Kawabuggy
04-14-2010, 04:31 PM
Okay, I bought a used barrel from a member on this site. I finally got it installed on an older 110. The gun without scope weighed maybe 4-5 lbs. I was concerned with recoil with such a light rifle. I added a light for hog hunting at night, and headed for the range. I did not have time to work up loads, so I just picked from those available on the Alliant site. I ended up with these 2 loads:
Hornady SST 165 gr, R-P case, CCI 250 primer, and 73 grains of RL-22.
Speer 200 Gr. SPFB, R-p Case, CCI 250 primer, and 71 grains of RL-22
At the range, I only shot the 165 grain loads. What the gun was doing was very odd. The first shot was 1" low and 3" right. The next shot was 1" low, and 3" left. The 3rd shot hit by the first, and the 4th hit by the second. The gun is alternating 6" between shots. The elevation was not changing. I fired 10 shots total without adjusting the scope, and found 2 neat little groups of 5 at 3" left & right of the center line on the target!!! I could not believe it was doing it, but it was. No fliers. Just 2 neat groups of 5 each 6" apart.
I dialed in some elevation and fired 3 more shots. Those 3 were doing the exact same thing as the first 10 but this time directly on either side of the bullseye.
At that point, I figured 3" either way will work for hog hunting. I ran out of time at the range, so I never tried the 200 grain load. I left the range and went straight to the ranch. First set of hogs, I waited for 2 to get lined up hoping to kill 2 with one bullet (165 grain load). At the shot, the first hog took off like a rocket and his buddy that was standing behind him ripped open at the seams and literally sprayed every piece of intestines on the ground behind him. How that first hog ran off I don't know. Regardless, I could not see where the bullet had hit the 2nd hog as I could not find an entrance or exit per se.
Next group of hogs comes out.. I have a 130 lb. sow closest to me, and I'm waiting for another hog to line up behind her. When another hog gets lined up I let the lead fly (165 grain load), the sow flops over dead, and the hog behind her takes off running for the hills. I was aiming for a high rib shot-below the spine, and just behind the front leg. The bullet actually hit just behind the front leg in line with where I was aiming, but 4" lower. It went right through her heart, and pulled the heart out the chest cavity, and part of a kidney or liver, and these organs were hanging out of the exit wound on the off side. There was a hog right behind her at the shot so I KNOW that bullet after passing through her had to have hit the other hog as well.
Long story I know. What I really want to know is what bullet weight do you guys recommend for the 300 Win. Mag. and if you have a pet load that shoots well out of a Savage sporter weight barrel 24" in length, will you share it? I'm going back to the range to see if I can better my first results.
One thing I noticed when I got home and was cleaning the gun is that the scope walked FORWARD about 3/4" in the rings. I assume this is from recoil? I fired maybe 30 rounds at the range. Is it normal for the scope to move like that in 30 rounds? Yes, I already verified that the rings are tight. I checked all that stuff at the range when it started shooting left & right. For the record, this gun does not have a recoil pad. I was actually expecting more kick from it.. Not that I was disappointed, but I was just expecting more. It was not bad as bad as people make them out to be. Maybe I should shoot the 200 gr. load before I get too big for my britches.
Hornady SST 165 gr, R-P case, CCI 250 primer, and 73 grains of RL-22.
Speer 200 Gr. SPFB, R-p Case, CCI 250 primer, and 71 grains of RL-22
At the range, I only shot the 165 grain loads. What the gun was doing was very odd. The first shot was 1" low and 3" right. The next shot was 1" low, and 3" left. The 3rd shot hit by the first, and the 4th hit by the second. The gun is alternating 6" between shots. The elevation was not changing. I fired 10 shots total without adjusting the scope, and found 2 neat little groups of 5 at 3" left & right of the center line on the target!!! I could not believe it was doing it, but it was. No fliers. Just 2 neat groups of 5 each 6" apart.
I dialed in some elevation and fired 3 more shots. Those 3 were doing the exact same thing as the first 10 but this time directly on either side of the bullseye.
At that point, I figured 3" either way will work for hog hunting. I ran out of time at the range, so I never tried the 200 grain load. I left the range and went straight to the ranch. First set of hogs, I waited for 2 to get lined up hoping to kill 2 with one bullet (165 grain load). At the shot, the first hog took off like a rocket and his buddy that was standing behind him ripped open at the seams and literally sprayed every piece of intestines on the ground behind him. How that first hog ran off I don't know. Regardless, I could not see where the bullet had hit the 2nd hog as I could not find an entrance or exit per se.
Next group of hogs comes out.. I have a 130 lb. sow closest to me, and I'm waiting for another hog to line up behind her. When another hog gets lined up I let the lead fly (165 grain load), the sow flops over dead, and the hog behind her takes off running for the hills. I was aiming for a high rib shot-below the spine, and just behind the front leg. The bullet actually hit just behind the front leg in line with where I was aiming, but 4" lower. It went right through her heart, and pulled the heart out the chest cavity, and part of a kidney or liver, and these organs were hanging out of the exit wound on the off side. There was a hog right behind her at the shot so I KNOW that bullet after passing through her had to have hit the other hog as well.
Long story I know. What I really want to know is what bullet weight do you guys recommend for the 300 Win. Mag. and if you have a pet load that shoots well out of a Savage sporter weight barrel 24" in length, will you share it? I'm going back to the range to see if I can better my first results.
One thing I noticed when I got home and was cleaning the gun is that the scope walked FORWARD about 3/4" in the rings. I assume this is from recoil? I fired maybe 30 rounds at the range. Is it normal for the scope to move like that in 30 rounds? Yes, I already verified that the rings are tight. I checked all that stuff at the range when it started shooting left & right. For the record, this gun does not have a recoil pad. I was actually expecting more kick from it.. Not that I was disappointed, but I was just expecting more. It was not bad as bad as people make them out to be. Maybe I should shoot the 200 gr. load before I get too big for my britches.