Custom hunting .30-378

[RockyMtnMT]

Recoil is not that bad until you start shooting 220g or larger bullets. Shooting this prone can make the shoulder hurt.

I had the Sako model in 30-378, it had the same free bore. Ultramags have the free bore also. I recently did some custom loading for a fellow and his Weatherby mark V 30-378 shot 3/4" at 200yrds (bone stock) with not much load development. I personally have no problem w/ free bore.

When I had mine re-barreled to 30-338lap imp, I had a Limb Saver recoil pad installed. Took a lot of the pain out of the recoil. I have not shot the bigger pills since the re-chamber, so I can't answer for how they feel with the good pad. Get a shoulder pad for at the bench, and you will be fine. You'll never feel it in a hunting situation.

Go get one, hand load a quality bullet built for penetration, and go get your griz.

Steve

 

[BGbasbhat]

Recoil is not that bad until you start shooting 220g or larger bullets. Shooting this prone can make the shoulder hurt.

I had the Sako model in 30-378, it had the same free bore. Ultramags have the free bore also. I recently did some custom loading for a fellow and his Weatherby mark V 30-378 shot 3/4" at 200yrds (bone stock) with not much load development. I personally have no problem w/ free bore.

When I had mine re-barreled to 30-338lap imp, I had a Limb Saver recoil pad installed. Took a lot of the pain out of the recoil. I have not shot the bigger pills since the re-chamber, so I can't answer for how they feel with the good pad. Get a shoulder pad for at the bench, and you will be fine. You'll never feel it in a hunting situation.

Go get one, hand load a quality bullet built for penetration, and go get your griz.

Steve

Thanks Steve. For now I'll probably be shooting 200gr or 220 for the AK trip, so I'll have a good dose of pushback from those. I'm sure a limbsaver will be going on soon after the purchase. Odds are I'll be using the brake most of the time during practice situations; but I might take it off for the hunt....for the sake of my dad and outfitter's ears.
Hmmm, having never really looked into the RUMs, it's interesting to know that the RUMs have freebore also. It's funny that Weatherby always gets hassled for freebore; but the RUMs have the same thing. I suppose it would make sense since the higher pressures.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Curious as to what bullet you are planning on using? Assuming that you are hand loading.

Steve

 

[Broz]

.
Hmmm, having never really looked into the RUMs, it's interesting to know that the RUMs have freebore also. It's funny that Weatherby always gets hassled for freebore; but the RUMs have the same thing.

Yeah, interesting huh ??

Jeff

 

[BGbasbhat]

Curious as to what bullet you are planning on using? Assuming that you are hand loading.

Steve

My dad and I always handloaded Partitions(except for the 30-30 of course). I know Partitions are a darn good bullet; but I'm open to any suggestions. I'm sure it will also depend on how it shoots out of the gun too.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

It's like, "Which tire is the best"? I used the 200g Accubond w/ good success. Last year I switched to the 180g E-tip. Almost the same bc's as the 200g AB, but higher velocity and 100% weight retention. I am liking the mono metal bullets more and more. I just ordered GS Custom 177g HV's and am very much looking forward to trying them. I have a 1-10 twist which is too slow according to GS for out to 500ryd hunting but a little fast for beyond 500yrd hunting. We'll see how it works through out the range to a 1000yrds or so.

Steve

 

[Southernfryedyankee]

Just out of curiosity and I am not doubting your shooting ability whatsoever. Have you shot a 30-378 before? I have been told you can hunt almost anything on the planet but the recoil alone is something to be reckoned with. Shot placement is key to any animal you shoot. I know you will be hunting bear so this next sentence is something I had read a long time ago and made complete sense. You can kill a deer with a well placed 243 shot better than a person who never learned to shoot their 300 win mag and completely misses the vitals and wounds the animal or misses the animal completely. Does that make sense. Now if you have shot the 30-378 and you are comfortable with its recoil by all means take the biggest bear you can find (post pics ) And if your not find the largest caliber you can handle accurately and painlessly and make a perfectly well placed shot and THEN post some pics of the trophy. 1 more thing I would like to ask is, is this a rifle you will hunt with for the rest of your life? I mean do you go to Alaska every year to 2 years to hunt? I would just hate to build something so awesome and so expensive just to have it sit in a gun locker or on the wall until the next time I MAY get to use it, just food for thought.

