Mr. & Mrs. Ultra Mag And All The Kids

Guns Magazine, Feb, 2001 by Scott Farrell

Two years ago, we saw the introduction of Remington's .300 Ultra Mag, a .30 caliber cartridge with more power than either the .300 Wthby. Mag. Or .300 Win. Magnum. Last year, Remington built on the success of the Ultra Mag concept with the .338 Ultra Mag, which brought the same improved level of performance to elk and bear hunters as well.

Now, Remington has introduced not one, but two new Ultra Mag cartridges, the .375 and the 7mm, making the Ultra Mag a fullfledged family.

The 7mm Ultra Mag is advertised as "the flattest-shooting big-game cartridge out there," with performance rivaling that of most lightweight varmint cartridges. The 7mm UM has 36 percent more case capacity than the popular 7mm Rem. Mag., and fires a 140 gr. bullet at 3,425 fps. When sighted 2 1/2" high at 100 yards, the 7mm UM is only 8" below line of sight at 400 yards, and still delivers 28 percent more energy than the 7mm Rem. Magnum.

At the other end of the spectrum, the .375 UM provides a ballistic turbo charge for hunters who know and love the .375 H&H Magnum. The .375 UM fires a 270 gr. bullet at 2,900 fps, with some 5,041 ft/lbs. of muzzle energy. The 300 gr. loading retains more energy at 200 yards than the .375 H&H has at half that distance. Factory loads will be available with a 270 gr. Hornady SP and a 300 gr. Swift A-Frame bullet.

All of this, of course, begs the question, "What's next for the Ultra Mag?" Some hunters may look for a UM varmint cartridge, but considering the punishment such a cartridge would unleash on a barrel, that's unlikely. Our semi-educated guess would be for a .270 UM, giving hunters a flat-shooting cartridge for deer or antelope.

Sources at Remington also hint that Big Green is toying with the concept of a more efficient cartridge -- that is to say, a shortaction magnum. Such a cartridge with, say, a .30 caliber bullet would result in a rifle with the ballistics of a .300 Win. Mag. sporting a .308-length action. Sound familiar? It should -- Winchester-Olin announced just such a cartridge two months ago. Word is that Remington decided to shelve the idea until 2001 in order to focus on the Ultra Mag line. You can't keep a good idea down.