300wm 175g Info?

[DirtySouth85]

Has anyone shot the VLD 175 Hunting in a 300wm. That's the bullet I decided on and have loaded and shot 50 rds so far. Not grouping how I'd like yet but the brass wasn't fireformed and I only tried 4 powders so far. IMR7828ssc is what seems to be the best to far. Just any info would be great. Thanks.

 

[backwoods83]

Are you jumping them? If so how far? Barrel length and twist? Have you tried Imr4350 with standard primers?

 

[DirtySouth85]

I am jumping them but only .10 I have tried the 4350 but it didn't have as good of a group as the 7828. But they were close. Barrel is a McGowen 26" I believe the twist is 1-12 if I remember correctly with out looking at my paperwork.

 

[backwoods83]

Retry the 4350 with fed210m or cci br2 primers and push them all the way till you find pressure and then back off .5-.7grns and you should be golden, just neck size only though.

 

[DirtySouth85]

Retry the 4350 with fed210m or cci br2 primers and push them all the way till you find pressure and then back off .5-.7grns and you should be golden, just neck size only though.

Ok, I will try that and see how it goes. I plan to try some RL 22 and 25 at some point as I've heard good things about them too. I've never heard of doing it that way and that will be the way I test loads from now on.

 

[Timber338]

What brass are you using? Check your neck thickness with a good caliper and make sure all individual brass has a neck thickness variation .002" or smaller. .001" is better.

Consistent neck tension on the bullet is critical to getting great groups and small Extreme Spread. If there are large variations it doesn't matter what powder you use you won't get the results you want.

 

[DirtySouth85]

What brass are you using? Check your neck thickness with a good caliper and make sure all individual brass has a neck thickness variation .002" or smaller. .001" is better.

Consistent neck tension on the bullet is critical to getting great groups and small Extreme Spread. If there are large variations it doesn't matter what powder you use you won't get the results you want.

I just started using Lee Collet dies for it. And measured the neck, they weren't that tight but they were within .005 of each other. The brass I'm using at the moment is remington. It seems to be ok, but I may throw down more money for the next batch. What brass would you suggest? I've heard good things about Norma, and Lapua?

 

[boomtube]

"... .005"

Varying neck "tension" by 5 thou runs from very tight to so loose the bullets will fall out; something is wrong there.

 

[Timber338]

I just started using Lee Collet dies for it. And measured the neck, they weren't that tight but they were within .005 of each other...

I am not familiar with the Lee Collet die... just to make sure, you are measuring the wall thickness of the neck, and taking several measurements to get a good high and low dimension? If you take a measurement, rotate your tool to a new location, measure again and then repeat several times... you should be able to get a feel for each brass, and on your brass with large variations, the thick end is typically exactly opposite the then end.

I use Nosler brass, but I believe most nosler brass is made by Norma. I'm not 100% sure on that. I spend a few extra $$ on Nosler as they take the time to weight sort, chamfer the primer pockets and trim to length. Time is money so it's worth it to me to save time...

 

[DirtySouth85]

"... .005"

Varying neck "tension" by 5 thou runs from very tight to so loose the bullets will fall out; something is wrong there.

Well, I actually had problems with the bullets being loose/falling out and then realized I wasn't putting enough force on my press to size the neck properly. .005 was a maximum rough estimate. All of them are less than .005, but I'd say most of mine are .003 in variance.

 

[jsthntn247]

Dirtysouth, Remington and Winchester brass in the 300 mag is known to have allot of varaince, especially in the neck. This causes inconsistent neck tension which ultamately results in fliers. For that reason I just ordered a large batch of RWS brass. This is the best you can buy for the 300 mag. I have waay more than I need and am selling some for 1.25 a piece shipped to recoop some of my funds. The only other place you can get this in the US is selling it for 2.20 a piece. I have it listed on this site in the reloading section and on the hide if you are interested. http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f41/rws-300-win-mag-brass-f-s-92855/

 

[Timber338]

In my experience there is just no replacement for good brass. I have made high accuracy ammo with win brass but culled nearly fifty percent of the cases. Any more it's just not worth my time so I just shoot Norma or nosler. When you consider how much bullets cost the extra cost for good brass pays for itself pretty quick by finding an accurate recipe with much less trial and error.

 

[Bart B]

"... .005" . . . . Varying neck "tension" by 5 thou runs from very tight to so loose the bullets will fall out; something is wrong there.

We don't know if that's the sized empty case mouth diameters or a loaded round's outside neck diameters. Knowing the details will help.

DirtySouth85, how did you measure that?

 

[rscott5028]

Well, I actually had problems with the bullets being loose/falling out and then realized I wasn't putting enough force on my press to size the neck properly. .005 was a maximum rough estimate. All of them are less than .005, but I'd say most of mine are .003 in variance.

Lee collet dies can provide excellent results when used properly. But, it sounds to me like you may need to read some of the threads in this forum where collet die setup and usage is discussed. Also, read the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

-- richard