yeah,
i probably did. there was no intent to discredit your rifle of choice, i have just seen some train wrecks from this caliber. there are few bullets that can withstand the forces that this rifle puts on them. also, invariably, they all wear muzzle brakes which i have become a hater of. brakes are good for the shooter (if wearing hearing protection) and bad for everyone else.
the ultra mags are capable of extending the range of a "normal" rifle. to shoot far out there usually requires a bullet with high b.c. and they are generally not great hunting bullets. shot at an animal too close, they blow up. good bullets (mono metal bullets are probably the best for this cartridge) do not usually have the high b.c. needed for longer range and are usually not chosen if a guy wants to snipe animals far away.
anyway, my apologies because i do understand that people don't like their wives, dogs, trucks or rifles disparaged. (me neither) and it was not my intention to do so. my big thought was most hunting should be done at 400 yards or less. if that is done, then the ultra mags are generally more than needed. they will make hits at extreme ranges more likely, but then one has to consider bullet construction and velocity, etc to do a good/humane job on the animal. on steel, i suspect they are a superior product.
No worries and thank you. I try to put out information that is firsthand and factual to help as many as possible avoid some of the long and painful roads I’ve gone down trying to learn how to be a better hunter.
I’ve written a little about my effective hunting range being limited to about 330 yards with my previous rifle and scope set up - 7MM REM MAG. I also switched from shooting right handed rifles left handed, to left handed rifles (when I could afford to).
I like my 300 RUM because it’s great
hunting rifle that I’ve been able to hit a target at 2,000 yards actually. Having said that, I didn’t buy the rifle, scope, supporting equipment, and go to 3 LR shooting schools with the notion that I would be hunting and killing animals at over 500 yards.
Hell, I knew very little about shooting effectively at distance. So I dove in head first to learn and I’m glad I did. My confidence level is much higher and I rarely take a shot that is rushed or I regret. Given the circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot an animal at 500 yards.
The guy that built my rifle puts on the shooting schools, has a popular hunting show, and a significant following of hunters that are dedicated to hunting at Long Range. I appreciate what the rifle, equipment, and the trained shooter can do, but none of this makes one a better hunter.
I agree with you that is more ethical to close the distance to where you are certain an effective killing distance can be achieved. However, some of the most successful hunters I know are not great shots! Some of them have made bad shots at the 300 to 400 yard distance that resulted in unnecessarily injuring an animal and not recovering it or flat out missing after lobbing 4 or 5 shots… I didn’t want to be that type of hunter.
I’ve gone through a few different bullets with my 7MM REM MAG and finally concluded that Barnes TSX and TTSX work great for all the calibers I hunt with.
As far as bullet choices for 300 RUM. There are some good options out there if you have the right twist rate. I bought a couple boxes of Barnes LRX 208 Grain. These look good for hunting. Data looks good. You just need enough spin.
I did kill two elk with Berger 210 VLD Hunting bullets. But, at 300 yards or less.
If I can get the Barnes LRX to shoot accurately out my RUM, that’s what I’ll use.
