300 win with 125 gr. Ball. Tip

[motivationteam]

I am new to the forum but already I like it. I am proposing and an interesting thought. I have a 300 Win that I am trying to set up for coyote hunting. Now I know that this is not the taditional coyote set up but I don't get the traditional shots. I am looking to do some long range shooting with as much knock down power so that there is as little suffering as possible in the event of a off center hit. That being said I have loaded some 125 grain nosler ballistic tip bullets for my 300. I am using it mainly because I like to shoot and parctics to improbe my effectiveness and don't like the brutal recoil of the heavier bullets. My problem is that the rifle is not shooting to my expectations. I am getting about 3/4 of an inch groups and would like to get at least to half inch.

My question is does any one have any experience loading these lighter bullets? Is this typical for a 300 sendero. Is there any tips to making it shoot better. Besides the obvious trigger job.

Is there a better accuracy load you can turn me on too!

 

[wadevb1]

I suspect your barrel has the standard 1/10" twist which is geared more for 170gn and up bullets. 3/4" group isn't much to worry about. When I first discovered this board, I was into faster, lighter bullets. I have since discovered the error in my ways. Bullet drop is easier to calculate than wind drift...Just my thoughts.

 

[britz]

I have a 300 WSm and I loaded 110 gr v max in it. I tried 4 test groups of five shots each and five different powder amounts and all shot between .5" and .75" I have a Tikka w/ a 1 in 11 twist. I used H380 powder.

 

[CatShooter]

You might try seating the bullets to touch the leade, but I wouldn't worry about that last 1/4" - at 1,000 yds, it means 4".

In a 300 WM, the 125 BT will lift a 20 pound woodchuck 5 feet in the air at 800 yards, so you can be sure if you hit a 'yote, it be DRT!!

Also... light bullets in fast twists do very well, so the twist is not a problem.

.

 

[wildcat]

Motivation, your barrel twist is probably a 1&10 twist. Your barrel will shoot the 125grn Ballistic tips, however, you will probably not get the groups you want. If your getting 3/4 inch groups you should be fine shooting coyotes. The 125grn bullet works best in a 1&15 twist barrel and slower. I am having a rifle built specifically around the 125grn Ballistic Tip bullet for shooting varmints out to 1000 yards. I will be using a 300-WSM with match chamber and a .333 tight neck. I will also be throating the barrel for the 125gr Ballsitic tip. Here are the specs;

1. 300-WSM with Match Chamber and .333 tight neck.
2. Lawton 7500 Action, 1.450 Dia. Fluted Bolt and Oversized Bolt knob.
3. Krieger 30", 1&15 twist, 1.350 tapered to 1.250 at the muzzle, throated for 125grn Ballistic Tip Bullets.
4. McMillan Tooley MBR stock with removable stud for Bi-pod use and 5lbs of lead added to rear.
5. Jewel 2oz trigger
6. Vias Muzzle Brake
7. Lawton 20 MOA Base
8. Nightforce 30mm Rings
9. Nightforce 8x32x56mm NXS with Double Dot Reticle.
10. Rifle will weight 25 pounds (Will be very stable)

I will be getting some awesome velocity and accuracy with this set up. I will be pushing the 125grn ballistic tip at 4000+fps. I am betting your barrel is about 26", so you should be pushing the 125grn BT with the 1&10 twist barrel at around 3650fps, that will blow a coyote in half. I know the VLD bullets are best for long range shooting, however, the 125grn BT has a BC of .366 and traveling at those above mentioned velocites makes it a very flat shooting rig out to 1000 yards. It will send ground hogs five feet into the air and evaporate them too. I will be shooting this rig at the smaller California ground squirrel. I can't wait to see how far it sends them flying. This is, with out a doubt, a Red Mist set up.

What kind of powder are you using for your load. I have been doing some reserch and it looks like Vhitivoria N550 is working well with this bullet. I will be able to pack about 75grn of N550 in the 300-WSM. I love the Ballistic Tip and V-Max bullets, they blow up varmints like no other bullets out there.

How fast are you shooting the 125grn Ballistic Tip. You might need to drop the powder charge and go for a slower velocity with the 1&10 twist barrel. Diffently get a good trigger job and if you have the $$$ and you want to shoot the lighter bullets, buy a Krieger, Lilja, or Lawton barrel with a 1&15 twist and add a Muzzle Brake. If you do that, I bet you get groups in the .4's. If you have the Action Trued, stock pillar bedded and do the other above mentioned improvements, I bet you get groups in the .2's. Your going to have fun with the 125grn BT once you get that baby shooting. Keep me posted on your progress.

Jake

 

[motivationteam]

with the barrel twist this rifle probably has what would be the best bullet to use for long range coyote sniping?

 

[CatShooter]

[ QUOTE ]
with the barrel twist this rifle probably has what would be the best bullet to use for long range coyote sniping?

[/ QUOTE ]

Unless it's a custom ordered barrel, it most likely has a 10:1 twist (called a 10" twist).

There are those that think a light bullet can't be accurate in a fast twist, but that it not true.

Many people that have twists as fast as 7" shoot very light bullets with great success. Plus the higher rotational speed will cause the bullet to make much more impact damage on arrival to the critter!

You might try loading the bullets to touch the rifling - that will do a lot for accuracy.

I shot a 300WM for long range varmints for a while, and used heavy bullets (178 A-Maxs). I thought they were good at first, and they were accurate, but they often punched through the critter, and then they bounced around the north forty.

