Not sure the grain of my 300 weatherby ammo

rentascout · September 16, 2012, 09:29 AM

Okay as some might know I traded and got a 300 weatherby vanguard. I also got two boxes of ammo, one box said win and the other was weatherby ammo. Both of the boxes are weatherby ammo because the casing is states on the bottom as you know.

The question I have is how can I tell the grain of this ammo? How do I do if it is the same or miss matched. The problem is that I am getting ready to go zero and I do not want to be shooting a 150 the first pull a 165 on second and a 180 on the third.

I plan on buy more ammo on down the road but this remington ammo is not cheap and it would be dumb not to use it or throw it away. Any help would be great. I am trying to get on board with a nice 180 grain since they are pretty easy to get just a huge price difference from remington to others.

Thanks

PetahW · September 16, 2012, 09:43 AM

I would suggest that you weigh the rounds on a small postal scale if you don't have a reloading scale.

Sort them out by large (15gr or more) variances.

You can also simply sort them via a balance/elimination process, where two loaded cartridges are placed, one on each end of a balance, equidistant from the fulcrum.
If the two are the same, put one aside, and place a 3rd in it's place.
Leave the 1st cartridge in place as a benchmark.
If the 3rd is also the same, place it with the 1st cartridge removed, and balance another, etc, etc, etc.
If the 3rd is heavier/lighter, remove it & place it in a separate (labeled) pile.

You should end up with either one (hopefully), two (maybe) or three (ugh) piles of ammo of different weights - which is most likely the bullet weight differences.

.

.

rentascout · September 16, 2012, 09:45 AM

I am sorry I forgot to put this part, they weighed 1.15 OZ, what grain would this be

tahunua001 · September 16, 2012, 10:35 AM

weighing the whole cartridge is not going to do much good I'm afraid. believe it or not a lighter bullet needs more gun powder to get the same velocity of a heavier bullet. there would not be a great difference in the finished weight of a 150gr bullet and a 180 due to powder charge and then there is no telling what the actual charge may be. the one box that you know is 180grs is more than likely just standard velocity but the other box could be 200 grain high velocity or it could be 165 grain low velocity "shoulder saver" loads. I would suggest going to a local gun store or a buddy that reloads and see if they would be willing to pull a couple bullets from the casings and weigh them individually. that is going to be your only surefire way of identifying the bullet weight.

I'm not sure how the mom and pop gun stores are in kansas but many of the ones out here in Idaho have reloading benches in the back for when business is slow and they need something to keep busy.

rentascout · September 16, 2012, 10:41 AM

Nah that is good and I think I will buy a few boxes of 180spitzers and roll steady and use the free ones as pratice. I will get back on here with more info soon to make sure I am going from the right distance and hitting where I need to be

warbirdlover · September 16, 2012, 04:26 PM

My .300 Win Mag (Ruger 77) puts both 150 and 180 gr into the same spot at 100 yards. Not much difference at 200 either.

GeauxTide · September 16, 2012, 07:01 PM

Warbirdlover is spot on. Most 300s print game bullets to the same POI.

Mobuck · September 18, 2012, 08:02 AM

I dispute the comment about lighter bullets using more powder causing the loaded ro0unds to weigh the same. Yes, lighter bullets normally use more powder but NOT 15-30 grains. Maybe 5 -6. You're just not going to find out w/o pulling at least a couple of bullets to see if you're comparing 150 vs 165 or 165 vs 180 but 150vs 180 will be apparent.
My concern is that you have a bunch of unknown reloaded ammo using the Remington cases. It could be 125 or 220 for all you know or over max loads that can damage you/your rifle and that's why the rifle was sold.

Edward429451 · September 18, 2012, 03:20 PM

For some reason, I'm thinking these are reloads. Otherwise you would look on the box to see what weight they are.

I'd pull the bullets, weigh them, segregate them, and reload everything. Don't trust the reloads unless you know who reloaded them and that they are competent.

rentascout · September 18, 2012, 03:25 PM

Well I got a hold of the guy and he said he only buys no reloads.

