So, I have this Mod 70 300 WM, it has the standard wood stock and has the boss with brake on the barrel. I picked this gun up a couple years ago for a song... Oh yeah, its the classic with the controlled feed... anyhow, I shot it maybe 5-6 times at 50 yards... then I killed a doe with it at about 40 yards... the noise kills me, so I just continued to carry my Abolt 30-06.
My question is... with the standard sporter contoured barrel, boss or not, is it realistic to try and turn the gun, as is, into a thousand yarder? A 600 yarder? I have not shot this gun over 50 yards. I assume about "any" decent rifle shoots close to MOA right? I do reload and enjoy working a load up.
IF I can stick with this barrel... where can I find a tactical stock, for a reasonable price, that fits that barrel diameter? I see most all TAC stocks fit heavy barrels??
Also, if the gun is a shooter at 300 off the bench, I am going to HAVE to get a new scope for the longer stuff.... I need recommendations. Do I NEED a 6-24 or can I do well with a 4-16 or something like that?
Sure appreciate your time and advice!
Ernie
Ernie,
I'm not familiar with the M 70, but I'll try to give you some general advise. You should be able to get a B&C Medalist with aluminum bedding block for that rifle for about $250 - $300. That should give you a good platform to start with. it would be best to get it skimmed bedded also. As for how far you can shoot accurately enough to hunt with, you'll just have to shoot it and find out. I wouldn't be real optimistic about 1000 yds, but it might be a 600 yd or so hunter.... who knows, maybe farther?
In order to increase your effective range from the normal 300 yds or so, there are some things you'll need to do, starting with getting a descent stock and bedding it.
First, scope... depending on how far you want to shoot, you will need a scope that can get you there. Out to 600 yds there are a lot of good options with BDC type reticles that will get you close enough for a kill shot. For farther shooting, you need to start looking at a good dial scope, with reliable and repeatable turrets with enough travel for the ballistic curve and distance you need/want. You can use 20 and 40 MOA bases to help accomplish this.
Range Finder... Obviously, determining range is critical, At extended ranges, bullets drop quickly and a miscalculated distance will result in a miss or bad shot. I've got a Lieca 1200 and 1600. the 1200 usually ranges 600-1400 yds in a wide variety of conditions. The 1600 does a couple hundred yards better with angle, temp and pressure info as well. Temp is not very critical, pressure and angle are in some cases.
Ammo... You'll need a good consistant load and the best way to accomplish that is by making it yourself. You can choose what brass, powder and bullets you want and tailor a load that your rifle likes. Most dies are good and some maybe a little better than others. I recommend Redding or Hornady New Dimension FL sizers and Competition seaters. IMO, the Competition seater is the most important part of the equation, assuming that all your other prep and load work is consistent.
Having said that, do you plan to make the 300 WM a chamber that you want to stick with? If not, you might not want to invest much resources into that barrel. A 300 WM will usually burn out in about 1000-1500 rounds and if well maintained, and I'm guessing you don't know the condition of that barrel? If you can find a smith or someone who will bore scope for you, that would be a good idea, unless you just want to shoot it til it goes south.
Once you do burn the barrel out, you can get a custom match grade barrel for about $300 or so and chambered, crowned and threaded for another couple hundred, and and action trued and blue printed for another couple of hundred or so.
Do some searches on these topics and read up. There's a lot of good info available.
Welcome to LRH
-Mark
