Boolit choice for 300 WM

[InsidetheStorm]

Alright... I need help choosing a bullet for my new barrel. I have a Remy 700 stlss in 300 WM. The barrel is a stainless Shilen #7 1:10 Select Match 25" long stick. I have been looking for whats gonna work best for me, somthing that I can shoot critters with at longer range. The area I hunt has alot of acerage, few trees and no wind, so I can take the longer shots. I have already tried 168g SST's, 180g Superperformance, and 200g SGK, all with poor to decent results. The best so far has been 200g SGK at 1.25 MOA, But I know theres alot of room for improvement. I have been looking at the 220g SMK and the 210g Berger VLD as a good choice. Can anyone offer insight / experience with these and help guide me to a 1 MOA solution? I dont have alot of experence reloading the 300 WM. Thanks

 

[Jig Stick]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

the 210 berger vlds and 208 amax shoot fantastic out of my 300wm. also check out dtac

 

[Bigwheels]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

208 a max with a stiff load of H-1000. Shot .3 moa out of 2 different barrels @ 2950fps.
I switched to the 225hpbt @ 2860 now. Shot a doe & a spike bull with them last year, but the farther shot was only 300yd. Golfball size exit on a 500# elk @ 300 yd.
If you require a hunting bullet the 210 berger or 200 acubond should work well. But the 208 a max has worked for a ton of critters as well.

 

[nicko]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

I shoot 208 Amax 72.2 grains of h4350 win brass federal match primers. Shoots great I have not killed any thing with the 208s but I have killed 3 deer with the 168g Amax from a 308 and the amaxs work great

 

[InsidetheStorm]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Im going to try a ladder and load development with the 200g SGK for now, cuz I have a bunch. Ive been using IMR4831 for now. If I cant get those to shoot well, I think I'm gonna try the 208g amax or maybe switch to H1000.

 

[Fester47]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Got to try Hornady 208 amax. Great bullet and price. You may try the the new 208 hpbt out. Seems like a lot of barrels like the amax. I have good luck with them.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

The 208 and 225 bthp are hard to beat for the money!

 

[InsidetheStorm]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Ok, I tried a ladder test for the 200g SGK and I dont know what to make of it.

I did the test at 225 yards. #1 was 67.5g imr4831, and .5g less per round to finish with #10 at 63.0. WTF?!? I didnt get any node grouping, and you could cover the group with your palm. Aim point was just out of pic, top left. I also ended up with slightly cratered primers for loads 1 and 2 but no sticky bolt. Book max for this load is 67.8, I think. I dont have the book right here, but I think thats what memory serves up.

Any suggestions? I dont think its the rifle, Its well constructed, and not shot out, and its not me. Try again maybe?

 

[Bigwheels]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

225 yd isn't far enough to get good results with a 300wm. Id do it again @ 400+yd starting with the lowest charge first, & work up from there.

 

[InsidetheStorm]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bigwheels</div><div class="ubbcode-body">225 yd isn't far enough to get good results with a 300wm. Id do it again @ 400+yd starting with the lowest charge first, & work up from there.</div></div>

Ok. I wasn't sure of the yardage, but I'll try again. hopefully better results next time. I'll report back with results.

 

[Jmilera]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

76.5 H 1000 with a 208 amax 1/2 inch groups from a AWSM GAP barrel.

 

[Holding High]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

190 SMK
220 SMK (when I need more ass)

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Stop shooting an OCW or ladder method. Your WTF comment is very common with this method. Just load up 5 rounds each with small powder charges (.3 or .4 for a WM case) working back from max, and start at the lowest one. You will see what shots good in 1 range trip shooting about 25 rounds max. I do it this way all the time, including this morning and got a 243 Win shooting 3/4" (inch, not moa) at 300 yards shooting 16 rounds total (2 used for sight in). I've debated it many times, the OCW and ladder method work, but it's the confusing and long way around the block to finding a good shooting load.

 

[InsidetheStorm]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Switching camps. After talking with my pops (30+ years of reloading)I'm gonna switch to the Hornady 208 Amax with H-1000. I wasn't sure of the OCW / Ladder method, I had never heard of it till I saw it posted on SH, so I think I will use the good ol' fashioned 5 carts at each charge, starting with max, -10% for each step, and we'll see what happens. I haven't really reloaded for precision before, just lots of blasting and some hunting rounds, so this is a good exp. for me. I'll let you know what turns up. Thanks for the help!

 

[Huckleberry75]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

My guess is that you will find a sweet spot around 75-77 grains with the 208/H1000 combo. Seems to be pretty common sweet spot in numerous rifles that I have seen listed.

 

[MtnCreek]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

IMHO, you should start with the Start Charge. From there, I would load five each at 1 gr intervals to midway between start and max; then reduce to ~0.2 gr intervals toward max. For long range shooting, if I can’t get a sweet spot in the upper half of the data (depending on case capacity), I switch to a different powder (usually a slower powder). If possible, set up where you can shoot for groups through a chrony. H1000 is my powder choice for 190 – 210 gr bullets. R25 would be another option you may want to try. If you decide to stick w/ the 165 weight, R22 may be a good choice.

