tested and christened the 300WM

bewsher500

Well-Known Member
Got a cracking deal on a Tikka 658 and all the trimmings from a top bloke on here

Had some troubles with my new purchase since I got it.
First shots I did were with a moderator which I wasn't planning on keeping, so any zeroing would have to be redone anyway
I broke a scope (more on that in another thread)
its a bit short in LOP for me and I couldn't find a grind to fit recoil pad in time so slapped a push over shotgun pad on. fits a treat!
got a muzzle brake made by another top chap on here but didn't have time to blue it.
Rifle came with a whole load of homeloads in two weights, heavier in Lapua Megas, lighter (if you can call them that!) in Sierra SP

wanted to christen it on a trip I have just come back from and the scope issue set me back.
To eBay for a £40 Nikko Stirling 8x50 from the 70's!!
Duly bolted on in time last week and Sunday saw some good weather for some playing, bit gusty from over our right shoulders

We put a board out at 100yds to check zero on my 300 and a friends 270
300 was zeroed a smidge high at 100 as instructed by the former owner (less than the 1" I would normally use for the .270 but around the 1/2" mark.)
(Now I have read all manner of ballistic charts in anticipation of this purchase and run numerous simulations at various speeds, most come back with alost identical trajectory to the .270 130gr I usually shoot)

We had another bigger board put out across a gully at about 250-275yds (difficult to pace out and we forget the range finder!)
The bull was a 2" square of orange packing tape on its corner as a diamond.
I figured I would try and hit it first off and held the reticule just above, at this range the .270 would probably be an inch or two low (as the reticule is as wide as the bull it was roughly aiming 1.5" inches high.)

First shot bangs in exactly where I was aiming i.e 1.5" high!
No holdover required with this big boy!!

We then spent god knows how many pounds worth in ammo in both calibres popping half inflated water balloons I had pinned to the board (approx 3" in size) and trying to shoot the flies that kept landing on the target! (no confirmed hits!! but lots of deaths from fly-drostatic shock!)

my god I love this thing!
The muzzle brakes gives a fine impression of an earthquake registering 4 or 5 on the Richter scale for anyone lying next to you!

christened it yesterday on a stag too!!
 
Sounds like you're have the same fun that I had with my .300wm about 15 years ago. Have fun! Don't think about the amount of powder its burning!
 
As Glyn 1 said, have fun because that is exactly what I do with mine. The .300 win mag is a cracking round and is worth the extra powder. :D I have put a fair few rounds through it on plates and game and have enjoyed every trip immensely.
 
out of interest what powders do people use?
I am soon going to be out of the loads it came with (IMR4831 under 185gr)

I have some N160, N165 already and will be testing that under some 200gr Oryx I have
be interested to know what you use
 
I use Hogdons H4350 with 180gr bullets. Travel around 3000fps and are fairly flat shooting and as you have mentioned before no tremendous meat damage fairly big exit of around 2 inches. A very accurate round.

Tam
 
I used to use hodgon 4831sc with 180 hornady and a mag primer from 2800 to 3300.however i have just changed to ramshot magnum powder approx £13 cheaper and it meters like water and a improvement in fps very accurate as well 300wm lovely calibre
 
I use h4831 for mine with 180 grain I also love this and its coming away with me at the weekend in hopes of some staggies, glad you got sorted with yours and it does put a big grin on your face,atb wayne
 
I have had a 270 for 40 years and i swear by it very versatile and accurate,i bought a 300wm 18 months ago, i really enjoy every session with the 300 it just feels like its really on top of the job heavy on powder but worth it
 
cool, what weight bullets?
I have always gone on the assumption that RL22 is very similar to N160

165grn Sierra Gamekings mainly. If I still had it I would be very keen to try the 168grn A-Max just for playing, I suspect that it would be very accurate.
 
I have had a 270 for 40 years and i swear by it very versatile and accurate,i bought a 300wm 18 months ago, i really enjoy every session with the 300 it just feels like its really on top of the job heavy on powder but worth it

almost the same
I learnt to shoot on the 270 and still use it
I do feel the 300 gives a slight edge on not only energy down range but the longer range capabilities that come with it

not selling the 270's just yet but really looking forward to some long range plinking


165grn Sierra Gamekings mainly. If I still had it I would be very keen to try the 168grn A-Max just for playing, I suspect that it would be very accurate.

just bought some 208gr AMax
just wondering what powder I can get away with to drive them as close to 3000 as possible!
N160 might be a bit snappy but have some N165 which shows a very low max level in the VV data (66gr) sure there will be wriggle room there
 
have been scouring some US sites for a while
They shoot a good variety of 200+ bullets with good results and as far as I can see anything from RL22, N165/N160, 4831/4831sc, H1000 all seem to get good results.
most push 208 around or above 3000fps (this is supersonic out past 1700 yds!!)

not many of them are shooting custom rifles and most are running very close to the lands.
makes me think they single shot feed rather than magazine as am pretty sure the 208s won't fit the mag at long OAL
 
long range shooting has always interested me i have learnt a lot working with the 300 im shooting targets at longer distances than ever before it makes me a lot more confident stalker ie shooting deer at up to 200yds
 
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