300 wsm LR mountain rifle

[Tree Farmer]

I will be working up an accuracy load for my 300 WSM this spring for a fall elk hunt. I'm behind the curve due to an unexpected shoulder surgery 3 wks. ago. I was going to start with 166 gr Hammer Hunter and go from there. But now I really need some advice. The 166 HH (1.4085" & 169.6 grs +/-), .025 off the lands, has a COL of 2.994. My magazine length is about 3.06". I'm hoping, with a lot of practice, to reach out to 600 yds. Help! I need to cut to the chase fast after I get the green light from the Doc.

 

[Mram10us]

I will be working up an accuracy load for my 300 WSM this spring for a fall elk hunt. I'm behind the curve due to an unexpected shoulder surgery 3 wks. ago. I was going to start with 166 gr Hammer Hunter and go from there. But now I really need some advice. The 166 HH (1.4085" & 169.6 grs +/-), .025 off the lands, has a COL of 2.994. My magazine length is about 3.06". I'm hoping, with a lot of practice, to reach out to 600 yds. Help! I need to cut to the chase fast after I get the green light from the Doc.

What is your question?

 

[th82457]

This may have already been covered, but here goes. If you are mountain hunting for the 1st time, the thin air will affect a flat lander, so a light rifle to lug around is a bigger benefit than a heavy rifle. With that said a Kimber Montana in .300 WSM is substantially lighter that a M700, has a good factory trigger & nice Kevlar stock with a good pad. Also the blind mag box will allow you to seat bullets close to 3.0" OAL. This should allow you to load most bullets up to 180 grains without eating up valuable powder space in the case. Also, a Montana will cost less than a custom barreled gun with similar features and is also an all weather stainless/synthetic rifle. I have owned Winchester, Sako & Kimber's in .300 WSM & for elk/mule deer in the western states where I hunt the Kimber is ideal. Balances well for a light rifle, stock geometry is good for taming recoil & I have shot a lot of game with it including a large Alaska bull moose and have never been disappointed. I would not hang an oversized heavy scope on it either. A Leupold VX5 or Zeiss Conquest up to 15x top end power should work fine, unless you are comfortable with something smaller/lighter like a quality 3x9. A 165/168 Barnes or 178 ELDX will drop any elk on the planet out of a 300 WSM. Again, just my two cents worth - but based on my actual hunting experience.

Good Luck on your hunt !

 

[TexHunt]

I spoke to Steve at Hammer and he suggested the 174 hammers for the 300 Wsm, I have a ladder load setup ready to go to the range.

what I have been reading is that the hammer bullets are very forgiving, they don't have to be loaded out to the lands, and are not sensitive to jump. Lots of guys are saying all they do is load up to find max lid and back off .5 grain and the bullets shoot.

I would still look for nodes, if your setup you do so, and keep it .020" off the box max length to make sure you cycle smooth. Is what I did with my 30-06 and it shoots better than I can control the light weight rifle.

best of luck, keep us posted. If I get my 300 wsm out anytime soon I will post the results.

 

[TexHunt]

This may have already been covered, but here goes. If you are mountain hunting for the 1st time, the thin air will affect a flat lander, so a light rifle to lug around is a bigger benefit than a heavy rifle. With that said a Kimber Montana in .300 WSM is substantially lighter that a M700, has a good factory trigger & nice Kevlar stock with a good pad. Also the blind mag box will allow you to seat bullets close to 3.0" OAL. This should allow you to load most bullets up to 180 grains without eating up valuable powder space in the case. Also, a Montana will cost less than a custom barreled gun with similar features and is also an all weather stainless/synthetic rifle. I have owned Winchester, Sako & Kimber's in .300 WSM & for elk/mule deer in the western states where I hunt the Kimber is ideal. Balances well for a light rifle, stock geometry is good for taming recoil & I have shot a lot of game with it including a large Alaska bull moose and have never been disappointed. I would not hang an oversized heavy scope on it either. A Leupold VX5 or Zeiss Conquest up to 15x top end power should work fine, unless you are comfortable with something smaller/lighter like a quality 3x9. A 165/168 Barnes or 178 ELDX will drop any elk on the planet out of a 300 WSM. Again, just my two cents worth - but based on my actual hunting experience.

