I was seriously about to do a .338 Campfire myself. Available funds stopped me for the time being but I will eventually do a long range dedicated rifle and am still burning up brain cells considering the options.
I'd probably consider a Norma Mag if going bigger.
So what do you all think?
Who knows what offspring of the 375 Ruger is best? The 338, 30 and 7mm all work well and are similar to the Dakota lineup without the hassle of the larger bolt face. All fit and feed from a standard long action without feed rail clearance issues, something the RUMs and the variations on the 26 Nosler can't do.
I necked down the 375 to 7mm without bumping the shoulder rearwards like the 7 LRM. The advantage at the time was the availability of brass. Performance is very similar to the 7 STW in a shorter case. I own the reamer and this chambering is staying in my lineup of hunting rifles.
Currently shooting 168 Berger classic @ 3270 fps.
AZ how do you form that case necked to 7mm? Is it one pass through the dies?
Just noticed this question Bob. Sent you a PM
I had a box of 375 Ruger in possession for at least two years. One day I decided to see if I could neck it down to 7mm with existing dies. If it was possible I would order a reamer.
Here is what I did:
1)Hornady 338 RCM FL die
2)300 RUM FL die to taper mouth of case
3)7 RUM dies seater followed by FL to reduce neck dia
4 Whidden 338 RCM bushing die with .312 bushing
5) Open up with K and N mandrel, neck turn to .0135” neck wall thickness
6) Run brass into Whidden 338 RCM bushing die using .310 bushing
Also have a small base die I made by cutting off the neck/shoulder and some of the base from a RCBS 375 Ruger FL die.
Use another 375 FL die for shoulder bump.
Seating is done with a Redding competition seater that was a 7 Rem mag. Used reamer to open up sliding pilot tube to 7mm/375 Ruger.
I'm thinking .22. A 1 in 2 inch twist, 16 inch barrel, for 160 grain .224 caliber bullets, as soon as they are available. Might have to compromise on .257 with 200 grain bullets, same twist.
So where are any 338 Campfire reamers among smiths and barrel makers?
Would a single-stack Tikka or new single-stack Win XPR work for a simple rechambering?
Don't know where there are any campfire reamers for the 338/375 Ruger but you can order you own from any number of reamer makers. PT&G charges approx. $140 for a reamer made to your specs.
The 338 is very easy to neck down from 375. You can use a 338 RCM FL die, as the body diameter, shoulder angle and neck length are virtually the same with both the 338 RCM and 375 Ruger.
I wonder what a 308/375 ruger would do with a 215g hybrid. It should feed well and have enough room in a rem box to seat them out a little. I'll bet it could run it at 3000 fps. My wsm will do 2850.
Bb
Ross,
Your 7mm version sounds interesting. I had a lrm and while the long neck looked good i thought it could have been a bit shorter for mor case capacity. I wonder if I could use
Your version and buy lrm brass for it. Neck them up to 308 and then back down to 7mm where you want a false shoulder and fire form.
The 28 nosler looks good but $3 brass that you can't find doesn't.
Bb