.338 Ruger Compact Magnum

Type

Rifle

Place of origin

United States

Production history

Designer

Sturm Ruger

Manufacturer

Hornady

Produced

2008

Specifications

Parent case

.375 Ruger

Case type

Rimless, bottleneck

Bullet diameter

.338 in (8.6 mm)

Neck diameter

.405 in (10.3 mm)

Shoulder diameter

.515 in (13.1 mm)

Base diameter

.532 in (13.5 mm)

Rim diameter

.532 in (13.5 mm)

Rim thickness

.050 in (1.3 mm)

Case length

2.015 in (51.2 mm)

Overall length

2.840 in (72.1 mm)

Case capacity

72 gr H₂O (4.7 cm³)

Primer type

Large rifle

Ballistic performance

Bullet mass/type	Velocity	Energy
200 gr (13 g) Hornady SST	2,950 ft/s (900 m/s)	3,864 ft·lbf (5,239 J)
225 gr (15 g) Hornady Interbond	2,750 ft/s (840 m/s)	3,778 ft·lbf (5,122 J)

Source(s): Hornady

The .338 Ruger Compact Magnum or .338 RCM is a rimless, short-length rifle cartridge based on the .375 Ruger case. It was designed by Sturm Ruger and Hornady and released in 2008 and chambered in various Ruger rifles. The goal was to create a shorter cartridge than the big .338 magnums that would fit in a more compact rifle with nearly the same performance. Similar to the design ideas for the WSM cartridge family, but somewhat narrower which will frequently allow one more cartridge in the rifle magazine than the WSM equivalent. This round is designed for hunting medium to large sized North American game.

The .338 Ruger Compact Magnum uses a unique case designed by Hornady and Ruger based on the powerful .375 Ruger cartridge. The case is of a rimless design having the base and rim diameter of .532 in (13.5 mm) which is the same diameter of the belt on belted magnum cases based on the .300 H&H Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum. This allows the cartridge to have a greater case capacity than a belted magnum case given cases of equal length. As Ruger intended the cartridge to be chambered in short length bolt-action rifles the case length was shortened to 2.10 in (53 mm) which is similar to the .308 Winchester case. Unlike 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 to adopt them to the new Ruger cartridge.

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Wikipedia