Good Luck on your hunt !

I have multiple custom rifles for long range hunting, but my Barrett fieldcraft is my go to for the high elevation trips. It is a similar weight to the kimber, the kimber has a removable break and more caliber options. One of those would be my advise as well. Reality is you won't shoot over 500, and these two rifles in a 280, 30-06 or 300wsm will do that easy.

But I certainly understand wanting to build, I did it twice, and love those rifles, but less weight is the way to go.

 

[tgeavenson]

If you want to wring all the .300wsm has to give, consider the long action as mentioned before. If you use AG Composites a single stack mag would put you way ahead on feeding.

 

[Mram10us]

I spoke to Steve at Hammer and he suggested the 174 hammers for the 300 Wsm, I have a ladder load setup ready to go to the range.

what I have been reading is that the hammer bullets are very forgiving, they don't have to be loaded out to the lands, and are not sensitive to jump. Lots of guys are saying all they do is load up to find max lid and back off .5 grain and the bullets shoot.

I would still look for nodes, if your setup you do so, and keep it .020" off the box max length to make sure you cycle smooth. Is what I did with my 30-06 and it shoots better than I can control the light weight rifle.

best of luck, keep us posted. If I get my 300 wsm out anytime soon I will post the results.

Please do post, because if hammer bullets are that forgiving, everyone else will be out of business

 

[Richard Kramer]

I am hoping to make the group elk hunt in the next few years and trying to prepare. Never shot an elk but know I need a well constructed bullet. I am wanting at least 190 gr but have heard a lot about those lighter hammer Bullets. I am sitting on a factory Remington 700 short action 300 wsm. It will be getting a match barrel probably criterion from NSS as I have had great accuracy with all of my builds. I would prefer to keep it blind mag and I am thinking a AG composite stock. They let me stop by the shop and tour the facility last year and handled all the models. Anyway I am more concerned and interested to see what everyone's recommends on barrel length, twist and bullet selection. I want to keep it balanced but not too long. I have not hunted the mountain much and can only imagine. It is fairly flat here on the florida and Alabama line. So this will be the elk gun. It will be threaded and most likely have a break on this hunt. It will be equipped with the TBAC 30 back home for those bean field white tails

Thanks

Buck

I have taken elk with everything from a 6.5mm to .30. A magnum doesn't matter one bit. Bullet placement is key. As far as barrel length I wouldn't go shorter than 21 or 22". There are folks who hunt with .243 and .25 caliber and never had a problem with one shot kills. It is not the rifle it is the hunter...the person behind the rifle.

 

[TexHunt]

Again, what I have read

With my 30-06 they did seem very forgiving, but I am still working on the load. The gun and scope are under 7 pounds, and no brake, so controlling the recoil is a challenge.

BC was lower than advertised, but could be something in my app I need to adjust.

Didn't mean to over sell them, I have only had two range visits, and I am in the average category of shooting technic. I will post when I have more info on them.

 

[BillLarson]

Check the archives on this subject and on the SnipersHide site.There are guides who use a .220 swift,to the tune of 20 some animals....Ranchers doing eradication with smk,s....all depends on shot placement within the caliber,s effective range...

 

[Rick Richard]

I will be working up an accuracy load for my 300 WSM this spring for a fall elk hunt. I'm behind the curve due to an unexpected shoulder surgery 3 wks. ago. I was going to start with 166 gr Hammer Hunter and go from there. But now I really need some advice. The 166 HH (1.4085" & 169.6 grs +/-), .025 off the lands, has a COL of 2.994. My magazine length is about 3.06". I'm hoping, with a lot of practice, to reach out to 600 yds. Help! I need to cut to the chase fast after I get the green light from the Doc.

