Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting .338 RUM vs..338 Norma Help me custom build....

Here is the situation....

I've got a trued and faced Rem 700 LA back at my smith. The first tube a Brux 7wby, didn't meet the accuracy expectations. So I have the option of having him re-work the 7wby tube or re-barrel to a new cartridge (barrel my cost, labor picked up by my smith) fair enough. I am ready to ditch the 7wby as my Tikka T3 superlight in 30-06 weighs less, shoots better and delivers more energy on Target out to 700 yds or so, so I need something "different"...

I was ready to go with a .338 RUM, then my smith said, "have you looked at a .338 Norma?" And I got stuck...

So the .338 RUM has the same bolt face (.535") so I could screw my 7wby tube back on if I wanted to burn up the rest of my ammo. Of course the RUM brass, dies, and gauges are readily available, and I suspect that there is a greater chance of finding .338 RUM factory ammo in places like AK and Africa. Can anyone verify that?

The .338 Norma seems to have some very hard to beat long distance credentials. About 75-100 fps advantage in the 225-250 gr range. Better accuracy potential, but as of today still relatively obscure.

I am going to handload, so I think I can find all the pieces either way. It's just a matter of does the potential availability of .338 RUM factory ammo, outweigh the ballistic advantages of the .338 Norma?

This is a long range hunting build, for elk, big African plains game, and brown bears.

Thoughts?

If you want big, I'd roll a 340 Weatherby. As I am now older and less inclined to have the snot knocked out of me, I'd barrel it in 7 rem with a 9 twist and run big bergers out of a 25" tube.

What kind of stock are you running and what weight overall do you have in mind?

Might want to do some more checking on your 338 norma advantage.

338 edge - 338/300rum

+1 on the .338 edge.

Tony.

Definitely no flies on the 338 RUM. Accuracy is usually sterling (as is the 338 EDGE). Factory ammo is available for the RUM and if Africa is on the menu, the EDGE might present a problem with brass not properly headstamped. Another consideration is that the RUM is short enough to function as a repeater with a factory mag box. The EDGE will require an extended mag box to function as a repeater.
Having said that, the EDGE will offer a velocity advantage, especially with 300 gr bullets. The Norma is relatively new, so components might be a little harder to find. If it were me, I would stick with the 338 RUM or look at the EDGE.

How about the 338 Campfire?

338 edge

I jyust scanned the thread, but in MY experience, it's NOT as simple as putting on a new tube with the .338 RUM. I had a factory 7 mm Mag and converted to 300 Ultra. It's been to 3 gunsmiths trying to get it working correctly.

Most recently to Wyatt's Rifleworks, with Dave of the magazine box fame. Quite a bit of "massaging" of the action to get it up and running, and I am not certain it's a 100% feeder.

Just my thoughts. I would not bank on it functioning without attention to feed rails and timing.

if you dont mind the added expense of rail work, magazine, follower etc and brass costs the edge would get my vote hands down... you could also roll your 7roy and just snag a 338 RUM.. rechamber to edge if your bored...

cheaper option for your action would be 338/300win.. plenty of nut. use your existing hardware with no rail work etc... mucho cheaper brass. you can rent the reamer and dies can be had.

sounds like fun either way... if you have to buy a reamer and edge dies that could add a good bit also.... JMO

woofer

Thanks a bunch for the thoughts so far. Here is a bit more info that some of you were asking about and a few questions I have.

It's being built on a Bell and Carson Medalist stock. I expect it to feed and function with minor mods I am holding my smith responsible for. The only major mod he mentioned I would need with the Norma was an AR 15 type extractor. He won't build it much under 8 lbs and a minimum #4 tube with a brake.

I haven't looked at the Edge, can someone summarize why its significantly better than the factory 338 RUM.

All my comparisons are from QL. It's the best thing I have for comparing cartridges. I know its not perfect, but its apples to apples as long as you don't mess with the variables. I know an individual gun can be significantly different than what quickload predicts, based on final bore dimensions and throating, but the velocity differences QL spits out generally hold true if they are chambered and barreled with the same intent. The Norma definitely shows some more speed than the RUM. Not sure where the Edge fits in there.

