.308 180 grain partition gold group testing out of my 300 RUM

[badaxeriverman]

I bought the gun back around 99’ or 2000’. It’s a Remington 700 stainless pencil barrel LSS. It never grouped super tight with the groups laminate stock. Normally a hair over MOA. Sent it in to be cryogenically treated. I had a KDF break installed, which is now removed and a thread cap put on. I installed a chimney trigger and have it down to maybe 2 pounds. I also took the stock off and put it on my 375 RUM replacing it with a HS prescion stock. I did get it to shoot half MOA to .6” groups pretty consistently with the laminate stock using 125 grain Nosler ballistic tips close to 4,000 fps. When I swapped out stocks the load never tightened and stayed the same. I used to hand load 180 grain ballistic tips for it. Are used to track at an angle, touching each other shooting about an inch group. Figured it was a betting issue and that’s why I swapped stocks since I already floated in bedded it. I really don’t shoot the gun that much unless I get drawn for bear hunting which I’ve been shooting over bait at 30 yards so it really doesn’t matter how well my group group at that distance. I took it out a couple seasons ago because I ran out of powder during the shortage for my pet load in my 30-06 and figured it was time to try a different gun in the woods. I loaded up some 180 grain Nosler Partition golds. I’ll have to go back and look at my load data to see what load this was but I know I saved it and wrote it down of course in my load book. I was actually impressed if I remember right it shot about a .3” at 100 yards. Normally, I’ll get to that touch and then the barrel heats up with that little pencil barrel and tosses one. I have less than a box left and luckily, I found another box of 50 that were Molly coated. I pin tumbled the molly off since my original ones didn’t have any on it. Think I bought that other box when they discontinued them for around 12 bucks at the local Gander Mountain at the time. Sure wish I had some more of them. Never shot any animals with the gold, but I shot a few stumps at 450 yards. I could hear that bullet hit the stump like somebody took a baseball bat to a pole shed so they must hit pretty hard. I was pretty impressed for a Partition group. Normally my other guns if I get close to MOA I call it good with them. I’ve never tried the regular 180 grain partitions in my RUM. I think they won’t group the same with the same load…with my luck. After I shot this three shot group I sighted the gun in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aiming at the Square that I hit on my target. I found out quickly. I didn’t have my scope mounted perfectly up and down as it tracked at an angle. Impressed with how the gold grouped vs partitions in my other guns. Maybe some day I’ll get to use what I have left for golds if I ever get out of state for an elk or dream come true, bucket list grizzly bear hunt.

Of course, I’m always trying to find a load that all touch. But I thought with the Partition in my pencil barrel 300 RUM this is probably almost as good as it’s gonna get.

Here is my 100 yard sight in after shooting the group above. I have the numbers marked when I adjusting my optic. You can see when I adjusted it down it tracked to the right. The two shots in the #3 circle I didn’t adjust between those 2 shots. They almost touched. Shot number #4 I clicked one to the right. I’m guessing if I didn’t adjust it I would have had a tighter group than the above photo. So it’s a pretty accurate bullet in my RUM. If anybody has any laying around collecting dust, let me know. Maybe we can do some horse trading. I’m just wondering if the regular style partitions will group the same? Anybody try the golds and the regular partitions with the exact same load data? So did they group the same or not? Guessing They probably don’t.