Shopping for a new high powered rifle

When you say you want to be able to purchase ammo for it off the shelf, 300RUM gets scratched off the list. You won't have any problems ordering it off the internet though. What are you looking to hunt? I personally don't see the rational behind ultra mags. At the distances that they offer an appreciable advantage on game over something like a 300WM, 9 out of 10 guys can't even hit the target. And even then most people don't have the time needed to be accurate and ethical at those ranges. Then there's the recoil to do deal with. I'm sure some people have a legitimate use for them or they wouldn't be around, but I wouldn't recommend one.

Oh yeah... From my personal experience. If you really want one, get one. If you love it great, if not you can always sell it and get something you think will serve you better.

That 300 RUM will work great on New Mexico elk. I use a .30-06 but there have been a couple times when I wished I had a 300 RUM. Remington's power level ammo gives the rifle some flexibility.

At that price point I'd suggest a Browning A-Bolt Stalker or Kimber Montana in 300WSM. I think if you'll regularly be hiking and hunting for elk they'd offer a good crompomise of portability and power. And from what I've seen most places that are primarily hunting stores will carry 300WSM nowadays.

I'm a novice reloader for both pistol and rifle. I don't think there's much adaption. The only things that I can think of that are different are you have to lube rifle cases to size them, and instead of belling case necks like you do on pistols rounds, you chamfer the mouths of rifle brass to help accept the bullet. Just a little more time consuming for a rifle. A lot of people say reloading belted magnums can be more of a hassle but I havent yet encountered any problems because I've only loaded up unfired brass in my 7RM so far.

I suggest a Ruger Hawkeye in 30-06.

I'm not the most experienced shooter in the world, but I have shot a friend's .300 RUM (I am not sure exactly what brand/model- its a stainless laminate rifle). The gun doesn't have a limbsaver or any aftermarket recoil pad, just the hard factory rubber one. I'm definitely not a big guy and I had no problem firing it [without developing a flinch] after ~10 rounds, so despite what some frequently say about the RUM, don't let the recoil scare you into a lighter cartridge if you are primarily going to hunt with it.

That being said, .300 RUM is expensive- I'm not sure how much factory ammunition is, but I believe handloads are well over $1/round. You also don't gain a significant amount of performance over some of the lighter 30 caliber cartridges for hunting purposes. Unless you're trying to hunt at a thousand yards or something, a smaller .30 cartridge might be more suitable.

Although I don't have enough expertise to verify or disagree, I've heard from a few sources that the .300 RUM is pretty hard on barrels- I've heard in some cases as little as 2000 rounds has resulted in severely worn barrels and poor accuracy. But take that with a grain of salt.

But if you are ok with the price of ammunition, and you don't mind a bit more recoil for a somewhat small gain in performance, then go for it. Its not a bad cartridge by any means- it just might not be the most practical or necessary.

If you want to consider some other .30's, look into a .300 win mag or the good old .30-06. Both are plenty powerful and yield plenty of range for your purposes while being a bit more economical (and more common in sporting goods stores).

I'm not the most experienced shooter in the world, but I have shot a friend's .300 RUM (I am not sure exactly what brand/model- its a stainless laminate rifle). The gun doesn't have a limbsaver or any aftermarket recoil pad, just the hard factory rubber one. I'm definitely not a big guy and I had no problem firing it [without developing a flinch] after ~10 rounds, so despite what some frequently say about the RUM, don't let the recoil scare you into a lighter cartridge if you are primarily going to hunt with it.

That being said, .300 RUM is expensive- I'm not sure how much factory ammunition is, but I believe handloads are well over $1/round. You also don't gain a significant amount of performance over some of the lighter 30 caliber cartridges for hunting purposes. Unless you're trying to hunt at a thousand yards or something, a smaller .30 cartridge might be more suitable.

Although I don't have enough expertise to verify or disagree, I've heard from a few sources that the .300 RUM is pretty hard on barrels- I've heard in some cases as little as 2000 rounds has resulted in severely worn barrels and poor accuracy. But take that with a grain of salt.

But if you are ok with the price of ammunition, and you don't mind a bit more recoil for a somewhat small gain in performance, then go for it. Its not a bad cartridge by any means- it just might not be the most practical or necessary.

If you want to consider some other .30's, look into a .300 win mag or the good old .30-06. Both are plenty powerful and yield plenty of range for your purposes while being a bit more economical (and more common in sporting goods stores). Personally, I'd say go with the .300 win mag. Its very popular, easy to find, and undoubtedly a lot cheaper to reload. And there won't be a noticeable difference in hunting performance in most, if not practically all, hunting circumstances.

I'm not the most experienced shooter in the world, but I have shot a friend's .300 RUM (I am not sure exactly what brand/model- its a stainless laminate rifle). It is a very flat-shooting and powerful round.

That being said, .300 RUM is expensive- I'm not sure how much factory ammunition is, but I believe handloads are well over $1/round. You also don't gain a significant amount of performance over some of the lighter 30 caliber cartridges for hunting purposes. Unless you're trying to hunt at a thousand yards or something, a smaller .30 cartridge might be more suitable.

Although I don't have enough expertise to verify or disagree, I've heard from a few sources that the .300 RUM is pretty hard on barrels- I've heard in some cases as little as 2000 rounds has resulted in severely worn barrels and poor accuracy. But take that with a grain of salt.

But if you are ok with the price of ammunition, and you don't mind a bit more recoil for a somewhat small gain in performance, then go for it. Its not a bad cartridge by any means- it just might not be the most practical or necessary.

If you want to consider some other .30's, look into a .300 win mag or the good old .30-06. Both are plenty powerful and yield plenty of range for your purposes while being a bit more economical (and more common in sporting goods stores). Personally, I'd say go with the .300 win mag. Its very popular, easy to find, and undoubtedly a lot cheaper to reload. And there won't be a noticeable difference in hunting performance in most, if not practically all, hunting circumstances.

Hi Craig,

First off, thanks for your service. I returned from my second tour last November.

Now, your taste in rifles is excellent. All browning A bolts are excellent rifles, and any choice about the model is a good choice. I do not recommend 300RUM as a calibre for most people. This is a hot magnum pushing large bullets. That means recoil. You won't enjoy the recoil much, and probably won't shoot it as much as you want. Even the 300 Win Mag is a kicker.
If you want to hunt Elk I would highly recommend 7mm rem mag. This will kill elk all day long at some impressive ranges. I would have no issues at all shooting at 600 yards, and with practice probably out past 800-900 yards. Recoil is manageable, ammunition is cheaper and easier to find, and it is a very flat shooter. My hold over at 600 yards is about 3 feet.
do some research internet research on the 7 rem mag and you will be impressed.

Glock Jeremy said:

I do not recommend 300RUM as a calibre for most people. This is a hot magnum pushing large bullets. That means recoil. You won't enjoy the recoil much, and probably won't shoot it as much as you want.

Click to expand...

The idea behind Remington's .300 RUM is that you can shoot loads equivalent to .308 Win, .30-06 Sprg and .300 Win Mag in the same rifle that shoots 180 or 200gr bullets at 3,000 fps +. Remington supports the .300 RUM with four power levels of ammunition if you include managed recoil. I'm not endorsing the cartridge since I wouldn't buy a rifle chambered for it but it doesn't have to the beast that some think it is.

Glock Jeremy said:

My hold over at 600 yards is about 3 feet

Click to expand...

Is that with a 300 yard zero? What load/bullet weight/velocity?

scheaman88,
Winchester makes a very good rifle such as the Extreme Weather SS, and as was mentioned, the Kimber Montana is a great rifle. A Montana in .300 Win Mag or .300 WSM would make a great deer/elk rifle.

Buy the Winchester, forget the 300 RUM. A 300 WSM or 30-06 will kill anything as far as you can ethically shoot at big game with a lot less expense and recoil.

"If you can't do it with a 30-06 it probably can't be done", the late Col. jeff Cooper. I'm no rifle expert, don't claim to be one, but I believe a lot of Afghan bad guys met there maker after a well placed shot from a 7.62x51 round, some at a pretty good distance. Not putting down the 300 RUM, just sayin'.

I've heard a lot can be done with 30-06. .308 is pretty versatile and there are plenty of good rounds off the self in those calibers and you can probably get a rifle for a whole lot less than a 300 RUM. Unless you're just itchin' to burn through that tax-free combat pay.

1858 said:

The idea behind Remington's .300 RUM is that you can shoot loads equivalent to .308 Win, .30-06 Sprg and .300 Win Mag in the same rifle that shoots 180 or 200gr bullets at 3,000 fps +. Remington supports the .300 RUM with four power levels of ammunition if you include managed recoil. I'm not endorsing the cartridge since I wouldn't buy a rifle chambered for it but it doesn't have to the beast that some think it is.




Is that with a 300 yard zero? What load/bullet weight/velocity?

Click to expand...

The load I am using is is Barnes LRX 145 grain and RL 22. I believe 66.5 grains. I dont have my reloading data handy but I believe it was chrono'd at around 3200 FPS

My big issue with the RUM is the case capacity. Downloading it too much leaves space in the case, and too much space can cause ignition problems and pressure spikes. Factory ammo is safe, however one has to be careful of powder choice when reloading.