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Relaods; 300 WSM - Ruger w/ 16.5" bbl.

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    Posted: May/25/2007 at 13:18
Is there anyone out there that owns this specific rifle and caliber?? Ruger M77 Frontier11, 16.5" bbl. in 300 WSM. I purchased this rifle in March.....Looking to share any reload info. I`m working on different loads now. Even though I have been reloading and hunting for years, I still wish to learn from others, especially from those who have owned their rifle longer than I have owned mine, who have already worked up some excellent loads in this particular rifle and caliber.......Interested in bullet weights between 150 and 180 gr., powders and primers your using, etc. etc...............Thank you......Big Squeeze!  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/25/2007 at 15:18
This is my first experience with a short compact rifle. I forgot to mention in my last post above, that I have read, that perhaps the faster burning powders burn more efficiently in short barrels and are therefore more accurate for the shorter barrel lengths. True?...... Been looking for 16.5" barrel and accuracy data in 300 WSM. Everything is in 22", 24" or 26" including data on the reloader`s nest site..................On my recent pig hunt, I loaded up 180 gr. using IMR-4350, my old standby, used in my longer barreled rifles of the past. These group an average of 1 1/4" at 100 yards, (not bad), in my new small Ruger and are accurate enough for a hunting load. However, I would like to fine tune some more hunting loads with hunting bullets and range loads with match bullets, if possible, to group 0.75" or less!!!!......... I welcome all reloading advice, hunting loads or match loads, from experienced, compact, short barreled rifle owners and especially from those, who own the 300 WSM..............There probably won`t be alot of you out there, since this particular Ruger rifle, has been on the market now, from what I understand, for only about a year or two. But hopefully, I`ll get some good replies!.............Thanks again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Big Squeeze!   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/25/2007 at 18:29

That's an interesting little rifle you've got there.  Especially considering the Ruger website only lists the .243 Win, 7-08 Rem, and .308 Win calibers as available options for the Frontier.  Is this a custom job? How did you come about it?

 

I would suspect that the large volume nature of the WSM case design, coupled with the fact that these cartridges (like their full-size "Magnum" brethren they were intended to replace) typically utilize relatively slow burning powders, is going to result in a lot of potential KE being wasted as the barrel will be too short to allow for a full (or even a high percentage) burn.  In fact, I would be really surprised if you were able to significantly improve upon .308 Win ballistics out of an identical Frontier simply because so much of your powder charge is going to be wasted as muzzle blast/flash.

 

None of the above is intended as a slam against the little Ruger rifle. I have the Ruger Compact Rifle in 7-08 and the short barrel works very well indeed.  In fact, this gun is fast becoming my "go-to" rifle because it is so light, handy, and effective. However, the 7-08 has a much smaller case capacity (than does the .300 WSM)  and also tends to be loaded with faster burning powders allowing for an efficient and (relatively) complete burn in the stubby 16.5" barrel. 

 

 



