Which 300?

[Hard Head]

I loved the old 300H&H,my uncle was a logger in Oregon in the mid 50's to the mid 60"s,his carry rifle in the cab was a old M70 300 H&H was battle scared and worn out. When he quit logging about 1966 he sent it back to Winchester when Winchester and had it completely redone ,fine walnut new barrel action tuned cost him around 1500 back then. he got it back when I had come home on leave and he brought it over to show me , It was a fine piece to say the least, when he was old he gave it to his grandson who after he passed sold it for drugs.................... Pete

 

[widetrackjack]

When looking at the difference in velocities between the two of them in a reloading manual you'll see that most of the time there's only about 100fps difference. This may be true but it's been my experience with 6 or 7 different 300 Wby's that their most accurate loads are often at max or even a few grains over max. I cannot say the same for the 300 Winchesters I've played with. They often have to be loaded down to get satisfactory accuracy. So in the real world, there's probably a 250fps difference between the two of them if accuracy is to be taken into account, which it should. Also, Sierra bullet company used to send out a quarterly bulletin on accurate hand loading. In one edition they discussed loading accurately for "free bored" rifles. Their research showed that seating the bullet way out near the lands was not the best way to achieve accuracy, but on a free bored rifle, to seat the bullet farther down into the case. It's been my experience that this is 100% true. Weatherby guarantees the accuracy of their rifles, and the ammunition they sell does not have the bullet seated way out of the case. Roy designed long necked cases to aid in bullet alignment so as the bullet left the case it would enter the free bored barrel straight. Maybe Roy Weatherby knew what he was doing after all. He was on to this whole thing well before the "Plus P" bandwagon got started. Just my two cents.

 

[LRNut]

I can't believe anyone hasn't mentioned the 300 RUM. Super accurate (as all cases based on the .404 Jeffrey seem to be). Shoot 220-225 gr bullets at 3000 fps without pressure issues.

 

[Hard Head]

My Remington that I had in 300 Weatherby was loaded with 7828 max plus 1/2 grain to the book and seated to factory specs and it was a crazy shooter, load it longer and it did not shoot but average. I had 2 German 300's and 2 Japanese 300, both Japanese rifles were more accurate and smoother, Pete

 

[bearhtr2]

If you have the weatherbys already keep and use those. If in the market for a new 300 I would go to the 300RUM. I have two 300 weatherbys and a 300 RUM. Love them all.

 

[Hard Head]

I agree, load them to there potential and they will be scary accurate just have to find the spot. I think the main problem with long range rifles is the shooter, they head out west and spent lots of time with loads and shooting but forgot about wind, they forgot to watch prairie grass for how much it moves and even when calm they fail to realize that a perfectly placed crosshair ,that when the trigger is let go and the animal starts to walk is a paunch or hips shot, the rifle is blamed the bullet is blamed as it did not do its job. The hunter did not do his job! Pete

 

[hembrook]

Of course I would throw my .30 Hembrook in the ring.

It's a hand load only proposition, but proper headstamp brass is available from Quality Cartridge and dies from Hornady. Reamers from Dave Manson or PT&G.

Case volume is between .300 Win Mag and .300 Win Short Mag, and easy to launch 180-200 grain bullets over 3000fps depending on your barrel.

Just a thought

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

I have read a lot of great info on here regarding 300 win vs 300wby. If a person hand loads, what are the actual real world speed differences between the two? Also, I see a lot on the web about potential accuracy issues with the wby, is that a concern? I have several 300 weatherbys( all factory Rem or Wby rifles) and have not experienced poor accuracy personally, but I'm a novice. Thanks in advance!

So in my MK V .300 Wby, I load 79 grs IMR 4831, 180 gr Barnes TTSX bullet, Fed 215 primer and Wby Brass. I get 3208 MV with 26" barrel and about .8-9 MOA when I have my feet in the stirrups and handling the recoil well! She do kick a bit. I discovered that load when I was 17 in 1973. Back then I used a 180 Hornady BT SP... upgraded to Barnes in about 2005. I've played with every bullet and powder suitable for the Roy and always come back to old plain jane 4831. Took it to Africa out of nostalgia (it's heavy) and zapped Eland and Kudu like Thor's hammer.