 

[BGbasbhat]

Southernfryedyankee
Nope, I haven't shot a 30-378. I know the recoil will be substantial, compared to what I more regularly shoot (30-30,30.06,.270). I have shot larger magnums and reacted well to the recoil. Being that the hunt is not for another year and a half, I wanted to purchase the gun with ample time to get comfortable with the recoil.
Unfortunately, hunting in Alaska will not be a frequent trip, which is actually why I chose the caliber. If I went with a .338, .375, etc., I wouldn't be able to use the rifle for anything but bears, moose, or elk. Deer would be out of the question for those calibers, which would necessitate getting another rifle for deer and other similiar sized game. As you stated, I can vary my loads enough to kill anything from deer to bears, and who knows maybe even african game. (Depending on cal mins of the country of course).
On the subject of hitting the target with what your shootin, I guarantee you that if I can't hit the broadside of a barn with this gun, then I have ample time to figure it out and trade it before the hunt. I'm much more of a RWeatherby/O'Conner follower than an Elmer Keith enthusiast.
Nevertheless, you raised some very good questions, all of which I've toiled with in my decision making process of the last 6months........blah....when is the hunt again....it can't come soon enough!!!!!

 

[Broz]

Don't be worried about the recoil, especially while hunting. I have two 30-378's. One with a brake one without. The brake makes it a pusseycat. I have killed elk, muleys, axis, black buck, aoudad, whitetail, even a few coyote all with my 30-378. never once noticed recoil and all with 210 Bergers. The one with out the brake does thump you a bit if you are tied to it on a bench for several shots but just install a good brake and you will love it. They are nothing to be worried about and by no means does the recoil affect my accuracy.

ps: however, the Elk in my signature was on the other end of my 30-378 and said it kicked like a mule.

Jeff

 

[Southernfryedyankee]

Southernfryedyankee
Nope, I haven't shot a 30-378. I know the recoil will be substantial, compared to what I more regularly shoot (30-30,30.06,.270). I have shot larger magnums and reacted well to the recoil. Being that the hunt is not for another year and a half, I wanted to purchase the gun with ample time to get comfortable with the recoil.
Unfortunately, hunting in Alaska will not be a frequent trip, which is actually why I chose the caliber. If I went with a .338, .375, etc., I wouldn't be able to use the rifle for anything but bears, moose, or elk. Deer would be out of the question for those calibers, which would necessitate getting another rifle for deer and other similiar sized game. As you stated, I can vary my loads enough to kill anything from deer to bears, and who knows maybe even african game. (Depending on cal mins of the country of course).
On the subject of hitting the target with what your shootin, I guarantee you that if I can't hit the broadside of a barn with this gun, then I have ample time to figure it out and trade it before the hunt. I'm much more of a RWeatherby/O'Conner follower than an Elmer Keith enthusiast.
Nevertheless, you raised some very good questions, all of which I've toiled with in my decision making process of the last 6months........blah....when is the hunt again....it can't come soon enough!!!!!

Im sure that it is going to be an awesome hunt. Are you building this gun custom? or is going to be a retail bought firearm? I will not lie I have shot a few rifles in my life and when I first got my 7mag the anticipation was there of not knowing what to expect. Upon the first squeeze of the trigger, I WAS SCARED OF THAT GUN after 1 round and put it up. I did some research and found that a GREAT STOCK with a GREAT RECOIL pad can make quite a difference in confidence, accuracy, flinching AND hitting your target. After I switched out my stock from savages tupperware stock with a concrete recoil pad to an AWESOME stock with a 1" Pachmayr recoil pad it was such a night and day change that I no longer feared this awesome gun. If you custom build your 30-378 you have LOTS of options. If you would like to know who I got my stock from PM me. I dont want to give the impression that im trying to hijack threads to sell peoples products, It is what I use and it has served me well for 3 seasons. What scope are you planning for your cannon

 

[Southernfryedyankee]

Don't be worried about the recoil, especially while hunting. I have two 30-378's. One with a brake one without. The brake makes it a pusseycat. I have killed elk, muleys, axis, black buck, aoudad, whitetail, even a few coyote all with my 30-378. never once noticed recoil and all with 210 Bergers. The one with out the brake does thump you a bit if you are tied to it on a bench for several shots but just install a good brake and you will love it. They are nothing to be worried about and by no means does the recoil affect my accuracy.

ps: however, the Elk in my signature was on the other end of my 30-378 and said it kicked like a mule.