I am currently experimenting with the HH 181 and 166 and both are shooting almost one holders at 100 yards with H4350. I did find they opened up more than I liked at further ranges, but I believe I need to do some seating depth tuning to take that out. I can say the bullets themselves are very consistent in weight and dimensions. Also, Steve at Hammer is one heck of a guy and really cares about his customers.

 

[Ranger Rick]

I am hoping to make the group elk hunt in the next few years and trying to prepare. Never shot an elk but know I need a well constructed bullet. I am wanting at least 190 gr but have heard a lot about those lighter hammer Bullets. I am sitting on a factory Remington 700 short action 300 wsm. It will be getting a match barrel probably criterion from NSS as I have had great accuracy with all of my builds. I would prefer to keep it blind mag and I am thinking a AG composite stock. They let me stop by the shop and tour the facility last year and handled all the models. Anyway I am more concerned and interested to see what everyone's recommends on barrel length, twist and bullet selection. I want to keep it balanced but not too long. I have not hunted the mountain much and can only imagine. It is fairly flat here on the florida and Alabama line. So this will be the elk gun. It will be threaded and most likely have a break on this hunt. It will be equipped with the TBAC 30 back home for those bean field white tails

Thanks

Buck

 

[Ranger Rick]

I am hoping to make the group elk hunt in the next few years and trying to prepare. Never shot an elk but know I need a well constructed bullet. I am wanting at least 190 gr but have heard a lot about those lighter hammer Bullets. I am sitting on a factory Remington 700 short action 300 wsm. It will be getting a match barrel probably criterion from NSS as I have had great accuracy with all of my builds. I would prefer to keep it blind mag and I am thinking a AG composite stock. They let me stop by the shop and tour the facility last year and handled all the models. Anyway I am more concerned and interested to see what everyone's recommends on barrel length, twist and bullet selection. I want to keep it balanced but not too long. I have not hunted the mountain much and can only imagine. It is fairly flat here on the florida and Alabama line. So this will be the elk gun. It will be threaded and most likely have a break on this hunt. It will be equipped with the TBAC 30 back home for those bean field white tails

Thanks

Buck

 

[Deleted member 112174]

First, I would ask you where you are planning to hunt? What is the terrain like and what will the shooting be like? A tough bullet is most necessary at higher velocities and may not be required at long range or at moderate velocities. A tough bullet is necessary if you hit where you should. Good quality bullets, from consistent manufacturing will do well. If you really want to kill and elk fix your rig and yourself to hit where you need to. An co-worker used to take 3 weeks vacation to guide for an outfitter. When clients were gone he could hunt himself. He shot a spike bull at 150 yds and hit it in the middle. Bull ran off and was never recovered. The next year, my friend showed up with a .300 win mag. He got a "groundhog day" second chance. Spike bull at 150 yds. He repeat the shot in the middle of the elk and it too went unrecovered. Better shooting was the answer not more firepower. Did he have the horsepower to shoot at 700 yds? Probably. But he couldn't make the required shot at 150 paces. He sold the rifle to another friend very cheaply, who used it on antelope and couldn't handle the recoil, made a bad shot on an antelope and had a real rodeo recovering it. He sold it to another friend who thought it would be great for elk. He couldn't shoot it either. Sold it off with shells, scope, case, sling for a real bargain. I would have bought it, but I had a 30-06 with 165 grain Hornady bullets that killed all the things listed above without problem. The 3 friends listed above all went to standard cartridges and killed more and wounded less. One shooting a Shiras Bull moose with a .270.
I also shot the above mentioned .300 win mag. the fault was not in the rifle or the caliber, but in the shooter/rifle combo. Later, I found great penetration, bullet expansion, and consistent performance on game with a 250 grain Speer bullet out of a 35 Whelen and pedestrian speeds, about 2400 feet per second. Even at 300 yds on elk. In fact, on that quartering shot I hit the bull on the point of the shoulder and found the bullet against the opposite femur.
Be sure you can shoot what you carry placing your shots well. An elk shot in the guts with a .300 mag is still a gut-shot elk. Have a great hunt.