I’ve heard a lot of people advise hunting with the A-Max; I’ve never shot anything larger than a yote with one. Sierra advises against using their MK’s for hunting, but I’ve taken a dear with outstanding results with a 190 smk. The shot was <100yds, so lower velocity at longer range could make for far less desirable results.

 

[MMAJunkie]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChadTRG42</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Stop shooting an OCW or ladder method. Your WTF comment is very common with this method. Just load up 5 rounds each with small powder charges (.3 or .4 for a WM case) working back from max, and start at the lowest one. You will see what shots good in 1 range trip shooting about 25 rounds max. I do it this way all the time, including this morning and got a 243 Win shooting 3/4" (inch, not moa) at 300 yards shooting 16 rounds total (2 used for sight in). I've debated it many times, the OCW and ladder method work, but it's the confusing and long way around the block to finding a good shooting load. </div></div>

The problem I have with magnum calibers is the length of time it takes to shoot 25 rounds due to barrel heat. It may not be an issue with a 243 but with a 300 mag or above its an issue for sure

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Yes, you have to shoot slow. It takes me about 5 minutes to shoot 5 rounds when testing loads. Then I wait 15-20 minutes for the barrel to cool. Then I'll shoot the next test group. It takes me about 1.5 hours to shoot 25 rounds when I'm testing loads on most rifles. I normally have several rifles to test, so I switch between them while the others are cooling. When it gets hot during the late spring and summer time, you can wrap a cold wet towel around the barrel to cool it off quicker.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Here's a typical target from a load work up I do. This was shot at 300 yards. You can see the groups get better and better as I go up in charge. The top right group ended up being .8 inch at 300 yards. This was done with 19 rounds on target, and 2 sighters at 100 yards.

 

[1J04]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Chad, and then tweak the seating depth? Or are you keeping a constant OAL and only doing powder changes?

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Only powder changes. I seat the bullet close to the rifling, within .010" normally. If I can't get it to shoot by altering the powder charge, then I'll change the seating depth and switch powders. If it's a vld bullet with a secant ogive, I'll seat it touching the lands (not jammed, not off, just touching). If it's a tangent ogive bullet, seating depth is not that critical. The bullet will tolerate a jump, and still shoot very well when you tune the powder charge to the gun. VLD's and jumping to the lands normally doesn't work that well. The hybrids have helped with this, but we've seen some variation on where the ogive is from lot to lot on the hybrids. This makes it hard to keep a consistant load when you switch lots. I always try to measure the bullet length to the ogive. This way you can accomodate a slight variance from lot to lot of bullets.

 

[1J04]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Tweaking a friends Thompson 300 Mag now with 168 VLD Bergers Hunting. Had me do the 210 VLD Berger Hunting previously, now wants to push the lighter bullet. 1 in 10 twist 28" bull barrel. So far, so good. Think I'll just back it off .020 and play with the powder charge for him. Just getting into this "knats ass" loading mentality and loving it. Thanks for input and don't mean to hijack thread. Great info, thx.

 

[ckruse]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Your barrel may or may not like what someone else's does. Any of the above advice is a good starting point. ChadTRG42 is a go to guy for 300 info. Don't overlook the classics. I just made a sweet deal on 1000 (2 boxes of 500) 190 SMK. I still intend to work up a 208 AMAX load, but right now I've got those MatchKings running 3030 fps with H1000 and they go into less than half MOA, at times 1/4 MOA, out past 800 yards and beyond. A result I've decided not to argue with!

Not broke, NO FIX! CKruse

 

[Yankeefan]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Why no love for the Nosler bullets in the 300WM? I have been running the 180gr partitions in my 300WM for several years with really good results. I am switching to the accubonds this year for hunting because last year I noticed a few of the partition tips got banged up in my pack.

 

[InsidetheStorm]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Well, I finally got to the range yesterday to shoot a new recipe, and I think I found a winner, for now... I loaded up a few more 200g SGK over 74.5g H-1000, Fed. Match primer, seated to .010 into the lands. I managed a .900 inch group with one flyer, in 30+ mph full value gusting winds. Not a good day for load development, but when you get the chance to shoot, you shoot. Al rounds were fired in no wind moments, and the group size was .685 without the flyer. The first two rounds went into the same hole. I thought I whiffed it off the paper for a sec, but it was there. Poor wind timing resulted in the flyer, but overall, I'm very happy. Thanks for tha advice all.

 

[AMOK!]

Re: Boolit choice for 300 WM

Chad,

Based on your consult, settled on the 208gr AMAX and 225gr BTHPs from my '42' . Achieved recent success in sending 208gr with 75.3gr H1000 to 1100yds on steel MOA targets. Thanks for your excellent input and Q&A responses!

Time to rip the 225s with Retumbo soon......

Mahalo