Magnum and Ultra Magnum?

[Nightcrawler]

Just out of curiosity, what're the opinions on the plethora of "magnum" rifle catridges out there, that are above the level of .308 and .30-06, but are less than that of, say, .338 and .375 H&H.

Examples:

.300 Winchester Magnum
.300 Winchester Short Magnum
.300 Rem Ultra Mag (or whatever)
7mm Rem Ultra Mag


You get the idea. Granted, cartridges and guns sell, oftentimes, on a gee-whiz factor, but are these types of cartridges really just an answer in search of a question, or do they fill a genuine niche in the shooting world?

As an aside, I'm willing to bet that all of these really beat up the shoulder out of a bolt rifle, too. Ouch...

 

[WiFAL]

I bought a Remington 700 BDL in 300 Ultra Mag back in 1999 when the cartridge first came out. I shoot Remington's 180 grn Nosler Partion Premiere bullets and couldn't be happier.

The rifle shoots 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds. right out of the box. Yes, the recoil is hefty but in exchange you get devastating terminal balistics. Last year's deer was shot at 175 yds. and it was dead on impact. All the ribs on the impact side were snapped in half. The lungs and heart were liquified.

I got my 300 for long range shots, i.e. 300 yds. or so. I haven't had an opportunity for the long shots I'm anticipating but I know the cartridge is up to the job.

 

[rock_jock]

Off the subject, but I really hate when anyone uses "ultra" in the description of their product. It implies that you can't get any bigger or better. PErhaps the next step up is the "Uber-Magnum".