300 Holland & Holland ...anybody played with this one ?

[Caracal]

I'm after some advise about which bullet would be best suited to this calibre, it seems most guys prefer the 180gr but the 200gr seems to be the better option down range. Has anyone shot with this old gentleman on a regular basis ? If so how do you rate this calibre as a long range option considering all the newer calibres that are available to us nowdays ? Cheers.....

 

[liltank]

I'm not a user, but that old boy will keep up. You stuff a 208 A-Max or any of the 210 bullets on top of some of the new powders (H1000, Retumbo, RL25), you are going to get some nice results.

I just looked at the reloading manual. Compared to the 300RUM you are going to be about 50-100fps below the RUM with a 200grn bullet according to the manual. The RUM has more volume and the same length. The H&H has the same length, but has a severe taper. SOOOOO... I think with modern powder (RL25 being the accuracy powder and best velocity) you should be fine. I know that you should be able to outperform the manuals with good hand loading and depending on your set up and barrel length. I didn't check what they used for test barrels for both rifles. This info is from the Lyman 49th edition.

Tank

 

[azsugarbear]

You may also find that the 300 H&H is a very efficient magnum, meaning it can usually achieve the same velocity as the other 300 magnums (300 RUM excluded) while burning a couple grains less powder in the process.

 

[3fingervic]

I don't understand why a caliber that performs so well would lose favor.

 

[liltank]

300 H&H was an old time Safari rifle. Holland developed the cartridge in the 40's or 50's I believe to be a big gun for hunting. Weatherby got into the size mattes contest and kind of stole Hollands thunder. Since then Holland has kind of petered out. The market then was overwhelmed with the new and improved Weatherby cartridge's and Winchester Magnums took over. Everybody fell in love with the Win Mag stuff because it was cheaper. Most recently Remington started making the RUM's. Hence the Holland & Holland (H&H) has become the old man on the mountain. I suppose if some one were to really start playing with it and doing an improved version it could become a contender again. It was limited by the powders of the day. So that is the story in a nut shell. There are some really good reads. If you go to Shooting Times.com they have articles that can give you some idea of what's up with these old calibers.

Tank

 

[Caracal]

Thanks for the info guys. Actually is was sadly Winchester that put the 300 H&H on the map so to speak in 1937. I guess all us shooters really want is an honest calibre that does the business..

Tank you mention the severe taper, what sort of effect does this have/contribute to a rounds character on firing. After firing the 300 RUM and 300 Win Mag the 300 H&H seems to give you a shove in the shoulder as apposed to a sharp bump with the previous two. Could this be the result of the different angles of the shoulders of the cartridges ? All of them go bang, so all is good , right !!!!

Cheers

 

[liltank]

Well I wish I could give you a really educated answer... but I can not. I think the one advantage to its design is its length. It is a very long cartridge compared to the Winchester casings. It will be interesting if anybody can jump in to enlighten us.

Tank

 

[300hnh]

Sorry to be about a year late with this posting - I just found the thread and this forum in a Google search.

I love the 300 H&H for a lot of the reasons listed in this thread.

Recoil is more than the 30-06 - but not as unreasonal as the newer and bigger 300 magnums. As someone stated it is a push in the shoulder not a jolt.

One artical I read on the 300 H&H said that since it had the larger cast capacity you could load 200 gran bullets for use in applications where you would normally use a 180 grain bullet, and still get a fairly flat trajectory.

Where I really like the 300 H&H is with 165 grain bullets. It shoots them very flat and with the kind of authority that brings drop dead results at 200 to 300 yards - again without pounding your shoulder like its bigger off-spring.

This past hunting season (October 2011) I finished off a mule deer doe my son had shot. It had run across an open wheat field and stood there at 185 yards watching us. I knelt down took a few breaths and held steady. The H&H with the 165 grain Barnes Tripple Shock did the rest. The doe crumpled and fell in her tracks.

I will look up some load data and post that later. Have fun with your Holland & Holland!

 

[proload]

lightbulb This rifle is bound to cause you endless heartbreak and missery ...

In an effort to make a difference in the world, I'd be willing to taking it off you to prevent you from this terrible ordeal ....

Seriously ... I wish I could find one in Stainless Steel ... Plan B is a Ruger #1 when some money comes in ... I've wanted one for so many years, but so few manufacturers make them these days ... I'm so glad to hear of guys as passionate about this caliber as I am ...

One suggestion that I have had is to buy a Remington M700 SPS Stainless in 300 Win Mag and convert that to a 300 H&H .... In the end it will cost about the same as a Ruger #1

 

[HARPERC]

When my old pre-war Model 70 gave up I did not rebarrel with the H&H. I find the safe empty without one. The Ruger # 1's may find a way home, I like either the Cabela's 50 year or Boddington series. Federal 215, full case of H4831 sc, 200 Accubonds always gave over 2900 fps from a 26" barrel. Antelope or Elk always got it done.

 

[silvertip-co]

Long before 1912 when the 300H&H came about specifically for 1000yd shooting(it was in fact designed JUST for that purpose) the 45-70 was chucking 400gr bullets 1000y at Creedmore Long Island NY. Roy Weatherby used it as a base for all his double radius cases( I think). I never shot one but would. The tech of 1912 is still relevant for LRH today. Good luck if you go with that cal.

 

[TannerGun]

I shoot a 1952 M70 300 H&H Improved that my Grandpa had reamed out way back when. It's an incredible rifle, and I'd sell my left nut before I let anyone else take it home. 165s at 3200-3250, 180s at 3000+ kill stuff extremely dead. I would venture to guess this rifle has taken well over 100 mule deer and elk in Colorado. The H&H is a great one.

I'll post a few pictures later.

 

[Greyfox]

I have a mint Model 70 in 300H&H that I have had a long time, 50's vintage. I have shot it but between the original steel butt plate which is a killer and the collector value, I retired the rifle. Factory ammo isn't much better if at all to the hot 30-06 loads. With hand loads you can get similar velocities to the 300 Win Mag. Because of the long taper, case sizing to within .001-.002 of the rifle's headspace is important to get the accuracy out of it. I had no problem getting .5MOA with careful attention to my loads, as good as my 300WM. I think the primary reason it fell from favor is that when the 300 Win mag came out, it could be built with standard length actions. Also, the factory ammo was toned down because of the large number of older rifles in circulation.

 

[Bart B]

You may also find that the 300 H&H is a very efficient magnum, meaning it can usually achieve the same velocity as the other 300 magnums (300 RUM excluded) while burning a couple grains less powder in the process.

Impossible.

Never happen with the same peak pressure levels and barrel dimensions for both.

Note the .300 Weatherby magnum is a blown out version of the venerable .300 H&H; it burns more powder for the same peak pressure level and therefore pushes bullets out faster.