new cannon today.

[Lloyd Smale]

went in the local gunshop and they had a brand new in the box rem 700 bdl in 300 ultramag. Couldnt leave without it. Found a trade the gunshop was happy with so didnt even have to put out any cash. took it home pealed the sights off of it and put it in a cdl stock i had bought for a project i never did. Looks pretty good. Had to chuckle though. He had 4 boxes of factory ammo that the guy traded with it. I got them as part of the deal. Figured id pull them down for the brass if nothing else. Got to looking at them and they were reduced recoil rounds. Supposidly equivelent to a 308. Now ive got to shake my head at anyone who buys a gun like that and buys ammo like that to feed it. No doubt the guy bought it and probably got sweaty palms just touching it;)

[I'll Make Mine]

Right down to the "reduced recoil" I was expecting you to say there was one round missing out of the four boxes... :mrgreen:

[Mk42gunner]

Me too. Kind of like the .44 Magnums that you used to find with a box of 44 live rounds and six empties.

Robert

[Lloyd Smale]

no this guy didnt ever shoot it. When i got it the plastic wrap was still around the gun in the box. Dealer must have gotten it pretty cheap. He usually takes care of me and only charges 50 bucks or so more then he paid for it and i got the gun and 4 boxes of shells for a trade worth about 500 bucks maybe 600 at most. I dont know what a new bdl goes for but i know its more then that and the shells were 50 bucks a box.

[Jack Stanley]

My little brother had one of those years ago and it was not for using with just a t-shirt between you and it . This time of year and wearing a carhart coat would help soften it up a little , we never did try the reduced recoil stuff though . Brother was thinking very long shots and wanted to put the most energy downrange he could . I think you may need to hire a forward observer with that one Lloyd .

Jack

[Lloyd Smale]

it will make a good big brother to my 7stw jack. sure dont need them even for 500 yard deer shooting but there fun to play with

[smoked turkey]

One of the beauties of owning a big boomer like that is that it can be loaded down to reasonable recoil levels and still be loaded on the wild side if the situation requires it. From mild to wild as they say. Makes for a real versatile caliber. I have fired one and have to say it was too much for me when loaded on the wild side.

[I'll Make Mine]

One of the beauties of owning a big boomer like that is that it can be loaded down to reasonable recoil levels and still be loaded on the wild side if the situation requires it.

This is very true; you could load mouse farts for that .300 RUM using the same data as for .30-06 -- 0 buckshot over five grains or so of Bullseye, or similar -- and still pretty easily work up loads that would duplicate .30-30, .308, .30-06, and .300 Win Mag (you'd have to carry a card to tell you where to set the scope with the different loads, though), as well as full house for when you really, really need to stop that train...

[Lloyd Smale]

I guess i dont think along those lines. I allready own at least one of each 3030 308 06 300 win mag and a 300wby mags so if i want less power ill just grab a smaller gun. problem with that too is through the years ive found that seldom does a rifle shoot real well with reduced loads. At least not with jacketed bullets. Most guns especialy the overbore magnums like these like some pressure to get the powder to burn well. Im sure not saying it cant be done but its just nothing i have a bunch of time to experiment with. Nope to me these barn burners are made to burn barns!

[I'll Make Mine]

problem with that too is through the years ive found that seldom does a rifle shoot real well with reduced loads. At least not with jacketed bullets. Most guns especialy the overbore magnums like these like some pressure to get the powder to burn well.

Key to reduced loads in large cases is using a faster powder than you would for the full house. You're probably using something like 4831 or slower in a .300 RUM, but to load down to, say, .30-30 ballistics you'd want a faster powder -- which is both less position dependent and less dependent on pressure to burn cleanly (and which will also produce more pressure with a light load anyway, though the pressure may drop as the bullet nears the muzzle). Say, perhaps Varget or Reloader 12 (just guesses) to replicate .308, Benchmark, Reloader 7, or even Trail Boss for .30-30 ballistics, and for mouse farts you'd run down to Bullseye, Red Dot, or Clays.

Don't forget, you'd shoot those reduced loads at reduced ranges (you wouldn't expect a .30-30 to reach out 1000 yards to kill an elk) so why expect to get 1/2" groups at 100 yards from an equivalent load in the RUM cartridge? A .30-30 shooting 4 MOA is accurate enough for deer inside 100 yards.