My smith described the .338 Norma is to the .338 RUM as the 6.5 Creedmore is to the .260 Rem. Both the Norma and the Creedmore are really designed to shoot big bullets "better", by using less case capacity and still seating them at the lands and fitting in the mag.

Keep the thoughts coming. At this point I am leaning slightly toward the RUM, but I still have to work through what the Edge has to offer.

The 338 Edge is the 300 RUM case full lenght necked up with no other changes and has about 6 to 8 grains more powder capacity. The Edges is about 100 FPS faster than the Rum with 300 grain bullets

With that info and the possibility or fact that an Edge needs an extended mag - it seems to make less sense to me than the Norma, if I go the wildcat route. They both appear to toss 250 to 300 gr slugs out the end at nearly identical speeds, however the Norma seems to be more purposely designed to optimize the accuracy potential of those long bullets, with no loss of velocity and still fit in a standard mag. I suspect that after you stick a 250 or 265gr TTSX or a 300 VLD to max COL in the Norma and the Edge, they would have nearly the same remaining powder capacity. Even though the Norma starts out with 12 or so grains less of capacity. QL can check that in a few days when I get back home. In the mean time, if anyone is bored and sitting in front of QL, I'd be interested in knowing if my guess is close.

338 RUM. 338 Edge,338 Norma are all excellent rounds, the Edge and RUM will be alot easier to find brass and less expensive. All can be very accurate, I don't believe any one round has a advantage for accuracy,that is all about the rifle and the shooter.My COL is 3.890 on my Edge and it runs 300 SMK's at 2867 comfortably with RL25.

Let me try and clarify what I mean by accuracy potential. It seems that the guys who are building guns for cartridges like the 6.5 Creedmore and the .338 Norma really like what they see. They tend to describe them as "easy" to get to shoot and accurate over a wide range of bullets and powders. Both chamberings are designed to get the heavy match type bullets in the lands and still fit in the mag. This just isn't possible with some of the other cartridges in the same class. For instance I am not sure, but it might not be possible to throat a .338 RUM for a 300 VLD, touching the lands and still get it under max COL. And even if you could it would be throated so short you could never shoot a factory load in it. In contrast a cartridge like the Norma, being throated for the 300 VLD as standard, also allows you to run a wide range of other bullets at the lands or as far off as needed to get it to shoot.

Anyway I am not sure if its just new cartridge hype, or not, but the way the Norma and the Creedmore are configured sure makes sense to me.

Now after all that "over thinking" I am not sure those "advantages" amount to enough in a hunting rig to move away from a standard .338 RUM.

Thanks for the experience and suggestions.

It may not be relavant for you but right now 338 RUM brass is pretty hard to find. If you were comparing it to say a 338 Lapua that might make a difference. Of course compared with 338 NORMA brass it might be simple to get ahold of :-).

The 338 RUM is an excellent hunting round I've loaded for a couple that are easily capable of 1/2 to 3/4 MOA with premium hunting bullets.

I know absolutely nothing about the 338 Norma...............................DJ

Amazing - dj you are right! It appears no one has any .338 RUM brass. Backordered until 1/11/11! (Must be a joke) I can buy 338 Norma brass today from Midway. So much for the theory that the RUM is easier to find brass for....it doesn't appear that way, at least for now.

Why do you think that the Edge requires an extended magazine?
The Edges gets 2800 to 2850 FPS with 300 grain SMK's
I'd go with a 338 Lapua if it were me. Actually I already did.

I use the Seekins Detachable box magazine and I can load to 3.9" overall loaded length and function through the magazine

i stumbled across a armalite ar30 the other day in 338 lapua. fired 18 times. $1100... seems it was a bit much for the guy... you could always just buy a 700 in lapua and go....

the edge is as popular as much for brass availability as it is for a slight improvement over the 338rum, which arrived after the 300 was being necked up to 338...

http://www.defensiveedge.net/338%20edge/338%20edge.htm

plenty of info here... seems to be a good answer for you. JMO

woofer