.338 Ruger Compact Magnum Explained

.338 Ruger Compact Magnum
Origin:United States
Type:Rifle
Designer:Sturm Ruger
Manufacturer:Hornady
Production Date:2008
Parent:.375 Ruger
Case Type:Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet:.338
Neck:.370
Shoulder:.515
Base:.532
Rim Dia:.532
Rim Thick:.050
Case Length:2.015
Length:2.840
Case Capacity:72
Max Pressure2:62366
Pressure Method2:CIP
Primer:Large rifle
Bw1:200
Btype1:Hornady SST
Vel1:2950
En1:3864
Bw2:225
Btype2:Hornady Interbond
Vel2:2750
En2:3778
Balsrc:Hornady [1]

The .338 Ruger Compact Magnum or .338 RCM is a rimless, short-length rifle cartridge based on the .375 Ruger case. Sturm Ruger and Hornady jointly developed the round, which was released in 2008 and chambered in various Ruger rifles. The goal of the project was to produce a .338 caliber cartridge with magnum level performance that would fit in a compact, short action rifle. The .338 RCM is conceptually similar to the WSM cartridge family, but is somewhat smaller dimensionally. This often allows for a higher magazine capacity than the WSM equivalent.[2] Like the .338 caliber cartridges which predated it, the round is designed for hunting medium to large sized North American game.

Design & Specifications

The .338 Ruger Compact Magnum is based on the .375 Ruger cartridge, which originated through the cooperation of Hornady and Ruger. The case is of rimless design, having a base and rim diameter of 0.532inches, the same diameter as the belt on the .300 H&H Magnum, the .375 H&H Magnum, and their derivatives. This design offers greater case capacity than a belted magnum case of comparable length, such as the 350 Remington Magnum. As Ruger intended the cartridge to be chambered in short bolt-action rifles, they trimmed the .375 Ruger parent case to 2.015inches to ensure a comparable cartridge overall length to the .308 Winchester. Unlike the rebated Winchester Short Magnum cartridges, the Ruger Compact Magnums share the same diameter from case head to body. This allowed Ruger to chamber the cartridge without extensively redesigning their M77 rifle.

See also

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External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 338 RCM 200 gr SST Superformance . 2018-11-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161105111307/http://www.hornady.com/store/338-RCM-200-gr-SST-Superformance# . 2016-11-05 . dead .
  2. Web site: Hornady Ruger Compact Magnum Cartridge Review . 2018-11-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160408020124/http://www.hornady.com/in-the-news/latest-news/ruger-compact-magnum-cartridges-review# . 2016-04-08 . dead .