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.300 Whisper? SHHHH
Well, I believe that the .300 Whisper has been one
of the best kept secrets in handgun shooting/hunting.
I picked up a barrel from Bullberry some time ago for
my contender but hadnt found any time to get it out
and shoot it. I also wasnt ready to scavenge the Burris
scope off of my .17 ackley hornet barrel. I recently
had the opportunity to shoot it at the range a couple
of times and to take it hunting this year. I have been
so pleased with it that I figured I would share my experiences
here. Before we get started, Ill share a picture of
my .300 whisper.
I was looking for a handgun that was accurate, pleasant
to shoot, and effective on deer-sized game. My first
attempt at getting a hunting handgun was a learning
experience it was a T/C encore with a 15" .308
barrel. It was big, clunky, and had a mean bark followed
by the recoil bite. I got a 7TCU barrel in between and
it may have been a good choice as well, but the specimen
that I had obtained was not exactly perfect. So that
led me to the .300 whisper or .300-.221 as it is also
called. This cartridge was developed by JD Jones of
SSK industries. JD developed this cartridge to shoot
long, heavy bullets at subsonic speeds: hence the name
Whisper. But it does an equally good job of shooting
the lighter bullets at supersonic speeds with amazing
efficiency. If you look in the loading manuals for the
.30-.30 with a 14" barrel, you will see 2100- 2200
fps with a 130 grain bullet. With much less case capacity,
I am able to achieve 2150 fps out of my 14" barrel
with a 130 grain Hornady SSP bullet.
Forming brass is quite easy as well the Redding .300-.221
die set that I bought included an extra expander button
that would be used to expand the size of the case mouth
to approximately .260 from the .224. Then the original
expander could be replaced and finish necking up the
case to .308. Imperial Sizing Die wax is a critical
component to this operation as well as a strong reloading
press I use a Rockchucker for these tasks. I took
a picture of the cases from left to right are: .221
fireball (parent case), formed case loaded with 130
grain bullet, and fireformed case. You can see that
it almost looks like a straight wall pistol case when
it is formed, with very little shoulder.
 .
It is a little difficult finding load data for the
.300 whisper but I found a little to go by and started
to work up a load. I have only 49 pieces of brass formed
for this gun which should prove plenty unless I decide
to take it out west for prairie dogs. I chose to use
the Hornady 130 grain SSP bullets because that is what
I had in my cabinet. I had bought them to use in the
.308 and had used a few of them in it until I abandoned
that barrel. I also chose to use H110 powder which is
the fastest burning powder that I had ever used. I loaded
up my 49 cases with increasing charges until I got to
a maximum of 18.3 grains. Some reported using charges
of H110 of up to 18.5 grains but I found the 18.3 grains
to be my most accurate load and didnt feel the need
to pursue any additional velocity that the .2 grains
might offer. At 18.3 grains, the primers are slightly
cratered and flattened. The case extraction is not tight,
and the contender frame doesnt hesitate to open. I
shot the loads with the increasing charges getting a
feel for the gun and shooting some groups. I was pleased
at the accuracy of the groups that I was getting as
most were 2" or less at 100 yards. When I got to
the 18.3 grain load, I fired a five shot group that
measures less than an inch and impressed me more than
words can express. You can imagine my delight when I
walked down range to see this group, as with a 7 power
handgun scope, I cant see the .30 caliber holes at
100 yards. Shown below is a picture of the target.
Now for the pleasant part, you can shoot this thing
all day long, as it has very little recoil. I wouldnt
have dared to take the off-hand shots with the .308
encore that I have taken with this gun already. The
other thing that is very pleasant is the relative low
level of muzzle blast that is an accepted nemesis of
the handgun. I was surprised at the relatively small
crack that the whisper had to offer. I dont know how
to compare it to other shots, but I would certainly
say that it was no more than my .270 rifle that I have
hunted with for years. I had every intention of using
hearing protection with this gun while hunting but we
all know how things happen in the woods. My first experience
with the whisper was on opening day of deer season on
the Maryland firearms opener. I decided to carry the
handgun exclusively and leave all rifles at home for
this year. I had set a goal for myself to shoot a deer
with a handgun and I was gonna make it happen this year.
