300 Win Mag Load Data

My Nosler #4 lists 73 gr IMR4831 as Max

My old Hornady third edition list 73.3 gr as Max

4831 is different if it is H4831 or IMR4831 and there was a lot of surplus 4831 a long time ago, like 30 years or so. The most I ever tried was 73.5 gr IMR4831 with the 180 gr TSX and got 3180 fps but no accuracy.
 
In my 26 inch barrel 300 I load 180 Partitions in front of 80 grains of 7828. The OAL is 3.6 inches as I had the chamber long throated to accomadate this length. That puts the base of the bullet exactly at the juncture of the case neck and where the shoulder begins. Therefore the bullet does not protrude into the powder space.

This combination produces very good accruacy and 3154 FPS out of the Left Hand Remington. I would not try to load this much powder in a standard chamber!

Regards, Keith
 
77-79 gr (warm according to the book) H1000 pushing berger 210 VLD with cci large rifle primer out of my 26" Krieger #10 is showing a lot of promise. My chrony broke and I'm still dialing in the load. 2850 fps Seems to be he sweet spot for accuracy. I'm shooting quarters at 200 yards and placing five shot groups starting from a cold bore at .50 MOA.

Want to do something with 208GR Amax but it's all on backorder :(

Now that I have a baseline of powder charges I'm going to weigh bullets and cases and dialing the powder by .1 gr increments. Should be a 1/4 MOA setup if I do my part.

Wait for my norma brass and more bullets and more powder to show up. This pill eats a one pound can of powder real quick.

RL powders seem to burn really hot and have a higher standard deviation as well as erode throats faster. YMMV but for me accuracy is king and gaining 100 FPS isn't worth losing .2 MOA of accuracy. Not to say you cant get accuracy out of it the but the h1000 is the ticket in my stick.
 
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I'm looking for a good load for elk out of 26" inch barrel. I just can't seem to get a good load worked up.

Thanks in advance.

David
I use a Barnes 180 gr. thx loaded with 79 gr IMR 4831. Awesome results---accuracy and killing power. Start with 77 gr. and work up--
 
You have a lot of responses but I thought I'd through my 2 cents in. I have a Sendero 300WM that I re-crowned, bedded, replaced the trigger, and scoped with a Mk4. I got OK results until I started using Norma brass. I then started getting 1/2 moa with good conditions out to 600yds. My load is Norma brass, Fed 215m primers, 190VLD bergers, 79grs of H-1000, seated .005 off lands. Getting 2960fps. Every rifle is different so hang in there.

Gordon
 
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just got back from the farm. CCI 200 primers, 79 gr of h1000 behind 208gr Amax. Produced 3108 out of my 26" Krieger #10 MTU No idea on group size bit I was hitting my 8" steel target with ease at 400 yards.

I also am about deaf on my left ear forgot to put my ear plug back in after talking to my wife.


also saw a bit of a large ES in velocities but shot to shot differences were close. Velocities went up peaked and back down.

Also my muzzle break will blast a hole in the dirt in the prone.
 
In my 26 inch barrel 300 I load 180 Partitions in front of 80 grains of 7828. The OAL is 3.6 inches as I had the chamber long throated to accomadate this length. That puts the base of the bullet exactly at the juncture of the case neck and where the shoulder begins. Therefore the bullet does not protrude into the powder space.

This combination produces very good accruacy and 3154 FPS out of the Left Hand Remington. I would not try to load this much powder in a standard chamber!

Regards, Keith
80 gr behind a VLD probably would be just fine.
 
Joe,
I have never shot VLDs so I don't know if they produce a lot of pressure or not but I will tell you one thing 80 grains of powder in a 300 case is a lot and not to be taken lightly.

The way that I determine maximum powder is with a micrometer measuring case expansion across the belt. Using this method along with 7828 you can watch the pressure come on. I started using this method back in the 1970s using the old surplus 4831 and to me those two powders come on with pressure in a very simular way, nice and slow. No spikes or surprises.

As you can see from my previous post my barrel has a non-standard throat and this lowers pressure quite a bit and therefore allows the use of more powder.

Be safe

Regards, Keith
Semper Fi
 
Joe,
I have never shot VLDs so I don't know if they produce a lot of pressure or not but I will tell you one thing 80 grains of powder in a 300 case is a lot and not to be taken lightly.

The way that I determine maximum powder is with a micrometer measuring case expansion across the belt. Using this method along with 7828 you can watch the pressure come on. I started using this method back in the 1970s using the old surplus 4831 and to me those two powders come on with pressure in a very similar way, nice and slow. No spikes or surprises.

As you can see from my previous post my barrel has a non-standard throat and this lowers pressure quite a bit and therefore allows the use of more powder.

Be safe

Regards, Keith
Semper Fi
No arguments here. Remember that pressure points article? Well I e-mailed the guy who the auther of that article interviewed.