My son shoots a .300 Win Mag Sendero w carbon stock and 24" fluted stainless barrel, runs a muzzle brake suppressor adapter and Thunder Beast 338 BA can. It shoots like a BB gun...but is also a tad hefty with all that "gear" up front. He loads 180 gr Nos AB bullets or occasionally 180 gr Sierra Tipped Game King. He burns 68 grs of IMR 4350, Fed 215 Primer and Win Brass. (been playing with RL-17/19 but no data yet) He gets about 2950 which is mighty decent--it'll run 3050 before hitting max but accuracy goes down the toilet. His shoots really well too and much less recoil...about .08-1.0 MOA.

So... both get er done--a bit less velocity with Win Mag but less recoil, more velocity with 300 Wby but big bang and recoil. We should both try the 190 gr pills of several manufactures for increased BC...but you know--if it ain't broke...

 

[AZ82New]

Between the two I would pick the win mag.

100 or so fps isn't worth the lack of efficiency in my opinion. I did have a 257 Weatherby briefly and I found it to be pretty fussy to work a load for. I have admittedly never had a 300 Weatherby but I assume it's in the same vein in regards to the inherent problems that come with an oversized case.

If your going for best 300 magnum in general, I thing the 300 WSM is your ticket if you're shooting 190 grain and below. Over that grain weight, the 300 PRC really stands out.

 

[HuntnPack]

30-338 Lapua

 

[Aussie Hunter Steve]

I have a 300 Win, Weatherby, and RUM. I found the Win and RUM easier to get an accurate load for than the Weatherby, but I prefer the Weatherby over the Win for hunting as it gives more performance without running max pressures. The RUM trumps both in every regard.

 

[Lenny Foffa]

Great Question and many excellent responses. I own a 300 Weatherby Mag , Mark V Deluxe from the 1980's. 26 factory barrel. Glass bedded . I purchased the barrel from a guy "up grading " his 300 Wby. Mag to 340 Weatherby Mag . So I bought his 300 Wby. Mag barrel. So up until now the heaviest weight bullet I have ever shot out of that rifle was a 180 Grn bullet. This coming spring I will shoot 190 Grn. Accubonds and also try some 200 grn bullets. What I like k about my 300 Weatherby Mag is that if I'm going to the range and I just want to enjoy shooting this Hunting rifle, I can easily back off the load and shoot at 300 Win Velocities. Thats really simple. I even used to shoot it at 30 -06 velocities, Just for fun. So ,in my personal opinion, 2 excellent Big Game hunting calibers. No Question about that . Both are adequate for Elk, Moose, Bear, Caribou. Lots of African Plains game, too. I just think it's hard to beat the accuracy of shooting a carefully made and tested hand load, out of a properly bedded Weatherby Rife with a Muzzle break, and a properly adjusted trigger( or a High Quality Aftermarket Trigger) . I know a lot of guys are going to laugh at this, but if you will allow, this reduced load, shown below , was fired from my Weatherby Mark V , back when I did not even know how to adjust the trigger. Except for a twitch by me, its a nice 100 yard Groupe from a hunting rifle. I am getting this rifle ready in the hopes of a Penn Elk Hunt . I think the 180 Grn Partitions will be the bullet !!

 

[asd9055]

I own 5 300WBY and 2 300WIN. Guess which one I prefer. My first generation German MKV Deluxe shoots .5"@100. My Japanese MKV shoots close to that. My California MKV shoots 0.4"@200 yards. All with my handloads. I wouldn't do a velocity comparizson for mine because the WIN and WBY are different barrel lengths. I might try it with the M70, I have one of each in same barrel lenght, but since I if I need more than a 270 or 30.06 I just pick the WBY, I why bother.

 

[MagnumManiac]

If comparing the 300WM to the 300Bee just on accuracy alone, forgetting internal and exterior ballistics, the 300WM is generally better. However, this can change between rifles…
I have 5 300WM rifles, a 300Bee with traditional throat of .500" (not SAAMI) and a 300RUM. Of all of them, the RUM is the most consistent in accuracy, it stays the same, MoA or a little better, for every shot in 10 10 shot strings. None of my 300WM will stay in the .25-.5 MoA after 20 or so rounds, sure they don't migrate much, but they do…

Cheers.