Remington Seminar 2002: More good things to come from "Big Green"

Guns Magazine, March, 2002 by Charles E. Petty

Each year, Remington gathers members of the firearms press to display its new products for the upcoming year. This year, the event was held in beautiful Cody, Wyoming. Cody is not only visually stunning, but it's also the home of one of the finest firearms museums in the country: The Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Hevi-Shot

This year, the stars of the show were two new cartridges with rifles to shoot them. Remington also introduced some stuff called Hevi-Shot (which is an alloy of tungsten, nickel and iron made by Environ-Metal Inc.), and Remington has the exclusive license to market it. This is really big news for the waterfowl and turkey hunter. For the waterfowler, the cartridge overcomes all the disadvantages of steel shot and actually delivers paterns that are superior to what we would expect with lead shot. In addition, Hevi-Shot pellets are 10-percent more dense than lead, so pellet energy is significantly greater. The turkey hunter will benefit with longer range and denser patterns. Using a special choke tube developed for Hevi-Shot, Remington reports 40-yard pattern densities of over 90 percent. That is unheard of.

Short-Action Ultra Mag

The rifle ammo is of the short variety that is sweeping the land. Actually, I marvel that someone hasn't done this a long time ago. We've known for years that short, fat cases are highly efficient with .22 and 6mm cartridges, and there's no reason to think they would be different for larger calibers. Remington will offer two such cartridges: 7mm Remington SA (short-action) Ultra Mag and .300 Remington SA Ultra Mag. How long do you think it will be before they are known as the SUM cartridges? The cases are based on the .300 Remington Ultra Mag, with the stated goal to duplicate the ballistics of the 7mm Remington Magnum and .300 Winchester Magnum in short-action rifles. Remington's data indicates that this is done.

While I was at the seminar, I was able to shoot both the .300 and 7mm cartridges in the Model Seven rifles. The first impression was that recoil seemed much less severe than from the full-size counterparts. Since they are burning less powder, it's logical that recoil would be less. This is something that can be verified when we get to do more testing. Formal accuracy testing wasn't possible, but my impressions from shooting at steel targets out to 500 meters was favorable. There will be a full report in a future issue and my suspicion is that you'll be hearing a lot about the cartridges.

A Peach Of A Cartridge

Each year, Remington offers the Classic Model 700. These are limited-edition rifles with very traditional features. The variable each year is the caliber, and this year's offering is chambered for the .221 Fireball. I bet some of you have just said, "The what?" The cartridge was introduced in 1963 with the XP-100 bolt-action handgun. The XP-l00 was discontinued in 1985, and the cartridge was dropped in 1998. While I'm sure someone did it on a custom basis, I don't believe the cartridge was used in a production rifle until now. It's a neat little cartridge and the parent case for the .300 Whisper so the availability of a full-size rifle to shoot it is going to be a very useful addition to the varmint hunter's battery.

The ammo will be in Remington's Premier Varmint line and loaded with a 50-grain Hornady V-max bullet. From the 24-inch rifle barrel muzzle velocity is stated at 2,995 fps, which is almost as fast as the .222 Remington. You'll see a full report on this one, too. But for now, I can say that shooting it at the seminar was a blast. The recoil is virtually nil, and the round will be a great choice for use in areas where noise might be an issue. At medium ranges of 200 to 250 yards, it should be a peachy prairie dog or groundhog rifle. At those ranges, I was able to wear out some small steel plates, so accuracy seems to be good.

Return Of An Old Favorite

Remington wasn't through with resurrections, either. To the delight of the writers present, Remington announced the reintroduction of the 16-gauge in Model 870 Wingmaster and Express pump guns. There was some lively discussion over whether or not the 16 was dead or dying, but supporters far outnumbered detractors. Remington didn't expand its offering of 16-gauge shot-shells, but all the ammo companies have several different loads.

As is always the case, most of what I saw is not yet available. I hope, however, that by the time you read this, they will be. It's too late for Hevi-shot to be used during the waterfowl seasons, but it should be ready for spring turkeys. And I think this is where it is really going to be revolutionary. The stuff is expensive, but turkey hunters don't shoot very often, and the improved patterns and greater range should more than justify the cost.

My limited experience with the short magnum cartridges makes me really want to know more. As a handloader, it's obviously a new challenge; as an accuracy nut, I want to investigate the potential of the cartridge. Hunters won't need much proof. After all, they use the same bullets at the same velocities as two of the most popular hunting cartridges around, but the suitability for use in short-action rifles offers new possibilities.