Is the 300 RUM Dead??

[WildRose]

I agree with Frank. I like Remington guns, but there is no doubt they are making terrible decisions and their QC is going downhill. The .300 RUM is probably the best top fuel .30cal magnum on the market but Remington doesn't push it or produce the needed brass and ammo for it. They make dumb moves. I really wish another company that had an emphasis on accuracy and quality would buy them out or just hire a better staff and restore the Remington name to what it use to be.

Remington's QC has been so all over the place over the years it's mind numbing. Some of their more recent higher end offerings like the 5R Milspec and 5R Gen 2's are fantastic but I know several people who got stuck with pure junk in the 700LR's and "tacticals".

One thing I will never understand about them is their failure to support their own cartridges for more than about a decade at a time or less.

Two of the finest calibers developed in the last fifty years are the .260 Rem and .300 Rum and they are two truly fine examples. Great designs, great ballistics and just about the time they really get popular Remington ceases to support them.

 

[J E Custom]

A very good response from the pro-side JE.

What round count are you seeing?

So far I have not seen a shot out 300 RUM. I freshened the chamber on one with less than .030
set back just to clean up the throat that had over 1600 rounds of max loads (No pressure signs)
and It shoots as well as it ever did. (Less than .300 groups). My hunting rifle has between 800 and 900 rounds and using a bore scope I can see no change in the throat or rifling, and accuracy is as good as ever. My loads average 63,000 psi with the 200 grain load.

I see no reason to worry about barrel wear as long as over heating is not allowed and frequent and proper barrel care is done. Interestingly enough, people that clean less often are benefited by the copper fouling protecting the rifling with little accuracy loss. (I prefer a very clean bore for accuracy
but the copper appears to lengthen barrel life). A big over bored cartridges will shorten barrel life, but that Is the price you pay for performance.

Just what I have found

J E CUSTOM

 

[J E Custom]

Brass made by R-P, it was totally sold out then refilled the sold out, then refilled. It does look like Remington discontinued the brass. To offset that, Hornady started making it.

Loads are being made by every the big makers and the new guys as well. On In stock ammo, guns, magazines, and reloading supplies there are hundreds loaded ammo options, multiple pages at 100 per page.

I have 2.

The boutique brass makers Jamison and Bertram will make brass.

The RUM isn't going anywhere for a long long time.

+1

I am still hoping that Lapua will make brass for the RUMs. If they ever do I will stock up.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Deleted member 46119]

Remington's QC has been so all over the place over the years it's mind numbing. Some of their more recent higher end offerings like the 5R Milspec and 5R Gen 2's are fantastic but I know several people who got stuck with pure junk in the 700LR's and "tacticals".

One thing I will never understand about them is their failure to support their own cartridges for more than about a decade at a time or less.

Two of the finest calibers developed in the last fifty years are the .260 Rem and .300 Rum and they are two truly fine examples. Great designs, great ballistics and just about the time they really get popular Remington ceases to support them.

You got that right.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

+1

I am still hoping that Lapua will make brass for the RUMs. If they ever do I will stock up.

J E CUSTOM

OMG, I'll get bucket loads if Lapua makes it.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

The more I read responses to this the madder I get at "Big Green" !! How is it possible that a company who had great ideas so quickly abandoned them !! And this started long before the Corporate Greed Profit boys that run it today took over, feel free to add to my list, the 6.5 and 350 rem mags we're the first I remember, they were 40 years before their time of short mags..the 8mm rem mag, a big banger they doomed with junk bullets, the debackle with the 7mm express/.280, the .300 and 7mm SAUM's, they quit making their own and chambered for W/W's version, all of the Ultra Mags, trying to make a killing on factory shell profits at the expense of reloaders, their latest term for squeezing the reloader shooters..seasonal item !! I'm sure I forgot lots you can add !!! How is it possible for one company to screw up so much !!

 

[Jud96]

The more I read responses to this the madder I get at "Big Green" !! How is it possible that a company who had great ideas so quickly abandoned them !! And this started long before the Corporate Greed Profit boys that run it today took over, feel free to add to my list, the 6.5 and 350 rem mags we're the first I remember, they were 40 years before their time of short mags..the 8mm rem mag, a big banger they doomed with junk bullets, the debackle with the 7mm express/.280, the .300 and 7mm SAUM's, they quit making their own and chambered for W/W's version, all of the Ultra Mags, trying to make a killing on factory shell profits at the expense of reloaders, their latest term for squeezing the reloader shooters..seasonal item !! I'm sure I forgot lots you can add !!! How is it possible for one company to screw up so much !!

