Powder Recommendation: 300 Winchester Mag

CalCoyote

CalCoyote

New member
A Winchester 300 mag in the Weatherby VG followed me home the other day from the store. I reload for several other calibers but know nothing about reloading the 300 WM. I have some 130g TTSX, 150g Nosler BT and Accubond. I also have some 150g Nosler Partitions and will be purchasing some 165g Accubonds.

Most of my powders might be too fast burning for this cartridge. Onhand I have I4350, H4350, H414, Varget, I4064, I4831, and H4831. What is your favorite powder for 150-165g bullets in the 300 WM?

Also, is it worth it to spend the extra $ and get Nosler brass? I have caught Nosler brass on sale for other calibers I reload for and had very good luck with it in the past.
 
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I'm curious on what others are using as well! Congrats on the vanguard is it series 1 or 2? I picked up a series 2 vg in .300 win mag and she shoots 1/2" moa now with 180g Remington core loct and 180 ballistic silvers. But be ready mine copper fouls like [beeep]... topped with a vortex viper pst
 
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IMO, I think your really limiting yourself and not utilizing the horsepower of the WM in those weight bullets. I would start at the 178 ELD-X and go up from there. The WM really shines with the heavy bullets. If you're only wanting to run the 150-165gr bullets, use a 30/06 or 308.

For a hunting bullet, I'm a huge fan of the ELD-X by Hornady. I run the 212 ELD-X and they shoot like match bullets. Your rifle might not handle the COAL of it so you may try the 200gr as it's designed for standard OAL. There's also many tried and true bullets from Nosler, Sierra and Berger.

For match stuff I run mostly the 208ELD-M and Sierra 220SMK. I'm currently working on a load with the new Hornady 225ELD-M that looks very promising and with a .777 BC it will be amazing for ELR type shooting.

My goto powder for the WM is H1000. I've tried others and had good results with RL-22 but my best results across many 300WMs has been H1000.

Brass is not like it used to be but Nosler and Norma are as good as it gets. I've had mixed results with Winchester. It's not available for now so if your looking for a cost savings, look at military federal brass.

Set your dies up to only bump the shoulder a smidge. Set it up to headspace off the rim instead of the belt. 300WMS are extremely hard on necks and brass. I run a Redding bushing type S FL die and a Forster bushing bump neck die. 300WMs like more neck tension so don't be afraid to go smaller than the recommended .001 or .002 neck tension. If you're going to run them a lot or hot loads and annealing machine and a Larry Willis collet die will come in handy.

I always run magnum primers even though some guys claim it's not needed. Federal 215GMM if you can find them.

If you want a quick down and dirty match load, try 76gr of H1000 topped with a 208ELD-M .015 off the lands. If you have ANY type of a shooter this load will be 1/2MOA or better.


Hope this helps, good luck!
 
Matthew,

It is a S2 which is the later model with the upgraded trigger.


Kino,
I am sure you are right. Those bullet weights represent what I have on hand. I already have a 20" bbl 308 Tikka and a 30-06. The bullets I have on hand were for loading up those guns. I will probably buy some 180g Nosler BT. The Hornady ELDs are also interesting to me. To be honest with you for most of my elk/deer shots either my 30-06 or 308 would be adequate. My shots almost never go beyond 300 yards and most of them are under 150 yards. I did not NEED this gun, but you know....it just kind of happened. My wife doesn't know yet either (but that is another issue).
 
Originally Posted By: Kino MIMO, I think your really limiting yourself and not utilizing the horsepower of the WM in those weight bullets. I would start at the 178 ELD-X and go up from there. The WM really shines with the heavy bullets. If you're only wanting to run the 150-165gr bullets, use a 30/06 or 308.

For a hunting bullet, I'm a huge fan of the ELD-X by Hornady. I run the 212 ELD-X and they shoot like match bullets. Your rifle might not handle the COAL of it so you may try the 200gr as it's designed for standard OAL. There's also many tried and true bullets from Nosler, Sierra and Berger.

For match stuff I run mostly the 208ELD-M and Sierra 220SMK. I'm currently working on a load with the new Hornady 225ELD-M that looks very promising and with a .777 BC it will be amazing for ELR type shooting.

My goto powder for the WM is H1000. I've tried others and had good results with RL-22 but my best results across many 300WMs has been H1000.

Brass is not like it used to be but Nosler and Norma are as good as it gets. I've had mixed results with Winchester. It's not available for now so if your looking for a cost savings, look at military federal brass.

Set your dies up to only bump the shoulder a smidge. Set it up to headspace off the rim instead of the belt. 300WMS are extremely hard on necks and brass. I run a Redding bushing type S FL die and a Forster bushing bump neck die. 300WMs like more neck tension so don't be afraid to go smaller than the recommended .001 or .002 neck tension. If you're going to run them a lot or hot loads and annealing machine and a Larry Willis collet die will come in handy.

I always run magnum primers even though some guys claim it's not needed. Federal 215GMM if you can find them.