I went to 110 V-Maxs and they are like a hand grenade, and even when you miss, you won't get bullets bouncing around - they come apart on the first dirt they hit. They will lift a large woodchuck 3 to 5 feet in the air out past 600yds, and tear up a feral dog or yote something awful at 1,000yds!

You can do very well with the 125 BT or the 110 V-Max.

.

 

[wildcat]

I would go with the 125grn Ballistic Tip. It has a BC of .366 and it will destroy a coyote out to 1000 yards. Your twist rate will handle them with no problem. Have fun. I love the VLD bullets too, but they just don't anchor the varmints at long range. They punch through them like catshooter said. If your going to shoot past 1000 yards, than I would go with one of the A-Max or Match King Bullets.

Wildcat

 

[.25AOD]

A buddy of mine had a .300 Win Mag Sendero and we shot a lot of the 125 BTs out of it. I believe the charge was somewhere between "incindiary device" and "small nuclear device" of RE-22. As I remember velocity was in the 3600fps range and recoil was... shall we say Stout. We shot 20 or 30 coyotes with it at ranges from 50 to 350 yds... the carnage wasn't what we were expecting. Sometimes you'd get a pretty big exit, but most of the time the damage was the same as the 165 and 180 BTs. Don't get me wrong... every coyote was a dead coyote, but the 25-06 did much worse things to them with the 85 grainer at an equal velocity. 2 or 3 of the dogs even went 50-60 yards after being hit solid through the lungs. Crows, however, were just a large puff of feathers. It was a flat shooter, identical to the 25-06/85 BT set-up... but if you want critters to come apart the 110 V-Max is a better bullet for that application.

 

[CatShooter]

I agree that the 110 V-Max is the better bullet for varmings and predators... and in the 300 WM, they are easily capable of 4,000 fps.

After my experience with the 300WM, I bought a .264 Sendero-II Stainless Flutie, and I'm working up loads with the 95 V-Max. So far groups are in the ~1/2" range and velocity is around 3,600-3,700 +/-.

This is the best off the rack Rem I have ever bought (and I have bought a lot of them)...

.

 

[wildcat]

25ADO, I like the 110grn V-Max too, however, it's BC is not as good as the 125grn Ballistic Tip. The 110grn V-Max has a BC of .290 and the 125grn BT has a BC of .366. I want the destructive power, but I want to have some good BC for the shots past 500 yards. The 125grn BT will allow me to shoot out to 1000 yards, and I will be able to push the 125grn BT at 4000+fps out of a 30" pipe. I am sure I will try the 110 V-Mx too, but I am going to throat the barrel for the 125grn Ballistic Tips. There is a video which shows what a 125grn Ballistic Tip, traveling at 4000+ fps, will do to a 20 pound ground hog. It is awesome, it shows the ground hog being blown into pieces and thrown 5ft into the air. It is very impressive to watch. You can view it on Richards Custom Rifles. I can't wait to see what it does to a 3 pound California Ground squirrel, and our small coyotes.

Wildcat

 

[.25AOD]

Ahhhh yeah, Catshooter now your talking about nuking some coyotes. The single worst gunshot wound I have ever seen on a coyote was with a .264 Win Mag and a 95 grain V-Max... it literally blew this dog limb from limb. Head on shot at about 100 yards and it hit this thing so freaking hard that you could see its body balloon up from all the energy being dumped. You'll have some fun with that bad boy!

Wildcat, I hear you on the 125 and the BC thing... but lets not kid ourselves here, a BC of .366 is going to cause some serious issues with wind at 600... let alone 1000, even if you do start it out at 4000! It will bomb the $#*@ out of 'chucks and misc. other sub-10# critters though... I'd love to see that! I just don't think the terminal performance on coyotes is going to impress you as much as the 110 V-Max will.

 

[wildcat]

25OAD,I hear you on the wind issue. However, we do not have that much wind out here in Califonia, where we shoot. If wind becomes an issue, I guess I will have to resort to the 338 Allen Mag I am going to have Kirby build me soon. My friend uses his 300 Win Mag with 125grn ballistic tip out to 1000 yards with great results. Watching him shoot his 300 Win Mag with those bullets during varmint hunting trips got me very interested in building a project around the 125grn BT. He is getting around 3650 fps out of 26" barrel and it is very accurate out of the factory Sendaro. I can't wait to see what it will do at 4000+fps out a custom rig with a 1-15 twist barrel throated for the 125grn BT. I've been in contact with others who using this bullets and they have informed me that out of a custom rig they are getting awesome groups and awesome performance out to 1000 yards. Also, see the information on Richards Custom Rifles site about his 300-WSM Varmint rig. I am building my project with the same chambering specs, but with soome different equipment. Anyhow, I can't wait.

Jake

 

[wildcat]

25OAD,I hear you on the wind issue. However, we do not have that much wind out here in Califonia, where we shoot. If wind becomes an issue, I guess I will have to resort to the 338 Allen Mag I am going to have Kirby build me soon. My friend uses his 300 Win Mag with 125grn ballistic tip out to 1000 yards with great results. Watching him shoot his 300 Win Mag with those bullets during varmint hunting trips got me very interested in building a project around the 125grn BT. He is getting around 3650 fps out of 26" barrel and it is very accurate out of the factory Sendaro. I can't wait to see what it will do at 4000+fps out a custom rig with a 1-15 twist barrel throated for the 125grn BT. I've been in contact with others who using this bullets and they have informed me that out of a custom rig they are getting awesome groups and awesome performance out to 1000 yards. Also, see the information on Richards Custom Rifles site about his 300-WSM Varmint rig. I am building my project with the same chambering specs, but with some different equipment. Anyhow, I can't wait.

Jake