Tom,
Good observations on the ammo. I cringe when I hear the prices some people pay for their .300+ mag loads. Its a Ruger M77: wood, bolt action, with Leupold VX-I 3-9x by 40. I practice ata 100 yard range. Any distances beyond that have been out in the field (ie, not exact). I guess I could also invest the time, effort (and gas money) to get to another range where I can take some 300 yard shots and see if I really need to upgrade. Right now its zeroed at 3" high at 100 yards and so the math says that at 300 yards it is only 9" low. I think at 400 yards that drops to like 4 feet though.

The rifle isn't my first gun, and it wasn't a hand-me-down either. Not too much sentiment. I bought it used for a pretty good deal, but it does have some rust. Also, though I had it boresighted at the shop, I'm not sure whether it performs as well as a brand new rifle that I would know the history of. Thanks again.