year w/ the 300 wsm

i caved to the hype and picked up a 300 wsm (cheap shadow by winchester - cosmetically, winchester let a rifle out they shouldn't have, functionally, the pf part of the crpf action is not smooth - but it works, accuracy is fine). i topped the beastie w/ a leupold 3-9 compact. i loaded 180 grain sierra gk btsp's to ~3050 f/s using rl-19, win brass, and federal mag primers.

my 300 wsm has finally earned a nickname (eg, my 7 mag is 'deer thumper). my hunting partners have deemed this rifle to be called [insert trumpet here] 'backbreaker'. [end trumpet] the reason is, i drew 6 big game licenses this year (deer and 'lope), and killed 5 critters (2nd antelope tag didn't get filled). 3 of those 5 critters were broadside shots. 1 shot was facing me, and 1 was quartering away. in all 5 cases, the spine was broken - and in only 1 case was that a shot i was trying for (antelope facing me). the rest of them just happened to be broken because of severe shot angles or whatever. so, yeah, all 5 critters were 1-shot kills, and all 5 critters never took another step after the shot. i also loaned the gun out for 1 hunt (kind of hoping for more performance data). that hunt ended up w/ a deer shot through the backbone, too, bullet exiting at the base of the neck...all 6 bullets fired at big game this year exited.

overall, i am very satisfied w/ this combination... i mean, really, are any of us shocked to hear that a 180 grain bullet travelling in excess of 3050 f/s can kill a deer?

one last point... while i feel totally confident at taking shots at ranges that many on this board are uncomfortable w/, i will say again, i really get off on stalking a critter.  my longest shot this year was 104 yards, and my closest was 10 yards. the rest fell somewhere in between.

great year for me, and the 300 whizzum really performed well (don't forget to note the performance of the components... if any one of them fail - scope, bullet, primer, etc, then the equipment did not perform well, and i'd be looking to replace something).

still have 1 tag to go, and if i can get shovelled out this morning, i'm going bowhunting... have to find a new buck in a short timeframe, but i sure won't do it sitting on the couch!