Now, if you already have guns in all those calibers, this isn't important to you anyway -- but for those of us without the budget to own half a dozen different .30 caliber rifles, owning the big one and loading down is one possible solution (though the other side of that is we po' fokes probably can't afford the kind of expedition hunting where we might shoot an elk, ibex, or mountain goat at half a mile or longer, hence are likely okay with a .30-06, .308, .303 or 7.62x54R).

Once I've got my loading going, I'll be shooting my Mosin Nagant at rabbit ballistics as well as full power for deer (actually, I could load down a lot for deer, too, but full power suits the original sights) -- because I can't afford a second centerfire rifle and don't like to need a spoon to pick up my bunnies...

[26Charlie]

Saw one of those at the range, Lloyd. He put in a shiny polished factory round, shot, and ejected an empty with neck and shoulder case-annealing colors on it. Decided my .300 H&H was as big as I needed.

[Lloyd Smale]

im trying to work a deal on a 300H&H right now charlie. Its one i dont have and allways wanted and though was about the best ballanced 30 mag round going. No doubt in the real world it will do anything the ultra will do without burning trees next to the bench. I just picked up a 300wsm abolt too. Never been a fan of the short mags but am kind of curious how that one works out too. It sure is a handy little rifle with its 22 inch barrel and short action. As light as it is id bet its going to get on a guy as much as that ultra though.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Lloyd. A friend has the 300RUM and has been bugging me for reduced load data starting points for .30-06 loads for it using 180 gr. "J" bullets. Do you, or anyone else, have a place I can tell him to start at? My friend is a fairly smart fella at reloading, only this has stumped him and me.Robert

[Lloyd Smale]

No i dont robert. I just got started on loading for mine. I do have a couple boxes of reduced recoil ammo that was given to me i was going to pull down. Shaking it makes it seem to be about half full of powder so im guessing its loaded with 4895. According to the box its suppose to give 308 ballistics with a 150. Ill try to remember to pull some down later today and weight the powder charge. If hes not looking for extreamly light loads im sure any max load for a 300h&h using something like 4350 would probably work. Id just make sure i used a mag primer with any reduced load to make sure i didnt get a hang fire.

[kweidner]

love my 300 RUM for distance but man does it eat powder. I buy Retumbo in 8# kegs. 1 lb will get you roughly 70 cartridges. Buy 24 pounds and you have enough powder for the life of the bbl. LOL. Think about it $20 per 50 in powder, $2 for primers. Any premium bullet is around $40 per 50. Thats $62 per 50 you made. Course factory box of 20 is almost $60.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Thanks Lloyd for a starting point of reduced loads. I just haven`t come across any articles on making these reduced recoil loads for the .300 RUM.Robert

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Lloyd,

The dealer stole that rifle, then shared the loot with you. You are now officially a bandit. Congrats. Not long ago, I picked up a BDL in .270 shipped to my dealer for $425.00 and picked up a like new Leupold VXII in 3-9X50 with lens caps included for $175.00. Buddy gave me some low rings, I had a Picatinny rail I threw on to raise the low rings and I'm set to go. My rifle looked good, was used and had some honest hunter wear on the bluing at the muzzle from handling, but the bore was perfect.

I'm considering putting some combo mount rings on it I saw at SWFA yesterday though.

[Lloyd Smale]

robert i still have two full boxes of that new reduced recoil ammo. If your buddy can come up with say 50 rounds of new brass id swap him for it. i have no real use for it as i just cant see shooting 308 level ammo out of that gun when theres a couple 308s in the safe that are 2 lbs lighter.

[Lloyd Smale]

by the way thanks to member 8mm on here i may have my rem classic 300h&h soon.

[Area Man]

Me too. Kind of like the .44 Magnums that you used to find with a box of 44 live rounds and six empties.

Robert

I've heard of that. Anyone actually see that or was it just a story to illustrate the point?

[wantoutofca]

I worked at a LGS back in the people's republic of CA and the manager said about once a year some kind of cannon got traded in with only one mag or cylinder shot out of it.