Remington Arms
Model 700 Sendero SF .338 ultra mag

Remington's new caliber for the new millennium is the .338 ultra mag, mounted on the famous 700 action with the Sendero stainless steel fluted barrel. To compliment this new big game caliber, Remington has unveiled eight rifles chambered for this caliber. Our test rifle is the model 700 Sendero SF which has a 26 inch long 1 in 10 inch twist 416 stainless steel barrel with longitudinal barrel flutes which increases heat dissipation and cuts a 1/2 pound off it's weight without affecting the rigidity of the barrel. The stock is a kevlar reinforced stock with a full length aluminum bedding blocks that allows the barrel to free float.

I loaded up the .338 Ultra mag and headed out to the range on a friday afternoon I set up at the two hundred yard bench and there were about 5 guys playing with their cap guns,[ when you are carrying a .338 ultra mag almost everything else is a cap gun ] The shooting bench is covered with a tin roof and open on all side, so I got big birtha out and set up, I locked and loaded and squeezed a round off, it definitely rocked the neighborhood, by the time the bullet hit the target I had 5 guys standing around me wondering what kind of artillery I was shooting and I smiled and said it's a new Remington. Everyone was in awe of this new caliber. The kick was not too bad but you really need to hang onto it because it will throw your shoulder in the back seat. The 7 1/4'' long bolt has a very smooth and positive lock up and a smooth trigger pull and a crisp trigger release, one of the nicest ones I felt in awhile.

To compliment the new model 700 .338 ultra mag , Remington introduces the 250 grain swift A frame hunting round . The swift A frame bullet delivers the ultimate in on game performance with better than 95 percent weight retention and 2x expansion. The 250 grain .338 ultra mag. offers 25 percent more case capacity than the .338 win. mag .the muzzle velocities of 2,900fps. and 200 yard down range energy levels exceeding that of .338 win. mag. at 200 yards. The .338 ultra mag offers a non belted magnum that chambers on the shoulder for better accuracy.(bullet info supplied by Remington)

 

Now for the real test I went to the mountains with a good buddy of mine and we set up in a open field were we do some long range shooting, and setup a steel target at the 500 yard mark.. The steel plate is 18 inch square and 5/8 inch thick, so we set up the chronograph to check the advertising ad about feet per second. The .338 ultra mag was fitted with a 3x9 scope, sighted in at 200 yards. Using the information on the back of the box for long range trajectory we calculated the bullet drop at 500 yards, then locked and loaded the first round, I released the sear on the first round, as the sound echoed through the valley and faded away, we heard the distinct sound of the steel target ringing loudly of a direct hit. What an impressive sound, we are used to .308. At that range you could hear it with ear plugs in without any problem, remember the target is 500 yards away and you can hardly see the target by the naked eye. I cranked off a couple more rounds and was having fun dinging the plate, after several more rounds I decided to give my shoulder a rest and went to take a look at the target . What an impressive sight, checking out the hit marks on the steel target we found that the .338 Ultra Mag left a 1/2 inch diameter mark and a 1/8 inch dent in the steel .The rifle turned in a fairly decent group. Most .308 rounds just knocked off the paint, but the .338 ultra mag dented the plate with such force it imbedded lead in the plate. I found a bullet about two feet in front of the target. The A-frame swift bullet has two partitions, on impact the first partition flattened out to the cross member which stop the expansion at twice the caliber size and the bullet weighed in at 214 grains after impact, it started out at 250 grain. Remington advertisement is correct and very impressive. For serious big game challenges this cartridge is the ultra for stopping power of any North American big game.. Visit Remington Arms at www.remington.com or call 1-800-243-9700

By: Ken Menge