Looking to build up a Ultralight Long Range Savage in 300 WBY, or 300 RUM, help?

[akfalar]

Does anyone know a good starting point?

Buy a certain savage model and mod it?
I would prefer to buy just the receiver and start from there. Probably put a Bell and Carlson stock on it, and possibly a fluted or carbon wrapped barrel.

I recently fell in love with that accutrigger and was thinking a guy could go far with a savage build.

[bennybooboo]

ineresting idea! just out of curiosity- would a savage long-action port and magazine allow for the smooth cycling of an ultra mag loaded cartridge (its about .300" longer than the standard magnum cartridge according to my load manual)?

be cool,

BBB

[Charleslv]

Look on gunbroker for a savage in 300 RUM or 375 H&H it will give you the bolt head and length you need. They are discontinued but can be found from time to time for about $500 dollars. I convert them to 458 lotts and one 470 capstick another to 416 Rem mag. I do have a factory one and it slight but the 300 RUM is abbusive even for me in a light rifle. It will hurt to shoot.

[pphreed]

If you are a bit mechanically inclined the bottom of a regular long action can be opened up to accept a longer cartridge llike the rums plenty of bolt travel to handle them and the mag box can be cut and lengthened and you have the capability for the longer cartridges or if you prefer a gunsmith could do it for you I have done a couple but they aren't real prety but they work I will say this I have a 300 r um in the large shank original factory setup and I didn't shoot it before I put a brake on it they do kick

[tammons]

Just out of curiosity, how far are you going to be shooting, what and why an ultralight.
If ultralight I assume its a hunting rifle.
An ultralight 300 WB or 300 Rum is going to be a punishing to shoot hunting or otherwise.

You can shoot out to 1200-1300 yards with a 308 and 208 gr amax supersonic or with a 30-06, probably 1500 yards or so.

A 7mm round might be a better option like 284 win, 7mm WSM.
Even the 7mm-08 with the 162 gr amax can reach out to has about the same distance as the 208 gr 308 bullet, but with less recoil.

A while back I DRT'd a 250# hog at 300 yards with a 7mm-08 with the 162 gr amax.
Dropped him like a rock.

Not what I would consider long distance but it was a boar and they are tough animals so I was happy.

[akfalar]

It's an Alaska gun. Looking for Moose, Sheep, etc...

The idea is taking a longer shot with adequate knock down. There is a little diddy going around about how many animals the 338 has Wounded...

[358Hammer]

Since I live,hunt and guided in Alaska I have yet to find a caliber other than a 7 Mag on Bison that wounds animals. It has been my experience over 45 years of hunting that hunters wound animals. In the old days, poor bullet construction wounded animals. In recent years, varmint bullets and bullets designed for thin skinned animals wound animals. Mostly hunters and their shooting ability or poor choice of bullets have been my experience. The 338 Win Mag is an exceptional hunting tool in the correct hands.

The 338 Winchester Magnum with properly constructed bullets has dropped on the spot anything I have asked of it. My wife hunts with a wildcat 338WSM in a handgun and I hunt with a 338 Win Mag in a handgun currently. Everything falls right now without doubt. Can't hardly wait to moose hunt this year with the 338 Edge!

Neal

[Charleslv]

Shot placement and the ability of the hunter for bringing down the game. If shooting a RUM will improve yur confidence go for it.

[tammons]

I say skip the 300 WB and RUM and the punishing recoil.

For AK I would build a 338 WM, a 338 RCM or a 375 ruger.
In 338 there are several bullets that have a BC of around .55-.6
The 250 gr Scenar has a BC of .65 and will be supersonic over 1000 yds.

If you want an ultralight rifle I would build a 338 RCM on
a short action with a 21-22" pencil barrel and a Leupold ultralight scope.
That should weigh about 7# or so.

I had almost the exact same setup only a 338-284 which is close to the same case capacity.
I had a cut down A+B magnum contour barrel, tupperware stock, leupold scope and it weighed about 8# with scope.

A 338 anything with a 210gr or 225gr barnes TTSX bullet at speed is devastating on game and the only way an animal will
end up wounded with either of those bullets is a bad shot.
Also the recoil with my gun was very manageable. A 338 RCM recoil would be almost identical with my old 338-284 setup
It was a snappy little ba$tard as it had a 19" barrel but not harsh.

If you just want a one gun solution for pretty much everything with a bit more margin of safety like hunting growlers build a 375 ruger.
You can build that on a regular long action.
A 375 ruger with a 270 gr TSX bullet at 2750 will kill anything on the planet and it will stay supersonic out to 800 yards and has over 1200 fpe at
800 yards.
At 2750 fps it holds 2000 fpe out to 300 yards.
I thought the recoil with my 375R on a duromax stock was not bad at all.
Not an ultralight though. I thought the recoil was less harsh than my 338-284

My current setup is a lightweight 308/338 RCM switch barrel and a 458 winmag control feed long action.
Have not got a 338 RCM barrel yet as I have been playing around with a 338-06.
Probably will swap the 458 winmag barrel over to a 416 ruger or 416 taylor one day.

[borg]

Ugh. Be sure to get a muzzle brake. Why do you want to kill sheep with your moose gun? And why do you want to shoot moose from so far away?

[tammons]

A 375 Ruger with the right bullet will kill anything from a deer to a Rhino and you do not need a brake..
Basically the same thing as a 375 H+H and the recoil is not bad at all.

Unfortunately no Rhino experience for me yet. Basing that on an Article written
an African hunting guide on the 375 H+H/Ruger and Barnes bullets.

I never did feel a need for a 30 caliber magnum anything.

Actually for elk and moose I would rather have a 338-06 than a 300 win mag.

[borg]

I'm just going to be honest here: This sounds like a bad idea. I don't see why a long range hunting rifle should be light anymore than I understand why someone would want to put a heavy barrel on a rifle they plan on shwacking through the brush. I REALLY don't see the appeal of an ultralight .300 RUM.

[rivermud]

You may want to look into a 338-06 if its going to be a light rifle. The recoil isnt bad but it is still devastating down range, and due to the good BC and SD of the 338 bullets offered you may find the energy delivered within 500 yards to be more than suficient.

I just sold my light weight .300 wby because it was just not fun to shoot, then I added a muzzle brake and it was even less fun to shoot because then it hurt my ears instead of my shoulder.

[tammons]

Too much powder and not enough bullet.

A 300 RUM loaded for bear with a 220 gr bullet in a 7# gun will have about 48# of recoil vs
34# of recoil in a 338-06 with a 250 gr bullet also in a 7# gun.

The fpe at the muzzle is within 200fpe.

Both will have the same energy at 200 yards, but the 338 is pushing a bigger and heavier bullet.

The trajectory is not that much different out to 500 yards.

The 338-06 will be a strong shove on the shoulder.
The 300 RUM will be a like a sharp knuckle punch on the shoulder.

[borg]

The 300 RUM will be a like a sharp knuckle punch on the shoulder...

...from a gorilla.

[Slowpoke Slim]

The 300 RUM will be a like a sharp knuckle punch on the shoulder...

...from a gorilla.



That thinks you owe him money.

[rchouser]

I am 60 years old and I am glad I am not the only one that thinks my 300 Rum is NOT my friend. I test loads and range zero with a cauldwell lead sled and 50 pounds of lead. I would really think hard about the "ultra light" rum. This gun has it's place and does deliver long range ballistics, BUT, it would be a "gorilla punch" "that you owe money to" wearing brass knuckles while on steroids. I am considering a muzzle break for my rum. It would be my first "non-fifty" to wear one. Maybe I am just getting soft in my old age.
thanks rc

[Charleslv]

After reading this article I took one my factory 300 RUMS I have yet to convert or modify out and shoot it. Note a package deal so it had the simmon scope that came with the package guns the older plastick stocks. It weighs about 7# unloaded. First from the bench to site it in. (never again) then a few off hand shots. OK I could not hit a thing off hand I was flinching to much buy then. On the bench it did good 1" group. But man I hurt.

[tammons]

Some AD-vise. No 300 RUM experience, and frankly I dont want any, but....

I am sure you guys have shot some heavy recoil calibers, but use your light tupperware stock to hunt if you really need a rifle that light
and put a good recoil pad on it. Even a slip on limbsaver makes a huge difference.

If you are hunting in winter you will have some extra padding too.

Going to the range in a t-shirt, no decent recoil pad and no past pad is a mistake IMO.
Flinch city and you will remember via sore muscle memory every time you pick up that rifle.
Not a good thing when hunting.

I actually sold a rifle years ago, because I shot it at the range in a t-shirt. It was new out of the box,
with a hard rubber pad on it. Ran about 15 shells through it and I was done.
From then on I never could shoot that rifle worth a rats A$$ without either having a stiff drink first or
going through a serious mental exercise.

