What should I turn a 300RUM into?

[lamiglas]

To clarify, the no brake, is not to shave weight. Rather than a gun I shoot from a set up location where I have all my gear (including electronic muffs), this will be a carry rifle where I may not have a chance to plug up. I make a great effort to plug up for any shooting but like most have taken game without doing so. 99 percent of the time, I will take the extra noise for the benefits the brakes offer, but on this build, where there is a good chance of not being able to plug up, I would like to leave this one unbraked.

 

[WildRose]

To clarify, the no brake, is not to shave weight. Rather than a gun I shoot from a set up location where I have all my gear (including electronic muffs), this will be a carry rifle where I may not have a chance to plug up. I make a great effort to plug up for any shooting but like most have taken game without doing so. 99 percent of the time, I will take the extra noise for the benefits the brakes offer, but on this build, where there is a good chance of not being able to plug up, I would like to leave this one unbraked.

Give the Northwest Precision Muzzle brake a try, it's very effective and it's easy on the ears if you forget or can't take the time to put your ears on.

I'm terrible about forgetting or not bothering with ear protection when I'm hunting. I know better now of course but it just wasn't one of those things we worried about when I was learning so I never really got into the habit. Only in recent years have I even started making it a point to use hearing protection at the range.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I have a Rem 700 stainless 300 RUM that I am thinking about turning into something else. I'm looking for ideas on what to do with it. I'd love to hear your thoughts! I am thinking about something fairly light weight that is comfortable to shoot without a break. I absolutely love breaks and have them on all my longrange rifles. With a lightweight carry rifle in mind, I am thinking no break for this one. High mtn mule deer will be the primary target, out to approx 500 yards. if I'm setting up for further than that, I will use my edge.

The XX-Nosler would be my limit without a brake. I tried them without and with minimal. It's up there in the recoil department.

I can do 300 Weatherby without a brake. The xx-Nosler is just that much more but not a RUM.

any XX-Nosler or for more capacity 277/26-Nosler, 28-Nosler, 308/26-Nosler.
good old 300WM
300 Weatherby
7mm RemMag
7mm Weatherby
270/300WM
270 Weatherby
264 WinMag

With that action, all of those would be easy. New barrel and go.

My 28-Nosler was made from a 300RUM. Feed and function was perfect.

 

[AZShooter]

I too have pondered what to make when I have worn out the last of my Remington brass in 300 RUM. One reason for my looking into alternatives is Remington's lack of support in offering any more brass for handloaders.

Recoil is another issue, I also am not fond of brakes when hunting. I have read that when you get older you get sick of recoil. I am about to begin the second half of my 60s and I now understand what others have said. I have to admit I am also getting tired of heavy recoil.

I really liked the performance that Broz documented with the 215 hybrid Berger bullets and the 300 win mag. I decided to look into what other cartridges are available.

This might surprise some but I ended up considering the 308 Norma. It is very similar to the 300 win mag in performance. The brass is readily available from Norma. Cartridge length is shorter than the 300 win mag and the neck is .026" longer.

If I were to built one I would have a custom reamer made so I could seat the 215 properly in the case with what I felt would be correct for bullet engagement to lands.

A max load with the 308 Norma and a 215 bullet when compared to the 300 RUM with same bullet and max load will yield approximately a 22% decrease in recoil.


I also agree with others that going to a 7mm will reduce recoil across the board. Jon Sundra has expounded on that fact for decades. He stated: "Anything a 7mm can do, a .30 caliber of comparable sectional density and ballistic coefficient can also do. The catch is, in order to send a .30-caliber slug over a trajectory as flat as that 7mm bullet, about 20 percent more recoil is going to be generated."

quote taken from: The Saga of Seven

Good luck in your quest.

 

[MudRunner2005]

That really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. The Muzzle brake I prefer doesn't weigh more than probably four to six ounces at most for the 3/4" OD versions.

I have a lightweight .300Rum and without the brake on it, it was rather unpleasant to shoot to say the least.

It's very hard to beat the ballistics of the .30 calibers but if Mulies are the biggest game on your list something in 6.5 or 7mm would make a lot of sense. With your Rum length magazine you can go down to something like the 26Nosler, .264wm, 28 Nosler, 7mm Rem, or even 300wm and have plenty of room to seat the long/heavy for caliber bullets out as far as necessary to avoid compressed loads.

I bought a couple of Model 70 Classic Stainless rifles pretty cheap, one in 300wm and another in 300 Rum with the intent of using them to build a .375 Ruger on the first and a 26 Nosler on the 2nd but on a whim started shooting the .300 Rum and it shoots rather well for 3 shot groups (light barrel contour) and I finally got over the idea of building a 26 Nosler due to barrel life issues.

I will likely eventually use the 300wm to build a nice .264wm and the Rum for a long barreled .375Ruger to play with at long range.

The 6.5's really shine on deer sized game and there's a tremendous selection of high BC hunting bullets out there to load them with.

Rose, all Rem 700's have the same 3.65" magazine box, regardless of .30-06, .300WM, or .300RUM. Only differences are the follower shape and the width of the feed lips.

 

[mtmuley]

Keep the RUM, and feed it some of Steve's 181's. mtmuley

 

[WildRose]

Keep the RUM, and feed it some of Steve's 181's. mtmuley

Fair point. The Rum's recoil isn't bad at all shooting 180's unless you've got a lightweight rig that isn't braked or suppressed.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Just finished one for a customer at 3520fps. Had it breaked for him. Certainly not the recoil level of a 26 Nosler without a break. I still vote for the 26 Nosler for 500y and in carry weight unbreaked. May be on my personal list. It is very hard to argue against 30 cals that run in the mid 3000's for speed. They really are fun.

Steve

 

[lamiglas]

I am really liking the idea of the 26 nosler. does anyone have first hand knowledge of barrel life? unless it's under 400-500, I am on with shorter barrel life for this application. other than barrel life can anyone give me reasons not to do it?

 

[dwm]

Have you considered a 270 Weatherby with a 8 twist barrel set up for the 170 Bergers? No muzzle break required.

 

[lamiglas]

I have not yet, but I will look into it. thank you.

 

[fmajor]

I've never shot one so take what i'm saying with a large grain 'o salt. If i were you, i'd be having a 264 Win Mag chamber cut into a nice new barrel.

Given that you're enjoying the 260 Rems and want something lighter than your 300RUM, but still need something that packs a good punch to 500-ish for deer i can't see a nicer cartridge than the 264 Win Mag that has the same bolt face.

I'm personally a sucker for the 7mm Rem mag and can shoot it pretty much all day. However, the recoil can get wearisome after awhile and less-recoiling cartridges become appealing.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Don't know if anyone has shot one out yet. I would think that with proper care a guy should get over 1000 round from one. More than enough for a couple of lifetimes of hunting at 50 rounds per year.

Recoil will be very manageable and go with your current arsenal nicely.

Steve

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I am really liking the idea of the 26 nosler. does anyone have first hand knowledge of barrel life? unless it's under 400-500, I am on with shorter barrel life for this application. other than barrel life can anyone give me reasons not to do it?

I'm with RockyMtnMT on this. As a hunting round the 26 barrel will last long enough.

On the other hand, i'ts as over bore as a 7mm RUM, maybe even more.

Personally, if I liked the 26 that much, I'd have one. 27, 28 (sold, building a new one), 30 and 33, got them.