338 RCM or 358/6.5 PRC

[Cold Trigger Finger]

 So. I'm getting a hankering for another carbine. But this one needs to have some Thump to it.
 I want a 338 - 375 cal bullet , at least 225 gr going at least 2650 fps. From a 16.5 " barrel.
 Built on a stainless Ruger M77 Mk2 or Hawkeye action.

[jvw2008]

Sounds like a handy beast to pack along with you.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

 That's the thing, my wife's Ruger Compact in 308 is the easiest thing in the world to have with. Trucks , 4 whlr , snowmachine or just packin it.
 Except it's a 30 caliber . I HATE 30 CALIBER RIFLES !!!  So , I don't take it with.
 Plus , it's not really a thumper.

[jvw2008]

What weight would this rifle be. Thinking about the recoil.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

With scope, around 8 lbs. Ide put a brake on it.
 The Ruger Frontier rifle in 358 Winchester was my first choice. But of course Ruger stopped making them.

[Denver Steve]

Love my 338 rcm. 20" barrel. Stainless Ruger Hawkeye. Should be able to get the speeds you want with 225's in a 16.5" barrel. Reloder 16 or 26 will get you there. They will be a bit compressed. Speer has reload data up to 250 grain with modern powders. The only people who do. I emailed hornady they have just dropped the cartridge. I told the guy who emailed me to rename it a 338 prc because that's actually what it is.

I'm have ran the 265 accubond long range up to 2550fps. Settled for 2500. It's loaded as long as I can go and it's pretty compressed and a stout load to say the least. That massive, fairly high BC bullet does not slow down though. Literally only loses 110fps at 100 yards while still maintaining almost 3400 ft/lbs.

A 225 grain partition would be a very intimidating round. I am going to pick up some 250 grain round nose interlocks to play around with as well. It shoots the old 225 interlocks extremely well.

I got impressive speed with reloder 16 but the accuracy was with reloder 26. Way more compressed and I had to buy a different seating stem so I didn't wreck the bullets trying to seat them. Will be trying out some reloder 23 at some point as well down the road. Have had good luck with it in the creedmoor with the 160's.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

I found a used Frontier rifle on Guns America in 358 Winchester. But the guy wants $1800.00 for it .
 If I can find a stainless 338 RCM , I'll get it and chop the barrel.
 I have a 26" barreled 338 Winchester mag. And I really like it.  But if the barrel is shortened to 20" it only gives 2500+ with a 250 gr. I had a Ruger Stainless that I traded into years ago . Someone had done that to it.
 I don't need to burn over 70 gr of powder to get 35 Whelen ballistics. That rifle was somewhat unpleasantly loud.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

 So, that brings up a question. Can 338 RCM brass be made from PRC brass ?

[Denver Steve]

Same parent case, so it should be able to be. 6.5 prc should be able to be necked up and need a slight trim. The 338rcm is basically just a necked up 6.5 prc.

If you used a 300prc or 375 Ruger case it would be alot of work. Be like turning a 30-06 case into a 338 federal.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

 Steve; did you use a drop tube when you charged the cases with Rl26 ?
 

[Cold Trigger Finger]

As to recoil. Since have mostly shot big rifles , 338 Win up to 500 A-Sq  but mostly 338 up to 458 Win. When I got my 6.5 Cm lack of recoil  changed how I shot. But. Torching off my Kimber Montana 338 with Fed High Energy 250 gr Partitions that I've chronographed at 2810 fps from 24 " barrels . And the Kimber has a 26" . It is a quite lively recoil !
 Recoil is subjective. For the job this rifle will have. Recoil isn't an issue as it will mainly be shot from standing , kneeling or sitting .

[Denver Steve]

Steve; did you use a drop tube when you charged the cases with Rl26 ?

I tried with a drop tube and without. And tried the electric tooth brush as well. Slow pour out of the pan with a drop tube works pretty good. It's just a harder crunch when seating the bullet if you get the powder packed in there.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

I checked out Speed Reloading Data online. It's Amazing how much of a bump up some of the new powders give.
 I was blown away by the 35 Whelen. Over 2700 fps with a 250 gr bullet.  Historically the 35 Whelen has produced 2500 fps for full power.

[DHuffman]

I checked out Speed Reloading Data online. It's Amazing how much of a bump up some of the new powders give.
 I was blown away by the 35 Whelen. Over 2700 fps with a 250 gr bullet.  Historically the 35 Whelen has produced 2500 fps for full power.

I agree and I doubt you'd have a problem with it but I think in some the guys who are shooting long strings, getting them hot or really pushing for the most fps are finding them hard on barrels.

In a 33 or 35 cartridge it's probably not near as big of deal compared to the 6 & 6.5s

[jvw2008]

"Speed kills"regardless of the bore size. Push a 308 up into the 3000 fps range and the supposed 5000 round barrel life disappears.