new rifle caliber choice

[nnn66]

I've been planning to get a magnum rifle for many years now, but have not had the funds available until now, so my plan is starting to get more serious and I'm trying to decide upon the caliber. I've been shooting a friend's .300 RUM and have been very impressed with its performance. However, I also am interested in .338 Lapua and am having a tough time in making a choice.

Where I live, we have access to unlimited shooting distances, so the whole attraction to getting a magnum rifle is that I want to be able to reach way far out into the distance. I have my .30-.30 and .308 rifles for deer hunting, so this rifle will not be a primary hunting rifle; its mostly going to be a gun I will use for long range target shooting, with the possibility of occasional hunting scenarios for elk or feral hogs.

Now I'm at a point where I'm going back and forth in trying to choose between .300 RUM or .338 Lapua. I've been talking with knowledgeable friends, with a couple of guys trying to sell me on the attributes of 300 RUM and another guy insisting I'd be happier with the 338 lapua. I'll be reloading and have looked at the price and availability of bullets and brass and it appears that more options are available at a lower cost for the 300. However, price of ammo alone is not enough to convince me one way or the other, so I'm hoping to get more opinions on these two calibers from any of you guys who are familiar with them. Any observations, opinions or experiences with these calibers would much appreciated! Especially interested in performance comparisons or any other considerations that might help me make a decision.

 

[imcmahon]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

I've been looking at 300 RUM lately, and it seems like a very good choice vs 338. It's much cheaper to get into, and the ballistics calculator I use suggests that 300 actually is flatter than 50 or 338 to 1000yds and beyond. Naturally, it's not going to carry the same energy, but for target shooting it looks like it may even be a superior choice. Since you reload, the only marginal cost difference between 300RUM and 308 is slightly more expensive brass and inrceased powder consumption. Sounds like a win to me!

 

[25MAN]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

300RUM is an awesome round. it is flatter then the 338 mag but will not carry as much energy down range as the 338, but it will carry plenty of it as it is no slouch.

And around me atleast most tatical matches and shooting ranges only allow up to 30cals so it was a very easy choice for me to pick the 300RUM over the 338 mag. get similar preformance with less recoil and can shoot it eveywhere if needed.

My 300RUM is pushing 210 bergers at 3180 (they can be pushed harder but don't see the need) out of a 27inch Krieger...

run those numbers in a ballisitc caculator and you will see just how flat that round and bullet combo is...pretty awesome

not knocking the 338s those are awesome rounds to, but for my situation 300RUM was the right choice. They both are 2000yd guns so as far as preformance on steal..its a toss up in my opinion.

Either one is a great choice.

 

[imcmahon]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

25Man, is that with a 1:10 twist, or what?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 25MAN</div><div class="ubbcode-body">300RUM is an awesome round. it is flatter then the 338 mag but will not carry as much energy down range as the 338, but it will carry plenty of it as it is no slouch.

And around me atleast most tatical matches and shooting ranges only allow up to 30cals so it was a very easy choice for me to pick the 300RUM over the 338 mag. get similar preformance with less recoil and can shoot it eveywhere if needed.

My 300RUM is pushing 210 bergers at 3180 (they can be pushed harder but don't see the need) out of a 27inch Krieger...

run those numbers in a ballisitc caculator and you will see just how flat that round and bullet combo is...pretty awesome

not knocking the 338s those are awesome rounds to, but for my situation 300RUM was the right choice. They both are 2000yd guns so as far as preformance on steal..its a toss up in my opinion.

Either one is a great choice. </div></div>

 

[25MAN]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ian McMahon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">25Man, is that with a 1:10 twist, or what?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 25MAN</div><div class="ubbcode-body">300RUM is an awesome round. it is flatter then the 338 mag but will not carry as much energy down range as the 338, but it will carry plenty of it as it is no slouch.

And around me atleast most tatical matches and shooting ranges only allow up to 30cals so it was a very easy choice for me to pick the 300RUM over the 338 mag. get similar preformance with less recoil and can shoot it eveywhere if needed.

My 300RUM is pushing 210 bergers at 3180 (they can be pushed harder but don't see the need) out of a 27inch Krieger...

run those numbers in a ballisitc caculator and you will see just how flat that round and bullet combo is...pretty awesome

not knocking the 338s those are awesome rounds to, but for my situation 300RUM was the right choice. They both are 2000yd guns so as far as preformance on steal..its a toss up in my opinion.

Either one is a great choice. </div></div> </div></div>

Yes...1:10 twist

Here is the build specs and pics of teh gun...bought it from a friend of mine on this site...gun is AWESOME!
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2003248

 

[Powder_Burns]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

.338 Edge..best of both worlds.

