Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

Im searching for a light kicking short range deer gun for my daughter. She is nine andweighs about 52 pounds. I was thinking of getting a .243 New England single shot. But I think it will be too much for her. After thinking about it, I'm going to be looking for a carbine barrel for one of my T/C Contenders, I think I may go with the .300 Whisper. Then put a thumbhole stock cut for her length of pull.

I would like to ask anyone if they know anything about the .300 Whisper. I have down some reading on it, but I want to hear from fellow hunters not target shooters. I want to know about hunting loads, what bullet for deer but light on recoil.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

what's the matter with a Winchester 94 in .357 Mag?

should be able to get 1800 fps out of 158gr JFP's, and that'll put a hurt on ol' Bambi at reasonalble ranges...

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

I would strongly recomend considering another caliber. The .300 Whisper, at only 1100 fps at the muzzle, isn't going to give any expansion with standard .30 caliber hunting bullets. It depends on the 240 Sierra Matchking tumbling upon impact to create a wound channel. Recoil will be light, but deer a quite a bit hardier than homo sapiens. Look at the .260 Remington. Or the .243.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

man, Im gonna end up sounding like an a$$ with this post but Im only saying what I feel. No offense Mike, but reading specifically what Ive quoted above........then she probably shouldnt becarrying yet. If a 243 is too much for her, then wait a while, shell grow. I was 10 before my dad would let me carry a gun (257 roberts) and I was not a scrawny boy. As a parent we all want our kids to follow in our footsteps but dont rush em too much. Take her with you but let her watch for a while, when she can handle a 243 or something near that then let her have at it. Ok guys rip me apart, but thats how I feel.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

That's pretty much the way I feel also.

A .243 does not kick at all. I honestly think she will be able to take the recoil from a .243.

My daughter is 11 and probably weighs about 80 pounds. We went out this past weekend to the range to do some shooting. She wanted to shoot something "big" to see how it kicked cause she has never really shot a kicking gun before. She stepped right up and shot the 12 ga numerous times. She liked the way the .444 Marlin looked and wanted to try it. She shot once and said gosh this kicks.... can I shoot it again? So she shot it a couple more times. Never said it hurt or it kicked too hard or complained one bit. She even pulled the trigger on the 300 WSM. She did find that it kicked a little more than she liked though. ;)

Let her try a .243 and see how she likes it. She may surprise you. It's only about 7 or 8 foot pounds of recoil energy. That's nothing.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

If you have a 30-06 or .308, just load them down.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

that's why I suggested the pistol-caliber levergun

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

Gotta agree with Mossy on this one------

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

No argument here. If she cant handle the 243..waiting may be a good idea. Let her try it though.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

I told her yall said that she is to small andshould wait....

Her response: She hunts more then my teenage son, I cant get him out of bed. But come 4:30 am shes dressed and waitingon meevery weekend. I Only get to go solo when its bow season. When its rifle season shes right behind me or my dad.

I appreciate all your comments and trust me I know what your saying. But this aint no ordenary nine year old girl. Shes just small, and I have never shot a 243. So I was worried about the 243 being close to a 308. I have several 308's and the Savage 110 I use every hunt kicks pretty good.My dad hasan old 30-30 bolt gun which is the one I killed my first deer when I was 10. Its got a short stock but the recoil pad is about fifty years old probly and hard as a rock and breaking into peices. Im going to get a new pad and see if she can hold it up.

Back to the Whisper I read this last night,

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

As difficult as it will be to find dies and brass for the .300 Whisper, you might consider down loading a .308 Winchester - like Briman suggested. I have used powders like N-110 and IMR 4227 to fire form cases in the various Ackley Improved calibers. In the 30-06, for instance, the fire form load is going about 2,000 fps and has very mild recoil.Also agree with the bullet choice - 125 Ballistic Tips, as explosive as they can be at higher velocities, could be just the ticket at reduced velocities. Around 2100 fps MV would be about right, I would think. Could also do the same thing with a .270 - and load the 110 V-Max to reduced velocities.

