Secret Evil Plan-300 Win Mag

[mke039]

Ok, here is the deal.
I just bought my dream gun, a Browning BAR MKII Safari in 300 win mag.
I like this gun so much that I want to take it deer hunting in Wisconsin.
But....I do not want to shoot a deer, at typical ~75yrd ranges with this. It would just make a mess.
Not to mention that the boss pays for the whole thing and a pulped deer would be disrespectful.
So....
I understand that H4895 can be used for "youth" loads, and basicly take your rifle ballistics down to pistol velocities....safely, or so says Hodgdon.
My question:
Has anyone tried to tame their belted magnums down to say...308 ballistics?
Is this feasible?
Any suggested loads I can use?
Max 300 wm load for this powder, 168gn bullet is 59 grains.
Theoretically I can take this down to 35 grns of powder (60% rule, Hodgdon H4895)
This is less than even .308, which is 43grns (all same bullet weight)
I am very curious if anyone else has done this, and their results
Thanks!

 

[RockyMtnMT]

Run full loads with Swift Scirrocco or Nosler E-tip, or some other non frangible bullet, and you won't blow the deer up.

Steve

 

[Broz]

Placement is the most important thing when it comes to quick kills and meat loss. Put anything in a shoulder or a rear ham and you will loose meat. Take your time and get a broadside shot through the ribs and little to no loss occur.

Jeff

 

[mke039]

oh yea,
That is the real challange for me, putting the bullet exactly where I want it.
I practice a lot at the range and it pays off in the field.
But I do want to tame the rifle down a little anyway. I was just wondering if anyone else has done this

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I don't understand why you got your dream magnum rifle if you don't want to shoot it?

Steve

 

[mke039]

Cuz it was a steal! Thats why!

But why not make loads that mimic .308, 30-06 as well as 300 win mag?

Seems to me it would make the rifle so versatile, I am suprized I don't see it more often.

The purpose of this thread was to find out if it is actually feasible or not and to hear from others who do this

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I would not recommend any load that is less than 90% case capacity. I prefer to get as close to 100% case capacity as possible. This will help with consistency and in the end accuracy.

Steve

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Placement is the most important thing when it comes to quick kills and meat loss. Put anything in a shoulder or a rear ham and you will loose meat. Take your time and get a broadside shot through the ribs and little to no loss occur.

Jeff

I agree, I'm not sure where this idea is perpetuating from but we are seeing it more and more lately.

 

[kcebcj]

Cuz it was a steal! Thats why!

But why not make loads that mimic .308, 30-06 as well as 300 win mag?

Seems to me it would make the rifle so versatile, I am suprized I don't see it more often.

The purpose of this thread was to find out if it is actually feasible or not and to hear from others who do this

First off finding the rifles accuracy is paramount at with whatever velocity and bullet you choose and I have found that is generally on the upper end of the load data. With that said pick a light bullet that is not fragile and load it at the book low and see what you get.

I agree with Broz above about bullet placement. You keep the shot off the ham, front shoulder and spine and there is not much meat loss and to do that the rifle has to be accurate so....

Most fellas on this forum shoot long range and to do that accurately it takes big bullets moving right along so not many of us look for light loads.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I agree, I'm not sure where this idea is perpetuating from but we are seeing it more and more lately.

It appears that you would like to turn this into a bullet choice ****ing contest?

Usually this means that if someone prefers not to use a frangible bullet they should be maligned as uneducated and spreading false rumors. Give it a rest man.

Steve

 

[mke039]

Well so far it seems nobody is into tamping down the ballistics for different applications...

I am going to give it a try.

I will take them to the range, and if I like what happens there, go deer hunting with it.

If not, I will take my Winchester Model 100 (semi auto in .308) like I do every year.

 

[woods]

The reason that you won't get much feedback on loading down a 300 win mag to 308 or even 30-06 is that most of us have additional rifles in smaller calibers and use those rather than load down. Loading down can be tricky in high volume cases with secondary explosion effects a remote possibility and loading under minimum can cause as many problems as loading above.

RockyMtn offered a very good solution with using non-frangible bullets like Barnes TSX's, Swift Scirroccos, Hornady Interbonds, Nosler Partitions, etc etc

This was a shot through the front shoulders on an Elk with a 300 win mag and 180 gr TSX at 250 yds going in and coming out

You can eat right up to the hole and no gore

It would have been even less through the ribs but he needed to be anchored right there

Load a 200 gr TSX at 2850 fps (full load but a couple of grains below max) and you will get full use of your caliber with not much meat loss. Probably excellent accuracy also

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

It appears that you would like to turn this into a bullet choice ****ing contest?

Usually this means that if someone prefers not to use a frangible bullet they should be maligned as uneducated and spreading false rumors. Give it a rest man.

Steve

Steve

I hope you have not gotten the wrong impression of me, I did not, nor have I ever started a thread about the subject you mentioned, I do however know what you are referring to and that threads author should have taken a step back and thought about what he was saying before he said it. I don't go around telling war stories about battles I did not fight. I have seen that to many times and eventually your are going to run into someone who was there and there going to call BS, then all your credibility is shot.

The comment I made above, was in no way intended to start what you have implied, simply to make anyone who reads this thread aware that shot placement is key to meat damage and not what the op implied as "overkill". Not everyone is aware of this I know that.

 

[HARPERC]

Well so far it seems nobody is into tamping down the ballistics for different applications...

If not, I will take my Winchester Model 100 (semi auto in .308) like I do every year.

The problems of loading light are real. You're on the right track with your .308 thinking.

In the .300 magnum, I'd swim against the tide and load the 220 Nosler Partition to about 2600-2700 fps. Then stay behind the shoulder, and forward of the hips.