In the usual tradition, I would vigorously shoot with a specific lens for a month and attempt to be familiarize with its capability and short coming. This implies going around making a few field trips.
Yesterday was the day at the national zoo park and I bring you a few selective shots, baselining that the Nikkor 70-300mm indeed can deliver in specific conditions - bright sunny day with tripod. Not exactly very robust but a reasonable oversight for such a cheap lens.
The above shot was shot handheld though...click on it to see in full size.