I thought I already owned the greatest 300WM hunting rifle ever built, a Brockman custom Dakota 76. I've hunted all over the US and Africa with that rifle. So when my long-time hunter friend started raving about his new Element, I discounted much of his enthusiasm. I mean, how great could it be next to the Brockman? But he has huge hunting experience and wore me down and I paid my $2750. Pulled it out of the box and did a double-take; amazingly light! Great action and trigger! Even with that cushy butt pad and the cool muzzle brake, I thought this thing is going to sting off the bench, though.
Seekins said 6 lbs and they did not lie. I rigged it up with Magpul bipod and RLS sling. The only appropriate scope I had in rings was a SIG Sierra3 BDX 4.5-14, a bit heavy and the reticle stadia lines are too thick, but I was eager to shoot it.
I had 6 different 300WM loads:
Seekins did a great job saving weight on this rifle. Bolt head is steel but the bolt body is aluminum, as is the receiver (with steel insert). The magazine is a work of art in carbon fiber; look at the room for longer OAL:
At the range, I shot 3-shot groups at 100 and chronoed each round. I ended up shooting about 25 rounds off the bench, and the rifle felt like I was shooting .308! The lack of recoil in a rifle this light was astounding. The winner was my favorite round in this caliber, the Barnes 180 TTSX, 2973 fps (81° here today); here's the group:
ROUND. VELOCITY GROUP SIZE
FED 165 TSX. 3000. 0.9"
NOSLER 180 ETIP. 2887. 1.2"
ICC 180 TTSX. 2976. 1"
BARNES 180 TTSX. 2973. 0.334"
FED 185 BERGER. 2921. 0.7"
FED 200 TERM ASCENT 2820. 0.6"
So, it shoots, it points and balances well, you can run the bolt hard, the trigger weighs 2 lbs 9 oz and has great feel. Lots of nice touches, like the mag release that won't dump your mag in the field, nice big trigger guard for gloves, LOP a touch over 13", integral QD sling sockets, integral 20 MOA rail with a bubble level. I don't even mind the Model 700-style safety because the rest of the rifle is so good. I would love to know what their cost is on this rifle, because this thing is a steal.
