Hi there Ladies and gents,looking to find out just what goals as far as accuracy are really reachable with my model16 FCSS Savage Weather Warrior chambered in 300 WSM. I have shot 6 different types of factory ammo all in 150 grain. I have reached modest results ,starting at 100 yards. Federal Fusion seems to shoot best,but at 200 yards I have a 4 inch group. This is off a Caldwell lead sled. Im no sniper by any means,but I was planning on a tighter group than that. Are my expectation too high? Without going to special handloads,what else can I do? I have the trigger set at 2.6 pounds. Perhaps I should lighten it upmore? I would just like a tighter group. Any suggestions? Thanks Mark

Your rifle has a 1 in 10" twist, right? I'd try a 180 grain bullet or two, first. Are your groups round or oblong? It doesn't take much of a breeze at 200 yards to spread out a group, figure about 3" drift in a 10 mph wind. Vertical spreads are more likely due to ammo.

Bye
Jack

What kind of optics did you go with? Rings/bases?

Savages are pretty deadly rigs, if that was a Ruger shooting 4" at 200 I'd say you had a shooter (j/k this is how to stir the pot :-P). But a Savage should do better.

How many different loads did you try?

How many rounds total so far?

My Savage (Stevens 200) .30-06 started a little slow out of the box. I didn't seem to like the Hornady 165s or 150s I was feeding it. When I made the switch to Nosler 165, whoa! - penny sized groups started happening. I also got about an inch group with some cheap Federal 165 SPs last time out as well.

The rifle did shoot better after it was broke-in a bit. My break-in was nothing more than shooting 10 or 15 rounds, then taking it home and cleaning it with Outers Foam Copper Solvent, then WD-40 and a Hoppes Bore Snake. After about 4 sessions like this, the groups really started to tighten. My Savage seemed to need about 80 rounds run through it to break in. Maybe some need more.

Like the others have said try a different bullet weight. I would say that a 150 is too light for a 300mag anyway. Your Savage is capable of much better than 4". I have a Savage Striker 308 bolt pistol and my buddy has a 223 Savage varmint and they both shoot under an inch at 100yards. I have to believe yours should do better.

Welcome to the forum orionsoracle. Rules are simple, be nice and join in.

As for your Savage in 300 WSM I'd try some 180's. I've never had one of the WSM's, but have had several 30 caliber mags and all responded to the 180 grain bullets better than the 150's. I also found the 180's didn't damage meat as much and killed very well.

Friend has a Winchester model 70 300 WSM and his groups at an inch at a hundred with 180's.

I have approximately 100 rounds through the rifle now. All 150 grain ammo. I forgot to mention that the rifle is topped off with a Nikon Monarch 3x9x50mm scope,and she's tight. My groupings were sometimes touching,and to make sure I did a fair test. I ran solvent with a brush down the barrel,then swabbed her dry in between each ammo switch. But to go from 3 rounds touching each other at 100 yards,to another 3 rounds with a 4 inch spread to me is unacceptable. Once again,my trigger is at 2.6 pounds,,think I should lighten it up more? I will try some 180 ammo through it. Also when the groups spread out they were in a circular pattern. Thanks for all of your help

Get some 180's or even some 165 boattails. Most 30-06's were made to run heavier, hence longer bullets.

RJ

When I was a young fella my hunting buddy had a Winchester mod 70 chambered in 300 ICL Grizzly. This gun started life out as a 300 H&H. The ICL Grizzly was a balllistic twin to the 300 Weatherby.

I simply couldn't afford to buy a new model 70 and have it rechamberd. What I did was build a 308 Norma mag on a Mauser action and stock it myself with a Fagen stock.

Now being a young guy I ignored my buddies advice to shoot 180 grain bullets like he did. I wanted super fast, super flat so I loaded up 150 grainers hot as I could.

The first deer I shot was a mule deer doe. It was climbing up a trail above me about a hundred yards in a line of 8 or so does.

I put the cross hairs on the back of it's neck and pulled the trigger. When the gun came down from recoil the does were still trotting up the trail. I was going to shoot again when my buddy said you got him. I simply didn't believe him til we found the doe about 20 or so feet below the trail.

I had hit her in the back of the head and that 150 grain Sierra took every bit of her head off. All that was left was a pair of ears and the neck. I blew up one more deer with that load and distroyed the whole front quarters.

After I went to the 180 grain bullets I didn't destroy near as much meat and I found that at the 3000 plus foot mark the 180's killed really well.

Faucettb......Now that post of yours reads like a carbon copy of what was said to a very young lad years ago about 1964. Yep, I took my new .300 Win mag out for shooting and this silver hair gentleman told me after looking at my targets I had shoot, to simply try some 180 grain bullets in that rifle. It will shoot a lot better.

So next weekend I bought several boxes of 180 grain bullets and low and behold, the Old Man was spot on with his predictions. The rifle really shot well with 180 grainers going out the front end.

However, along came deer season that year and I only had some 150 grain bullets left in one of the boxes I had purchased previously in the summertime. I got a shot on a nice buck and just about cut that deer in two pieces using those 150 grain bullets up close in the woods.

Moral to the story is listen up and take heed, when a silver hair Old Man tells you something about guns. Also never use light bullets on deer up close at magnum velocities, it will ruin a lot of good eating meat. :rolleyes:

I've found that to be true with the 30-06 and the 270 also. Good killers no doubt, but tough on meat damage at the velocities generated.

I do use a 150 grainer in the 308, but when I had an 06 I liked the 165 as a good compromise between velocity, drop and killing power.

That by the way was in 1963/4 I believe.

165gr. Partition is a nice .30-06 bullet for everything from mice to moose :)

My dad shot a lot of deer with 150gr. boattailed Sierras in his .30-06 over the years.... anchored them good, but you didn't want to try and eat anywhere near the bullet impact :eek: