I recently built a 300 WSM for 1000 yd BR in mediocre to poor conditions. I have past experience with one that shot very well in that environment. It even shot well in good conditions at 1000 yds. With all the recent range shutdowns, I didn't get my 6BRA tuned in time for the 600 yd match last Sunday, so I shot the 300 WSM. It was a rare first relay appearance for me and conditions were decent.
The winning LG Agg was 1.72, mine was #6 at 2.57. I did win for score with a 147-6X. Now I had the least variation in group size of anybody. I shot a 2.36, a 2.50, and a 2.85.
I also shot HG with this 17lb 300 WSM. Its very awkward as this rifle recoils 3-4 times as far as a 6 BRA LG, so it's slow and hard to get 10 shots off in the same micro-condition. I watched that happen on one target. My condition changed on shot 5, I decided to keep running, and so I had more horizontal. In fact, all my HG groups had horizontal and I attribute that to being slow.
What was most interesting is I was shooting next to another shooter who brought his 300 WSM HG just to see how it would do. His gun weighed 70 lbs, and he is the winningest NBRSA LR BR shooter of all time. His gun recoiled about as much as a 6 BR LG. His HG agg was #3 at 2.90 and mine was #4 at 3.79. The winning HG agg was 2.79. I can attribute my .8" greater agg as simply the difference between a 17 lb 300 WSM and a 70 lb 300 WSM.
All of this leads me to think that the 300 WSM just isn't very competitive at 600 yds vs the 6mms, especially in LG class. A true HG 300 WSM seems to be fine at 600.
I am not surprised, and like I mentioned, my 300 is for those times when conditions are not great at 1000 yds. While the 300 WSM won't likely shoot as well in good conditions as the 6mms, I think it will shoot as well in average conditions and better in bad conditions at 1000. I have yet to beat my 4.71" LG agg I shot with a 300 WSM in 2006, though I have been close to that with a 6 BRA. I just don't think the 300 will run with the 6mms at 600 yds in average to good conditions.
FYI, I am shooting Berger 215s, RL-23, and getting single digit ES. At 200 yds my average for five-shot groups is .6" or .3 MOA.
What are thoughts and experiences with the 300 WSM at 600 yd BR? Perhaps @dkhunt14 or @dmoran have more extensive experience with this?
The winning LG Agg was 1.72, mine was #6 at 2.57. I did win for score with a 147-6X. Now I had the least variation in group size of anybody. I shot a 2.36, a 2.50, and a 2.85.
I also shot HG with this 17lb 300 WSM. Its very awkward as this rifle recoils 3-4 times as far as a 6 BRA LG, so it's slow and hard to get 10 shots off in the same micro-condition. I watched that happen on one target. My condition changed on shot 5, I decided to keep running, and so I had more horizontal. In fact, all my HG groups had horizontal and I attribute that to being slow.
What was most interesting is I was shooting next to another shooter who brought his 300 WSM HG just to see how it would do. His gun weighed 70 lbs, and he is the winningest NBRSA LR BR shooter of all time. His gun recoiled about as much as a 6 BR LG. His HG agg was #3 at 2.90 and mine was #4 at 3.79. The winning HG agg was 2.79. I can attribute my .8" greater agg as simply the difference between a 17 lb 300 WSM and a 70 lb 300 WSM.
All of this leads me to think that the 300 WSM just isn't very competitive at 600 yds vs the 6mms, especially in LG class. A true HG 300 WSM seems to be fine at 600.
I am not surprised, and like I mentioned, my 300 is for those times when conditions are not great at 1000 yds. While the 300 WSM won't likely shoot as well in good conditions as the 6mms, I think it will shoot as well in average conditions and better in bad conditions at 1000. I have yet to beat my 4.71" LG agg I shot with a 300 WSM in 2006, though I have been close to that with a 6 BRA. I just don't think the 300 will run with the 6mms at 600 yds in average to good conditions.
FYI, I am shooting Berger 215s, RL-23, and getting single digit ES. At 200 yds my average for five-shot groups is .6" or .3 MOA.
What are thoughts and experiences with the 300 WSM at 600 yd BR? Perhaps @dkhunt14 or @dmoran have more extensive experience with this?