New hog slayer

[Franklin3]

Speck: He called me at 7:30 last night and says the elk are about to step over the fence into the yard. so I grab my new canon 300mm and tripod and hit the door hopping along on my fractured left ankle.
I get to the property just in time to snap two or three pics as my jeep driving in the dusty road has turned the herd and instead of coming over the fence they're turned and going away. I grab the tripod and toss it gingerly into the passenger seat and four wheel it across the place to intercept the herd. I get to the highest point on the west side of the property with a 15-20mph steady wind at my back I see the herd clear the trees coming up only 80yds in front of me. My scent casued some hesitation and a few concerned looks from the cows but the bull never blinked and they slowly paraded in front of me and then crossed over and dissappeared behind the knoll. I was able to get over 100 pics in the time they took and some close ups of that bull indicate he is either 5X5 or 5X6. To have this opportunity in San Jose no less was an absolute rush. if my ankle would allow me to I would follow them back in just to see how close I can get to that guy.
Already know he was within archery range for nearly 5 minutes and rifle range for 35 minutes. the bad news is these are a private herd, only for looking at not for shooting at.

I apologize but Im kinda pixlexic! or postlexic! Im not sure. Its a lot like being dislexic but causes me to post stories and pictures in inapropriate threads. Like elk pictures in the Hog forum! Hog pictures in the mule deer forum! I cant help it, It just happens. So if your wondering what this is about you can do a search for franklins pixlexsia. It wont take you anywhere but it wont matter if you too have pixlexsia you will have forgotten what your looking for before you ever get there.

 

[hatchet1]

i own a .325wsm in the model 70 featherwieght, have had it for 2 years now
and love it, have whacked many a hog and 1 bear with it, you definetly
dont wanna hammer a ca. blacktail with it as there would be nothing left
for the grill, i shoot the 200gr accubonds thru it and its hammer time,
nice choice

 

[KevinZ]

Nice rifle Speck. I have an A-bolt composite in .270 and have had no problems. Next on my wish list is an A-bilt 300 WSM (for that future Elk hunt).

What led you to the .325 WSM (did you consider a .300 WSM). Also, I have heard good things about the BOSS, but I also heard that it is EXTREMELY LOUD - any truth to these rumors (not a problem I guess if you have proper ear protection)? Final question - you went with stainless (barrel and scope) - what were your decision criteria - performace in bad weather or just personal preference? I have pondered stainless and would probably not opt to spend the extra $s since I live in CA would not hunt that much in wet conditions (except the occasional Elk hunt).

Sorry for the mulitude of questions, but I have read enough of your posts to know that some thought went into your decision (so I am hoping to leverage this knowledge).

 

[Speckmisser]

Hey Kevin,

No problem on the questions, I'll do what I can.

First, the choice for the .325 was based on a couple of things. From the outset, it was always a "want", never a "need". There's nothing I think I'll ever hunt that I can't hunt successfully with the 30-06 I already own. It's killed the only two elk I ever shot at, and killed them clean. It's knocked over plenty of hogs, and it's hell on deer...whitetails and blackies. There have been a couple of cases on hogs where I believe that "more gun" might have anchored pigs that ended up getting away, but since there was no blood sign on the ground I'm not even sure I hit them... a miss with a pop gun is the same as a miss with a cannon.

The .325 is an intriguing round, at least to me. It offers (on paper) most of the power of a .338 mag with the speed and trajectory of a .300 win mag. However, it does this without the shoulder damage and whiplash injuries these more traditional rounds are so notorious for.

The .325 I shot before deciding to buy this one, without the BOSS, had a recoil somewhere in the vicinity of my Savage 30-06. Due in part to an old injury (broken bone in my neck) and the fact that I'm just getting softer as I get older, I don't tolerate a whole lot of recoil any more. If I can't shoot a gun at the range enough to get and stay comfortable with it, I'm not going to shoot it in the field at live animals. That's just not right... so recoil is an issue. Hence, the BOSS.

The BOSS is loud as heck, by the way. I tend to clear out the bench to my right when I'm at the range. I wear my Sport Ears at the range, though, and the noise is completely tolerable. I'm trying to make it a habit to wear them whenever I'm firearm hunting nowadays too. With the BOSS equipped .270, a set of good muffs works fine too. I have heard that there are guides who won't hunt with a client using the BOSS (or any braked or ported rifle), but I've never heard such a thing first hand. It may be true, it may be myth. Not important to me.

I already have a couple of rifles in the 30 cal class... a couple of -06s and a .308, as well as a 30-30. The .300wsm never captured my imagination, even though I'm sure it would be an awesome hog and elk rifle. I have a .270 and a .243 also as well as several rimfires. But I didn't have anything on that "next level". The .325 got me there.

