300RUM questions.

I've recently purchased a Remington Sendero SFII in 300RUM. I'm haveing a Devil of a time geting it to group. My smallest so far is about 1 1/2 inches. I know this is a pretty good group but all my other rifles will group under an inch, most of them under 1/2 inch. Alot have taken several tries with different bullets and powder but I've always managed to get them to shoot.

I'm using 180 grain bullets, Swift Scirroco II's and Hornady SST's (no I haven't tried Noslers yet, but I'm going to) IMR7828 powder, Federal 215 primers and Remington brass. Tried Reloader 25, H1000, IMR4831, H50BMG and Retumbo. So far 7828 seems to give the best groups.

My velocity is running 3270 fps (PACT chrono) and there is little if any signs of too much pressure.

I scanned through the load data for Nosler bullets and found that their most accurate loads run about 3150 fps using 87 grains of 7828.

Which Nosler bullet would be better, the solid base boattails or the AccuBond?

Any tips or ideas are appreciated.

RJ

The only 300RUM I have shot lately was a Remington 700 SPS. I chronographed it for the guy who owns it. He was shooting 95 grains of RL 25 behind the Nosler 180 AccuBond. My Pact chronograph said the average velocity was 3363 fps and the group I shot with it was 3/4 of an inch.

You might try this load. Another guy swears by the same bullet but with 94 grains of RL 25 in a Sendero like yours.

You might want to try the Federal Gold Match primer, GM215M and seat the bullets to the length of your magazine. Remington 700's are good shooters, usually under MOA.
Also, make sure you have the action screwed down to the proper torque
specification. I beleive it is 55-60 inch pounds for the action screws.

JD338

What do your groups look like (group analysis is what I am looking for)?

Is the sendero fully freefloated? How is the crown? (Cotton swab it. If something gets snagged then you have problems).

All my senderos have shot way under MOA so maybe you got a lemon. :x

Kind of ragged 1- 1 1/2 inchers. The shots aren't stringing vertically or horizontally. I think the groups have more to do with the bullets I'm using than anything else.

Yes the barrel is fully floated. The rifle came with an H-S Precision aluminum pillar bedded stock.

The crown is ok, but I may have it redone or find out how to redo it myself.

I did have it out today and shot a 5 shot group that was under an inch, so I am making headway. I did spend about an hour yesterday adjusting the trigger to get rid of creap and over travel. I think part of my problem was a stiff and long trigger pull.

I'm mostly looking for a bullet that can take the brutal punishment that this caliber can give and still be as acccurate as my other rifles. The last load combination I shot is quite capable of killing elk but I'm an accuracy nut so I keep on trying.

RJ

Sounds like you're on your way!

Let us know when you get there.!

BTW

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ ... ING+CUTTER

Try the 200 grain AccuBond.

Try Sierra's 200 grain SPBT Gameking, and the 200 & 220 grain Matchkings. Hate to say that on Nosler's forum, but Sierra does build an accurate bullet and they may work well for you.

Try Retumbo and Remington 9.5 magnum primers.

The .300 RUM is a tough one to handle for me - my rifle and ammo are pretty good, but I may not be enough of a rifleman to deal with the recoil and shoot it as accurately as I can my smaller cartridges...

Regards, Guy

LIke Guy said, Sierra makes very accurate bullets. I would first try 200g AB. Then 210g VLD. Then I would opt for one of sierras 200-220g SMK's. I used H-1000 more then anything, but Retumbo was also great for me. I used Fed 215 primers. If your rifle wont shoot with any of the above bullets/powder then I would bet money somethings not right with your rifle.....

Yup...what they said. A proven accurate bullet always is a good gauge to go by. Just do not use the MK's for hunting. :wink:

I had a 300 rum in the LSS LH model. I sold it due to recoil. I started getting a twitch in my left eye and it would actually wake me! I was using H870 with federal match magnum primers and Rem brass. I tried all bullets, x bullets, grand slams, sst's, partiton, and the one that worked was sierra pro hunter 180gr. The x bullets were the worst groups and the worst fouling!

The one bull moose I did get to shoot was at about 135 yards and he actually rocked when I hit him. So my wife says, I couldn't see anything but horizon! She said he exhaled hard and swayed about a foot or so. He went about ten steps, I shot again and that's where he fell. It was a double lung shot and there was actually lung tissue on a poplar tree behind him! We ended up with 720 lbs of meat so we figure he was about 1300 lbs.

Awesome gun and caliber but too much for me.

In 1999, I killed a bull elk at 304 yds. using a Tikka in 30-06. The bull was coming off a knob and I knew that he had a good chance of disappearing in the folds of land between my position the herd, so I took the shot and made three hits out of three. The bull swayed and staggered on the first two hits, so I kept on firing until he went down. Gosh, I figured that I was at the limit of my 180gr. GrandSlam 30-06 bullets, so I bought a Browning Stainless stalker in 300RUM. I could handle the recoil, but figured that in a hasty shot, I could really open up my face with the scope lens bell, should I not mount the rifle just right to my shoulder. With this in mind, I had a brake installed on the 26" barrel, which really hung alot out front. It was then that my troubles began as I tried to work up a load that shot as least as well as every other deer rifle that I have ever owned. I want 1" groups at 100 yd., minimum. This shooting off a benched sled. I figured, and still do, that if the bore is in good shape, cleaned properly and hand loads are carefully worked up, then the rifle should hold one inch groups. I wanted the 300RUM to have an MV at least 200fps faster at the muzzle. If I could not attain that, then of what use is the 300RUM?
Bullets that I tried: Bear Claw, Swift Scirroco, GrandSlam, Nosler Part. and Hornady. All 180 gr. I used three different brands of primer. Two different brands of new cases. I tried IMR7826, RL25 and MagPro! Okay, again, I am not new to hand loading and have been doing it for over 30 years. My best groups were like the original poster's, 1 1/2" with at least one flyer in five rounds. Those flyers drove me nuts! After hours on the internet swapping experiences, I was informed by other 300RUM shooters that if I was not willing to put up with the 300RUM finickiness, then the 300RUM was not for me. One guy said that everyone should not own a Jaguar!! I put over 800 rounds through the Browning 300RUM. I was close to where a lot of 300RUM fanciers claimed that accuracy in the barrel drops off! The results were far from stellar and never came up to what I could consistantly produce with my hand loads in five other deer rifles.............I sold that turkey.