First firing of 300 win mag hunter

[thermaler]

Scope, rings and brake finally came in and I was able to finish my 111 hunter "re-build." Took her to the range yesterday with a variety of store-bought ammo to break her in and start my brass collection. On only the second shot the clamp-on muzzle brake parted company with rifle even though I had torqued it down as hard as I reasonably could--it turns out they had sent me the wrong brake even though the caliber/bore machining was correct. Very interesting what the muzzle blast did to it (there was no bullet impact on it); the two halves of the clamp-on portion were essentially "clapped" together. My rifle now has permanent skid marks on top and bottom of muzzle.

On the plus side, I was able to fire over 30 rounds with little ill effect on my shoulder; felt about the same as my 12 gauge. The surprising thing to me is that even without the brake I didn't have much trouble keeping the muzzle rise down and could keep the scope on target through the shot. Maybe the stock reinforcement helped in this regard.

The SSS trigger performed superbly as others have predicted--worth the trouble to install, and paired with the 16x SWFA scope I think this rifle will become a favorite of mine over time once I find the sweet-spot loads.

[Jetpig]

A 300 is a beautiful thing! Fun stuff! Enjoy!

[fgw_in_fla]

Hey Therm....
Your story just convinced me why I will never use a clamp on break.
I just talked my son out of getting one. I know there's guys out there that swear by them but I'm not one of them.

When you go to church this Sunday, say an extra prayer of thanks you weren't hurt.

And pick up a few lotto tickets. Maybe it was a "luck" thing.

[wbm]

A 300 is a beautiful thing!

Clamp on brakes ain't!