.338 RUM and .416 Ruger Two cartridges for Aussie big game
Some years ago, while preparing for a hunting trip to Canada, I began evaluating various calibres suitable to hunt North American game. To date I had been using a .270 Winchester to great effect but the barrel needed replacing or I required a new rifle. A visit to my local gunshop soon sorted my dilemma out.
They had traded an almost new left-hand Savage Weather Warrior in .338 Winchester Mag. At the range, my new acquisition was not fussy about what I fed it, shooting factory or handloads as well as each other. Once in Canada the .338 Win Mag proved to be a good choice, as I took a white-tailed deer, a mule deer, a cinnamon coloured black bear and a bison bull.
On my return to Australia the .338 Win Mag was used for everything, from pigs to buffaloes. Until Remington announced the release of its .338 Reminton Ultra Magnum (RUM). There was something about this behemoth that had real appeal to me. With this in mind I attended a Brisbane gunshow. Tony Argent, of Total Solutions Engineering, had a stand and to my delight, he also had a 26" .338 barrel on special.
Shortly after, I owned a .338 RUM. My Savage required little work to accommodate the long case of the .338 RUM, whose parent case is the .404 Jeffery. Within days my .338 RUM was spitting copper
