Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Winchester 70 SS .300 Ultramag

I know a lot of guys think it's overkill for a .30 caliber, but its an impressive round once you get used to it. We'll see if its around in another 10 years. I kinda doubt that there will be much ammo loaded for it. Sadly, it doesn't really seem that anything that's came along in the last 30 years or so puts down roots.
I read today that the average age of all American hunters is actually increasing by a year every single year and this is probably why.

One of my mentors once told me that over kill was when you walked up on your recently deceased critter and then...emptied your rifle into it.

Aside from that, he/I don't much believe in the overkill concept...grin

Dober

Dober.. I've gotta My 80 rounds of .300 on ground squirrels this spring might have been a little overkill, but how the hell else am I gonna be sure I can still shoot the gun. Still don't know for sure. Don't get to shoot that many Elk and they're the ones that will put me to the test.

Your mentor sounds a little like mine. God bless him.

I'm wondering what a 7mm Mashburn Super is? I bet I should know, but I don't!

I'm looking it up!

pm me your email addy and I'll send you info

Dober

Good one, Dober! I'm going to have to try to remember that one!

The black Winchester plastic stock ("Shadow" series with checkering) hurts even in 243.

Get a new stock with a good pad, and it'll make all the difference.

This gun is a CRF model, but I bet its the same type stock. I think I'm going to order a couple of McMillian Edges.

Tell him to sell the rifle and buy a range finder instead. There is just no need for that kind of calibre in a hunting rifle! The only rifles of that type that i have seen shot accurately enough to justify their existance were so heavy and cumbersome, that nobody was walking around hunting with them. Recoil is in excess of 30 foot pounds in a .300 RUM rifle light enough to carry around. Now some folks can learn to tolerate that level of recoil, but just about nobody can tolerate that amount of recoil and shoot acceptably accurately to utilise the long range ballistics. It is just compltely unnecessary within a thousand yards or so, and shooting those kinds of distances isn't hunting, it is ballistic ma$turbation.

I don't think he's going to get rid of it. None of my buddies like selling guns. Ballistics are a little better than the .300 Weatherby and I actually think that once you get used to it, it's not a big deal. The sighting in part is really the only thing that takes a little bit of a toll. We don't take 1000 yard shots for sure. Hunting deer isn't really why we bought them, but I've taken 5 or so with mine. I don't know many guns that would even allow a dumb shot like 1000 yards on a deer. I do know that making a 350-375 yard shot with the gun is easy given the right setting. I agree that the guns can be a little heavy and for that reason I don't prefer mine to other guns, but or deer and seasons vary a lot with regards to what you might find when you're hunting. With our hills and canyons sometimes its nice to have the added confidence that during a tough year you can take that gun and do it if you need to.

If i wanted to make 350 yard shots, i'd use a .308! My 6.5x.284 is plenty adequate far out beyond where i would ever consider shooting. If you have a look at the ballistics and retained energy figures, the 300 RUM just can't be justified short of 1000 yards. In fact, the little 300 WSM is perfectly adequate to 1000 yards from a ballistic perspective. Consider that for a 500 yard shot, the hold over differnce between a 300 WSM and the RUM is going to be a scant 6 inches in average - about 38" for the WSM to 32" for the RUM (for an average 180 gr bullet) - which is essentially completely practically insignificant. In order to achieve that 6" of reduced drop, you will have a rifle a few inches longer, more than a pound heavier, and generating more than 50% more recoil. It is an exercise in stupidity!

With modern rangefinding equipment, calibres like the RUM are just simply now obsolete for any hunting purpose. I cannot entertain any hunting scenario where the RUM could justify its existance. They are already dinosaurs! Sell the bl00dy thing while there is still a market for them.

Ok, I'll keep mine and keep shooting it. I'll also keep my obsolete 7 WSM and my obsolete .257 Weatherby too and for the 6.5x284's sake the obsolete .284 too. Somehow I don't think I'll have any trouble selling any of them for twice what I paid for them in 10 years. Since mine doesn't seem to bug my shoulder anymore than a 6.5lb 30-06 I'm good.

Yes, but i assume you can shoot the 30-06, 7WSM, 257 WM and .284 straight.

As well as the Ultramag. Only time the Ultramag failed me was on a really big boar at about 20 yards. I rushed the shot and instead of a shoulder or just in front I shot it through the ribs. He went a ways before we recovered him and it took a few hours to find him. It was a surprise when he didn't just drop.

The ultramag doesn't feel a lot different to me than the 7WSM because the 7 is lighter.

I thinks I got a bit in common with this gent. The ultra is hell on whiteys at 50 yards.

Dober and BWalker,
Agreed. There is no such thing as over dead. Almost dead, yeah, that's something else. Likely with a 6.5x284 on Elk at 300yds if the bull takes a 1/4 step while you're deciding when to finish up tightening the trigger. Likely with a .300 Win, .300 Roy or .300 UM too, but a little less so. That's what these guns are for.