Opinion on 300 WSM for long range shooting

01 June 2019, 09:49

Big Wonderful Wyoming

quote:
CZ 550 Urban counter sniper

https://cz-usa.com/product/cz-...rban-counter-sniper/

I had never seen one of those before. If it has a very short barrel like shown in the photo, there might be some issues with it retaining supersonic flight over 1000 yards.

300 WSM was a popular F-Class round for a long time. But most guys are shooting #7 contour barrels or larger that are 28-30 inches long.

I wouldn't change anything yet, I'd start working on learning wind, shoot as much as you can, and before you know it you will need a new tube anyway.

Figuring out how to load for accuracy. The 300 WSM case is awesome, no belt to fight with.

If you are not in love with it, you could sell it now. Try and get something like a 6.5 Creedmoor or 6mm Creedmoor if you don't reload as they have cheap accurate factory ammo.

If this is a serious avocation for you then, I'd look at a custom 700 clone action from BAT, Surgeon, Nesika, Defiance, Gunwerks, Stiller, Bighorn, American Rifle Company or others and build a hell of a top end rifle.

A cartridge like a 300 WSM should last about 850-1500 rounds before the barrel won't group anymore.

Mike

What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.

03 June 2019, 23:48

AnotherAZWriter

I would figure out what kind of velocities you can get with the heaviest high BC bullets, then figure out which bullet/velocity combo gives you the least amount of wind drift. Assuming you have an accurate rifle/load, you miss due to the wind.

As BWW says, just get out and shoot. Start when the wind is gentle, and move on up. When I first started shooting LR, I would only go out in the morning before the wind picked up. Now I sometimes go out when it is blowing hard just for the practice and to learn my operating envelope.

If you can shoot in different places, that is a huge help. Most ranges are not realistic places to practice: they have side berms or hills that block wind, range flags that tip you off to the wind, etc.

Don't Ever Book a Hunt with Jeff Blair
http://forums.accuratereloadin...821061151#2821061151

06 June 2019, 02:18

ZekeShikar

Good advice so far and I too will intentionally go on windy days to hone my wind reading/shooting skills. We (bro and me) will "guess" the wind and then pull out the Kestrel and verify. After a couple years of doing this at least once a week, we've gotten pretty good at it.... combined with reading the heat waves by adjusting the paralax on the scope to read it's speed and direction.

For this LOOOOOONG range stuff, it become as much art as science (BC, velocity, TOF, POI, drop charts, MOA adjustment, wind drift, spin drift, angled shooting, barometric pressure, temperature etc) but we take care of the science first and then go have some serious fun.

It sounds like you're in for some fun!

Zeke