.300 RUM Accuracy?

[jonnybullslayer]

I've got a factory savage 116 300 RUM and I've been collecting pieces for a long range set-up for a couple of years (I haven't even shot it yet). I have no previous experience at long range shooting, but I've got the bug and I think this should be a good candidate for it.

It is a low round count (as per the previous owner) factory gun with what I would call a heavy varmint contour barrel with factory close-able muzzle brake sitting in a bvss stock (needs bedded). I want to say it was a custom ordered circa 2004-2006. It has the round back receiver and accutrigger but has the older style stagger feed blind magazine. I've accumulated somewhere around 200 once-fired brass and around 1000 215g berger bullets. It has a ken farrell 20 MOA base and matching medium rings with a Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20x50 ER/T scope with M1 turrets. Scope has mounted to it a Defensive Edge anti-cant bubble level and angle cosine indicator.

I read all the time about factory savage rifles outshooting custom bench rifles (or at least shooting with them), but as I begin my load development process I am skeptical. I am wondering if I would be better off with a custom tube to start, or will I be able to achieve sub 1/2 MOA with this setup? Anybody have experience trying to reach long range with the factory .300 RUM? What were your results?

Thanks!

JB

[Redandwhite_72]

No experience with a 300 rum past 300yd. Are you planning to shoot competition or just for fun? Why not load up a few rounds and see what it'll do. You can always switch out the barrel if you don't like it.

[scooterf79]

+1 on loading a few and trying it out. You may have a shooter on your hands....I'd be willing to guess that youll have no problem getting under 1in groups. I know thats not 1/2in but some tweaking of your loads you can probably print some nice groups. You're not going to hurt anything by trying....except maybe your shoulder 😉
Scooter
Scope eye can probably point you in the right direction also, if he chimes in.

[jonnybullslayer]

No experience with a 300 rum past 300yd. Are you planning to shoot competition or just for fun? Why not load up a few rounds and see what it'll do. You can always switch out the barrel if you don't like it.

Just for fun at first, then for hunting after proficient.


+1 on loading a few and trying it out. You may have a shooter on your hands....I'd be willing to guess that youll have no problem getting under 1in groups. I know thats not 1/2in but some tweaking of your loads you can probably print some nice groups. You're not going to hurt anything by trying....except maybe your shoulder ��
Scooter
Scope eye can probably point you in the right direction also, if he chimes in.

My inexperience in developing a load is what has me nervous. I don't want to waste time and resources to get 2" groups and not know if it is me, or the barrel. You're right, I'm just going to have to jump in. I'm just curious what guys have attained so I can have confidence (or lack thereof) in the variables.

[Redandwhite_72]

You'll be fine. Jump in and go. If its not competition I wouldn't worry about a custom barrel right now. You should easily be able to get moa groups. Barrel life is pretty short on the rums so I'd play with it. Shoot the barrel out. Then get a custom barrel. By then you'll know what your doing.

[jonbearman]

When you are ready to get a new barrel consider Jim At Northlandshooterssupply 1-763-682-4296 Talk to Jim , he will get you what you need. I just wanted to make a comment about your factory on / off brake. They don't work well at all. If you can take it off(it does unscrew from the barrel) get a good brake and shooting will be more enjoyable for you. When reloading start low and work up in 1/2 grain increments till you see pressure signs. Once you find that wall drop a grain and a half and then work up at 2 tenths at a time to find what your rifle likes. Since you are shooting bergers right away, call berger and talk to one of their techs and they will be able to tell you where to start, what powder and primer to use so you don't waste a lot of time and money looking for the holy grail of loads. One other thing is do research to find out exactly how you want to clean that barrel to rid it of copper fouling which can be a real problem with big boomers.

[cowtownup]

Friend of mine has a 300 RUM and its one helluva caliber... His rifle has a super heavy barrel on it and a brake.. Recoil is minimal and finding a load for it was relatively easy. I think he ended up running 208 Amax over 93.5 grains of Retumbo...

