I've just received my custom .300 WSM built on a stainless Remington 700 short action with Kreiger barrel and McMillan stock.

There are several problems with this set-up. The first is the ejector is weak and the spent round only clears the receiver about 50 percent of the time. I took it back to the guy who built it and we put a new spring in it, but it did not help.

Could the fact that we had to open up the bolt face to accept the WSM round have anything to do with this problem? I would dearly hate to have an ejection problem while chambering a follow up shot on the elk of a lifetime.

Another problem is the magazine is so short on the short-action Remington that only low BC bullets can be used and still be seated anywhere near the lands. Ballistic tips, Game Kings and even Noslers have to be set so deep as to encroach on the powder area. I guess this is one of the reasons that Remington developed their own shorter, Short Mag. Fortunately, I'm a fan of Speer Grand Slams, which have a very low BC, and the rifle seems to love them.

Another problem is the magazine will not hold more than two rounds, period! This means if (like me) you are accustomed to carrying your rifle with only ammo in the magazine and chambering only when game is spotted, you only have one round in reserve (unless, of course, you chamber a round out of your pocket, which is not always possible).

Lastly, the bolt handle, being a short action, must have been made by munchkins, because their hands are the only ones small enough to get around the scope and get a palm on bulb. Actually, it's a two finger job for my fat hand.
This is not a major problem, just that I'm used to a much more sustantial gripping surface to shove the handle up.

On the plus side, the rifle is the most accurate gun I have ever fired. It likes all loads pretty well, but the faster the bullet, the tighter the group. So far, I've only shot it at 100 yards during load development. I fear that the low BC bullets I'm forced to use will suffer trajectory-wise, as I move past 300 yards. Fortunately, I have a tenent that says never shoot at game beyond 300 yards. If the rangefinder says 310, I'll mover closer. (The exception being, of course, if the animal has already been shot and moved beyond 300 yards. In this case, I'll lob bullets regardless of range in order to anchor the game.)

All this points to one conclusion -- If you want a custom 300 WSM do yourself a favor and start with a Winchester action which is made for the round. Every problem I have pointed out has already been breeched by the Winchester factory. All we have to do is screw on a barrel and drop it in a stock and, voila, a custom rifle!

I'm a big fan of Remington accuracy, but the trade-offs are not worth it.

You can put a Sako or AR15 type extractor in, that should solve your ejection problems. I don't know which magazine box you are using, but the factory SAUM box should get you close and allow a three round capacity. You can also work the magazine box and feed ramp for a 3.1" col, which will allow you all the bullet room you can get from the short action. I don't know what to tell you for the bolt handle/hand problem. If your hands are too big for the action, There's not a lot you can do. Mount your scope a little higher and change bolt handles possibly might help. FWIW - Dan

The gun already has a Sako extractor. I'm taking it back today to see if it is defective or not.

As for the magazine, it is a detatchable box magazine. It's an after-market item that fits into the McMillan stock. Not sure who makes it.

Well, at least your rifle shoots well.

Here's the problem you're experiencing with feeding and magazine capacity: Most gunsmiths are clueless in this regard, but you can't take, say, an action that came off a .308, keep all of the same parts, open the bolt face, etc., then expect the rifle to feed worth a hoot. Paul Mauser invented this concept in the first place, but since every cartridge has it's own set of measurements, every cartridge needs it's own correctly-dimensioned magazine box to create the correct stack angle and to maximize magazine capacity. For example, lot's of belted magnums don't feed properly because they were converted from actions which originally came off of .30-06s or .270s. The gunsmiths who performed most of these conversions opened the bolt face, opened the feed rails, but retained the original .30-06 magazine box and follower. Such half-assed efforts never feed the way they should or hold four-down as they should.

Your problem is compounded due to the the fact that the .300 WSM cartridge is short and fat.

I'm not sure what's causing your ejector problems, but I suspect that when your gunsmith opened the bolt face he cut the bolt face recess a bit too tight for proper function.

The Remington 700 action isn't exactly the last word on accuracy. Contrary to yet another urban myth about rifles, I have several Model 70s that group five-shots into a half-inch or less at 100 yds., and this action functions a lot better than the Model 700 does.

AD

I think your cup is half full and not half empty.

Find a way to operate the bolt. Your the one that selected a Remington arn't you?

Since I hunt with rifles that are single shots and I enjoy them two shots are plenty. But since you have got some first class stuff there spend a little more on the mazazine.

The ejection must be some little detail. Take the bolt out of the action and press a unprimed case into it and see if there are any hang ups. I am sure this can be corrected.

The short 700 is a poor choice for the WSM but since it's what you have you have to make it work! After watching a fellow smith try and get one to feed reliably with 3 cartridges I decided to avoid the conversion.
Since you have a Sako extractor in place there is every chance that it is a part of the problem. The other possibility is that the case is hitting something on the way out. I would tend to bet on the extractor though. They are often installed in the wrong position by gunsmiths.
I have come to believe the best way to get the fat cartridges to feed well is to use a mag with a flat follower and a box that feeds from the center. Kind of like the Sako 75. Regards, Bill.

There are a few fellas out there willing to give you a lot of advice. Some are correct in assuming that the short action is at fault. It is to a certain point. Your problem is with the short magazine, which, I believe, you have figured out. The real problem lies with the Sako extractor. I have done literally hundreds of the sako extractor conversions on the model 700's. They only really work on the .223 or .22-250/308 bolt face conversions. The problem is with the angle of departure on the spent rounds. They always hit the scope and fall back into the loading port. Watch closely the next time you eject a round and you will see. It is a hard lesson to learn, but has a bitof value to it.

any questions, E-mail me or call.

Jim

Thanks for all your help guys. The problem has been solved.

When I took the bolt out and shoved a rim up against the face, it was obvious that there was way too much wiggle room. So I took it back to the builder. He agreed and immediately shoved a brand new rifle identical to mine in my face which he had built at the same time as mine. This is one he intended to give to hs son, only it has an engraved receiver and a muzzle break (I hate breaks). But it ejects, no problem.

After I got it home, and was cycling empties, I did have two occasions where the extractor failed to pick up the round. I hope that this problem will work itself out with live-fire seasoning. If it doesn't, then I'll be making another trip to the gunsmith.

You know, when you pay two grand for a rifle, is it too much to ask that it at least picks up the round in the chamber, even if it does not eject it?

That's where I find myself now. The extractor has completely given up the ghost on the new rifle. The group that built my gun(s) admittedly have never attempted to build this caliber and setup before and approached it the same way they do their rather famous varmit and target rifles. Obviously, there are special cycling considerations to take into account that do not exist on standard-sized calibers.

The question of the day is "now what?"

It's a real shame because these guns shoot like nobody's business.

I'm far from the expert here, but I might have a solution that's workable. Put back the original extractor. Then, have the smith put in a longer ejector plunger thingy.

What I think is happening is that the short case allows the plunger to lose (sufficient) pressure before the case clears the action. In other words, the short case cocks more upon extraction from the chamber, and there isn't any pressure left to flip it out once it comes into the ejection port. FWIW, Dutch.

Shoulda built it on an "Intermediate length" large ring M98! You wouldn't be have ANY feeding or extraction problems, AND you could load the cartridges to a longer COL (up to 3.2") AND you would be able to get THREE rounds in the magazine.

[ 09-05-2002, 03:55: Message edited by: wildcat junkie ]

I built a WSM on a 700 SA Remmy. It is a 1000 yd. BR rifle so it is a single shot and works fine. After doing about a dozen successful Sako extractors in 700s I have decided that I don't really like them, safety consideration. So, for the WSM I used Bill Leeper's (see above) suggestion and machined out the .308 bolt and installed a Remington magnum extractor, riveted model. It works great, ejects fine, but I've cut the ejector spring to reduce the distance of case flight. The bolt handle was moved forward but while off of the bolt it was extended about 5/8" so I have a long bolt handle, now. If I wanted a repeater, I would consider cutting windows in the magazine box like Rem does for the Ultramags, should work. Also, you can make a box longer by welding two together or adding some metal. Whatever works.