.300 Whisper

[Appleseed]

Last time I asked a question like this on the site, I ended up with a .20 vartarg project.

Tell me about the .300 whisper. Really like the .221fb case and low charge, LOW recoil required (due to injury), bullets from 125gr to 210gr. Looks to be accurate up to 300yds. Is it quiet? 1,125 ft/s is sub-sonic, however, there are loads for it that are faster. Why is this discussed as an attribute of the caliber?

My .243 is too much recoil. Maybe should stay with a .223 with heavy bullets instead, but a small charge .30 caliber is interesting!

Assume the .300 whisper is as long as the .223 oal due to bullet, so will the cartridge feed in the stock Savage mag?

[hitman49]

This really depends on what you want the rifle for. If you are wanting something to shoot through a can than the whisper is about the best you can get. If you are looking for a low recoil paper puncher then the 223 is probably better since it doesn't drop as much at longer ranges.

[dolomite_supafly]

I built a Savage to shoot the 7.62x25 Tokarev round. It uses a .308 bore which makes finding bullets easy. I would load it with heavy stuff at subsonic levels. The case capacity was about perfect once the long bullets were seated to a overall cartridge length of 1.75".

The biggest reason I did this rather than the whisper is cost. The dies are cheaper, brass can be bought rather than having to be made and you can fire surplus ammo in a pinch or buy over the counter ammo, both are reasonable compared to the whisper.

Here is the link to my built of the Tokarev rifle:
More on my 7.62 Tokarev rifle build (finally coming together) (http://savageshooters.com/SavageForum/index.php/topic,24552.msg178031.html#msg178031)

Tons of load data in that link from my testing. No velocities but sound levels. I was able to get a load that had 357 mag energy levels the was as quiet as 22lr subsonics when fired from a 10/22. I have a video of the test if you are interested.

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I would be glad to help out.

Dolomite

[Altair]

I'm new to the Savage platform but not to the 300 Whisper. In fact, it is the Whisper that lead me to just purchase my first Savage rifle (Stevens 200). I built a 300/221 (the non trademarked version of the 300 Whisper) some time ago in an AR platform and I've wanted a bolt action version ever since.

The big allure of the Whisper is that it is very quiet when shot through a suppressor compared to most other options available. It will also cycle an AR with subsonic ammo and uses standard .223 bolts and magazines. These were all factors to me. My rifle is a 10.5" SBR and I use a YHM 308 suppressor. It is lots of fun with 240 SMK's or 208gr AMAX's at 1050fps.

It also performs fairly well with light supersonic .308 bullets in the 110-125gr range if you're looking to hunt with it. The 125gr Nosler BT and the 110gr TSX are popular for that application.

The subsonics are at peak performance in a 10-12" barrel but some choose to go 16" so they don't have to worry about NFA stuff and the extra barrel length will help with supersonics. The cartridge uses fairly fast burning powder. N110, Lil Gun, 2400, W296, H110, and AA1680 are popular.

One thing to keep in mind is that the case forming process is a bit labor intensive. I use .223 brass instead of .221 because .223 brass is cheap and plentiful and doesn't have problems with split necks while forming but it does require alot of trimming (the final trim length of 300 Whisper is 1.355").

It is a verstile and fun cartridge with very light recoil. If you choose to try it, especially suppressed, you'll be hooked for life. Also look into the 300 AAC Blackout, which is brand new and is just a standardized 300 Whisper that is being submitted to SAAMI. AAC and Remington partnered up on that project and Remington will be making ammo.

[sinman]

I have built a ton of barrels in 300/221 but haven't shot any yet, one of these days I will get around to making my own. Hitman49 has brass at a good price too.

[Eric in NC]

Didn't like mine (for non supressed / moderated use). Better option for your application would be a 6 or 7 mmx223 or 6mm or 7 mm TCU - my opinion of course.

Cheaper and easier to find brass, can be loaded up to be a better varmint/deer round, etc.

Check out the 6.5 mm versions of each as well.

[358Hammer]

+1 on the 6X47/6X222Mag !

Some states have caliber restriction along with energy restriction that the Whisper may not meet.

When my children started competing and shooting deer at 6 yrs to 10yrs this is the caliber I built for them to learn on. No more recoil than a 223 with the lighter bullets. Not much more with an 80 grain. Legal and efficient killer. My wife bagged her first few deer with it as well.

Put a forward venting brake on whatever caliber you wish and many including your 243 won't have any recoil.

Neal

[snipecatcher]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f159/ddsr5/DSC03247.jpg

I love the 30/221. Very little recoil, and relatively quiet even without the can. My supersonic load pushes a 125 Nosler or Hornady ballistic tip to ~2200 fps with <18 grains of powder. This is with an 18" barrel. It&#39;s a slightly compressed load, so that&#39;s probably about the max velocity. Subsonics are a joy to shoot. Case forming is easy with Redding dies, but I&#39;ve found it easier to send my brass off to someone who will form it and send it back for about .10 a piece. As soon as my Form 1 for a SBR comes in, I&#39;ll be selling the Savage to fund the new barrel for an AR.
-Dan