Five Reasons For 300 Remington Ultra Magnum
The 300 Remington Ultra Magnum at left puts the 30-06 and 300 Win. Mag. in a whole new light.
The 300 Remington Ultra Magnum (RUM) is a monster. But it's attracting a lot of attention and gaining a lot of fans. Why?Because this is America where bigger is better! And in cartridges throwing .308-inch bullets, you don't get much bigger than the 300 Remington Ultra Magnum.Seriously, there's a lot of truth to that old "bigger is better" wisecrack. Cartridge development over the past 150 years has been mostly about getting more power and velocity in shoulder-fired rifles. The biggest step forward came with smokeless powder starting around 1890. That led to significant improvements in bullet materials, construction and form. Then came ever larger capacity cases and voila! Say hello to the 300 Remington Ultra Magnum.Remington launched this beast in 1999, it's first 30-caliber. For decades Remington was satisfied with its 6.5mm Rem. Mag., 7mm Rem. Mag., 8mm Rem. Mag., 350 Rem. Mag. and 416 Rem. Mag., leaving the all-American 30-calibers to Winchester, Weatherby, H&H, Norma and even Dakota. But when the 30-378 Wby. Mag. and 300 WSM popped up -- well, I guess Remington couldn't resist jumping in. Finally.Good jump. Using a fat, 404 Jeffery case 2.850" long with the 30-degree shoulder pushed well forward, Remington engineers were able to beat the case capacity of the 300 Wby. Mag. by 13 percent and the Win. Mag. (which you can read all about on this 7mm vs. 300 Win. Mag. blog) by 20 percent. That means it can throw the same size bullets about 200 fps faster than the Win. Mag. and 100 fps faster than the Wby. Mag. with increased recoil to go with it.So why do you want a 300 Remington Ultra Magnum? Let us count the ways.
You want to impress your friends. Just showing them a 300 RUM cartridge should do the trick. Let them fire your rifle to cement the concept.
You like big thumpers. When firing a 200-grain bullet at 3,185 fps, this super magnum will kick you with nearly 32 foot-pounds of free recoil energy. Compare that to 21 foot-pounds recoil from a 30-06 shooting a 180-grain bullet in a typical 8-pound rifle.
You want to shoot long and flat and hard. Zero the 200-grain Nosler Accubond at 250 yards and it will be just 2 inches high at 100, 2.87" low at 300, 12" low at 400. At 500 yards the bullet will still be hauling 2,543 foot-pounds of energy. That's more oomph than a 168-grain bullet from a 30-06 carries at 100 yards.
You want to deliver over 1,300 foot-pounds of energy at 1,000 yards. The mass and sleek shape of the 200-grain Nosler give it a drag resisting B.C. of .588. Combine that with the 3,185 fps launch speed, and you're delivering major energy at crazy distances. There are even heavier, higher B.C. bullets out there to increase this long-range whomp.
You like packing big, heavy rifles with long barrels. Seriously. The 300 Remington Ultra Magnum needs at least a 26-inch barrel to take advantage of its fire-breathing potential, and a 28-inch is even better. Add a bit of stock bulk and weight to soak up some of that recoil. A broad butt and comb help spread the recoil over a greater area of your shoulder and face for added comfort. Include a muzzle brake and recoil really shouldn't be a problem. But be careful. This will compromise reason #2 in this list.
If you like the kick of a 30-06, you'll love the wallop of a 300 RUM.
The length of the 300 RUM brass is exactly the same as the 300 H&H belted magnum. This means it requires a magnum-length rifle action. Remington rebated the rim of the 300 RUM so it wouldn't have to increased bolt face diameter of its M700 actions. Some shooters point out that this rebated rim could cause the bolt edge to slide up and over cartridges while trying to push them from the magazine. I haven't seen this happen. I haven't hear any RUM shooters complain about it, either, so it may be more theory than reality.What isn't theory is the power, punch, recoil and downrange reach of the 300 Remington Ultra Magnum. Personally, I don't have any need for a 300 RUM (as explained in this article, Magnum Madness,) but that doesn't mean you don't. In America bigger is still better, and freedom of choice is still an option. Let's hope it stays that way.Ron Spomer has shot most of the world's magnum .308 cartridges, but prefers hunting with shorter, lighter rifles in lighter kicking flavors. It's not the recoil he minds so much as the weight and length necessary to reap the rewards of oversized cartridges like the 300 Remington Ultra Magnum.