Since I hunt from a climbing tree stand, I chose to
carry a walking stick to use as a rest. I set off early
in the morning for my tree stand and climbed up my tree
and got set up well before first light. Just as it was
beginning to get light, I heard some motion coming from
behind me. It was still a little early to see, but I
knew that they were coming my way. As luck would have
it, the wind was not in my favor. Multiple deer caught
my scent and decided that they had better change their
intended route. I was a little disappointed at the lost
opportunity but sat tight. Just then I heard something
coming from the other direction but still couldnt see
anything. Then I caught a glimpse of a red fox making
its way through the woods. I was not quite ready to
get a shot and he never waited around long enough for
me to get on him. The low light conditions are not a
handgun hunters best times, as the LER (long eye relief)
scopes dont gather light like a rifle scope does. It
wasnt long before I had an additional visitor. This
time it was a big raccoon that was meandering its way
through the creek bottom that I was hunting. I had not
intended to shoot a raccoon in the prime morning hours
but with my blown opportunity at first light, I was
feeling like it wouldnt hurt my chances. When the raccoon
jumped up on a log, not 15 yards from the tree that
I was in he caught me moving to try to get a shot. There
was a branch in the way and there he sat staring at
me waiting for a move. I sat still and eventually he
figured that I wasnt a threat. He moved a little further
up the log offering me a perfect shot. I held the contender
off hand and centered the cross hairs on his back between
as he was quite a bit below me. I slowly squeezed the
trigger and fired the shot. At the shot, the raccoon
was knocked off the log and quickly expired. I had put
in my ear plugs for this shot and didnt like the idea
of having to put in hearing protection before each shot
opportunity. I certainly couldnt hunt while wearing
hearing protection.
I sat there for a few more hours with a few deer sightings
at great distances through the entanglement of the thick
woods which would never offer a shot. At around 9:00
in the morning, a number of deer came running through
the woods towards me. I could hear them well before
I could see them. One of the deer stops in a small opening
about 75 yards away. It is behind me so I am standing
in my tree stand and I rest the gun up against the tree
that I am in. I steady the gun and settle the crosshairs
just behind the shoulder. I gently squeezed the trigger
(2 lbs), and fired the shot. After the shot, the deer
ran off but I was confident of the hit. As all of the
deer ran in different directions, a smaller deer made
its way right to me. I hadnt had time to remove the
spent shell and replace with a live round before it
was 15 yards from me. It caught me loading the gun and
sat there and stomped its feet for a bit. It was upwind
and had no way of detecting me other than sight. The
tree was at my back and I remained motionless until
it decided that there was no harm. It continued on its
way until I had a perfect opening. Only this time, I
was standing and had nothing to steady the gun with.
I held up the contender and settled it on her shoulders
and squeezed the trigger. Again, this deer ran off but
I could tell that this deer was definitely hit. In the
thick creek bottom, I was only able to see her go for
50 yards before she was out of sight. On the two way
radios, my hunting partners chime in, "What is
all of that shootin up there?" I tell them briefly
that I would get back to them after I got down and checked
it out. When I got down to look at where the second
deer was standing when I had shot, the blood trail was
plain to see. I followed the trail towards where the
first deer was standing when I had shot it. There she
lay, hit through both shoulders where I had aimed, bullet
exited. I had no problem finding the blood trail from
the first deer either, and it had not gone far either.
The second deer was hit right behind the shoulders with
a perfect double lung shot. A laser range finder was
used afterwards to measure the distance, 80 yards.
I never had the time to put in hearing protection for
the shots on either of the deer and the muzzle blast
was not at all unpleasant. I know that the adrenaline
was flowing but if I had been shooting my .308 barrel,
I am sure that I would have been ringing for hours.
I value my hearing and dont at all suggest that you
shoot without hearing protection. When possible, I will
wear hearing protection with the .300 whisper while
hunting, but when time will not allow I will be thankful
that I am shooting the whisper and not latest- greatest
super magnum.
Neither of the deer that I shot may be considered trophies,
but the experience will not soon be forgotten by me
because they were taken with the handgun. It provides
the extra challenge to rifle season that I have been
looking for.
The .300 whisper is a keeper and I am sure that it
will be a favorite of mine for years to come for deer
hunting. I may not be able to shoot a 200 grain bullet
at 3200 fps, or use up 70 grains of powder and cost
$2.00 a shot, but Ill bet that itll be just as effective
for my intended use.
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