Back in 2012 when I was living in Arkansas I stopped by Fort Thompsom near Little Rock one Saturday afternoon and bought a Kimber Montana 8400 WSM chambered in 300 WSM and a Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS chambered in .300 Win Mag. I paid $1,050 for the Kimber and $850 for the Winchester (I notice that the EWs are in the $1,270 price range now!) About six months later I bought another Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS chambered in .308 Win. Ultimately I ended up selling both of the Winchester rifles last year for various reasons but kept the Montana. I've tried to get excited about the 300 WSM but to this day don't see it as being anything special when compared to the .300 Win Mag and so have decided to divest myself of that cartridge. I have a Montana 8400 and an AI chambered in .300 Win Mag so the 300 WSM won't be missed.
Anyway, to cut a long story short I've just completed the swap of the 300 WSM to .308 Win. I had to change the bolt, barrel (now 22" long with a 1:10 twist), extractor and follower and the barrel is the same profile as the WSM barrel. The rifle capacity is now 5+1 which isn't a big deal on a deer or elk hunt but I suppose it could be useful on a pig hunt. It might not make sense to some to build a .308 Win hunting rifle on the 8400 WSM action since the lighter and smaller 84M .308 Win is available in models such as the Classic, Montana, Mountain Ascent, Adirondack and Hunter. The rifle as shown weighs 7lb-13oz but I will be swapping the Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44mm RZ800 in the photo for the better suited Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40mm RZ600 that I have in the safe which will take a little weight off. Also, I like Talley stainless steel rings and bases but if I were trying to get the weight down I could use aluminum one-piece rings/bases from Talley. The Winchester Model 70 EW SS in .308 Win weighs 6lb-12oz without a scope, rings, bases or sling so this rifle in the same ballpark and might even be lighter than a comparably equipped EW. I'm a fan of the 8400 action and accompanying Montana style stocks so this is a good fit for me and that's why I put it together. It's easy to shoot too. Last Sunday after I'd finished reamed the chamber (1.632") I wanted to see if it'd shoot some good factory hunting ammunition into acceptable groups. My gf who has never shot the rifle before shot the group on the left (3/4") and then I shot the group on the right (5/8") after making a scope adjustment. The .308 Win is one of my all-time favorite cartridges and now I finally have an awesome hunting rifle chambered for it. I think that this rifle will do great with a Barnes 165gr TTSX handload.
The final piece of this puzzle will be to paint the rifle or have it dipped like my Talkeetna.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=787097
Kimber Montana 8400 WSM chambered in .308 Win
Federal Trophy Copper 165gr at 100 yards
Anyway, to cut a long story short I've just completed the swap of the 300 WSM to .308 Win. I had to change the bolt, barrel (now 22" long with a 1:10 twist), extractor and follower and the barrel is the same profile as the WSM barrel. The rifle capacity is now 5+1 which isn't a big deal on a deer or elk hunt but I suppose it could be useful on a pig hunt. It might not make sense to some to build a .308 Win hunting rifle on the 8400 WSM action since the lighter and smaller 84M .308 Win is available in models such as the Classic, Montana, Mountain Ascent, Adirondack and Hunter. The rifle as shown weighs 7lb-13oz but I will be swapping the Zeiss Conquest 3.5-10x44mm RZ800 in the photo for the better suited Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40mm RZ600 that I have in the safe which will take a little weight off. Also, I like Talley stainless steel rings and bases but if I were trying to get the weight down I could use aluminum one-piece rings/bases from Talley. The Winchester Model 70 EW SS in .308 Win weighs 6lb-12oz without a scope, rings, bases or sling so this rifle in the same ballpark and might even be lighter than a comparably equipped EW. I'm a fan of the 8400 action and accompanying Montana style stocks so this is a good fit for me and that's why I put it together. It's easy to shoot too. Last Sunday after I'd finished reamed the chamber (1.632") I wanted to see if it'd shoot some good factory hunting ammunition into acceptable groups. My gf who has never shot the rifle before shot the group on the left (3/4") and then I shot the group on the right (5/8") after making a scope adjustment. The .308 Win is one of my all-time favorite cartridges and now I finally have an awesome hunting rifle chambered for it. I think that this rifle will do great with a Barnes 165gr TTSX handload.
The final piece of this puzzle will be to paint the rifle or have it dipped like my Talkeetna.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=787097
Kimber Montana 8400 WSM chambered in .308 Win
Federal Trophy Copper 165gr at 100 yards
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