You know the 300 Win Mag is totally better right? And you can't even find loaded ammo for a 30 Gibbs! Plus my 308 gets the same velocities with half the powder and negative recoil forces. And then there's this other completely unrelated thing I want to talk about too...........
That's a good looking setup! I think the weight is just about perfect, I try for 8# scopes with my hunting guns. The scope intrigues me too. I'm curious to hear how it works out for you. I've never personally had a USO in my hands so I'm not familiar with them at all.
A local shop had a 30 Gibbs sitting on the used rack back before the world went sideways and I was really close to grabbing it. That got me thinking about having an Encore pistol barrel in 30 Gibbs. I haven't ruled out that project, so I'm anxious to see what sort of performance you end up getting out of this.
It looks like you've got a set of Whidden dies, did you stumble onto those in stock somewhere or did you order them?
You know .300 WM remains my go-to chambering. No loaded ammo? I am OK with that as I am not dependent on it. As soon as I get enough range time with the USO, I will let you know. The Whidden is for my .30 LARA. I have Redding dies for the .30 Gibbs.