If you don't need it hyperlight just put a Duromax stock on it with the factory B+C recoil pad.
That stock fits me very well and just the fit helps a lot with heavy recoil. It adds exactly
one pound to the rifle over a tuperware stock, but to me more important is it is a good fit.

Still not working for you put a couple of mercury recoil dampners on/in it. They help a good bit more
and add more weight.

If you dont want to shoot a lead sled, you could buy a Choate Sniper or varmint stock. They are loaded with void areas
and load one up with lead to about 15# or so and take that to the range.

At 15# it should recoil about like a 30-06 hot load.

Still at the range, with a heavy recoil rifle no matter what I wear a past pad and make sure I have a good recoil pad.

A muzzle brake is at the bottom of the list for me.

I am just venturing into a 458 winmag, so I will be revisiting all of that above.

300 rum or even a 458 winmag is nothing compared to what the old timers in Africa used to shoot.
I remember reading about "baby" years ago. More power to those old timers and they didn't even have any of these
fancy recoil pads and muzzle brakes we have now.

The largest size ever created for a shoulder rifle..........

and used mainly in the 19th century for hunting large and potentially dangerous game animals, this caliber was used by the European hunters, notably the British, in tropical climates of Africa and India. Meant to be used with black powder due to its size, it was unpopular due to the problem of thick smoke and a powerful recoil. The rifle was meant to be fired from the shoulder by one person; larger guns existed, such as the punt gun, but these were only fired supported and generally from a prone position. Sir Samuel White Baker, a notable British explorer and hunter of the Victorian era, was impressed by its power, but heavily disapproved of the recoil. He narrates dashing adventures with his two-bore rifle, which he affectionately referred to as "Baby" :

“ Among other weapons, I had an extraordinary rifle that carried a half-pound percussion shell; this instrument of torture to the hunter was not sufficiently heavy for the weight of the projectile: it only weighted twenty pounds, thus with a charge of ten drachms [270 grains] of powder and a HALF-POUND shell, the recoil was so terrific, that I spun around like a weathercock in a hurricane. I really dreaded my own rifle, although I have been accustomed to heavy charges of powder and severe recoils for some years. None of my men could fire it, and it was looked upon as a species of awe, and it was name "Jenna-El-Mootfah" (Child of a Cannon) by the Arabs, which being a far too long of a name for practice, I christened it the "Baby", and the scream of this "Baby" loaded with a half-pound shell was always fatal. It was too severe, and I seldom fired it, but it is a curious fact that I never shot a fire with that rifle without bagging. The entire practice, during several years, was confined to about twenty shots. I was afraid to use it, but now and then as it was absolutely necessary, it was cleaned after months of staying loaded. On such occasions my men had the gratification of firing it, and the explosion was always accompanied by two men falling on their backs (one having propped up the shooter) and the "Baby" flying some yards behind them. This rifle was made by Holland & Holland, of Bond Street, and I could highly recommend it for the Goliath of Gath, but not for the men of A.D. 1866.

[Slowpoke Slim]

Yeah, and "baby" weighed 20 pounds!

My 338 Win mag weighs just under 9 pounds with scope on it. I have no problems shooting it in a T shirt at the range with 225 gr Partitions. It does (now) have a very nice Kick Eaze recoil pad on it, but for many years it just had the hard red rubber Winchester pad on it. I've killed every elk and deer I've ever pointed it at with one shot. I've also loaned it out twice to buddies to take elk with. Each one has gone down like the very ground under it's feet had been yanked away. I've also never recovered a bullet. So penetration is there, energy is there and performance on game is there.

I would say anyone who says a 338 Win wounds game, either has never tried one, or can't shoot one.

I also have a 375 H&H that weighs around 9.5 pounds (if I remember correctly-I don't really go around weighing my rifles). I can also shoot it in a T shirt, but it does take more mental concentration to do so from a benchrest (NO Leadsled for me-I don't want to break my stocks). It does still have the hard red rubber Winchester pad on it. This is one case where the extra rifle weight is your friend, not your enemy. I don't think I would really want to shoot it if it weighed 7 pounds. I've killed 2 elk with it. My "regular" load for it has been the 300 gr Nosler Partition. I can't see any difference on game performance between it and my 338 Win. Maybe if I was after larger game it would matter, like a big coastal brownie. I doubt a moose is any more bullet proof than an elk is. Certainly a sheep isn't.

If I finally get to go on my buffalo (N. A. Bison that is) hunt this winter, I'll probably take the 375 with the 300 gr bullets as extra insurance over the 338.