Remington's Model 700 CDL Classic Deluxe Part II

I like the word “archetypical”. It sounds like a word I would have made up for my middle school Spanish class, a class taught by the mysterious, and quite attractive, Profesora Nocella. Highly motivated to stay in her classroom, but unable to master those pesky double “L” tongue rolls, I invented my own hybrid language, a subtle blend of English, Spanish, and Esperanto. Unfortunately, the end came swiftly, just two weeks into the semester, when I was found still pronouncing “llama”, “la-lama” and waiting to turn thirteen. ¿Dónde está la señorita Nocella? I will look for you on Facebook. Meanwhile…

The Remington Model 700 CDL, chambered for the big 300 Remington Ultra Mag round, is a long range thumper; kick, roar and range. However, the only hints of mega thirty power in this example are the gun’s 26″ barrel and high magnification scope. The Elite 6500 4.3x30x50mm was borrowed from a 300 RUM Sendero for this occasion as the CDL shoots the same cartridge, has the same barrel length and generates the same external ballistics as the more specialized Sendero.

Start up and continuing handload costs

The Remington 300 Ultra Mag is not a high strung, narrow application cartridge. Handloading the Ultra Mag is relatively low in cost, from basic target practice loads to what would technically be describe as Fancy Shmansy. Dies from Hornady, RCBS or Redding are priced between $25 and $35.  Brass from Nosler, Federal and Remington can be found for $1.10 – $1.40 per. Powder cost for performance loads account for approximately 30 cents per round. Throw in 5 cents for a primer and the sub total is $1.45 to $1.75 per round pre bullet du jour…. That’s French you know… or is it?

Bullets pictured above, 125 grains to 200 grains in weight, cover a price range from 20 cents per bullet to $1.60 per bullet. The overwhelming majority fall into the 45 cent range. Brass has a good life expectancy with this round, so ten reloads would not be excessive. That brings brass cost to 11 cents to 14 cents per reload; $13 per box of twenty at the low end and $42 for premium loads with  $18 per box the more typical.

Lots of time spent handloading and shooting

The data that follows is based on handloads developed during the course of this project and earlier data that was reshot and verified; several days of data collection. The 300 Remington Ultra Mag carries a Real Guns™ Barrel Burner Index of 24.7 and it showed in muzzle flash, pressure driven report and barrel heating. The RUM may not be at the ragged edge of a 30 bore, but it definitely qualifies as a hot rod.

The 300 Remington Ultra Mag holds more powder than the 458 Lott, which means a similar amount of gas volume is generated by both cartridges, but the Ultra Mag burns that same amount of powder in approximately half the bore volume and produced twice the muzzle pressure when the bullet leaves the barrel. Combined with a sporter barrel profile, it takes only a handful of shots to bring the barrel temperature from ambient to hands off, but then the Ultra Mag is not intended to be a shoot all day varmint rifle. During range sessions an air compressor pushing low air pressure was used to quicken cool down. In a hunting setting, barrel temp would not be an issue.
 

Warning: Bullet selections are specific, and loads are not valid with substitutions of different bullets of the same weight. Variations in bullet material and length will alter net case capacity,  pressure and velocity results. Primer selection is specific and primer types are not interchangeable. These data represents maximum loads in our firearms and test equipment and may easily be excessive in other applications. All loads should be reduced by 3%,  and developed following safe handloading practices as represented in established reloading manuals produced by component manufacturers. Presentation of these loads does not constitute a solicitation for their use, nor a recommendation.   Cartridge: 300 Remington Ultra Mag   Firearm: Remington Model 700 CDL   Max COL: 3.600″   Bullet Diameter: 0.308″   Primer: CCI 250   Barrel: 26″   Reloading Dies: Hornady   Max case length: 2.850″ (73.50mm)   Group: Distance 100 yards – Three shots

