Bought an as new m70 with laminated stock & control feed at a local pawn shop for $350. It feeds well & the scope mounts are properly allined. They threw in a box of shells. Problem is I have 7 very good 30'06 & 2 300 winmags. Is there really any reason to spend $100 to develop loads or should i move it down the road for a $150 profit? I like the way it feels & handles..thanks

I won a Howa 1500, in 300 WSM, and I thought
the same thing. I have a good .30-06 Sprg, and
several .308's. I have never lusted after a
300 WM, so maybe I should sell this one...Was
my thought. I made the mistake of shooting it.
I REALLY like this rifle cartridge. It is
easy to load for, and with Barnes TSX bullets,
I don't need anything over 180 grains, to flat
drop anything on this continent. I was thinking
maybe a 338 WM, or a 338 RUM, and now I have
decided that the 300 WSM, with Barnes TSX
bullets, is as far as I need to go up the
power chart for North America. My current
favorite load, was developed for Elk, and is
a 168 gr. TSX, that holds .6 MOA consistently,
and chronies an average 3050 fps. I tested
this load on a northern whitetail doe, taken
for management. It was a quartering towards
shot, that literally flipped the deer over.
I processed the carcass, and the damage
was beyond impressive. FWIW, I am not
sending my 300 WSM down the road.

Squeeze

Depends on how much of a rifle crank you are. If you want it, keep it. You got a good deal, you can probably get $600 for it. The other thing to do is go wildcatting on the action. A 6.5wsm???

From a ballistic standpoint you don't need the 300 WSM.
But do you like the rifle? There are many cartridges that overlap on performance. But to me it is the actual rifle that makes the difference.

If you like the rifle, keep it and develop loads. If you don't, send it down the road.

As I get older, I find myself being more particular about how my rifles fit me, and how they feel/handle.

I just sold a Whitworth 375 H&H. Beautiful gun, classy, nothing wrong with it. The guy who bought should be really happy.

But it just did not fit me the way I thought it should. I am having a CZ 416 Rigby reworked with the proceeds.

Sold a FN JC Higgins for the same reason and picked up a CZ model 3 in 270 WSM. Not a huge fan of the WSM's, but I love the way those model 3's feel and point for me.

DON'T EVER SELL A RIFLE YOU LIKE THE FEEL OF!!!

Take two beers and you'll be over the temptation to sell by the morning. The $100 to develop loads is cheap for a rifle you like and damn expensive on a rifle you don't like.

Tom: I will buy it for $350 and then do what JudgeG did over on the Big Bore forum: screw on a .404 barrel. Bliss!