oldelkhunter-It would be nice if browning and winchester would just tell us about the new cartridges without resorting to lies and deception.I only have experience with one 300wsm a-bolt and that one shot around 1".My own custom 300ultramag averages groups half that size proving that the gun and load are far more important where accuracy is concerned than the cartridge.The owner of the 300wsm was stunned after seeing my groups as he had bought into the propaganda that the wsms were more accurate than the other magnums especially the ultramags.

Tell you what Stubblejumper...if your A bolt was shooting 1" groups I don't know what ammunition you were using or not. Fly down here and bring your Ultramag with you and I'll schedule a Saturday at the range with my Abolt and then lets see what you have to say . I can guarantee you will be stunned

The .280 and the 300 WSM are both 22 inch barrels in the Ruger that i want.

I think I am leaning between these 2 calibers.....

I heard it is not as easy to find the .280 ammo. Is this true?
Keep in mind I wont be reloading (at least not at first as I realize the seriousness of doing a good job), I will be buying off the shelf ammo.

oldelkhunter,
what length barrel is on your 300 WSM?

oldelkhunter-It was not my a-bolt or my ammo(I wouldn't own an a-bolt or shoot factory loads).I just fired a few groups to help the fellow sight in his new gun.After seeing my groups he asked for help as he was having problems getting sighted in(his grouping was horrible as he was not a good shot at all).My point is not that the wsms are not accurate but rather that the quality of the rifle and the load developed for it has more bearing on accuracy than the cartridge the rifle is chambered for.I have no doubts that I could get accuracy just as good or perhaps better with a custom 300wsm and handloads than I do with my 7mmstw's and 300 ultras.I am just stating that a gun will not necessarily shoot any better with any of the wsms than it will with a standard magnum.

S4bill...I have 23" on the Abolt and 24" on the Winchester 70 SS..there is so little difference in velocity between the extra inch of barrel that it is not even worth talking about like maybe 8-10fps. Call them even you'll get more variation between handloads using the same powder. I think the Abolt has a better barrel than the Model 70 and probably a stiffer action since the darn thing is free floated to the reciever lug an unsightly gap I may add. Barrel is not exactly bull barrel diameter either so they(browning) figured out something that worked well.


Stubblejumper---I thought for a minute that you lost your mind and actually bought an Abolt. This is my first and last . It has absolutely nothing to do with accuracy it is just the short action feel and the option of not being able to field strip the bolt and the tiny extractor . A combination which does not give me a great level of comfort. It may not bother other owners but it bothers me. For paper punching it is unbelievable and the first powder i tried shoots the best . I have tried NN550 and it is accurate as all get out with that also but velocity is an average of 2800 fps as opposed to 2925-2950 +- 25 fps with H4350. True Bedding and construction are part of the equation when it comes to accuracy but you have to admit that some cartridges are inherently more accurate than others.

recoil....how would you rate the recoil on a typical .300 WSW load?

what is an Abolt?

oldelkhunter-I will never own a factory hunting rifle again.I am totally satisfied with the customs that I now own(built on 700 stainless actions with mcmillan stocks and match grade barrels) and will simply rebarrel them when necessary.As far as some cartridges being inherently more accurate I will concede that at the highest levels of benchrest competition this can be a factor.In the case of a hunting rifle it is not a factor at all.I can consistantly average 1/2" groups with my stw's and ultramags so I really am not anxious to change to a smaller case to shrink my groups a few hundredths of an inch.The extra error in estmating bullet drop and wind drift would actually hurt my bullet placement more than the miniscule gain in accuracy would help it.I really don't have a problem with the wsms but rather with the deceptive methods browning and winchester use to market them.

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Might the .300 WSM be light-recoiling enough to let me get into a larger magnum caliber without doing further damage to my already-tender shoulder?

Remember, I can handle the kick of either the 7mm Rem Mag or the .270 Wby Mag, which I find to be about equal. How does the recoil of the .300 WSM compare to these two?

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting


Good Dogwork and Good Hunting