Accurate factory .300 WM ammo for a Ruger M77 Hawkeye

[wombat13]

My wife got me the best Christmas present ever, at least for me. She bought me a Ruger M77 Hawkeye in .300 WM, stainless with the black laminate stock. The next day I bought myself an early father's day present - the silver Leupold VX-II 3-9X40 to top it off.

I finally got to shoot the rifle Saturday. I used the following break-in procedure: Fire once then clean for the first ten rounds. Fire two then clean for four rounds. Fire three then clean for six rounds. After that I fired four shots at 100 yards, three in a nice group (half inch left to right, one inch up and down) about two inches left of the bull and a flier about 3.5 inches right. We had extremely gusty wind so it was hard to hold the rifle on target. The wind gusted and blew me off target with the flier. I'll go to the range on a calm day as soon as I can and finish zeroing the scope.

Anyone have a Ruger M77 in .300 WM? If so, what hunting ammo has worked well for you? I'm planning on using 180 gr. Winchester Ballistic Silvertips (that is what I used for my final group on Saturday). They work great in my FIL's Ruger M77 .338 WM.

[fredj338]

Regardless of what anyone tells you, each rifle is a law unto itself. The onlt way to know is buy a box of each & try it. Typically, cup/core bullets will be moreaccurate than "premium" hunting bullets, but not always. The Federal premium line has always been accurate across the diff. calibers.
FWIW, accuracy testing on windy days is almost futal. It's diff. to get good groups if the wind is blowing hard enough to move you around on the bench. Also, a solid bench rest is the best way to test a rifle for accuracy.

[wombat13]

Originally Posted by fredj338

Regardless of what anyone tells you, each rifle is a law unto itself. The onlt way to know is buy a box of each & try it. Typically, cup/core bullets will be moreaccurate than "premium" hunting bullets, but not always. The Federal premium line has always been accurate across the diff. calibers.
FWIW, accuracy testing on windy days is almost futal. It's diff. to get good groups if the wind is blowing hard enough to move you around on the bench. Also, a solid bench rest is the best way to test a rifle for accuracy.

Thanks, I figured there was too much wind to draw any conclusions. I've heard that Federal ammo is typically good. I'll try that for sure along with a few others.

[Josh T]

I've always had good luck with the Hornady Magnum series ammo, including the 180 grain "Heavy Magnum" boat tail loads in a .300 Win. Mag. Can't go wrong with the BST loads that you're shooting now either.

JT