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RCM .300, .338, etc.

Alan RushingAlan Rushing Member Posts: 9,002 ✭✭
edited April 2012 in Ask the Experts
Who here has worked with this brass family or configuration with these two or for the developement of other interesting chamberings?

Where are they at and what is happening as far as Improving or Modifying the cases to the standard configuration?

How are they working out? What feedback is there? [?] [?] [?]

Nononsense - thank you for sharing your information, experiences, thoughts and opinions. As always you hit the nail on the head with everything; appreciated very much! [^]

Comments

  • nononsensenononsense Member Posts: 10,928 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Alan Rushing,

    Hornady's press release regarding these two cartridges:

    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, Rugerr has made a number of modifications to the M77r Hawkeyer 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.

    Within minutes of receiving new brass for these cartridges, thousands of wildcatters, hell-bent on their 15 minutes of fame, had necked these cases up and down within the physical limits of the cases. They were also 'improved' with some shoulder angle changes. Unfortunately, the cartridges are so ho-hum in performance that the general public has chosen to literally ignore the factory offerings. The wildcatters are still interested but the demand is weak in general.

    I personally like the case design since it is exactly what works in a magazine without the need of cutting out triangles in the box to let the fatter WSM/RSAUM feed properly. The feeding geometry is much simpler than with the WSM/RSAUM cartridges. These cases are very nearly the 6.5mm Remington Magnum without the belt. One drawback is typical softness of the Hornady cases. This brass could be so much more if they would harden the brass properly and then anneal the neck. God knows they're charging enough per case to make the better brass and still have a sizable profit...

    The neck on the .300 RCM is one caliber in length which is just right but the designers decided to shorten the .338 RCM case which lessens the powder capacity of the larger caliber. I guess they probably wanted to be concerned for all those 'woods hunters' who believe that all shots occur within 100 yards and that short barrels are the best thing since sliced bread.

    On the positive side, I know that one rifle was conceived for the .300 RCM to be used as an African plains game rifle. The owner harvested 5 head of game with six shots. The cartridges were handloaded with Barnes TTSX bullets. The longest shot was a pinch over 300 yards.

    I found that necking down the .300 RCM to 7mm and 6.5mm yielded a much better performance for the type of shooting that I do. But the case softness even limits these with the lesser number of reloads. At nearly $1.00/case, this is unacceptable when compared to other manufacturers. If the case quality was better, closer to Lapua, I would use a lot more of their brass but this won't occur given Hornady's plan.

    Best.
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