New .300 Win Mag!

[brant89]

Well, after months of impatience I finally have my new do-all hunting rifle finished. I have always owned Savage rifles so a brand new 116 was the donor rifle for this build. Within a half hour of bringing the rifle home it was stripped down to a bare action. I ordered a Criterion 26" light varmint barrel with a 300 win mag match chamber, and took the action to Pierce Engineering to have the bolt fluted and some other work done during the 20 week wait for the barrel to come in. When I finally received the barrel I set the headspace and ran a few rounds through it to make sure everything was in good working order before stripping it back down for another trip to Pierce Engineering to install a Holland Radial Baffle brake. I just picked the rifle up earlier this week, bedded the HS Precision stock and Badger Ordnance 20MOA base, mounted the Vortex Viper HS LR, and finally got to send some rounds down range today. First impressions are good with two 1.5" groups at 200yds before any load development. The brake does wonders for taming the muzzle rise and I can't wait to stretch her legs a little once deer season is over.

I'd also like to say thanks to both Jims at Pierce Engineering. Great guys to work with. Very down to earth and you can tell that customer satisfaction is their number one priority.

 

[elkaholic]

Very Nice Brandt! Congrats on your new toy and have a Blessed Thanksgiving.......Rich

 

[toddc]

Love barrel nuts.

 

[Huntnpack]

I'd also like to say thanks to both Jims at Pierce Engineering. Great guys to work with. Very down to earth and you can tell that customer satisfaction is their number one priority.[/QUOTE]

+1 to the Great Customer service at Pierce. Good people !!!

Nice work on your build.

 

[brant89]

Thanks guys! I built it with the intention to hunt elk with it in a few years (never hunted them before) but it will get a trial run on pronghorn and mule deer next fall in Wyoming.

 

[shawnb]

Very nice. What bottom metal are you using? And what oal can you fit?

 

[dah605]

+1 for both Jims at Pierce. They did a great job on my 7mm RM with Ti action.

-David

 

[ShtrRdy]

Looks like fun!

 

[brant89]

I actually like the look of the factory stainless DBM against the tan stock so I kept all the factory bottom metal. 2.840" is my max magazine length (measured with a comparator). That puts me .075 from the lands which is farther than I'd like but that is part of the reason I went with the 200gr ELDX instead of the 212gr because it is supposed to be less sensitive to seating depth. I'm sure it will group better than the 1.5" that I shot today since it is a new rifle with no load development and I haven't been shooting in quite a while either.

 

[brant89]

Deleted double post.

 

[shawnb]

sounds good. Very nice looking rifle. Do you have a weight as it sits in the picture? Im ordering a savage prefit soon and not sure if im going with a savage action or shilen dgr.

 

[brant89]

Thank you! I'm sure I'm being completely impartial when I say it's one of the nicest looking Savage rifles I've seen. It weighs 12.5lb as you see it in the picture which should be light enough to carry all day in my Eberlestock pack but heavy enough to feel comfortable to 800yds and beyond (when I get to that level). I would highly recommend a Criterion barrel. My 260AI wears a Criterion barrel and it shoots lights out. My best group to date with it is three shots, 1.125" at 490yds. I may never shoot a group that good again but at least I can say I did it once and had a witness. Lol. It consistently shoots between 1/2-3/4 MOA out to 850yds. After that I fall apart and haven't figured out why yet. Might be a mental thing. I'm hoping this 300WM will perform equally well.