.338 RUM vs. .338 WinMag?

[Wildcat1]

looking for a good long-range elk gun, and i cant decide between these two rounds....

.338 Remington Ultra Magnum

.338 Winchester Magnum

[SmokinLoon]

They are 2 close to say which one is "better", but if it were me I'd be buying that .338 RUM.  The RUM family of cartridges are the latest designs with the most advanced testing, pressure testing, etc, etc.  Be sure you can fire than beast without developing any flinches, etc.  A good friend of mine tried the .300 Win Mag for everything from antelope to elk and he cant hit a battleship at 200 yards due to some nasty habits he picked up.  Keep in mind the cost of ammo, too.  Neither are going to be cheap.  Im glad I reload.     

BTW... I use my 7mm-08 on elk and have had very good results.  None of my shots have been more than 300 yards, and I load up a heavier Barnes bullet and each hunt has been the "one shot-one in the bag" experience for me.     

Good luck!

[gyrene81]

You need a magnum for elk? I've never used anything but 30.06 178gr bronze points and those reach out 700 - 800 yards. What distances are you shooting at?

If you want some power without the field artillery, try an 8mm mag. Good round for anything in north or south america short of a grown kodiak bear.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

The 338 Winchester Magnum. From what we've seen hunting, the Winchester rounds are more inherently accurate, easier to shoot, as well as less prone to barrel wear and other problems. You'll find the Winchester ammunition to be cheaper and more commonly available. The rifles chambered for the Winchester will be less expensive as well. When you hang "Remington Ultra Mag" on anything, the price doubles. You can buy the Winchester ammunition for $30 a box, and find it in most places that carry a lot of ammunition. The Remington is most often $60 a box, if you can find it.

A 300 Winchester Magnum is more than enough for elk at 200 yards or more, especially with a 180 grain bullet, if you can shoot, it'll take elk at 400 yards. About 999 out of 1000 hunters and shooters should never shoot more than 150 yards, at best. And most of them packing the latest high dollar barrel burning hot rod can't hit the ground with their hat.

I won't even consider a shot on game at much over 200 yards unless near perfect conditions exist. You owe it to the animal to do it right. If you aren't going to burn a minimum of 200-300 rounds of ammunition to get you and your rifle ready, including at least 100 rounds at the longest range you'll shoot, you have no business taking those shots. Maybe 1 out of 1000 people will spend the time and money to get good enough, the rest will complain about the price, the lack of places to shoot, and the bruised shoulder.

[kamori]

What distance you looking at?

I Only shoot a 30-06.180 grn. Nosler partition and accubond leaves barrel just over 2700 ft/ per sec...my longest shot was 3 years ago at a deer walking up hill straight away from me. The shot was 437 yards. My second longest was 407 yards at a 5 x 5 Bull elk on a trot. Both 1 shot both animals fell. I completely disagree about 700 - 800 yards. a 30-06 is being Heavily pushed at that range. I would NEVER take that long of a shot especially with a round that drops like a 180 grn round.

If you are looking at 500 + Range dont discount a .270 reload with a 140 grn round. problem is if your shot is not exact that Bull elk will walk away with a hole in it. I have tracked and killed 3 different elk over the years that were wounded by Hunters that Botch a shot or 2, 3, 4..Insane whats out there.

Another note. if you cannot hit a can(soda, beer) at 75 yards with your big game rifle on a snap shot 1 sec. count(sighted in at 200 yards dead on) then go back and practice. You should be able to HIT the can consistently.

I have killed 6 elk on a dead RUN in the trees 4 were behind the shoulder and 2 were in the neck. No more than 80 yards away.


Practice practice..Not only on a bench... any one can shot well from a bench. The true test is free hand at 7" dia. targets out to 100 - 150 yards.

My Daughter who is 13 yrs old,  got her Bull elk on a trot at 150 yards ironsites(no scope) with her Great Grandfathers .270 standing freehand after a 1 mile run to head off the 6 elk we jumped in the trees. Thats due to the few hundred rounds she put through that gun in the past year. Her only mistake was she stopped her gun when she pulled the trigger, causing the rounds to arrive a little late, amazing enough her rounds were in a 10" group..WOW for a 13 year Old.


