.300 WSM Savage 116 arrived today

[Lennyjoe]

So I was surfing thru Gunbroker one evening looking at left handed bolt action rifles and ran upon a used Savage 116 Stainless Weather Warrior in .300 Winchester Short Magnum and added to my watch list. Towards the end of the auction it sat at $490 ish so on a whim I put a bid in for $504 and won. Now I have another hunting rifle to add to my collection.

In all honesty. My Savage 110 in 30-06 has been my go to for both deer and Elk for a bunch of years so I really wasn’t looking to replace her. But, in the last year I’ve picked up another Savage in 6.5 Ceeedmore and now the .300 WSM. I think I’m going to dedicate this .300 WSM to an Elk only rifle.

So now I’m going down the rabbit hole working up an Elk only load to use on future hunts out in Arizona or Colorado. Starting with Superformance and IMR 4350 and may try RL-17 and VIHT N-550 if SP or 4350 don’t perform well.

Anyway, the rifle came with a Nikon Buckmaster 3x9x50 scope and I’m considering an upgrade for it. Here’s a couple of pics as the rifle is in pretty good condition.

 

[.45Coltguy]

That looks to be a very good deal there. Perhaps a scope up grade. just see how that one does. IMR 4350 ought to work fine. 180-200gr Partitions maybe?
Anyway, I'd say you did pretty good. Let us know.

 

[2ndtimer]

Congrats on a great deal on a fine rifle and awesome cartridge. Good luck on finding affordable brass and ammo down the road…. Probably the reason why you got it for such a decent price. As a dedicated .270WSM owner, I hope that changes some day.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Congrats on a great deal on a fine rifle and awesome cartridge. Good luck on finding affordable brass and ammo down the road…. Probably the reason why you got it for such a decent price. As a dedicated .270WSM owner, I hope that changes some day.

Factory ammo prices are nuts for this caliber. Here’s the only load I found at a local gun shop.


Glad I reload. New brass prices are up as well and I only have 1 sleeve of Large Rifle Magnum primers….smh

 

[2ndtimer]

Factory ammo prices are nuts for this caliber. Here’s the only load I found at a local gun shop.
View attachment 1194526

Glad I reload. New brass prices are up as well and I only have 1 sleeve of Large Rifle Magnum primers….smh

I hear you. I was fortunate to stumble on some Browning factory 270WSM ammo recently on the shelf at a local shop for $45.99. It didn't shoot worth a darn in my .270WSM, but did fine in my son's custom Lilja barrel Model 70. At least I can use the brass for mine. (That is the most I have EVER spent on any box of factory ammo for any cartridge!) I still kick myself from 4 years ago I passed on grabbing a brick of Federal 215 GMM primers at that same shop for $58.99, the shortage was just starting and I didn't think my wife would be happy with me spending that much for 1,000 large rifle Magnum primers.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I was watching that one too.

Sometimes you can snag lefty bolt guns for some amazing deals on GB.

I have gotten around a dozen Savage 110 types on GB for under $300 before shipping and other fees associated with online sales.

Got a lefty 220 slug gun for $127 a few years back.

 

[Lennyjoe]

I was watching that one too.

Sometimes you can snag lefty bolt guns for some amazing deals on GB.

I have gotten around a dozen Savage 110 types on GB for under $300 before shipping and other fees associated with online sales.

Got a lefty 220 slug gun for $127 a few years back.

GB is where I got my 110 lefty 06 as well many moons ago.

 

[jmr40]

That's a good round that should have done better. But it did good enough that you should be able to find loaded rounds at least for a while. I haven't seen new brass in a while. I'd stock up on some factory loads just to get the brass.

I had a SS Winchester 70 Classic in 300 WSM for a few years. You should be able to come within 50 fps of 300 WM loads and probably get better accuracy. But do it with 10-15 gr less powder. That 50 fps and 10 gr less powder has noticeably less recoil than 300 WM. I don't think you'll ever notice 50 fps in the field, you'll still be 150 fps faster than 30-06.

I got best accuracy with H4350. Never tried IMR 4350, but based on my experience with 30-06 you should be able to do the same thing with either powder. The exact loads won't be the same. I read that RL-17 usually gave more speed and I did try it. But while working up loads I got a pressure spike. My loads were much faster than where they should be, and I was still about 2 gr below a max load. Accuracy wasn't as good either. I just stayed with H4350 after that.

While I liked the rifle and round, I finally decided it was just more gun than I needed. For what I do my 308 is my big rifle. I was able to sell it at a profit and let it go.

One quirk of the Savage rifles in the WSM cartridges is that the magazine is going to be 2+1. You can get 3 rounds in the magazine, but the bolt won't close with 3 in the mag. It will pick up the top round when you close the bolt. Not enough room in the mag to hold all 3 down and close the bolt on a 4th round, or with an empty chamber.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Looks like Reloader 17 is going to be hard to find. Havent heard much on Superformance so I’m wondering if Its not worth the effort.

 

[Hugger-4641]

I'm sure you know this, but 7wsm and 270wsm brass can also be used. All that's needed is run it thru the 300wsm sizing die, just make sure you lube it before. I've done a couple boxes for my SIL's 110 in 300wsm and it shoots fine

 

[Hugger-4641]

Looks like Reloader 17 is going to be hard to find. Havent heard much on Superformance so I’m wondering if Its not worth the effort.

I haven't tried Superformance in 300 yet, but it's good in 30-06.
I'm using H4831sc for my Sils 300wsm.

 

[2ndtimer]

I'm sure you know this, but 7wsm and 270wsm brass can also be used. All that's needed is run it thru the 300wsm sizing die, just make sure you lube it before. I've done a couple boxes for my SIL's 110 in 300wsm and it shoots fine

True, but sadly .270wsm and 7mm WSM are even tougher to find than .300WSM.