Edited by lucznik
What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/25/2007 at 18:58
Hi there Lucznik................Thanks for your reply! It appears we have the same EXCELLENT taste in a perfect little rifle!!!!.....No! It`s not a custom job!!!.........If you look on Ruger`s website, (where I first saw this little gem), and then go to their advertisement section, then click on the Frontier pdf download selection, you see the enlarged photo with 2 hunters. They list there that the 300 WSM is now available in the Frontier!!! Back in March, I found out through my dealer that Ruger, for legal reasons and for the time being, had stopped chambering the 300 WSM for the Frontier. I told my dealer to "FIND ONE"...............Three days later he called and said that 5 remain available in the U.S. chambered in the 300 WSM. Naturally, I jumped on that!!!........I did call Ruger and confirm for myself, their discontinuing of the 300. They also stopped production of the 325 WSM as well.......So! I got lucky!!!! I have the power that exceeds the `06 with a 24" bbl. and with handloads, come very close to the fullsized 300 Win. Mag. also with a 24" bbl................According to.... shooting times.com....(click on,,, long guns,,,,then scroll down, you will see your Frontier in the 7mm/08), the velocity loss with a barrel that is 31% shorter,,,is only 4.5%!!!!............My chrono results so far have confirmed that!!!!..........BIG BANG,,,,,,LITTLE GUN!!!!! Love it!!! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/25/2007 at 20:44
im going to tell you to try using r19 for sure, also try 4831 and 4350 so far my 300 wsm has loved r19 i am in the process of fine tuning, now the issue is that i have a browning abolt with a longer barrel than your ruger so i dont know how that will change things but i suggest trying all of the above powders.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/25/2007 at 22:20
Pyro:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Thanks! Already using some 4350, grouping about 1.25" w/ 180 gr. hunting bullets! That`s not bad at all.....I still have alot of playing around to do. I am hopeful that by starting this post topic, that I can cut to the chase faster by hearing from a few short barreled 300 WSM Ruger owners!!!.........Also looking at R19, some faster H-4895, H-414. I hear that faster burners may work better because of the shorter barrel............Big Squeeze! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/25/2007 at 23:17
To: Lucznik..............................Checked the Ruger web-site just now and you are correct. They do not any longer show any availability in the 300 WSM for the Frontier. The last time I saw the advertisement that I mentioned above on the Ruger website, was about 2 or 3 weeks ago. So! Their website was recently revised................When I called Ruger last March, they indicated that production in the 300 and the 325 WSM`s ceased about the first of the year. The person in sales mentioned that this could be a temporary situation. They would have preferred to have continued to chamber for those two calibers!.............Had something to do with legalities involving Winchester!!!! I guess that Ruger was told to fork out alot of money, or stop chambering the WSM`s........You may wish to call Ruger and ask them if they foresee any WSM production restart in the future............By the way. I have already chrono graphed some 150 grainers at an average of 3155 fps and some 180 gr. at an average of 2945 fps, which well exceeds the 308!!!!! Your 7mm/08 like my 300 WSM should only lose an average of about 4.5% in velocity with the 16.5" barrel as opposed to the same calibers using 24" barrels. We lose 31% in barrel length and in doing so, we only lose 4.5% in velocity! My chronograph agrees! Not a bad tradeoff for a compact!!!!..................Go to,,,,,shootingtimes.com,,,,,click on long guns, scroll down to an excellent article by Dick Metcalf, on page 1 or 2. The test rifle IS your gun!!! A 7mm/08 Frontier! That article also confirms the 4.5% loss in velocity for your 7mm/08. Saw it today, so it`s there!...............Go to page 3 and there is another good article by another author on on your 7mm/08!!!!!  By chance did you know these articles were there?...........................Big Squeeze!  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/26/2007 at 13:38
Hi again Lucznik.........................A few days ago, while doing some browsing on this site, under the "Members Tests and Reviews" section, I ran across an original post by "cbighill" dated 1/25/07........He was looking for scout scope recomendations for his Ruger Frontier!.......Since we have the same rifle, I wrote to him, asking what scope he finally decided on and also what CALIBER he has........Well! To my surprise, four months after his original post, he did respond...........Please go to that section, click on "cbighill", original post date of 1/25/07, EER scout scope, etc. as the topic....... As as you scroll down, I believe that you will find his reply to me very interesting!!!!...................Have fun with your Frontier. Great compact rifles!!!................................. Big Squeeze!   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucznik Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/26/2007 at 23:26

Hey Big Squeeze,

 

I had already chronographed my 7-08 fairly extensively and have found basically the same results as you have.  To say I've been pleased is an understatement.  I'm getting over 3000 fps with 120 gr Nosler BTs and Barnes TSXs.  I was aware of the articles by Dick Metcalf.  

 

I should clarify though that I do not own a Frontier.  I own the Ruger "Compact Rifle" which differs from the Frontier only in that the latter has an extension that allows for the mounting of a scout-style scope.  I don't feel bad though as I'm not terribly enamoured with the scout rifle concept.  A nice, traditionally mounted scope does me just fine. 

What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/27/2007 at 05:20
Hi Lucznik,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,It appears that you are as pleased as I am!!!......My Elite 4200 scope is mounted conventionally over the action! I still have the scout base, which came with the rifle, to mount a scope on the barrel too!!! I will get a scout type scope later and have it both ways!!! Cake and eat it too, so to speak!!!!......As mine, your compact rifle has the 16.5" barrel and as Metcalf`s article says, we just may achieve slightly better accuracy because of our shorter barrels (less flex)..........I sincerely hope that Ruger, sometime in the future, restarts production in the Frontier or compact lines, chambering the 300 and the 325 WSM`s. What gems these little rifles are!!! .........At first, I was seriously considering the 7-08 Frontier. But throughout my hunting life, I have always favored the long action 300 Win....We all have our little pet favorites, which makes change very difficult.....So, perhaps like you, when I first saw the compact concept, I thought,,,,,,"hmmmm, look at what we have here."......And! In a 300 WSM??? I was very fortunate and lucky to get the 300 before they became,,, unavailable. Very lucky!!!.........Please keep me posted on how your accuracy, reload data, hunting and so forth are doing as I will do the same!!!!!..........Also, to all those who have contemplated a purchase, but HESITANT, because you think that Ruger`s short 16.5" barrel, in any AVAILABLE caliber,,,, WON`T,,,, even come close to the velocity of the 22" or 24" barrels, or be as accurate????.................YOU`D BETTER THINK AGAIN!!!!!.............................................Big Squeeze!      
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