Imagine if they would have offered the 6.5 Rem Mag in a Varmint Special or something other than the Model 600 with a 18" barrel. That cartridge is nearly identical in performance to the larger .264 Win Mag in equal length barrels, and like you said Frank, a good 40 years ahead of its time. The RUMs, SAUMs, 6mm, .280, and anything else I forgot could have been bigger and more successful hits if Remington would have chambered them in more rifles, offered better ammo and components for them, and marketed them like Nosler, Hornady, and everyone else does their cartridges. Remington is my favorite gun brand, but man do they need to make smarter moves and improve their workmanship.

 

[Doublezranch]

The ONLY thing dead about the 300 rum, are the animals they shoot. Period...

As JE and many others have said it is arguably the best all around cartridge. I have been blessed to have built a custom 300 rum. It is my go too rifle. In fact when it's season the kids have a rock, paper, scissors competition to see who gets to fill their tag with it.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

I've got three rums... two 300rums and one 7rum... I have had to take bore paste after my older 300rum to clean up the throat a bit, but she's been eating 180's at 3300 fps and 225's at 3K fps for a decade now and has over 1K rounds through it by my hands.. I also bought it used.
My 7rum may be waning, but I've shot 5 or 6 hundred through it so far and the bore looked like hell when I bought it. (I wanted the lh ss rum action and the bbl. still shot)... The only rather fresh rum I have is my lr 300rum I bought last year. She only has around 200 rounds on her, with zero signs of wear.
As to brass concerns, I'm shooting rum brass with ten firings or more on them. I'm still using brass I necked up from 7rum when I shot my first 7rum out and necked the brass up for the 300rum I traded it for. No maintenance either other than sizing and trimming as necessary. Get 100 brass per rifle and go shoot.

 

[gunaddict]

I wish I could get 10 firings out of my Rum brass.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

Take a couple of grains of powder out and sacrifice 100 fps and you'll get that easily, NO anima will ever notice it missing but your brass will....l

 

[HARPERC]

.....The ONLY thing dead about the 300 rum, are the animals they shoot. Period......As JE and many others have said it is arguably the best all around cartridge. I have been blessed to have built a custom 300 rum. It is my go too rifle. In fact when it's season the kids have a rock, paper, scissors competition to see who gets to fill their tag with it..........[/QUOTE

I think we've got a bit off track. There is no doubt the .300 RUM is a killing, shooting SOB.

The question in my read was more market based. Why is it not more commercially successful?

Not being critical Double Z-post just happened to be in front of me, and triggered the thought. You just built your son a great birthday present, an awesome .375.

The question comes up often here. What rifle/cartridge should/I buy/build? Our preferences show up in how we answer, and I'd say quite often the RUM doesn't make the list. That I think is the heart of the question.

 

[Doublezranch]

HARPERC,

As I re-read the thread I agree with you 100%. I do have all the RUM cartridges and love them to death. A big part of the market are hunters not looking to shoot a deer with 103 grains of powder and a 200 grain bullet. They are outdoor enthusiasts looking to harvest a animal with the least amount of pain (pocketbook included). Therefore I see the RUM as a novelty cartridge that has gained much attention in the long range shooting and long range hunting scene. The larger part of the market (i.e. Outdoor enthusiasts) aren't interested in expensive shells and large recoil rifles. It's better for manufacturers to target the larger portion of the market and forego the novelty rifles. I think that's what we are seeing currently with the RUM cartridges.

I did just build my son a incredible rifle. In fact he was able to harvest 2 animals with his fireform loads. But the same argument can be said for the Weatherby's. 378's can still be found, but they aren't as available as a 243.

 

[HARPERC]

........I did just build my son a incredible rifle. In fact he was able to harvest 2 animals with his fireform loads. But the same argument can be said for the Weatherby's. 378's can still be found, but they aren't as available as a 243.

I was hoping not to come off ****y about your choice, it's a good one. Apologies for coming across that way.

The point is, in a market of many good choices, the .300 RUM, doesn't seem to be succeeding.

I like the .338 RUM, but it's not setting many sales records either. There maybe as many "Edges" out there as either .300, or .338 RUM

Weatherby has found a way to hold onto it's share of the market for a few decades. The big Remington's not so much. Is it the rifles themselves? Perception? Lack of corporate support?