Jeff

Is that a 5x5 elk? Awesome and majestic animal.

 

[J E Custom]

Southernfryedyankee
Nope, I haven't shot a 30-378. I know the recoil will be substantial, compared to what I more regularly shoot (30-30,30.06,.270). I have shot larger magnums and reacted well to the recoil. Being that the hunt is not for another year and a half, I wanted to purchase the gun with ample time to get comfortable with the recoil.
Unfortunately, hunting in Alaska will not be a frequent trip, which is actually why I chose the caliber. If I went with a .338, .375, etc., I wouldn't be able to use the rifle for anything but bears, moose, or elk. Deer would be out of the question for those calibers, which would necessitate getting another rifle for deer and other similiar sized game. As you stated, I can vary my loads enough to kill anything from deer to bears, and who knows maybe even african game. (Depending on cal mins of the country of course).
On the subject of hitting the target with what your shootin, I guarantee you that if I can't hit the broadside of a barn with this gun, then I have ample time to figure it out and trade it before the hunt. I'm much more of a RWeatherby/O'Conner follower than an Elmer Keith enthusiast.
Nevertheless, you raised some very good questions, all of which I've toiled with in my decision making process of the last 6months........blah....when is the hunt again....it can't come soon enough!!!!!

BG

Don't worry about recoil it will not wound you unless you let the scope get your eye.

Which brings up a good point, I know there are better/more expensive scopes but one
of the reasons I realy like Leupold scopes is because of eye relief.

I don't have muzzel breaks on any of my rifles and on the bigger ones 30/378,338 and
416s I have Leupolds because of the 4+ inches of eye relief because if you are out of
position when you fire you need all you can get.

What ever kind of scope you use be sure and set it as far forward as you can to prevent
adding another eyebrow to your face.( Note: I have never been hit by one of my scopes,
setting them up correctly can make a huge difference.

And on the freebore issue, there are a lot more rifles with freebore than just the RUMs and
Weatherbys.

A lot of manufactures are adding freebore to lower pressures and raise velocitys ( Velocity
Sells ) and I'm sure everyone has noticed that reloading books are getting very conservative
to deal with potential law sutes.

Have fun and post a picture of your first kill and the rifle when you can.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Broz]

Is that a 5x5 elk? Awesome and majestic animal.

Actually it is a 6x6, would have been 6x7 but had the odd one broken off.

.

 

[BGbasbhat]

Im sure that it is going to be an awesome hunt. Are you building this gun custom? or is going to be a retail bought firearm? I will not lie I have shot a few rifles in my life and when I first got my 7mag the anticipation was there of not knowing what to expect. Upon the first squeeze of the trigger, I WAS SCARED OF THAT GUN after 1 round and put it up. I did some research and found that a GREAT STOCK with a GREAT RECOIL pad can make quite a difference in confidence, accuracy, flinching AND hitting your target. After I switched out my stock from savages tupperware stock with a concrete recoil pad to an from AWESOME stock with a 1" Pachmayr recoil pad it was such a night and day change that I no longer feared this awesome gun. If you custom build your 30-378 you have LOTS of options. If you would like to know who I got my stock from PM me. I dont want to give the impression that im trying to hijack threads to sell peoples products, It is what I use and it has served me well for 3 seasons. What scope are you planning for your cannon

The rifle will be purchased retail from SW. It is right down the street from me and frankly, they've let me drool so much over that gun that I figure I owe it to them. Via the title of the thread, I had thought about doing it custom; but was reassured that the Accumark was a good solid platform to shoot/start from.
For now I'll stick with the stock that's on it. the stock is pretty good design and quality to redouce recoil as much as possible, though I probably will put a new pad on it.
As for the scope, I'm thinking a leupold, bushnell elite 6500, or possibly a zeiss. I like the nikon's eyepiece; but the crosshairs are a bit thick for me.
oh yeah, and broz that's a fine bull man. Where did you kill him? You from osage beach, missouri? Growing up in st.charles I spend darn near every summer down near Tan-Tar-A.