[jonnybullslayer]

When you are ready to get a new barrel consider Jim At Northlandshooterssupply 1-763-682-4296 Talk to Jim , he will get you what you need. I just wanted to make a comment about your factory on / off brake. They don't work well at all. If you can take it off(it does unscrew from the barrel) get a good brake and shooting will be more enjoyable for you. When reloading start low and work up in 1/2 grain increments till you see pressure signs. Once you find that wall drop a grain and a half and then work up at 2 tenths at a time to find what your rifle likes. Since you are shooting bergers right away, call berger and talk to one of their techs and they will be able to tell you where to start, what powder and primer to use so you don't waste a lot of time and money looking for the holy grail of loads. One other thing is do research to find out exactly how you want to clean that barrel to rid it of copper fouling which can be a real problem with big boomers.

When you say the brake doesn't work well at all, do you mean that it doesn't reduce recoil as it should, doesn't control muzzle jump, negatively impacts accuracy, or doesn't open/close as advertised? Maybe a combination?

[geargrinder]

Those brakes are marginally efficient. A nice baffle style works much better, especially with the amount of gas produced by the RUM.

Barrels are the luck of the draw. Some factory barrels shoot fantastic, some custom barrels don't. There in nothing inherent about the chambering or other factory barrels that will tell you if it will shoot .5 moa or not.

The biggest measurable shortcoming of the factory barrel is it's length. It is short enough that you won't be able to reach velocity potential with heavy bullets and slow burning powder.

[troutdodger]

Jonny, I've got one of the original Savge offerings in 300 RUM small shank stainless barrel with the on/off brake. I've done alot of loading with it mostly with Barnes bullets but also ried some Nosler, Hornady and Bergers. Best group I think I ever got was just a tad under an inch for 5 shots until.......I questioned how good the crown was under the brake. When I removed the brake and squared up the crown and shot it without the brake on....poof...groups immediately shrank. Best group now was less than 1/2". When I put the brake back on....you guessed it, groups grew again. That brake is good for nothing more than very little recoil reduction. I beleive it causes too much turbulence in that chamber as the bullet is exiting causing erratic flight. Don't have any scientific proof of this but I do have my targets to show the difference. BTW every load that shot well in my rifle liked to be .030-.050 off the lands. Good luck

[jonnybullslayer]

geargrinder,
The barrel length definitely makes sense as far as lack of performance. My ultimate goal, even my reason for initially purchasing this gun, was to turn it into a 338 Edge. I've read plenty of your posts and responses here and elsewhere and regard you as somewhat of an expert in that. I always planned on shooting the barrel out then spinning on 338 EDGE barrel. I've got the cash to get one now, but now that I've got the components for the RUM (i.e. 1000 bergers) I'm a little hesitant to walk away from the chambering. If I went with a RUM barrel, what is the optimal length? How about EDGE? Seems a lot of guys are shooting 30 inch barrels on those.

troutdodger,
Everything is starting to make sense now. I've got a really nice 116 in 338 sitting in a 114 fancy monte carlo stock. It is a beautiful gun, but I've been frustrated that I couldn't get it to shoot any better than 1 MOA. I've searched to see if turning the brake on or off would affect accuracy, but I never considered that the brake itself would affect accuracy. It seems to work OK on my daughters 270 wsm, but then again, she's not going to shoot the kinds of distances I'm wanting to reach.

[BobT]

My .300 Ultra loved the 180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips, I got it specifically to shoot 230 Grain Bergers. My gun wouldn't shoot any Berger over 200 grains worth spit. Loved the Nosler offerings and really liked the 208 A-max. I got it specifically so I could shoot the 230's and had zero luck so it went down the road. As far as the brake, shoot it and see, my SIL has a 111 LRH in .300 WM and it shoots fantastic with the brake. I wouldn't consider a barrel less than 26" for the Ultra 28" would be better and 30" would be better yet. Just my humble opinion !