Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ruger Compact Magnums

For the uninformed, the innovation starts with the powder. As explained to me by the good folks at Hornady, the pressure curve is significantly different. It maintains peak pressure longer, within safe limits, thereby increasing velocity. A good analogy is holding your foot on the accelerator with the same pressure for a period of time, thereby increasing acceleration.

That proprietary new powder is now being used in the Superformance ammo line, which such n'er-do-well individuals as Boddington hail as a significant advancement.

Beyond that, the innovation consists of marrying the cartridge and rifle into a package that fills a unique niche.

True enough, and I'm obviously quite fond of them because I own a bunch... but I can guarantee you my Hawkeye 338 RCM will go on certain hunts where a Weatherby, Remington, Kimber, etc. won't make the trip.

And what does new powder technology have to do with the RCM's? Any round can benefit from better powders.
Your starting to grasp at straws.

Innovation? I don't know of any other 20" barrel, short actioned, fixed sight, 6.75lb, .338s that keep the kick to a somewhat reasonable level. Don't own one, but I can certainly appreciate it as being as unique as anything else that's come out recently. I seriously doubt a .338 WM does anything better for 96% of hunters.

I'm not grasping at anything. The facts are there for anyone without blinders to see.

I can only conclude that you are unclear on the concept, in denial or, being charitable, simply poorly informed. The new powder technology from Hornady -- which is not available to the public -- was part and parcel of the 338 RCM concept from the beginning. The new cartridge and powder were specifically introduced TOGETHER. That's what made the 338 RCM's 338 WM-like performance possible -- and, again, innovative!

What does the powder have to do with it? Obviously, a great deal. Any round can benefit from better powders? Of course -- but it was Hornady who did so, in this case, in collaboration with Ruger to produce the complete package. The 338 RCM is as much a concept as it is a simple cartridge or rifle. Again... most folks would call that innovative. After all, no one else beat them to it -- although there were attempts to create a 338 WSM that failed. (Chuck Hawk's words, not mine)

At any rate, the whole resulting package is the product of an innovative, collaborative design effort involving powder, cartridge and rifle. They weren't invented in a vacume. All three were designed to work together from the beginning. If you can't understand that, I suggest you try to set aside your bias long enough to go back and read up a bit more on development of the cartridge and rifle. You may find it enlightening.

Sounds like crap to me.
Hornady is using the same technology on its Superformance ammo.
And the whole package is a rehash of the WSM with less performance, packaged in a LW rifle that isnt really a lightweight.
Sign me up.....

Your crap detector is clearly malfunctioning. Hornady taking and applying the same powder technology to the Superformance line is simply SMART! Duh!

Not a rehash of WSM at all. You see a 338 WSM runnning around anywhere? And lightweight, yes, compared to many of my rifles, it is.

Suggest you turn off your BS broadcaster -- it's short-circuiting you crap detector. Someting about an inverse ratio relationship at work there...

Very eloquent of you, thanks!!!

And Hornady and Federal have been using such specially loaded ammo for years. HE and Light and Heavy Magnum ring a bell.....

And I am not talking about the 338 RCM, but RCM's in general.
Some guys are just a marketers dream..

Not with this powder, they haven't -- and again, you're missing the whole point of the 338 RCM package, which nicely fills a niche no one else is filling. To repeat... a shorter, handier (and lighter than some) 338 short-action rifle with 338 WM-like performance -- and iron sights, to boot. If you can't appreciate the concept... then by all means don't buy one! I doubt Ruger and Hornady will miss your contribution to their coffers.

But I would suggest that you try researching the topic before attempting to debate facts with nothing more than flawed preconceptions, thinly disguised bias and the feeble "sounds like crap to me" argument when logic fails you. After all, by your logic, there's been nothing innovative since the ought-six. Good luck with that theory.

..........Kentucky!.......You cannot reason with a brick wall or a box of rocks. B Walker is either very stupid, very ignorant, or is clearly biased against the RCM from the get go, which would better account for his comments. He just doesn`t get it or simply refuses to.

Setting the powder aside, the 338 RCM mated with the 20" Ruger Hawkeye rifle, is an excellent hunting rifle.

Hornady and Ruger combined, know ALOT more than does Mr. BWalker. And, I`ll bet that he has had no conversations with Hornady either. Do despite all his opinions and comments, the 338 RCM will continue to roll along. I wouldn`t be surprised, if he too was on the same bandwagon predicting the eventual demise of the 375 Ruger.

I got a bridge ill sell you.

Guys, I am going to bump this thread in five years, untill them Im out. Hope you like your rcm's.

Lets see I refute everything your two knuckle heads come up with and I am the box of rocks?

If the bridge is built along the same lines as your argument, that would make it... a bridge to nowhere.

The only thing you've refuted is your ability to debate with either facts or intelligence.

OK, I'll bite. Where does a Hawkeye 338 RCM go and do, that a .325 Kimber Montana won't and don't?

OK, not to nitpick, but... If it's as f'd up a rifle as my Kimber Montana 308 was when first acquired... the Kimber goes nowhere! Your .325, by the way, was intentionally misnamed to make it sound bigger than it really is... after Winchester bailed on trying to make a 338 WSM. It's actually .315, which makes it an 8 mm cartridge with performance closer to the 300 WSM.

Just sayin'...

I like 20" barrels, and I like oddball cartridges. So we aren't arguing about that.

My gunsafe and my hunting trips...

Dennis