HELP on new 'short-fat' 30 caliber magnums
There are the 300 WSSF and the 300 SAUM. I want to build a nice lightweight mountain rifle using one of these as the basis.
I prefer the Remington action. However, in your opinions, is one of the two superior ballistically?
Is one a better design for powder-burning efficiency/consistency? Relates to 'inherent' accuracy in heavier, long range loadings?
Is one of the two better designed for case life?
SEMPER FI
I prefer the Remington action. However, in your opinions, is one of the two superior ballistically?
Is one a better design for powder-burning efficiency/consistency? Relates to 'inherent' accuracy in heavier, long range loadings?
Is one of the two better designed for case life?
SEMPER FI
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there was an article in precision shooting a few months back where they took the SAUM in 7mm and built a 1000yd light gun. The author gave it rave reviews as well as the edge in efficiency. The only caveat I can see is the remington brass. the WSM is available from norma and a few others.
I am considering a 300SAUM or 6.5SAUM for the next match barrel, maybe change the 35* shoulder to 40* for a bit longer case life. Reamers are made in the Ackely Improved 40* versions of both.
If you like rem actions, buy the SAUM and start shooting. If you are building on a rem action, the boltface is the same dia, so choose either case and build away.
why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
Got Balistics?0 -
Brad,
I think your questions can be answered with relative ease, at least in this case (no pun intended).
Both cases are very similar and NEITHER one holds an advantage over the other ballistically. This is not debatable any more no matter what the advertising writers try to tell us. Both cases are designed for extreme efficiency which allows for consistancy and both are considered to be very accurate within their own context. That leaves out the shooter and all of the dumb things that we can do to mess up accuracy. Both cases are designed for long life as long as (here we go again) the shooter/reloader does his job correctly.
You don't tell us what your goal is for this rifle that you want to build but I can make a couple of suggestions.
First take a look at what Remington has to offer as far as retail is concerned. Mentioned below is their AWR (Alaskan Wilderness Rifle) which weighs in at 6-1/8 lbs. w/o scope and it holds 3 cartridges down instead of the normal two.
Second, look at the 700 Titanium, which at 6-3/8 lbs. has 2" more barrel than the AWR.
http://www.remington.com/firearms/centerfire/cf_calibers.htm
I have built and shot all of these short magnums a lot including the WSSM's and all of the wildcat variations. The one that I would check out before any of the others is the same as JustC mentioned, the 7mmRSAUM. This isn't a slam to any of the .30 caliber rifles at all. The shooting/testing that I've done with multitudes of bullets leads me to choose the 7mm as the better selection for these lighter rifles.
If you want to build a custom rifle, there are McMillan stocks in the Mountain Rifle configuration for Remington. But I would look at the Lone Wolf Summit and the Summit XL as being the lightest and best of the 'mountain' type stocks.
http://www.lonewolfriflestocks.com/hunting.html
Be very sure to use a SVL Limb Saver pad for anything that you want to build. Remington is using these (R3) on their light weight rifles and some of the other magnums.
That should get you started. There is part of an article below and a couple of links for good reading.
Best of luck and let us know what you decide.
.300 Remington Short-Action Ultra Mag
I took a .300 RSAUM to Africa in the summer of 2001 and gave it a workout on several critters. They ranged from a white blesbok that's about the size of a pronghorn to a zebra that my professional hunter shot with the gun. The performance level is nearly the same as the .300 WSM and the .300 Winchester Magnum, so there really were no surprises. However, the delightful little Model Seven Alaska Wilderness Rifle brought a new dimension to this power level. I have since used that rifle for tracking whitetails in Ontario and for hunting black bears in northern British Columbia. In short, it is a great all-around gun for North American hunting.
Remington offers a 150-grain bullet at 3,450 fps, a 165-grain at 3,075 fps and a 180-grain at 2,960 fps. For comparison, the 180-grain Winchester Magnum is listed in the Remington catalog with a muzzle velocity of 2,960 fps.
Like all the short magnums, the .300 RSAUM has a lower perceived recoil than the "traditional" magnums when the gun weight is the same.
http://www.gunhuntermag.com/Features/040407Magnums.html
Here are a couple of other articles for your reading pleasure:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_9_49/ai_105642915
http://www.cabelas.com/information/cabelas-field-guides/Firearms-BallisticsLoads/The-Short-Mag-Revolution.html0 -
As noted above, neither cartridge holds an advantage over the other ballistically, although the SAUM is more suitable to autoloading rifles because of the stronger casehead. But that is a non-issue in a bolt gun.
That said, keep in mind that when fired from short rifles they were designed for with 18.5" or 20" barrels, both cartridges will parallel the performance of a .30-06 fired from a 24" barrel with the disadvantage of not being well-siuted to bullets over 200 grains. The light rifles also make recoil very sharp. Accuracy-wise, the case design of the short magnums gives them a small advantage, but one that will not be noticeable in a field gun. As to the efficiency of the cartridges, that is just something for gun nuts to debate when all tangible benefit arguments have been exhausted.
Lastly remember that, in the event you have an ammunition fiasco, pappy's back country general store will probably have .30-06 but it's very doubtful he is going to stock the latest, greatest, shortest magnums. (forgetting to grab the ammo is something that can happen to any one of us)
It's easy to spot liberals-they are the ones who have no assets to protect and need every handout they can get. They have forbeyed themselves ascendence to a productive lifestyle.0 -
While you're just looking, take a peek at the Kimber Montana in .300 WSM. They're usually one or two up for auction here for less than $1,000.
It has a scaled down M70 type action w/ 3 position safety, blind magazine and synthetic stock. Weighs about 6.2 pounds.0 -
There is quite a bit of discussion on the short-mags over on www.refugeforums.com. A couple guys that really seem to know what they are talking about have some very good info on Ballistics and all......
You can't control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.....0
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