28 November 2005, 06:33
WoodjackGet to Know your Gun.
I was in a position where I had various guns at my feet, or the money to buy what I wanted. I chose to focus on my .300 weatherbyMK Dlx 26",2.5-8xLeupold,Leupold bridgebase,redfeild Low rings. It weighed about 9.75lb.
I used that for everything I did:
- Plains shooting on bypod and offhand.
- stalking in the forest
-chasing hog on foot in the pines with and without dogs,
- riding "shotgun" and solo on motorbikes,resting across my thighs or strapped across my back,
-chased game on foot for 400yds on the plains to intercept for a good shot,
-spotlighting.
-Blind shooting.
It is amazing how you can focus on what you have and make the most of it.I didnt feel like I needed another rifle, I was getting everthing done and it balanced/steadied nicely with that weight .The only change I made to that rifle was aBrown precision glass/graphite stock which brought the weight to 9 1/4 lb.It then became alittle nose heavy,great! And I shot that thing without arecoil pad installed. In the field it didnt matter, on the bench I used a small sand bag between us. It actually felt less with that stock than with original wood. I ran absolute fearless full loads in that 300(81-83gns imr4831/180gnBT), it recoiled more, but was not as sharp as the 270mag. It was actually amuch nicer rig to shoot than my 8.5lb 270magMkV. In future I would opt for a 27" tube on the 300WM slightly larger dia, and fluted. I would have felt even better with a340WM running the GS custom 200gnHV@3300.(with a pad
)I had immense confidence in that rig and myself. I took two ostriches offhand that were running flatout well over 200yds away. Another gun I had, I was missing shots at stationary hogs no more than 50yds away.