As to stainless... I'm not sure what changed my mind there. I always hated the look of stainless rifles, and swore I'd never own one. Never say never. It may have been the performance of my stainless Blackhawk that convinced me. Over the years I've hunted for days in the rain, and then just tossed it in the case without a thought. To do that with my blued rifles (and I have...more times than I'd like to admit) means that even in this dry climate, rust never sleeps.

I guess I've also been watching too many of these Alaskan hunts on TV, and the stainless has kinda grown on me. So it's partly just personal preference. The price difference was negligible, by the way.

There's a long answer to your short question, huh? It's honestly, a totally unnecessary gun for almost any of my real purposes. For what you've talked about doing, that .300wsm would probably offer you a more versatile, all-around rifle... it could probably even replace your .270 if you wanted to be a one-gun man. Most likely wouldn't want to do that with the .325.

 

[BDB]

Nice new toy Phil, congrats

 

[KevinZ]

Thanks for the info Speck. I my view, every decision related to gun ownership is about wants and not needs! But I did learn something as I though that stainless steel added substantial costs (and $ does have a impact on a fella's "wants").

Regarding your soft comment - I used a trusty 30.06 for lot of years before "downsizing" to a .270. And I have been thinking about getting my 4 year old son a new .243. I would of course use this rifle for blacktails until he is old enough. I guess I too am getting soft

 

[evlu]

Beautiful gun!!! Wish mine looked that good (slid down a few hills and fell with it a few times). I'm shooting a 300 winmag. After adjusting the BOSS it came in @ 1/2 minute of angle @ 100 yards. I've also heard about the complexity of the bolt, but I personally have never had an issue with it. However, it has only had about 500 rounds thru it.
Best part of the whole deal, my wife gave it to me for a birthday present

Enjoy shooting it and let us know about the flyer problem. May want to contact Browning about it.

evlu

 

[el_vaquero]

Nice toy....hoping to get a new one myself this year...maybe .243.........dang, too many things to get and the new Cabela's catalog just came this week too.

 

[SacFireJT]

Nice rig Phil, that thing is going to do some damage up at the Tejon!

 

[Speckmisser]

THanks, fellas... hope to get some reloads cooked up over the next week or so and have more pix.

JT, I hope to do some damage with it before Tejon, but yeah... I'm looking forward to toting it around down there.

Of course, now that I have this thing, I'll probably never see another hog more than 50 yards away.

 

[Jean]

Very nice rifle, sir. New toys, er tools, are always a good thing. However, in my uninformed opinion, it is a bit small to be taking on an 8 ton carnivore.

Enjoy your time with it anyway.

Jean

 

[Speckmisser]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

However, in my uninformed opinion, it is a bit small to be taking on an 8 ton carnivore.[/b]

Dang!

Well, I guess that means I'm gonna have to find an even bigger rifle!

 

[evlu]

If you have a concern about the noise of the muzzle brake on the BOSS, you can put a blank end in its place that Browning sells, and it eliminates or rather makes the same noise as a gun without the boss. On my 300 it didn't change moa at all but it did "quiet" (for lack of a better term) the report, along with increased the felt recoil.
As far as the stainless goes, some of us require it do to the "acid hands/piss fingers" situation. I still get fingerprints etched into them if I don't wipe them down within a couple of hours but a blued gun I really screw up quickly if I forget to wipe them off within 1/2 hour. This does however keep me from handling others guns.

Still interested in your flyer problem. Keep us posted.
evlu

 

[Speckmisser]

The new rifles come with the BOSS and the "CR" in the box, so I could replace the BOSS if I wanted to. However, the noise wasn't an issue to me.

Hopefully I'll get it out to the range with some handloads next weekend and see if I can alleviate the flyers.

 

[Big 17]

Aim a little lower if you have to shoot more than two times at a pig. LOL

 

[Speckmisser]

Good thinkin, Big17.

If I have to shoot more than twice, though, I better get closer.

 

[HeavyHorns]

Speck,
You will love the A-Bolt. I too have the same rig but in 7 Rem Mag. I am reloading the 160 gr Accubond and have had great success in accuracy and terminal performance. Here is a pic of a range session a couple of weeks ago. It was a .318 three shot group.

 

[Speckmisser]

Heavy horns, thats the kind of groups I get with the .270 A-bolt. I expect to get the .325 shooting like that too, even though I'll be happy with consistent groups twice that size.

 

[Franklin3]

Heavy horns that is TIGHT!

 

[BrysonHesperiaResort]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Speckmisser @ Jul 30 2007, 06:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

THanks, fellas... hope to get some reloads cooked up over the next week or so and have more pix.

JT, I hope to do some damage with it before Tejon, but yeah... I'm looking forward to toting it around down there.

Of course, now that I have this thing, I'll probably never see another hog more than 50 yards away.

[/b]

You know, I think I can arrange it so the piggie is at least 70 yards away. That way you'll feel like you're getting your money's worth out of your gun, practice time and reloading. Heck, if you'd like, we can shoot them from across the valley... I think it was 480-ish yards last time I checked. None of that close easy stuff for you now Speck

hehe