Advice on 300 Win Mag

[Mista Bukit]

I bought a Browning A-bolt 300 Win Mag with a 10 to 1 twist. I chose this round because it can be loaded from 110 to over 200 grain bullets with velocities well over 3000 ft per sec and that should cover just about anything I will be hunting. I am wondering if anybody loads this cartridge and what your thoughts and experiences are.

[Marlin]

Pre pay for shoulder replacement surgery, for anything over 180 grs. and 2500fps...


On the serious side, Let me see if I can find My notes... I think I sent them along whenI sold the rifle though...

[roman gnome]

That was going to be my only advice too, a sweet recoil pad will be your buddy!

[Mista Bukit]

That was going to be my only advice too, a sweet recoil pad will be your buddy!

I am also looking into a muzzle brake

[SA Friday]

I've reloaded for 300WM a fair bit. I have a Win model 70 Laredo I reload for. Pretty much the three powders you should look at: RL-22, IMR 7828, and H1000. I've had really good luck with the first two. H1000 is real hit or miss depending on the gun.

Every one of my sub-MOA loads turned out to be smack dab in the middle of the reloading charts with 180gr bullets. Nosler Ballistic Tips and Partitions both worked extremely well for me, and can pretty much take down anything in North America. I've seen some load the 200+gr bullets, but you really don't need to hunt elk or deer. Maybe a 208gr A-frame for Kodiak, but you could still get the job done with a 180 partition. Based on the gun, I suspect you are not going the 1000 yd competition road with the 300WM. This is where the heavier longer bullets really shine.

Check your OAL based on the barrels throat and the mag restriction. I suspect you will find the mag is more restrictive of the two.

Prep your cases, and for hunting loads do full resizing vs just neck resizing.

I've always used CCI Lg Mag Rifle primers with my loads for this caliber and never had any problems with piercing or odd burns.

Shooting anything smaller than a mule deer with a 300WM can be, uh, meat depleating... But, if you plan on using it for antelope or white tails, you can try a 165gr bullet. I would recommend just using a 180gr Ballistic Tip, and not taking a shot that involves any of the four shoulders.

[longhunter]

Cost of factory ammo aside...I think you picked a great cal. for a "one gun to do it all". A friend of mine just got a WinMag lately. As to the ammo reloading it the only way to go. My buddy is looking at three weights to develope loads with:
165
180/190
200

This will probably be reduced to the two (165 and either 180/190 or 200gr) in the end, depending the one that groups best. As to a powder recomendations...go with what you can find. We had a devil of a time getting a powder (Jan-March time frame).