I have hunted for 30+ yrs with the 300 WEA, and consider it one of the best of the 30's. Any more case capacity is really not going to get you much more performance unless you are using a very long barrel. My current rifle that has been on many elk hunts with me now is a WEA Vanguard. The rifle is stock, except for being glass bedded and the addition of a Rifle Basics trigger. Its scoped with a Leupold VX 6 with the Boone and Crockett reticle. I have found that the monolithic bullets shoot the best with the long lead. My all around hunting load consists of Norma brass, Federal 215 match primers with 168 gr. Barnes TTSX bullets. I am currently running 86.5 grains of Reloader 22. This load runs at 3300 fps, and consistently groups 3 shots into .75 or less. ( it should be noted that this rifle has a 24" barrel ) I have killed 5 elk and 2 mule deer with this load. All except one were 1 shot kills. That one was a large bull that was angled away from me, and I hit him too far back. The wound channels were quite large, and the penetration was exceptional. Sighted in at 300 yds., the bullet drop is only -8". I don't consider myself a long range shooter, and all shots were less than 450 yds. I have another rifle chambered in the old classic that has somewhat shorter lead. This gun prefers the great 200 gr. Nosler partition, or the 200 gr. Trophy Bonded. My only dislike with the Vanguard is that the action is a bit short for this round. I simply seat them as long as the magazine allows. Are there better rounds? Of course. But if you want to hunt with a true classic, the 300 WEA won't let you down!