COL and Capacity   Load Data & Performance Bullet Type Bullet Weight C.O.L. Inches Net Grains Water   Powder Charge Grains Muzzle Velocity FPS Muzzle Energy Ft/Lbs Remington PSP 125 3.405 107.79   MagPro 103.0 3568 3534 Remington PSP 125 3.405 107.79   Re25 103.0 3612 3621 Remington AccuTip 125 3.585 106.84   MagPro 103.5 3617 3630 Remington AccuTip 125 3.585 106.84   Re25 102.0 3607 3612 Remington AccuTip 125 3.585 106.84   IMR7828 98.5 3618 3633 Barnes TTSX 130 3.545 103.71   MagPro 100.0 3559 3657 Barnes TTSX 130 3.545 103.71   Re25 98.5 3551 3639 Barnes TTSX 130 3.545 103.71   IMR 7828 95.5 3572 3683 Barnes TTSX 130 3.545 103.71   RS Magnum 103.0 3611 3764 Hornady SP 130 3.520 107.44   MagPro 103.0 3575 3689 Hornady SP 130 3.520 107.44   4000-MR 94.5 3526 3589 Hornady SP 130 3.520 107.44   Re25 102.0 3578 3696 Hornady SP 130 3.520 107.44   IMR7828 98.5 3592 3724 Sierra 135 3.555 106.75   MagPro 102.0 3537 3750 Sierra 135 3.555 106.75   4000-MR 93.5 3483 3636 Sierra 135 3.555 106.75   Re25 101.0 3536 3749 Sierra 135 3.555 106.75   H1000 103.0 3484 3638 Sierra 135 3.555 106.75   IMR7828 97.0 3514 3702 North Fork SS 150 3.600 105.71   MagPro 99.0 3380 3805 North Fork SS 150 3.600 105.71   4000-MR 91.0 3331 3696 North Fork SS 150 3.600 105.71   Re25 97.5 3359 3757 North Fork SS 150 3.600 105.71   RS Magnum 102.0 3389 3824 Winchester PP 150 3.560 106.09   Re25 98.0 3384 3813 Winchester PP 150 3.560 106.09   H1000 100.5 3370 3783 Winchester PP 150 3.560 106.09   IMR 7928 95.0 3413 3879 Winchester PP 150 3.560 106.09   N570 106.5 3461 3990 Barnes TTSX BT 150 3.600 102.40   Re25 95.5 3385 3816 Barnes TTSX BT 150 3.600 102.40   IMR7828 92.0 3390 3828 Barnes TTSX BT 150 3.600 102.40   RS Magnum 99.0 3383 3813 Barnes TTSX BT 150 3.600 102.40   N570 103.5 3448 3960 Hornady BTSP 150 3.575 106.85   Re25 98.5 3386 3819 Hornady BTSP 150 3.575 106.85   H1000 101.0 3363 3766 Hornady BTSP 150 3.575 106.85   RS Magnum 102.5 3390 3828 Hornady BTSP 150 3.575 106.85   N570 107.0 3463 3995 Sierra SPBT 165 3.575 104.58   Re25 95.0 3245 3859 Sierra SPBT 165 3.575 104.58   H1000 98.0 3274 3928 Sierra SPBT 165 3.575 104.58   IMR7828 92.0 3292 3976 Sierra SPBT 165 3.575 104.58   N570 103.5 3362 4140 North Fork SS 165 3.600 104.02   Re25 94.5 3260 3895 North Fork SS 165 3.600 104.02   H1000 97.5 3267 3912 North Fork SS 165 3.600 104.02   IMR7828 92.0 3303 3997 North Fork SS 165 3.600 104.02   N570 103 3354 4122 *Barnes TTSX 168 3.600 100.31   Re25 92.0 3246 3930 Barnes TTSX 168 3.600 100.31   H1000 94.5 3238 3912 Barnes TTSX 168 3.600 100.31   RS Magnum 96.0 3271 3991 Barnes TTSX 168 3.600 100.31   N570 100.00 3332 4141 CT Ballistic Silvertip 168 3.600 104.67   Re25 98.0 3399 3849 CT Ballistic Silvertip 168 3.600 104.67   H4831SC 93.5 3352 3743 CT Ballistic Silvertip 168 3.600 104.67   H1000 101.0 3407 3867 CT Ballistic Silvertip 168 3.600 104.67   IMR7828 95.0 3432 3924 Berger VLD Hunting 175 3.600 102.89   Re25 93.0 3205 3991 Berger VLD Hunting 175 3.600 102.89   Retumbo 100.0 3244 4089 Berger VLD Hunting 175 3.600 102.89   RS Magnum 97.0 3231 4056 Berger VLD Hunting 175 3.600 102.89   N570 101.5 3313 4265 Sierra SP 180 3.600 103.53   Re25 93.0 3173 4024 Sierra SP 180 3.600 103.53   H1000 96.0 3186 4056 Sierra SP 180 3.600 103.53   Retumbo 100.0 3213 4127 Sierra SP 180 3.600 103.53   N570 101.0 3269 4270 Barnes TTSX 180 3.600 99.00   Re25 90.0 3152 3970 Barnes TTSX 180 3.600 99.00   H1000 93.0 3164 4002 Barnes TTSX 180 3.600 99.00   IMR7828 87.0 3172 4022 Barnes TTSX 180 3.600 99.00   N570 98.0 3275 4286 North Fork SS 180 3.600 102.04   Re25 92.0 3176 4031 North Fork SS 180 3.600 102.04   Retumbo 99.0 3218 4139 North Fork SS 180 3.600 102.04   H870 103.0 3212 4123 North Fork SS 180 3.600 102.04   N570 100.0 3273 4282 Nosler Partition SP 180 3.600 102.89   H1000 95.5 3190 4066 Nosler Partition SP 180 3.600 102.89   Retumbo 99.5 3218 4139 Nosler Partition SP 180 3.600 102.89   IMR7828 90.0 3204 4104 Nosler Partition SP 180 3.600 102.89   RS Magnum 96.5 3186 4057 Hornady BTSP 190 3.575 100.83   Re25 90.0 3076 3993 Hornady BTSP 190 3.575 100.83   H1000 93.0 3091 4030 Hornady BTSP 190 3.575 100.83   Retumbo 97.0 3122 5576 Hornady BTSP 190 3.575 100.83   IMR7828 87.0 3100 4054 North Fork SS 200 3.600 100.20   Re25 89.0 3018 4045 North Fork SS 200 3.600 100.20   Retumbo 95.5 3054 4141 North Fork SS 200 3.600 100.20   RS Magnum 92.5 3037 4097 North Fork SS 200 3.600 100.20   N570 96.5 3113 4304 Nosler AccuBond 200 3.600 98.56   Re25 88.0 3015 4036 Nosler AccuBond 200 3.600 98.56   Retumbo 94.5 3052 4136 Nosler AccuBond 200 3.600 98.56   IMR7828 85.0 3037 4096 Nosler AccuBond 200 3.600 98.56   N570 96.0 3128 4344 All IMR 7828 loads are standard cut, not SSC *Swapped from position in photo

