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A Serious Question

One of my students brought out an ultralight .300WinMag. Every step had been taken to reduce weight. Didn't weigh it, but it was so light, it felt like an empty stock. Destroyed a brand new Apel mount. Ended up putting a Picatinny rail and Badger rings on it just to stand up to the recoil.
 
I
my learning curve came from shooting two kimbers, a montana and a hunter. a 257 roberts and a 7mm08, not big kickers, but very fussy what you fed them and how you held them.
I zeroed a very light Kimber 270 with a muzzle brake not to long ago for a friend. I couldn't get done quick enough and I sure won't shoot another one like it. It was a slick handling little gun but the recoil and noise were awful. I zeroed a 30-06 Winchester featherweight without a brake and a 300 Win. Mag Ruger American with a brake the following day and found both to be pleasant in comparison.
 
Mine is my trued and switch barrel Kimber 8400 Select in 300WM, weighs 8.5lbs scoped, loaded and prints 3/4MoA with 180g Accubonds or 200g Accubonds.
Extremely accurate for it's skinny barrel, but it's no target rifle.

I would accept 1MoA accuracy in a lightweight hunting rifle any day from hunting positions.

Cheers.
 
I think a 6.5x284 in sporter contour on any action, with 120-156 class bullets @3/4 moa would be great for this application

Full disclosure.....I built this exact rifle and love it, amd while carrying it, I tell myself that this rig (1/2 moa) is very capable on deer, ELK, and bear at your stated distance of 600 yds.
 
I realize there are a large number of exceptional shooters on this forum or at least this is what I read. To me a 600 yard shot is not a chip shot. The rifle needs to be at or under 1 MOA to be used in this hunting scenario IMO. Like many, I want to remove equipment issues out of the equation as much as possible. This is the main reason I started reloading. I personally don't spend a significant amount of time trying to create a perfect shooting platform from the bench or shooting prone using equipment I will not have in the hunting grounds. I have come to the conclusion that if I can get my rifle to consistently to print 1 MOA or slightly better groups from hunting style rests, I am very happy.
 
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