Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Is Ruger killing the 300 & 338 RCM's?

I actually think the RCM's are decent cartridges. Sure, they are just a re-vamped '06 as far as capacity and performance are concerned but they do fit and function well in a short action.
I had a 338 RCM briefly and sort of liked it except for some flaws with the rifle itself. I had to add an inch and a quarter to the stock to get a reasonable length of pull and spend two evenings making the forarm less ugly (I went with a schnabel and it looked pretty good). The rifle was very accurate and not too bad to shoot with the lengthened stock. Why on earth they supplied the rifle with such super-high rings is a mystery to me. I guess for the guys who wanted to mount a 50mm scope on their lightweight carbine. Also, the bolt handle was ridiculously thin.
So the rifle was, in some respects, a turkey. The cartridge worked just fine though.
I like the 300 RCM better than the WSM just as I like the SAUM better. With the WSM, it was hate at first sight. I had reamer before I could get brass and had some of the first brass in the country then wondered why I had bought both.
Ultimately, I think the main failing with the RCM's is not with the cartridges but with the rifles. Ruger really needs to take a step back and look at some of their earlier offerings before they produce something too stupid. They have produced a few nice rifles but not too frequently lately. GD

Bill, I like the SAUM's better than the WSM's as well... hence, there was no need for the RCM's except Ruger's intransigence.

Whatever... in the real world (as opposed to Nerdvana) they're the same.

According to QL they're more capacious than the .300 SAUM you prefer.
74 to 75gr.
And almost exactly split the difference between the -06 and the WSM.

And marketed as magnums with magnum performance from a short barrel. I read their adds too.
So in the real "real world" they're bigger and faster than the -06 despite your strenuous objections to the contrary.

Ever worked with one?

I thought not... one glance at Hogdon's website and pressure data tells your QL is nice guess work.

180 GR. HDY SP Hodgdon H4350 .308" 2.820" 56.4 2648 50,700 PSI 60.0C 2826 62,600 PSI

Ever done math?

Ever heard of the concept that case capacity wins when pressures are equal?

I thought not.

Either way, they were marketed as magnums utilizing a short barrel and the folks who didn't beat a path to their door to embrace this concept tells me that the market for short barreled magnums is pretty thin.

You need to get into the real world...

You win Brad, enjoy.

Here is the Hornady press release


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Hornady Introduces .300 and .338 RCM (Ruger Compact Magnum)

Hornady Press Release



Illustration courtesy of Hornady Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Hornady�s New Ruger Compact Magnums are Extreme Cartridges for Extreme Hunting

Hornady knows that hunting elk, bighorn, brown bear, musk ox and African game can land you in some fairly extreme environments. And until now, hunters have used gear that hasn�t evolved much in the past 100 years.

The paradigm has shifted. Hornady�s new Ruger Compact Magnum cartridges afford hunters a rifle/cartridge combination that will allow them to take their hunting to new levels of performance.

Based on the beltless 375 Ruger case, the 300 and 338 Ruger Compact Magnums match 300 and 338 Win Mag performance. The kicker is the RCMs do it in a well-balanced quick-handling rifle.

Anyone who has spent much time in the woods with a long barreled rifle knows they can be ungainly, heavy, and not too quick inthe hand. But shorten the rifle a few inches and you immediately feel the difference. Plus, a shorter barrel is more rigid, making the gun stronger and more accurate.

To that end, Ruger� has made a number of modifications to the M77� Hawkeye� to create the perfect mate to the new RCM Cartidges. These new rifles are built around Ruger�s rock solid short action and feature 20" barrels, crisp LC6 triggers and updated stock dimensions to improve handling. All in a compact, fast-handling package that tips the scale at just over 6.5 lbs.

� Exceeds 300 & 338 Win Mag performance from a compact 20" barrel
� Optimized propellants and case geometry deliver more velocity with 10-15% less powder
� Longer barrel life
� Less recoil
� Less muzzle blast
� Superior temperature stability from -15�F to 140�F
� Extreme cartridges for extreme hunting!

Magnum performance in a package you don�t need a gun bearer to carry!

Any veteran big game hunter will tell you the 30-06 and 300 Winchester Magnum are the standards by which other cartridges in the class are judged. And the 300 Win Mag is a great cartridge. But to be efficient, it requires a 24" barrel - a 26" barrel is better.

Hornady�s new 300 Ruger Compact Magnum, available in 150, 165 and 180 grain offerings, deliver 300 Win Mag level performance, but do it in a much shorter package. The new 338 RCM, in 200 gr SST and 225 grSST, provides a compact, quick-handling alternative to the 338 Win Mag.

The new Ruger Compact Magnums deliver this performance using 10-15% less propellant than other magnums. This means longer barrel life. The new RCMs also produce less recoil and muzzle blast due to smaller propellant payload, and best of all, the efficient case geometry delivers exceptional velocities from 20" barrels. Hornady�s propellant technology allows for VERY little temperature sensitivity from -15�F to 140�F.

Brad still wins because he's used one.

How many 'experienced' handloaders believe this CROCK? !!!

IMO - If HALF of that manure was true - Ruger would NOT be dropping them..



edited to add:

I have an Oehler 33, I'll GLADLY graph ANYONE'S RCM. I'd REALLY like to see it.

True or not is not why they are dropping them. Nasqam is correct people were not interested in a 20" barrel magnum. Lack of sales is the reason they are being dropped. Handgun loaders aren't even a drop in the bucket of the gun buying public, most handloaders are 59 years old or older.

It's a magnum in name only.

No handloader can duplicate the factory ammo velocities that use a proprietary powder... just like no handloader can duplicate those same proprietary "High Energy" loads available for the 30-06, 308, et al.

If anyone thinks two grains more H4350 than a 30-06 to push a 180 at 2,825 from the 300 RCM is a Magnum, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for them.

A 30-06 will get to 2,800+ loaded to the same pressure as the RCM with 58.0 H4350.

Two grains and less than 25 fps between them... good grief, IT'S A MAGNUM!

YEAH buddy. THAT IS my point!!


jwp - My offer of graphing is NOT limited to handloads!!

The wages of hype is an early death.

And they dropped an eminently useful .338 Federal to flog their .338 RCM too.

1B

And that's what appealed to me about the RCM. '06 performance on a SA. I never bought one though.

jwall, I understood... I wasn't responding to you, just using the quick reply feature.

And my point was the 300 SAUM was already available... Ruger just didn't want to pay into the Jamison collection agency.

I not only have a chromo but I also have an Ohler personal ballistics lab

Do you guys realize that I am not commenting on the performance of the cartridges one way or the other, only on how they were marketed to the public.

It certainly appears that the public was not impressed with "magnum performance" in a 20" barrel and if they got the speeds claimed in a 20" or reasonably close then they were/are rather amazing. But I am like the majority of the buy public not interested in a 20" barreled rifle shooting that high of pressure as the noise would be too much because of the high exit pressure

Agreed.