Wandered past a dealer today, after Christmas shopping. See a Dakota M10 in his case, and the price made me do a double take. Looked at it, and quickly said I'll take it.
It's a .300 RUM, with 28" medium weight barrel. Never have seen a RUM in the M10 previously, nor a 28" barrel. I have seen what one dealer called, a "Magnum 10" which had a medium weight 26" barrel. The action, 30mm rings, and grip cap are case colored. The wood I think is slightly upgraded over standard; not super-fancy but still nice looking.
It came with a Leupold LPS 3.5-14x52 scope, which I believe was a premium thing back in the day. The rifle is like new, no scratches or handling marks. Guessing its affluent 1st owner shot it once, and decided it kicked too hard.
I have a Montana Rifle Co. 1999 in the .300 RUM, and it shoots well, so I am all set for supplies and dies. Did not expect to come home with a Model 10 today. I'm pretty stoked
Sounds like a great rifle. Post some pics when you can. It wouldn’t surprise me if yours is a 1 of 1 production. I also purchased a model 10 about a month ago. It’s a plain blue 270 with pretty fair wood. Congrats on your new rifle.
Last edited by 1911a1; 12/25/24.
Figures don't lie, But Liars figure Assumption is the mother of mistakes
There very nice rifles. I have one in 6.5x55 and am seriously considering another in 243 but I need to sell a couple first. Congrats on your Christmas present.
The chambering might have devalued it a bit to most buyers
Recoil is not trivial, but I have a Montana Rifle Co 1999 in the .300 RUM, and it is super-accurate. This one has a heavier barrel than most M10s, so I don't think it will be terrible to shoot. Of course, like all single shots, you can seat the bullet any way you want without regards to Cartridge OAL
Shot the Dakota M10 .300 RUM; the load was 87gr of Reloader 26 under 180gr Accubonds sparked by CCI250s. which has been a winner for me in my other RUM, a Montana Rifle Co M1999. Velocities averaged around 3260 fps, which is not slow, but could possibly be increased. I tried seating bullets .005", .025". and .045" off the lands, and they all shot about the same. Velocities were very consistent. I'd previously used Federal 215Ms in the RUM, but they seem soft, and I decided to try the CCI, - which worked fine. The brass was new Norma cases; Now that I have some fireformed cases I hope accuracy tightens up a bit.
Recoil is, ahem, not trivial 😊The M10 weighs 9lbs 10 oz as shown. When I did my part, 🤣the rifle would put 3 in an inch at 100 yards. I suspect it will do better with some fine-tuning of loads (and more practice on my part). So it shoots quite satisfactorily. Am I going to sell all the Rugers and buy Dakotas? No. 🙂 In particular, I noticed the M10 has only an extractor, it does not eject cases, which could slow things down in an emergency. I did scope the bore, and the Dakota has a well made barrel, no reamer marks, and smooth well formed rifling. If it was fired, it wasn't much.
Damn nice Tex, Merry Christmas to you man, dang, what a sweet rig, BTW, if you choose, go to Hodgdons load data on the web, they have a chit-ton of start load data for the 300 RUM, iirc, IMR-7828, H-4831, H-1000 etc, etc, put up those loads for a buddy years ago, they'll easily dump any game animal and not slap you silly in the process, good luck and enjoy that beauty.
Damn nice Tex, Merry Christmas to you man, dang, what a sweet rig, BTW, if you choose, go to Hodgdons load data on the web, they have a chit-ton of start load data for the 300 RUM, iirc, IMR-7828, H-4831, H-1000 etc, etc, put up those loads for a buddy years ago, they'll easily dump any game animal and not slap you silly in the process, good luck and enjoy that beauty.
Merry Christmas back at you! I've picked up some Magpro and Retumbo for trying different loads, so we'll see how they work. I can see the Dakota making a fine choice for Red Deer, which is kind of a bucket list item.
Friend with a .300 RUM swears by the 165 TTSX at warp speed. I don’t know what load. Seems he has someone load his ammo. Those kinda guys may not know load data.
I have seen the effect on WT’s. Pretty impressive.
I would think lighter bullets may have less recoil. Your 28” barrel may help somewhat with blast and noise. It’s still a cannon.
Damn nice Tex, Merry Christmas to you man, dang, what a sweet rig, BTW, if you choose, go to Hodgdons load data on the web, they have a chit-ton of start load data for the 300 RUM, iirc, IMR-7828, H-4831, H-1000 etc, etc, put up those loads for a buddy years ago, they'll easily dump any game animal and not slap you silly in the process, good luck and enjoy that beauty.
Merry Christmas back at you! I've picked up some Magpro and Retumbo for trying different loads, so we'll see how they work. I can see the Dakota making a fine choice for Red Deer, which is kind of a bucket list item.
Thanks Tex, or a big old Texas Axis buck! steaks and loin are prime, the ground makes the best burgers I've ever had, grilled onions and jalapenos, with hard extra sharp cheddar slices and hot mustard with cold beer is out of this galaxy!
Friend with a .300 RUM swears by the 165 TTSX at warp speed. I don’t know what load. Seems he has someone load his ammo. Those kinda guys may not know load data.
I have seen the effect on WT’s. Pretty impressive.
I would think lighter bullets may have less recoil. Your 28” barrel may help somewhat with blast and noise. It’s still a cannon.
DF
Pretty sure I can push 180s close to 3400, but if they go 3300 with sub-MOA accuracy, that's fine with me. Recoil isn't terrible, and I can do 20 shots off the bench in session without getting too flinch-y Once an accurate load with a good bullet if found, that should do it for me. Not sure what barrel life is on a RUM; my Montana RUM has probably 150 through it. Both will get used sparingly.
Thanks Tex, or a big old Texas Axis buck! steaks and loin are prime, the ground makes the best burgers I've ever had, grilled onions and jalapenos, with hard extra sharp cheddar slices and hot mustard with cold beer is out of this galaxy!
I did have one axis buck on camera a couple weeks ago, he's not a shooter, so hopefully the neighbors let him go until next year. Also an axis doe & fawn.
Thanks Tex, or a big old Texas Axis buck! steaks and loin are prime, the ground makes the best burgers I've ever had, grilled onions and jalapenos, with hard extra sharp cheddar slices and hot mustard with cold beer is out of this galaxy!
I did have one axis buck on camera a couple weeks ago, he's not a shooter, so hopefully the neighbors let him go until next year. Also an axis doe & fawn.
Hope so Tex, congrats again buddy, gotta be a beautiful rifle.