He said 78-79 gr was well within safe limits. Also for what it's worth the Army just issued it's SOP MOD for the new .300WM sniper ammo. Using h1000 powder with a nominal working pressure of 68000 PSI and not to exceed 78000 PSI


I would however not try to push it with standard bullets. Also for what it's worth in a Saami chamber with very little free bore I load the rounds seated .010 off the lands and barely get a little crunch.


I have no pressure signs at all but I am getting some sicked good muzzle velocity out of a .208 Amax and excellent accuracy So i don't see the reward in pushing it much harder.

I will start measuring my cases above the belt and looking for expansion.
 
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Joe,
It was always Bob Hagel's [RIP] idea that when using the case expansion method to determine max pressure you take the initial expansion. After that what ever the amount of powder was you MUST NOT continue to have expansion. If the case continues to expand soon you will destroy the case because the primer pocket will be to loose.

Regards, Keith
Semper Fi
 
In my highly modified Rem SenderoII with 28" barrel, the best load I use with the highest velocity and least pressure is 200gr Accubond or 208gr Amax with 79.5gr of RE25, Fed 215 primer in Remington brass that has had all the necessary tweaks for performance and accuracy.
This load gives me 3080fps, an average MoA of .25, and is dynamite on most game animals. There is no expansion on the belt with this load, in fact, there was no expansion of the belt even with 81.5gr, but there was a slight stiff bolt lift.
This is the most accurate load/bullet combo I have ever found in the 300WM and, I've owned quite a few over the years.
The second best load is with 180gr Accubonds and 82gr of RE25, this is also a .25 MoA performer, but lacks a little out yonder where it opens to .5 MoA past 800yrds.

gun)
 
Due to lack of info on a short barrel 300 Win Mag (>21"), I figured I'd add my humble contribution to an odd load for the 300WM. (Note, I have been reloading on and off for 20 years, and as always build your loads carefully).

Money (and thus spouse) limited my options, so I got my Model 70 Win Mag (sporter barrel) cut to just under 21" so I could put a Specwar 762 on it rather than getting it rebarreled. Bottom line, I love this gun! I have killed many elk and deer with it over the last couple of decades, and though I have practiced out to 700 yards, my longest shot with it on game to date has been about 150. Most, including a 7X7 bull, were 25 yards and under. Still dreaming of longer range shots, and for fun, I bought a Specwar 762 to equip this and several other rifles (including a couple of AR-types). It make a huge difference in sound and recoil. My wife now shoots this instead of her .308 Rem 750 with which she took an elk last year, and I took a nice buck at about 250 yards.

After trying H1000 and R22 (low availability in this area) with AMAX 208s, I had a bad hit on a doe at about 12 yards (yes, I know, AMAX likes to be 300 yards+; it was all I had at the time). Though it was a vital shot, the bullet essentially exploded on impact and I had to follow with a second in her head (which was not an option with my first shot). I found fragments in the tenderloins... Thus I started looking for a bullet/load combo that would give me close range options as well as long range accuracy. Most loads assume a long barrel...which I do not have. Cabelas had an 8Lb can of IMR 4350 (faster than R22) so I figured I'd try it. Below are the results, and my new target and hunting loads.

Target: 71 Gr IMR 4350 Federal Nickel Brass CCI BR2 primers Hornady AMAX 178s. 3004 FPS with 65 FPS spread across 10 shots. Group size (six shots from an improvised rest at 100 yards) just over 1 inch...my shooting is probably not as good as the gun is capable.

Hunting: 66.5 IMR 4350 Winchester Nickel Brass CCI BR2 primers Nosler Accubond 200's 2780 FPS with 80 FPS spread on 10 shots. Group size about 1 inch on 4 shots from my hunting sticks.

Using Strelok+ for calculations, I was able to hit 4 for 4 at 500 yards yesterday (10 inch rock on the redneck range...sorry no better data on the group size) with each of these.

Other stuff I tried, that didn't work out:
Centerpointe Scope--I had good luck with this cheap WalMart scope on other guns...it did not stand up to the 300 Win Mag recoil, even with the comp and suppressor.
Remington Brass--lots of variation in the brass volume made this hard to load accurately and I am too lazy to sort (at this time) by volume.
WLR--Not bad, but I got a deal on BR2s
CCI 200's--same as above
CCI 250s--I got bigger FPS spreads and lost accuracy
WLRM--same issue with CCI 250s
Hornady 208 Match bullets--I ran out of bullets before I found a good load. But they were fun to shoot
Pushing the velocity up to 3200FPS--I worked up a few loads, but did not think the extra wear/tear and costs were worth it.

A note on the silencer: it is a beast, so I carry it on my belt and put it on the end of the gun when I get into the area where I plan on hunting. Even on a 21" barrel, it tips the gun on my shoulder. A longer barrel would make this much worse. I would not trade it, however, as I have probably put more rounds through the 300 since I got the can, than in the previous 2 decades. And my other long guns (except the .22s and .17HMR, also equipped with cans) are gathering dust.
 
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