The 300 Remington Ultra Mag has its preferences

The 300 RUM cartridge case is 2.850″ long, the overall cartridge length is 3.600″. If the overall length reads familiar, that’s because it is the same length as the 375 H&H and that cartridges full length derivatives. For the sake of reliable feed and function, the cartridge needs to be kept inside the 3.600″ limit.

As a byproduct of the COL constraints, solid copper bullets are at a bit of a disadvantage as are bullets with a VLD ogive in regard to maximum velocity. Copper is of lower density than lead, so where bullets of a common weight, all copper bullets are longer than lead core bullets. Longer bullets, pushing against a 3.600″ COL, reduce net case capacity. The VDL issues is a bit different. For the sake of streamlining and downrange performance, the bullets ogive is extended, which does reduce case capacity and it does knock the edge off of maximum velocity, but the ballistic coefficient is so slick that at 300 yards it us moving faster than a more traditional bullet that was launched 100 fps faster.

Accurate MagPro was OK and, with a little juggling, it delivered OK velocity and accuracy with bullet weights up to 150 grains. That said, it produced a lot of muzzle flash, it was… loud and barrel temperature rise was particularly quick. By comparison, Re 25 powder didn’t fill cases either, but performance was more uniform and without the other notable side effects.

North Fork solid shank, lead core tipped bullets did very well even with a slightly longer length then traditional jacketed lead core bullets. The North Fork SS bullet has some unique properties. Unlike and A Frame or Partition construction, the shank if solid, but the nose expands well at high impact velocity without getting blown away or shedding a third of its weight like the other types noted.

For handloaders, this combination is terrific because the cartridge is so flexible. Since this data was published, we’ve worked with mid weight cast bullets at 1,800 fps and 240 grain bullets at 2,700 fps. The gun remains accurate, pressure response predictable and brass life is excellent.

Remington Model 700 CDL shooting personality

Just to show you don’t have to go high roller on bullets to get accuracy, this group was shot with inexpensive 180 grain Sierra bullets. It is less than 3/4″, which is more than good for a factory sporter.

The guns muzzle stays down on discharge and recoil. especially through the Remington Super Cell pad, is manageable if… brisk. More than a 300 Winchester Magnum, less than a 375 H&H and not as sharp.

The rifle and cartridge are an excellent combination for lots of things, either big or far away. I’m sure the combination is more than enough for big bear and probably ideal for antelope standing a longs ways off when matched with the right bullets.

Remington’s Model 700 CDL Classic Deluxe Part I
Remington’s Model 700 CDL Classic Deluxe Part II