Right when these came out, I was about a day or two away from buying one.  For some strange reason, I have gotten the bug again.

Have any of you shot one?  If so, tell me about the recoil.

I have been shooting 7mm Rem Mag for 20 years, and 300 Win Mag more recently.  Both are fine.

Looks like the 30-378 might have a tad more recoil.....

Person I worked with had one, he put a 32" barrel on it, his entire aim was to have a rifle that could be pushed to 5000 ft/sec. and kill shit at long range.

I did get to press the trigger a couple of times, the recoil certainly had the ability to demand your attention.

My boss gave me his to sight in which turned into a really expensive adventure for him because he hadn't tightened his base and rings adequately. It was an Accumark I think but not sure. Recoil wasn't bad but noise was impressive. I know a guy that built a heavy bench gun in 30-378 Improved and something like that is probably the only way I would consider one. The Weatherby cartridges and rifles don't do much for me anymore.

Back in 1999 OP, I was at the store to buy a 30-378...lucky for me they just happened to have just gotten in some of the brand new Remington 700's in 300rum...After fondling both, looking at the prices of both rifles, what finally made up my choice was the ammo...the rum rifle was 1/3 the cost of the Weatherby, but the ammo was also 1/3 the cost..I could buy a case of 300rum for 200 bucks....I could only buy the Weatherby ammo for 45 bucks a box of 20....I walked out of the store with the rum...been damn glad I did...
Fast forward to today, and having helped a buddy a few years back load for his 30-378... basically the 30-378 can hold 120 grains...the rum runs about 110 grains...needless to say performance is very close between them when hand loading especially if the throats are equal.......MY current long range load out of a 28" bartlein 5R barrel launches a Berger 230 grain hybrid target bullet at 3220fps.....@ a bit over 5200 ft.lb. energy...The biggest advantage the rum has is brass..not only does Remington still sell bulk brass for it thru midway($1.00  per case) but you can also buy all sorts of different quality levels of brass from over a half dozen other makers from decent(Hornaday) to good(norma) to excellent(ADG,Bartam) there are others as well that make brass for the rum...... brass ranges in price from a buck to 3 bucks depending on quality...If you can come up with enough brass the 30-378 should be a great cartridge, but plan out a brass strategy and keep in mind barrel life is shorter on these big magnums..but they are a blast to shoot...

If I remember right, it was about 1996-97 when I was seriosly considering one. Right around the time when they came out.  Ammo price was the final nail in the coffin.  I think I remember it being more ungodly expensive than AKsnowRider mentioned, but could be wrong.

Funny you should mention it, because 300RUM is probably running a close second right now to the 30-378.

I am not in a hurry for this gun, and will definitely do some more research as to the final caliber.  Thanks for the input.

No problem...Regardless which you decide on would love to hear how it goes...We need a big magnum thread on here somewhere.....And yeah the prices maybe off some..my memory doesn't work near as good as it used to..but I know the Weatherby surprised me on just how expensive it was...

mine....

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I have shot a couple 30-378s.  The Weatherby stocks have never worked for me since i'm a lefty.  Because of this I get beat up when shooting them.  One of the Rifles I did shoot was a custom build and the stock fit so much better.  Recoil was stout but not as bad as the factory Weatherby stocks.

L-R 30-378, 300 WBY, 30-06, .308, 5.56

I have an Accumark and mine, with the right loads, is far more accurate than I am.   If you are not careful, you can easily toast a barrel.   I have had mine for 20 years and am on my second barrel.  My first one lasted over 1000 rounds before it went bad.   I shoot mine and let it cool down while I shoot other guns then after a sufficient time I take another shot.     In one range session, I will shoot it three times.  I handload all my ammo.

Buddy has one , I've shot it a few times . The recoil gets your attention but not as bad as the noise from the Brake .
I thought I wanted one until I realized just how much money we were burning everytime we squeezed the trigger.

I wonder if the noise from the brake makes you think you are getting pounded worse than you are?  Does anybody know if psychologically, that is a thing?  Guess I never thought of that?  

I remember being behind, but off to the side of a 50bmg Barrett, with that boat anchor of a brake......oooooof!  But shooting one isn't bad at all.

It's absolutely a thing.

There is no way you will get around the physics of recoil and how to manage it.  Newton's laws of physics apply as consistently today as they did 150-200 years ago.  

If you are launching a (numbers are for demonstration purposes only) 220 grain bullet at 3200 feet per second, a 10 pound rifle will recoil considerably more than an 18 pound rifle.  

There are formulas you can use to determine how much recoil a given rifle will generate, and that might help you.  You can use those formulas and change bullet weight, velocity, rifle weight, rifling twist, etc to figure how much recoil you want to deal with.  Compare the numbers you get from the formula to the recoil from a rifle you are familiar with.  

That way you can determine if you want a heavier rifle, lower velocity, lighter bullet etc.  If it were me, I would settle on the bullet weight and velocity I am seeking, and develop the rifle around that. IOW if I want the 220 grain bullet at 3200 FPS, will I want a rifle weighing 14 pounds, or 19 pounds.  

I used to own a 300 Win mag that shot best with 190 grain bullets at 2960 fps.  After 30 rounds it became increasingly difficult to ignore the recoil and not anticipate the recoil.   I could do it, but it took more concentration to sustain great accuracy when I was thinking about recoil as well as shot management.

Muzzle Brakes and Suppressors get around the physics

I understand that.  I have an older M70 in 300WM that I shoot 180s out of it right at 3000 fps. I can shoot that thing all day with no issues.  On the other end of the spectrum, I have an R600 in .308 that I do not look forward to shooting stock 150grn Core-Lokt ammo, for more than a few rounds from the bench.   (and .308 is a pussycat compared to .300WM)

Im sure 30-378 in a decently configured, and weighted rifle, is tolderable, especially after watching guys in Africa shoot what appears to be light-ish doubles with way more energy.......

I was curious if the sound played into the brain, and far as perceived recoil.  Like shooting under an enclosure.  That increased noise and pressure seem to hit me harder????

I've been shooting 300rum since it came out mostly with the heavies including my 230 berger @3220 fps go to load I use now and the testing I have been doing with the 245 Bergers... granted my current rifle is configured as a heavy barrel 16 pound rifle, but in its original form it was a good old light weight barrel hunting rifle that went a whopping 9 pounds as carried.. we also have several of the sendero barreled factory long range rifles in our group including my sons which run about 11 pounds as carried, all have run the 230 berger, all are pussycats to shoot, including beginner women shooters taking mine out to 2000 yards.. it is all in properly setting up the rifle including a quality muzzle brake setup for maximum recoil reduction..Anyone who says they cannot shoot a magnum accurately isn't using proper technique or rifle setup..It just isn't that hard..

I had a Remington 700 chambered in 375 RUM.... IT KICKED HARD.... the synthetic stock split right down the middle from the bottom of the butt to a couple inches past the sling stud. I imagine a 30-378 probably kicks at least that hard, lol

- Clint