New issue for me with my 300wby!!

[wisconsinteacher]

I have a Sako 300WBY that I haven't shot much in the past due to the recoil. Last summer, I had a local smith put a brake on it for me and the recoil is very easy to handle. With the mild winter, I have been working on finding a good load but it was been a nightmare. I've tried 2 scope, 2 bullets, deep cleaned, checked screw specs a million time, bought a bore scope and still nothing. Yesterday was the worst. I shot a 6 shot group with 180 Btips that went, 13.5"!!! Sometimes, I will get 2 touching then 1 way out 4-7"!!! I was at the point of leaving it at the range or thinking about rebarreling. Just ask Scottie, this ride has been horrible. Last night, I decided to look down the barrel again just to see what it looked like after the 6 shots. As I was pulling the scope out, I noticed copper on the muzzle brake!!! Bingo, the bullet has been touching the brake as it leaves the muzzle. I contacted my smith and he said to remove it and he will open it up some more so they bullet has not contact. Talk about frustrating!!! I really hope that this solves the issues and I can get it back to shooting decent groups.

Again, Scottie can attest to the suffering we both have been going through. When I get it back, I will test things out and let you guys know how it shoots.

 

[Dr. Vette]

Ouch!

You're lucky it appears to have "just" been hitting.
If you would ever put on a 30 cal suppressor I'd look VERY hard at the threads on your muzzle. I would wonder if they're not square to the bore.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

I think the issue is with the brake. The smith had to bore it out before he put it on. From my measurements, he only went .005-.008 over bore. I did some reading and most brakes are .015-.020" over bore size.

 

[preacher]

At least it didn't blow it off the end of your barrel and ruin it! ha That's alot of powder/bullets down the drain, BUT you now know what to look for, and you got all that trigger time! Rejoice!

 

[wisconsinteacher]

I also got my virgin brass fired in the process. lol

 

[JD338]

I'd say you are lucky, something worse could have happened and ruined your day. Always check your brake or suppressor prior to shooting to make sure it's tight.
Glad to hear that the brake is taming the 300 Wby. Also look at adding a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad if you don't already have one. It will slow down and dissipate the recoil pulse making it a real joy to shoot.

JD338

 

[gerry]

Good that you found the issue, could have been a dangerous situation. I would add the recommendation of a good recoil pad, if it's like some of the Sako factory pads I've seen you could pound a nail with them!

 

[FOTIS]

Shoot it without the brake. If it groups well....change gunsmiths.

 

[IdahoCTD]

I open all my brakes .025" over bore on 1 piece brakes and .030" over on 2 piece brakes. I use to run brakes .020" over and had issues with accuracy from some people. Not all muzzle threads are straight to the bore. There is no added accuracy by going so tight. I use pin gauges to check the bore all the way through the brake too.

 

[RL338]

With 180gr AB Hybrid 100V works well in my 300 Wby. 165gr TTSX is the bullet that flat out shoots in mine.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

I shot the rifle tonight without the brake and got a 1.6" 3 shot group. I will say, I enjoy the rifle more with the brake on. Dang it kicks.

 

[SJB358]

Glad you got it sorted out WT. That rifle was giving me fits and I have never seen the darned thing.

 

[truck driver]

Do check to make sure the threads are square to the muzzle of the barrel. I have a 7-30 Waters barrel for a TC Contender I had a brake installed on because it was hard to hold onto and the smith cut the threads off center in a hurry to get it out the door. The bullets would hit the break and leave a copper smear that you could easily see, the smith opened it up three times and it still didn't resolve the problem so I had to take the break off and shoot it with out if I wanted to hit anything. Missed quite a few Deer with it before I realized it couldn't be fixed. The 14" barrel was cut down to 12" or 10" to fit the break much more and it is just wasting powder and bullets.
Yeah the 300 WBY kicks like a mull you would be better off putting recoil buffer in the butt of the stock.

 

[Blkram]

It has been my experience that the 300 Wby is one of the sharpest recoiling cartridges that I have fired to date, regardless of the rifle it was chambered in.
(But then again, I have not stepped up to to 300-378 Wby so cannot compare! LOL) I'm happy sticking to my milder-mannered 300 WSM.

Glad to hear that the brake is taming the beast for you!
I second the recommendation of adding a LimbSaver recoil pad to your rifle, if you haven't done so already.
(My Rem 700 BDL 338 Win Mag used to bruise me up after 20 rounds off the bench, and after replacing the hard old factory pad with the LimbSaver, I could go 60 rounds off the bench with no bruising; made shooting that rifle a pleasurable experience afterwards! and boosted accuracy too!)

 

[TackDriver284]

I have a Sako 300WBY that I haven't shot much in the past due to the recoil. Last summer, I had a local smith put a brake on it for me and the recoil is very easy to handle. With the mild winter, I have been working on finding a good load but it was been a nightmare. I've tried 2 scope, 2 bullets, deep cleaned, checked screw specs a million time, bought a bore scope and still nothing. Yesterday was the worst. I shot a 6 shot group with 180 Btips that went, 13.5"!!! Sometimes, I will get 2 touching then 1 way out 4-7"!!! I was at the point of leaving it at the range or thinking about rebarreling. Just ask Scottie, this ride has been horrible. Last night, I decided to look down the barrel again just to see what it looked like after the 6 shots. As I was pulling the scope out, I noticed copper on the muzzle brake!!! Bingo, the bullet has been touching the brake as it leaves the muzzle. I contacted my smith and he said to remove it and he will open it up some more so they bullet has not contact. Talk about frustrating!!! I really hope that this solves the issues and I can get it back to shooting decent groups.

Again, Scottie can attest to the suffering we both have been going through. When I get it back, I will test things out and let you guys know how it shoots.

Good to hear that you got it figured out, he should have checked the clearances and tested before shipping it back to you. Muzzle brake and recoil pad should solve the bucking issues. I have put muzzle brakes on my 7mm, 300 and 7STW, dang things rattles my brain followed with headaches at times. A 308 pushing heavy pills like the 178 or 180's is my comfortable threshold shooting all day without a muzzle brake.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I put brakes on everything 6mm or above. It's not about the recoil, it's about shooting better, longer, amd spotting your own shots, plain and simple. There's not 1 person I know who doesn't shoot a rifle better, or would benefit from a rifle that recoils less with a good brake...