What Happened To The 300 Remington Ultra Mag?

[SKWERLZ]

I am thinking about building an ELR rig.
My Cardiologist, who is also a fellow member of The Tomball Gun Club, is kind of in to it. He and a couple of his Doctor buddies have a place down between Corpus Christi and Victoria where they shoot out to a mile. He would like for me to tag along.
I would think the 30RUM properly throated for the big Berger 230 grn would fit the bill.
My other choice would be the 33XC Tubbs.

The 300 rum with the 245LRHT is a good performers, at a mile it’s silly fun.

The 33XC is super flat but I’m slowly building a 37XC because of the improved spotting potential past 3k.
For a mile to 2K I prefer my 7mm.

 

[SKWERLZ]

The same here, rebarreled and chambered in 338 Edge pictured below.
Tim

 

[SKWERLZ]

The 6.5 Creedmoor, that's what happened.

Why would you need anything more?

In 6.5 manbun’s defense it’s ballistics with a 142SMK are very similar to the classic 300WM MK248 mod 0 load.

Spotting a 6.5 bullet past a mile can get tricky though.

 

[Kurz]

It is hard to believe that it has been almost 25 years since Remington introduced this beast. It seems everybody wanted one.

Now, you rarely read or hear anything about it.

What happened?

This may not be the right forum (website) from which to gauge a cartridge's popularity, especially when it's something like the .300 RUM. I've been in discussions with lots of other shooter/hunters who still admire and shoot the .300 RUM.

Where the .300 RUM suffers from drawbacks is from the shooters who have joined in the 'Lightweight' rifles cadre. They often want/desire or require rifles which are in that category of lightweight, being 6 or 7lbs all up. Now, if you are brave or used to recoil from large cartridges and heavy bullets, the .300 RUM is right up your alley. But chamber a 6-7lb rifle and expect to be comfortable to the average hunter, guess again. The old joke is finding a used .300 RUM in your local gun shop complete with a box of ammunition containing 17 loaded cartridges. If it's not the recoil then hunters want a lighter rifle because they are wanting to hike longer distances and dislike carrying a heavy rifle.

Add into this, the fact that quite a number of new(er) cartridges have debuted and gained interest due to being new or a novelty. Enter the 30 Nosler, .300 Norma Mag., .300 PRC, .300 Blaser and a whole host of wildcats dreamed up by the shooting fraternity.

Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the entire shooting community in multiple ways. The .300 RUM stood silently by while the newer cartridges marched at the front of the line.

Remington certainly has to bear some of the blame for the lack of attention for the .300 RUM. While they may have produced some ammunition, they totally ignored those of us who reload. Brass became impossible to find or purchase anywhere. Those of us who had stock to work with weren't hurt but the idea of buying a rifle chambered for a cartridge lacking any cases as components was just plain foolhardy. This also trickled down to the brass manufacturers not wanting to invest in a cartridge which lacked much if any support from it's primary manufacturer, Remington. To which, Remington was carved up, shut down and sold off, leaving shooters more uncertain as to the outcome of the rifles and cartridges.

Finally, some brass is available from other makers but at prices which make most of us shake our heads in disbelief. But if you want to shoot these cartridges and reload them, pony up your hard earned savings and order what you need.

It is a marvelous cartridge capable of true accuracy and energy on target.

 

[troupe]

I had one done many years ago in 300 RUM AI. I never shot it and sold the barreled action to a gent out west. He sent me pics of it shooting 110's at 4100fps for prairie dogs. He did not have to hit the PD's, just the dirt close by and it still killed them with the dirt being kicked up.

 

[Benchrest Braxton]

I had one done many years ago in 300 RUM AI. I never shot it and sold the barreled action to a gent out west. He sent me pics of it shooting 110's at 4100fps for prairie dogs. He did not have to hit the PD's, just the dirt close by and it still killed them with the dirt being kicked up.

scary thing is 4,100 is mild for 110's in the RUM. a 300 wsm is capable of that

 

[451whitworth]

A friend of mine has a 300 RUM that he drags out when he hunts his family's property in northern MO. Plenty of long distance viewing on that ground. He calls it the "meat hammer". I find it funny that his normal woodlot deer rifle is a T/C .54 Hawken.

 

[ebb]

SBS I was as surprised as you I had no idea the 30-378 had been around since 1959. Seems almost ancient.

 

[ebb]

I converted my 300RUM into a 7RUM but that was many years ago.

 

[Mike TackleBerry]

I feel as if the 300 RUM should have been designed with a Lapua case head.

 

[Sniperhandle]

SBS I was as surprised as you I had no idea the 30-378 had been around since 1959. Seems almost ancient.

I own 300 ultra and 30-378, The 300 will almost keep up with the Weatherby but with 15 to 20 grains less powder.

 

[Benchrest Braxton]

I own 300 ultra and 30-378, The 300 will almost keep up with the Weatherby but with 15 to 20 grains less powder.

what barrel lengths?

 

[ebb]

The Reminton 700 action is not really big enough in dia to handle the Lapua case. I know even Remington made some but it is not the best safety wise. The downside is that they had to be so long. I think if It were me I would have used the rebated rim like the WIN 284 only a bigger version so a standard magnum bolt would work, but increase the dia of the case to something in between a RUM and a lapua case so that the length could be less. That would give more case volume and decrease length.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I feel as if the 300 RUM should have been designed with a Lapua case head.

That’s basically a 30-378
That’s a significant powder volume increase.

 

[SKWERLZ]

I own 300 ultra and 30-378, The 300 will almost keep up with the Weatherby but with 15 to 20 grains less powder.

Definitely in the area of limited speed gains for the extra powder.

 

[SKWERLZ]

The Reminton 700 action is not really big enough in dia to handle the Lapua case. I know even Remington made some but it is not the best safety wise. The downside is that they had to be so long. I think if It were me I would have used the rebated rim like the WIN 284 only a bigger version so a standard magnum bolt would work, but increase the dia of the case to something in between a RUM and a lapua case so that the length could be less. That would give more case volume and decrease length.

The rum cases are slightly rebated
Maybe more rebated like the case on the right?

 

[ebb]

^^^^^^^ yes. I think that if you played with it you could increase the diameter enough to shorten the length and have the best of both worlds. Maybe even a little less case capacity.

 

[5Baize]

Next project for me. 1 mile comp gun shooting 245gr LRHT or 230 / 250 Atip. That will be fun.

 

[MClark]

I have two 300 RUMs.
One is a Remington SPS, bedded, trigger work. I have taken a whitetail and a couple hogs. Works. Using Swift 165 Scirocco II.

This monster is the other. I did all the work
Remington trued action, Krieger 1.45” diameter 32” long , barrel block Jewell trigger.
was built to shoot feral hogs off from deck at ranch in Texas. Max range there is 600 yards. Overkill in power and gun but I wanted to make it.
Have yet to shoot it.

 

[46and2]

I have two 300 RUMs.

Have yet to shoot it.



View attachment 1613729

Go sit in the truck, I'll shoot it for you.