The Browning Maral straight-pull in .300 Win. Mag.
Test results at the range
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On the range, I shot factory ammo from seven manufacturers—Hornady, Federal, Gunwerks, Barnes, Fusion, Remington and Sako—in grain weights 150 to 200. Of note, this was certainly the fastest straight-pull I’ve ever encountered. And while the muzzle brake reduced felt recoil, it was loud, so be sure to wear adequate hearing protection.
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The rifle clearly had its preferences in ammo, but the results did include five sub-MOA groups, three of which bettered three quarters of an inch. For larger game such as moose, Hornady’s 200-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter (shooting 0.902 inches) would top my list, followed by Hornady’s180-grain SST Superformance (0.748). For other game such as mule deer, caribou and elk, Barnes’ 165-grain VOR-TX TSX BT (0.715) and Hornady’s 165-grain Custom InterLock BTSP (0.728) would make good choices.
Complete Test Results
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Factory Ammo Brand | Bullet | Velocity (fps) | Group Size |
Hornady Precision Hunter | 200- grain ELD-X | 2704 | .902 |
Hornady Custom | 165-grain BTSP InterLock | 2994 | .728 |
Hornady American Whitetail | 180-grain InterLock | 2848 | 1.220 |
Hornady Superformance | 180-grain SST | 3049 | .749 |
Gunwerks | 190-grain VLD | 2707 | 1.185 |
Federal Premium | 180-grain Trophy Copper | 2871 | 1.977 |
Federal Premium | 165-grain Barnes Tripple-Shock | 2909 | .995 |
Fusion | 165-grain | 3009 | 1.608 |
Barnes VOR-TX | 180-grain Tipped TSX BT | 2830 | 1.210 |
Barnes VOR-TX | 165-grain Tipped TSX BT | 3080 | .715 |
Remington Premier AccuTip | 180-grain AccuTip BT | 2843 | 3.550 |
Sako Super Hammerhead | 150-grain | 3205 | 1.360 |
Note: All groups are three shots at 100 yards with velocities obtained utilizing the Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph and averaged.