Remington Sendero .338 Ultra Mag

Guns Magazine, Jan, 2001 by Dave Anderson

The most remarkable production rifle available today gets a turbocharge with Remington's newest high-performance cartridge.

Would you like to have a rifle capable of consistently hitting a silver dollar at 300 yards? Big deal, you say, plenty of varmint rifles in .22-250 or .220 Swift can do that. How about one capable of hitting a silver dollar at 300 yards -- with 3,000 ft./lbs. of energy? That's more energy than a .30-'06 develops at the muzzle. If you feel you need such a combination of accuracy and power, Remington has the equipment that can provide it -- the Sendero in .338 Rem. Ultra Mag.

For 50 years competition bench rest shooters have been unlocking the secrets of accuracy. While benchrest rifles may seem impractical to the average hunter, many design features developed in competition have been adopted by practical shooters. Varmint rifles, because they require the accuracy to hit a small target at long range, have benefited most from such improvements.

An interesting trend in recent years has been the development of extended range hunting rifles -- rifles with varmint rifle features, but chambered for flat-shooting big game cartridges such as .25-'06 Rem., 7mm Rem. Mag., .270 Win, and .300 Win. Magnum. The genesis of this trend was a specific need. Deer hunters in southern agricultural areas found an abundance of deer around the edges of huge soybean fields. Hunting from elevated stands, they needed accuracy beyond that of typical lightweight hunting rifles. They needed varmint rifles with big-game power.

The Beanfield Guns

One of the first to adopt varmint rifle technology to big game cartridges was gunmaker Kenny Jarrett. His super-accurate "beanfield" rifles began attracting attention from enthusiasts nationwide. There was never a rifle enthusiast yet who didn't want more accuracy, all else being equal.

We know that a rifle that will shoot consistent 2" groups at 100 yards is adequate for most big game hunting. We know it, but we fiddle with barrels, bedding, scopes, powders, bullets and primers, we turn case necks, clean bores, and adjust triggers to get groups down to 1" -- when we get there, we want 1/2" groups.

Gun manufacturers grow and prosper by paying attention to what shooters want and meeting those demands. That sounds obvious and easy, but it's not. Remington has been prospering for a long time because they've achieved that objective more often than not.

In 1994, when it became evident that beanfield rifles were more than just a fad, Remington developed the Sendero rifle. Eddie Stevenson, an executive with Remington, commented "with the success of our Model 700 Varmint models, we saw need for an extremely accurate, long-range magnum offering."

It would have been easy for Remington to screw a heavy barrel into their 700 action, bolt on a molded plastic stock, and let it go at that. To their credit, Remington didn't take the easy way.

Take the stock, for example. Stevenson noted, "The model 700 Sendero stock is manufactured for Remington by H.S. Precision. It features a full-length aluminum bedding block that runs the full length of the action." This strong, rigid bedding block supports and stiffens the action.

Elements Of Excellence

Located in Rapid City, S.D., H.S. Precision supplies stock material that is an extremely strong and stable laminate of Kevlar, fiberglass cloth, carbon fiber and laminating resin. Their stocks are regarded as among the best. It's clear that in building the Sendero, Remington was prepared to assemble the best available components.

Sendero barrels are made by hammer forging. On the standard Sendero, the 26' heavy barrel brings total rifle weight to 9 lbs. The Stainless Fluted model is longitudinally fluted to cut weight by half a pound while sacrificing little in terms of rigidity. The flutes also increase barrel surface area to enhance barrel cooling.

Though Remington says Sendero barrels are standard production and not specially selected, the chambers are cut to minimum dimensions. Measuring fired .338 Ultra Mag cases with a micrometer indicated minimal expansion over unfired cases. Muzzles of the Sendero barrels are given a precision concave crown.

The 700 action has a fine reputation for accuracy. It is strong, rigid and symmetrical; its cylindrical receiver has a greater bedding area and is easier to consistently fit to the stock than a flat-bottomed action. Modern manufacturing techniques have made parts more precise.

According to Stevenson, "Even though Model 700 Senderos are factory production grades, special attention is paid during the production process to ensure proper receiver-to-stock bedding fit and proper torquing of the action screws."

The increased rigidity provided by the bedding block in the stock is undoubtedly an important factor. Although the 700 is a stiff action, it isn't as rigid as a modern bench rest action. The magazine well opening further reduces rigidity. Bolting the action tightly to the solid aluminum block greatly increases the ability of the receiver to consistently support the heavy, free-floating barrel.