM vs the .300 Rum.

I own and shoot both by the way.

 

[backwoods83]

If you are considering a custom, the 300wby will give you the speed of the accuracy loads in a rum with 10grns less powder and barrel life will be similar to the 300 win mag, long story short the wby with a custom chamber in a 28" barrel will accurately shoot 180 at 3250 and 200 at 3100 and the brass is better, but you can get federal brass for the rum now.

 

[Flare]

Lighting 90gr ish of Retumbo or H1000 will get your attention first of all, then just trying to shoot accurately at long range the brake really allows you to shoot better and spot your shots. I can do my 7RUM without a brake at 10 lbs weight but it's not conducive to accuracy due to how aggressively I have to control the recoil, shooting prone long range the last time whanked me so bad I ended up at the Chiropractor getting straightened out. The 300 RUM with 200+gr bullets I just can't do the recoil, the 338 RUM with 300gr Bergers I've never shot without a brake and have zero intention of doing it based on the previous two. You put a good brake on any of the RUM's and you go from aggressive recoil and mildly fun to shoot to hard to put down and way to fun to shoot. Just what I've experienced.

I only asked because I thought I was missing something. Currently shoot my 300 RUM with out a brake and it is not too bad all. I have not stepped up and shot the 200grains bullets yet but intend on doing that this week. Thanks for the reply.

Corey