Kam

[mbailey]

expensive as well. When you hang "Remington Ultra Mag" on anything, the price doubles. You can buy the Winchester ammunition for $30 a box, and find it in most places that carry a lot of ammunition. The Remington is most often $60 a box, if you can find it.

  

Qft, my .416 RUM runs me about $75.00 a box

[Maverick]

If you are looking at a hunting round then you want to get the caliber that has the most common ammo. It won't do you much good if a wildcat round gets dropped by the ammo makers or you can't find it stocked except by specialty shops. Frankly, both are more gun than you really need for elk.

[gyrene81]

Kam, I didn't say take a 700-800 yd shot on a game animal with an '06, especially an elk. Those long range shots do push the limits but when using retail ammo, it's best to know what extremes you can achieve with various bullet types. I have hit prairie dogs and coyote out at 800+ with a custom barreled mauser action '06 zeroed in to 300 using store bought ammo. Could have just been the gun, I dunno.

[Tupac]

I use a 30/06 for everything from white tail to elk, never had a problem.

It's a great fun for the price, and ammo is relatively inexpensive

[Tupac]

Kam, I didn't say take a 700-800 yd shot on a game animal with an '06, especially an elk. Those long range shots do push the limits but when using retail ammo, it's best to know what extremes you can achieve with various bullet types. I have hit prairie dogs and coyote out at 800+ with a custom barreled mauser action '06 zeroed in to 300 using store bought ammo. Could have just been the gun, I dunno.

Thats some nice shootin'.

Ive taken my 06 out to 600 years and shot a 6" 5 shot group. 30/06 is an awesome gun. I use a weatherby Vanguard 2

[Wildcat1]

well, i used to use my .300 sav, which is my deer gun, but out where my uncle and i hunt elk, we rarely shoot at anything less that 200 yards. we reload, and we download the .300 sav to 38.5 grains of powder instead of 40, so it shoots much less accurately out at farther ranges.

i am looking at the .338 win mag more, mainly because there are lefty rifles for it (im lefty)

hows the .300 win mag out at 400-600 yards?

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Both of my 300 Winchesters are/were very deadly out to 400 and beyond (I don't have the need to go further, I'm sure I could). My old semi custom Model 770 was capable of sub MOA groups to well beyond 200 yards, I just plain wore the barrel out, and a relative let the bore rust when he borrowed it. It will get another new custom barrel, and serve as my loaner and bad weather gun again. My newer Model 70 is just as accurate. It'll drop anything you want to shoot with it. My handloads are based on 4350 powder, Winchester Magnum primers, and most often Sierra 168 grain MatchKing bullets. Those bullets do work just fine on game, although you might be better off with their 180 grain bullet for elk.

I am left handed, I shoot handguns either way, my main carry holsters happen to be right handed, but I shoot long guns almost exclusively left handed, I do not own a "left handed" rifle. I can hold the fore end with my right hand and roll the rifle slightly, then use my left hand to cycle the bolt plenty quickly. More than quick enough for a follow up shot.

[Babalonian]

.338 RUMs I've shot are erratic and thus inaccurate IMO, a fun round to shoot though.  I wouldn't use them for marksmanship or hunting... blowing a few cans in half though, sure.  .338 Winmags I've found are more consistent and you can practice with them more economicaly for better results when you use it in the field than the .338 RUMs.  I'd use .338 Winmags for hunting but I wouldn't use it for betting my pride at a marksmanship shoot because I've taken shots with it that have left me wondering if I was aiming with my wrong eye.

[68ZooM]

i shoot a Husqavarna 30.06 nitro express, 210 grain hand loads, its spot on deadly to well over 300 yrds, but like other have said why shoot that far?  most of my animals have been around 100-200 yards out, i wont take a long shot out of respect for the Animal, clean kill is what im after not a injured animal

[Wildcat1]

i shoot a Husqavarna 30.06 nitro express, 210 grain hand loads, its spot on deadly to well over 300 yrds, but like other have said why shoot that far?  most of my animals have been around 100-200 yards out, i wont take a long shot out of respect for the Animal, clean kill is what im after not a injured animal

yeah, im kind of the same way too. but where i hunt elk, im constantly taking shots at 300-500 yrds, so i want a round (less than .408) that will keep most of it's energy up at that distance