Rendezvous rifle

[4xforfun]

Hope the owner is VERY successful and places 2nd!! ;-)

Tod

 

[Ledd Slinger]

So a 30 PRC would essentially be a revival of the 300 RCM in a slightly shorter package?

I always thought the 300 RCM would be a great round for accuracy, good LR capability, and manageable recoil. Always kinda wanted one. Unfortunately that round died pretty quickly since it debuted at the start of the large magnum craze. People necked the brass down to 6.5mm which was essentially the first version of the 6.5 PRC but it never got any hype or SAAMI adoption to make it take off.

300 RCM never had good brass available, only Hornady, which is what really deterred me from building one. Now with good quality PRC brass, the 300 RCM can be given a second chance! I never thought about using the 6.5 PRC brass to make 30 PRC ...Thats a great idea. I bet the 30 PRC round is gonna shoot really good. As you step up in bore sizes, the 375 Ruger based cartridges become more and more efficient with powder charge weight to bullet speed ratios.

 

[Ranger188]

Someone is already thinking 30 PRC imp.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Someone is already thinking 30 PRC imp.

We talked about it. I have been doing a lot of 300 Saum Improved. It runs right with a WSM. The 30 PRC was intended to be a smaller capacity for the lighter bullets. If I improved it it would be so close to the 300 saum imp there would be no reason to do it. It would be a really good case though if a guy was starting from scratch. 30s in this size are extremely accurate and sometimes a very small change that seems insignificant can make a huge difference in accuracy so I am not discouraging anyone from doing it. You never know!

 

[Ranger188]

I was hoping you'd comment on it.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I would think improving the 30 PRC shoulder would be a good idea for deterring brass growth if nothing else. I don’t think there’s would be a massive speed gain from improving on that round but I don’t think it’s needed anyhow. I bet in a long barrel the 30 PRC is gonna push 180-210gr bullets in the 3K fps ballpark which is a good node area.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I would think improving the 30 PRC shoulder would be a good idea for deterring brass growth if nothing else. I don’t think there’s would be a massive speed gain from improving on that round but I don’t think it’s needed anyhow. I bet in a long barrel the 30 PRC is gonna push 180-210gr bullets in the 3K fps ballpark which is a good node area.

I normally like a 40 degree shoulder for that if nothing else. But to keep the capacity smaller Id need to swing the shoulder down and make the neck longer. I dont like doing it that way. So I kept the 30.

 

[DaveTooley]

No. I am very interested in the lighter 30s though. A 180-200 grain custom would be something that I think could really work in a LG. Hopefully someone gets working on that

187 gr. BIB in a 1-10 or 1-12
I shot them in a 14. Magic

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I think we will see them come back into style. As many of us have realized that the BC does not seem to mean much when it comes to how a bullet behaves in the wind. When I started doing these saums I didnt know if the lighter 30s would be any benefit over a 6mm. On paper a 185 juggernaut at 3000 fps is no better than a 103 6mm at 3000 fps. Glenn shot his record 6mm vs his 300 saum with 185s on the same nasty morning here in Dillon. His 6mm was a 5 shot 12" wide wind report and the 300 shot a round 10 shot 3.7" group. My eyes were opened.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I think we will see them come back into style. As many of us have realized that the BC does not seem to mean much when it comes to how a bullet behaves in the wind. When I started doing these saums I didnt know if the lighter 30s would be any benefit over a 6mm. On paper a 185 juggernaut at 3000 fps is no better than a 103 6mm at 3000 fps. Glenn shot his record 6mm vs his 300 saum with 185s on the same nasty morning here in Dillon. His 6mm was a 5 shot 12" wide wind report and the 300 shot a round 10 shot 3.7" group. My eyes were opened.

I’ve missed a few longer shots on animals in 20-30 mph crosswinds over the years using 140gr in a fast 6.5 at 3200 fps due to misjudging a large wind hold that was required. Then other times made the same shots with ease using my 338-375R with 250gr at 3000 fps. On a calculator the 6.5 bullet going 200 fps faster should have half the wind drift as the slower big 33 cal bullet but I’ve found in real life shooting situations, that’s just not true. In reality I end up holding less wind off the animal with the 338 than I do with the 6.5. So it seems the time in flight part of the equation is where the calculators seem to falter and the simple fact is that it just takes more force to move more mass at any given distance.

Have you guys ever considered trying a short compact 338 cal heavy gun for BR? Or is the lack of custom long range bullet selection and recoil too much of a hurdle to overcome and stay competitive?

 

[Alex Wheeler]

They will tell you that the mass is factored into the BC, but I dont think it tells the whole story in the wind still.
I have thought of it but yes, lack of bullets and recoil is an issue.

 

[Mulligan]

I’ve missed a few longer shots on animals in 20-30 mph crosswinds over the years using 140gr in a fast 6.5 at 3200 fps due to misjudging a large wind hold that was required. Then other times made the same shots with ease using my 338-375R with 250gr at 3000 fps. On a calculator the 6.5 bullet going 200 fps faster should have half the wind drift as the slower big 33 cal bullet but I’ve found in real life shooting situations, that’s just not true. In reality I end up holding less wind off the animal with the 338 than I do with the 6.5. So it seems the time in flight part of the equation is where the calculators seem to falter and the simple fact is that it just takes more force to move more mass at any given distance.

Have you guys ever considered trying a short compact 338 cal heavy gun for BR? Or is the lack of custom long range bullet selection and recoil too much of a hurdle to overcome and stay competitive?

George Tompkins still shoots his AI 338 LM in heavy gun, they can be very effective on a blustery day.
CW

 

[tom]

And now it's a light gun lol.