 

[tylerw02]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

Because it is a target rifle, I'd probably avoid the .300 RUM and its short barrel life. I'd go .338 Lapua or .300 Win Mag.

 

[Paul38]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

Why not both, they both have there place's. I like my 300 whby for deer, 30-378 whby for elk and 338 LM for all. My 338 LM shoots a 250gr. Senar at 3100 fps and is scary accurate out to 1500 yards and I'm sure it will shoot farther.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

Magnums can be appealing, but for what you're trying to do, may not be necessary.

7mm projectiles have matured lately, have become a reasonable choice for LR target shooting, and will work on Elk and Hogs too. A 1:9" twist should work with up to 168gr weights. The .280 Rem chombering should have adequate capacity to achive all yoru goals.

Nosler offers an excellent selection of bullet construction choices. 150 and 165/168 gr bullets will definitely work out to 1000yd, maybe as far as 1400yd, and 120 and 140gr versions will work nicely closer in. You can go heavier, but barrel twist may need to be faster. For all these bullets, H-4350 and/or H-4831SC should serve all your needs.

The other, larger chamberings could work better, but my preference has always been to favor effeciency before outright force.

One serious consideration about LR target shooting is that recoil reduction has a real benefit. I would draw the line at .30-'06 for that, and prefer the .280. While I like 6.5's I don't think I'd want to push one too far beyond 1Kyd, and especially not for Elk.

Greg

 

[imcmahon]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

I primarily shoot a 22-250 for "long range" (which for me right now is 300yd), but I'm working on building a 30-06 in a straight taper #7 barrel... it oughta be a heavy enough rifle that recoil should be reasonably tame.

I've toyed with the idea of later rechambering that barrel in 300RUM.. if I were gonna build a 300RUM, I think I'd definitely prefer to have all that barrel weight!

 

[nnn66]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

I really appreciate the input you guys have given me on this. I've done a lot of reading on both calibers and have talked to several people who are familiar with them, but I'm still having a tough time making a choice, so your opinions here have been helpful.

I already own numerous rifles in various calibers, but have never had a big magnum, so a major part of my desire for this rifle is simply to have a really big gun to shoot. I've been been shooting a friend's .300 RUM and another guy's .30-378, but I've never fired a .338 Lapua. The fact that reloading will be less expensive with the .300 RUM is definitely something to consider...

In doing some research on .300 RUM, I keep running across mention of it being a notorious barrel burner. Can someone explain to me exactly why this is and compare it to barrel life using .338 Lapua. My friend's 300 ultra has over 800 rounds through it already and it is incredibly accurate. He seems to believe he can go 5,000 before his barrel is toast. I'm considering using a hammer forged CZ barrel as I understand you can expect extra long barrel life from them. Any opinions on that? I do realize that hammer forged barrels are generally not considered to be as accurate as a cut or button rifled, but it is also my understanding that CZ produces top notch hammer forged barrels as compared to most others. If I can expect significantly extended barrel life from a hammer forged barrel, then I think that may be a choice I would go with. Again, I really appreciate any input you guys have on any of this.

 

[338RUM runner]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

+3 On the 300 Ultra. I have one (LH), the Wife (RH) and my son (LH). They are the Gray LSS. Elk killing machines. 97gr Reloader-25, 180gr SST Hornady. Leupold 4.5x14-40 LR scopes.

 

[Macleod212]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

Ive got a few 700 300RUM and they definitely ARE barrel burners. In my opinion it is so when the right factors are involved, which relate to: barrel type, type of loads you are putting through it, whether or not it burns up the powder before the end of the barrel, etc. Ive had 3 so far. .300 is the flattest shooting trajectory and the RUM has one hell of a kick to it at distance

On my deceased one, I used 200 Gr reloads and it lasted about 1700 rds. I have an SPS that has about 1900 through it now, it still has some decent rifling, so its up to the conditions its put through.

 

[stockdoc]

Re: new rifle caliber choice

The 300 is such a barrel burner because of the volume of powder you're burning through that 30 cal bore. The 300 is severely over bore.

Awhile back I had a 338 rum built for our monthly tac matches. Shot it to 1k side by side with my buds sako trg 338 Lapua. Our moa come ups were identical with 250 gr Sierra match kings, except I used less powder than him to get there.

Our muzzle velocities were around 2985 fps or thereabouts. I used 86 gr of RL-22. He used 91 gr of the same powder.

At that time (2005-6) i could get 100 pieces of 338 rum brass for about 65 bucks. He was spending almost 150.00 for 100 rounds of 338 Lapua.

Hope this helps