Has anyone built a 300WM or 300WSM to run 249/250 high BC bullets??

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Dec 3, 2022
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West Virginia
I have a custom action being made to build a 300wm and use hornady 250gr atip or 249gr burgers. The action is Wyatt cut for mag length of 3.8. Give or take tuning the load I will try and run them at 3.7ish OAL. I am fortunate enough to have a barrel maker close to me to me for chambering. I haven't totally decided yet, but curious about chambering a 300WSM instead. Has anyone done or tried this yet? Does anyone have any information they would like to share?
 
I don't see either cartridge having the horsepower to make it worthwhile to run the 245 or 250 over the 215 or 200.20x to be honest. I think you'd want to be at least in the realm of 300 NM or 300 RUM
 
A 30 Nosler would be a much better choice, and will easily fit your mag throated properly.
FWIW I ran a 24" Nos and got 2825 with 245s using H1000
 
I have a custom action being made to build a 300wm and use hornady 250gr atip or 249gr burgers. The action is Wyatt cut for mag length of 3.8. Give or take tuning the load I will try and run them at 3.7ish OAL. I am fortunate enough to have a barrel maker close to me to me for chambering. I haven't totally decided yet, but curious about chambering a 300WSM instead. Has anyone done or tried this yet? Does anyone have any information they would like to share?
What speeds are you hoping for?
 
Thanks for the feedback! Let me say, my intent is to use this as a big game rifle. I have had a 300wm my entire life, as in my first rifle ever, passed down from grandfather. So, I'm sentimental to a 300wm and my favorite caliber. I know better cartridges exist for different reasons. I have shot and/or loaded everything from 150g - 208g projectiles. My interest in loading 250's stems from looking at the ballistic profiles and data compared to the 300PRC. This was after I was completely disappointed in all aspects by the 300PRC that I had purchased. I found that a 300wm could perform nearly the same as the 300PRC with using a 1:8 twist barrel, and changing the free bore to fit the OAL of heavy projectiles. Plus the 300wm is still extremely more popular around the world than almost all cartridges previously mentioned, incase my ammo gets lost, forgotten, etc…
 
IMO you would be best served in the 300WM by running the 215 Berger Hybrid.

And I absolutely agree that the 300 gives up nothing to the PRC by lengthening the freebore to seat bullets out longer and putting a proper twist barrel on it.

Components are much cheaper and readily available for the 300WM and will be for a long time.
 
I have the 245s going 2930 FPS out of a 27" RUM. Using N570.

IF you long throat it and can use the slow burning powders, it will work. I don't think it has quite the juice to make it overtake a lighter weight bullet at ranges that you can make the bullet function. I think the sweet spot with a long throated 300WM is the 208-220 class. Some even do the 230s. The 245s are really big.

There is a good but of torque coming off the 245 that makes it a little tougher to shoot than my 215 load.

Edit to add that the unicorn, never enough available, now price gouged, Berger 215 would not be the bullet I would build a rifle around, unless you are in with them boys in Arizona for back door trunk fills afterhours.
 
Anything above 2600. The energy and velocity at 1000 yrds with 2600 is still just shy of 1800 in both energy and velocity.

You are going to be a few hundred yards short of that with anything at 2600. Still respectable ranges though.

I have a 24" 300wm that has a load at mag length with the 215 Berger at 2686 fps and it holds 1798 fps to 800 yards at sea level.
 
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