Nice. I had a 304 for a good while, and it was a really good solid gun, which accounted for numerous rabbits, foxes and other small stuff, birds, pigs and deer.
You may know this, but when you shoot for groups you should leave a good break between shots. It will probably put the first two close together from a cold barrel, but after that the shots will tend to walk as the rifle barrel heats up, so it is a good idea to take another gun or two to the range so you can put this one by for a while between shots.
Not an issue in the field though, where usually you take one shot and then go pick up your game.
FWIW I found a 1.5-6 scope near ideal on this gun, and I have one on my drilling too. At 1.5x I was fine for running and flying game, while 6x lets you reach out with the rifle barrel.
Hope you enjoy this gun!
Thanks for the heads-up on the barrel heating, Dan. I haven't noticed any serious walking yet, but have only been shooting a few rounds at a a time at the range.
My hunting with this outfit will be for grouse and ptarmigan, and moose, bear and our big mountain caribou bulls which are the size of mature elk. Planning to use plain vanilla 175gr soft points at around 2400 fps on the big stuff and light target loads for the birds.
So far, it has been very satisfactory. Looking forward to this Fall.
Ted