You could then increase the velocity of the load as she grows and, maybe someday, be up to full throttle.

Must be great to have a little hunting buddy, up at the crack of dawn, ready to go. My son likes to hunt; but, like yours,it isnearly impossible to get him up at zero dark thirty.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

So................... why don't you just let her shoot a .243? It's not gonna break her shoulder or anything.

We didn't say she shouldn't hunt we said IF she can't handle a .243 then she should wait. You don't know if she can handle it or not since nether one of you has ever shot one. A .243 kicks no where near what a .308 does. A .308 has about double the recoil of a .243.

Quit being scared for her and let her go shoot a .243!!!!!!!!
She obviously wants to do this, why hold her back?

It sounds like you are more afrade of it than she is.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

one thing I have noticed is you said about getting an NEF in 243, well them little suckers have quite a wollup!!! My buddys NEF 280 has significant recoil over a bolt action 270. If she is dying to do this, the 357 rifle wouldnt be bad (I have one......zero recoil) but a close shot is a must. Im sure you already realize that. I hope it goes well and tell her to bag a bigun!!!! :DI will be going through this very thing in a couple years. I have a 4 yr old and all shes says is "daddy can I go hunting with you". Im sure you can imagine how I feel telling her no.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

I load the Whipser both ways...

220 grainers at 1050 for my suppressed AR...

and various weight bullets for my Contender.

The NBT in 125 is about perfect for deer and the recoil is minor. She shopuld have no problems with the recoil. Its a very accurate round and one that wont blow your eardrums out.

I find many of the comments here about the Whisper somewhat entertaining as it is apparent that most of those commenting have never shot one.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

I have a NEF 243 and took a nice doe with it this year. It really doesnt kick at all,,, honestly! Just let her try a buddies on a practice day and see how she does. I think it would be just fine for her. I love my NEF 243, it is so versatile! A poor mans T/C encore.
Now, where is zrex when your talking about 243,,,,,,,,
EJ

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

I would say to get the NEF. You can get various barrels for it. Get one in .243, then have a barrel fitted in a smaller caliber. Maybe .357 Mag, or 22mag rimfire. These will be no problem to handle out of that rifle. Put a good scope, and maybe add a bipod to add some weight, and the recoil will be very little. Then, as she grows, you can add other barrels also, such as the 7-08 and others. That would be my choice. Heck, even load the .243 with some minimum loads with the Nosler 55 grain BT to start. That would generate not more than 6lbs or recoil energy.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

Mike - not sure if you got the info your looking for on the 300 Whisper? I don't have any experience with them, but I do have a book with several whisper cartridges written up - reloading info type of thing. The 338 and 375 whispers sound kind of interesting as well. If you want to see what they have written let me know.

Oh, and as far as the 243 goes - seems like243's are always anticipated to be no-recoil guns, so recoil pads are often hard plastic. If your going the 243 route with a young shooter and want to assure minimal recoil - make sure there is a recoil pad on it. My 6 mm makes my shoulder hurt more than my 7 Rem Mag. The 6 has a hard plastic butt pad, my 7 Mag has a custom stock and a recoil pad...

It would be interesting to see what shooting a subsonic caliber would be like. The book talked about these calibers being incredibly accurate out to 1 mile, and how little wind effected the path with the heavy calibers and bullets. More so with the 338 Whisper and larger than the 300 Whisper.

RE: Anybody load the .300 Whisper?
 

well I got a deal on a 243. So we got one tonight. total after taxes was $272.50 came with a mounted Simmons scope, sling, and a soft case. My dads going to buy some dies for it if she cant handle it, so we can load some reduced loads for her.


I will still be getting a .300 Whisper barrel this spring for my Contender. And a thumbhole stock from Gunstocks Inc. also. After reading about it and seeing the data I want one, just dont need it now. My dad wants to get back into reloading so when we do, I'll have me a Whisper set up to play with and fine tune my reloading skills. :D