If you want a quick down and dirty match load, try 76gr of H1000 topped with a 208ELD-M .015 off the lands. If you have ANY type of a shooter this load will be 1/2MOA or better.


Hope this helps, good luck!

Good advice here ^^^. A 300WM shines with the heavies and lighter bullets are better with 30-06 class of 30 calibers IMO. For the heavies H1000 or IMR7977.
 
I've loaded for my 300 Win Mag for 35 years and have used IMR4350. I shoot 165's at 3250fps. I've never been sorry about shooting the 165's you just need to shot a tough bullet,not Sierra 165's they won't hold up the speed.
 
Originally Posted By: CalCoyoteMatthew,

It is a S2 which is the later model with the upgraded trigger.


Kino,
I am sure you are right. Those bullet weights represent what I have on hand. I already have a 20" bbl 308 Tikka and a 30-06. The bullets I have on hand were for loading up those guns. I will probably buy some 180g Nosler BT. The Hornady ELDs are also interesting to me. To be honest with you for most of my elk/deer shots either my 30-06 or 308 would be adequate. My shots almost never go beyond 300 yards and most of them are under 150 yards. I did not NEED this gun, but you know....it just kind of happened. My wife doesn't know yet either (but that is another issue).

Looks like Nosler just added a bunch of 30 cal overruns to their list @:
http://www.shootersproshop.com/loading-reloading-bullets/shopby/p/3.html

Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: BearI've loaded for my 300 Win Mag for 35 years and have used IMR4350. I shoot 165's at 3250fps. I've never been sorry about shooting the 165's you just need to shot a tough bullet,not Sierra 165's they won't hold up the speed. +1 on this.. The Sierras work great out of the .308 but the .300 WM not too great. Like bear said use a tougher bullet. My hunting buddy uses 150 gr partitions and really loves them out of the 300 WM. I'm with Bear also on the IMR 4350 but there are better powders out there.
 
Any of your powders will work with a 165. I use a 165 sst out of my 300win. with h4831. Its a Bar so I dont run it hot. I have used a bunch of 165 grand slams in my 300 weatherbys. They are plenty for deer and dont beat you up.
 
I've been using IMR4350 on anything from 110gr FB to 180 TTSX in factory T3 and can't really complain. I'm sure I could find a better powder for each round due to the speed, but being around .5-.75 MOA regardless of bullet choice, I'm not gunna mess with it.
 
On my 300 i've found after going thru many powders and bullets that the heavier bullets are better than those of 150 gr and less. Don't group well. in my 300 i've found RL-19 to be a favored powder, would like to try the H-1000. You buy a gun with more horsepower for a reason. Not plinking.
 
I have had a few Remington 300's, always shot either a Sierra 180g btsp or a 180g Nosler ballistic tip for deer,

75.-75.5g of R#22, play with seating depth, fed 215, Remington brass, expect groups where the bullets to touch if the action is bedded in a good stock, bbl freefloated, and I did put on a muzzle break before I ever fired a round. In the Remington 700, I seated the bullets to touch the lands.

Friends have killed at least a box car full of elk with the 180g Sierra BTSP, near and far. I tried to talk them into an Accubond, they would not hear of it.

150g puts so much shock on a deer that you may have to throw away the front half unless you use a tipped triple shock, same for some of the thinner skinned 165's.

Even with a muzzle break, the 300WM is at the very top of my limit for recoil, you maybe different.

Williams Gunsight makes a very, very effective muzzle break for these hard kickers, and I highly recommend them along with a set of $79 Peltor Tac 6 electronic ear muffs.
 
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For those weights I'd start with the H4831 and go from there.

I agree, even for deer and especially for elk, I'd go up to 180-200gr bullets. I shoot 200s for all hooved game. The lighter bullets tend to be too frangible. 200gr Accubonds are the cat's meow on deer and elk.

On the flip side, I run 125gr BTs and 110Gr Vmax, the latter to over 3800fps, from the same gun. Shot a coyote in the neck at 150 yards and darn near decapitated it.
 
I use IMR 4350 and IMR4831 with 165 grain Sierra's and Nosler BT's. They group around an inch to inch and a quarter with my 700. Mine is a 6 3/4 lb 700 with a high tech specialties stock and a 25" shillen barrel. When I load 180 grain Sierra's and Noslers BT"s 76 grains of Re 22 works great in my custom 700. I also use the Re22 behind 200 grain Sierra btsp's with my 1 in 10 shillen and I've actually consistently grouped under an inch. I don't like muzzle brakes and don't have one on this 700 so th recoil is probably more than most people would care to deal with. Anyway, I love shooting 165's through my 300. They work fine. They will tear shoulders up on deer sized game though.
 
I have used a large variety of bullets from the 200 grain Swift A-Frame down to 165 Nosler BT. The last few years I have settled on 165 GMX powdered with 69.5 grains of IMR 4350. Running just a shade over 3000. Works real good on Elk and hogs. Haven't shot any deer with this load but I suspect would work well. Unless you are hunting Brown bear, Eland and similar I see no need for the heavies.
Good luck with your rifle.
 
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