Winchester XPR and 300 wsm

[sabbfan]

Does anyone have any experience with the Winchester XPR? It seems the price on these has come down since their introduction and there is a rebate going on right now. I haven't seen much discussion on these here or anywhere else. I've been thinking about getting a 300 wsm for a future elk hunt, and the XPR looks like a decent inexpensive way of getting a rifle in that caliber. The hunt won't happen for several years, but want the rifle now to get proficient with.

 

[jmr40]

I was waiting for someone with 1st hand experience to respond. But since no one has I can only say that based on several reports I've read about the rifle they all are positive. One person commented that they were the best kept secret in new rifles. The design certainly borrows a lot of features that have proven to work with the Ruger American rifles. And they are offering them in many more cartridge options than most of the other guns in the same class. I'd probably give one a chance if I needed another rifle.

I have very mixed feelings about the 300 WSM though. I own a rifle in the chambering and if I were sold on a magnum chambering that is the one I'd get. In reality the 300 WSM sorta splits the difference between 30-06 and 300 WM in both performance and recoil. Bullet speed is actually closer to 300 WM while recoil is almost exactly in the middle.

But the older I get, the more I shoot, and the more I see the results of others, the less I feel the need for magnum cartridges. I own 308's, 30-06's and a 300 WSM. I'll carry one of the 308's this fall when I elk hunt. The rifle is quite a bit lighter, it has 20% less recoil than 30-06 and about 40% less recoil than 300 WSM, and I can shoot it more accurately. The 30-06 and 300 WSM don't start having an advantage until I start taking shots at 500 or 600 yards respectively. I can't shoot that far, so why carry more weight and deal with more recoil.

 

[sabbfan]

Yeah, it seems no one owns an XPR, probably the reason for the rebate and lower price. Reviews are few and far between outside of magazines and they aren't always unbiased. It looks like a step up quality wise from a Ruger American for about the same money after rebate.

I've gone back and forth on whether to get a magnum or not. This will probably be my only big game rifle for the foreseeable future, living in Iowa eliminates rifle deer hunting outside of my Henry 357 mag, and I'm not really into varmint hunting. Wanting to get something to play with til the kids get older and a trip out west becomes feasible.