Comments on: Ruger M77 Hawkeye/.300 RCM

By: Dave Trainmore

Dave Trainmore — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 19:31:05 +0000

To Admin. I have done up some wildcats on the big 375 Ruger case with a five die set of Hornady custom shop items that bring down the basic brass in std. cal. steps to 8mm. After fighting with a Rem 6mmBR in one of my M-98′s, I figured to steal a march on the crowd and make up a 1.75″ long case. This uses my taper and a crude mockup gives 48.5grs. H2O including the miniscus. This is a 270 and closely follows the 277 Titus. My wildcats ape the 8x68S Schuler, and so I’m hoping to get them to feed really slick, out of a M-98 Mauser magazine. The stubby .270 has the same taper, and 16deg. shoulders, plus a .300+” neck length. As to its need, consider this; The Ruger 300 Compact Magnum case as a parent, gives the ability to retrofit into just about any rimless or rimmed bolt face. At .532″ it would even work in a Gawdawful SMLE, down under. Add Swedes, and Arisakas with oversized case heads and I think you will see my point. At least I’m giving my G.S. a fighting chance to get one of these stubby brats to feed reliably enough to make a real coyote eliminator. Ruger plays loose with its guide rails to make the big 375 Case work. At the quarter inch bore, a 60 gr. bullet will make 3700fps+ vis a vie an online Powley computer. All of the 270-6.5-250 bullets hover around 1850 foot lbs, or maybe up to 2200 foot lbs, with a few selected bullet weights. My first will be a 1 in 14 twist rebore with a 100-110 gr. 277 spitzer. Like the Titus, it’s between the 250 Sav. and the 300 Sav. capacities. Somewhere below .30 cal. the sharp bottlenecks should give way to a streamlined venturi, to get the most push up the barrel. Powder charges would be more than the Rem 6mm BR, but not so much as to be a barrel burner. In closing, these have the same split personalities as the Rem vs. Norma BR’s. If you chamber a 1 in 8, 270, then by throating and seating to the base of the neck, you will nudge 2300fps, with a moly coated 170gr. R.N. This is still only about 11 lbs. of free recoil in an 8 lb. rifle. Depending on action ages and strengths, you are right in the groove with the classic 6.5mm Swedes, Mannlichers, and the 7mm Mausers. With the factories penchant for chambering to jSAAMI’s max specs., claw extractors can push the case away from that side. This slightly oversized case head can be fitted into the bolt face as a magnum, and then the bolt face will hold the cartridge true to the chamber, as even the Mauser claw won’t push it away. IMO, the Ruger cases, long and short, are the best bet for new wildcats, as long as you design something that will feed reliably. Thx, Dave T.

By: admin

admin — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:18:41 +0000

I have not chronographed the .300 RCM myself. From various reports, though, it will come very close to a .300 Winchester, unless the Winchester is loaded quite hot and shot through a 26″ barrel. It should exceed the performance of the .300 WSM, if only by a bit.

From my field experience, it has more than enough power for any of my hunting applications. It’s really hard to envision a scenario in which the RCM wasn’t enough, but the Win Mag was. And remember, you’re getting this power from a 20″ barrel.

By: Dudley Nicol

Dudley Nicol — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 04:03:46 +0000

What sort of velocities did you achieve with the 150 grain 308 projectiles and how do they compare with the wsm?

By: travis

travis — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 20:45:09 +0000

Thank you for your help! I put one on order today!

By: admin

admin — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:37:49 +0000

Hi, Travis -

Thanks for visiting our site. I didn’t find the recoil objectionable at all. It’s noticeably milder than my .300 Weatherby.

In a hunting rifle, my only concern about recoil is whether I’m going to get hit in the eye by the scope. There was never any fear of that with this rifle.

If I were choosing between a .270 and the .300 RCM, I’d go with the .300 in a heartbeat.

By: travis

travis — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:39:24 +0000

I’m looking into buying a No.1 International when i get home from my current deployment. I’m torn between calibers. I dont have a .270 and figured it would be nice to have one, but i would also like to have a magnum cartridge for larger game. My question was geared towards recoil of the .300 RCM in a gun as light as a number 1. is it manageable or would it be outlandish and make shooting the rifle more of a chore then a pleasure?

By: admin

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:15:51 +0000

Hi, Zed –

I moved your comment into this section as it seemed more relevant here.

Your question was interesting enough to warrant a phone call to a contact of mine at Ruger. He says that there aren’t any current plans for such a cartridge, but he agrees that it might be an interesting project.

Personally, I think the real win would be if Ruger could design such a cartridge that would also work in a stock AR-15 lower. Now THAT would have some real appeal!

Thanks for the question…please visit often.

By: zedtexrifleman

zedtexrifleman — Tue, 11 May 2010 01:44:12 +0000

Any possibility of Ruger & Hornday developing a 270 RCM, since all WSM cartridges are known for their feeding problems & the RCM cartridges aren’t?