Mobuck · September 18, 2012, 05:14 PM

You have Remington made 300 Wby ammo received in a Wby and a Win box? I don't see anything that gives much confidence in the statement that this is factory ammo. What color are the primers? I haven't bought any Remington ammo this century but they previously used a gold colored primer.

September 16, 2012, 09:29 AM	#1
rentascout Member Join Date: September 14, 2012 Posts: 19	Not sure the grain of my 300 weatherby ammo Okay as some might know I traded and got a 300 weatherby vanguard. I also got two boxes of ammo, one box said win and the other was weatherby ammo. Both of the boxes are weatherby ammo because the casing is states on the bottom as you know. The question I have is how can I tell the grain of this ammo? How do I do if it is the same or miss matched. The problem is that I am getting ready to go zero and I do not want to be shooting a 150 the first pull a 165 on second and a 180 on the third. I plan on buy more ammo on down the road but this remington ammo is not cheap and it would be dumb not to use it or throw it away. Any help would be great. I am trying to get on board with a nice 180 grain since they are pretty easy to get just a huge price difference from remington to others. Thanks

September 16, 2012, 09:43 AM	#2
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	I would suggest that you weigh the rounds on a small postal scale if you don't have a reloading scale. Sort them out by large (15gr or more) variances. You can also simply sort them via a balance/elimination process, where two loaded cartridges are placed, one on each end of a balance, equidistant from the fulcrum. If the two are the same, put one aside, and place a 3rd in it's place. Leave the 1st cartridge in place as a benchmark. If the 3rd is also the same, place it with the 1st cartridge removed, and balance another, etc, etc, etc. If the 3rd is heavier/lighter, remove it & place it in a separate (labeled) pile. You should end up with either one (hopefully), two (maybe) or three (ugh) piles of ammo of different weights - which is most likely the bullet weight differences. . . Last edited by PetahW; September 16, 2012 at 09:49 AM.

September 16, 2012, 10:35 AM	#4
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	weighing the whole cartridge is not going to do much good I'm afraid. believe it or not a lighter bullet needs more gun powder to get the same velocity of a heavier bullet. there would not be a great difference in the finished weight of a 150gr bullet and a 180 due to powder charge and then there is no telling what the actual charge may be. the one box that you know is 180grs is more than likely just standard velocity but the other box could be 200 grain high velocity or it could be 165 grain low velocity "shoulder saver" loads. I would suggest going to a local gun store or a buddy that reloads and see if they would be willing to pull a couple bullets from the casings and weigh them individually. that is going to be your only surefire way of identifying the bullet weight. I'm not sure how the mom and pop gun stores are in kansas but many of the ones out here in Idaho have reloading benches in the back for when business is slow and they need something to keep busy. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

September 16, 2012, 09:45 AM	#3
rentascout Member Join Date: September 14, 2012 Posts: 19	I am sorry I forgot to put this part, they weighed 1.15 OZ, what grain would this be

September 16, 2012, 10:41 AM	#5
rentascout Member Join Date: September 14, 2012 Posts: 19	Nah that is good and I think I will buy a few boxes of 180spitzers and roll steady and use the free ones as pratice. I will get back on here with more info soon to make sure I am going from the right distance and hitting where I need to be

September 16, 2012, 04:26 PM	#6
warbirdlover Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2009 Location: central Wisconsin Posts: 2,324	My .300 Win Mag (Ruger 77) puts both 150 and 180 gr into the same spot at 100 yards. Not much difference at 200 either.

September 16, 2012, 07:01 PM	#7
GeauxTide Senior Member Join Date: April 20, 2009 Location: Helena, AL Posts: 4,423	Warbirdlover is spot on. Most 300s print game bullets to the same POI.

September 18, 2012, 08:02 AM	#8
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	I dispute the comment about lighter bullets using more powder causing the loaded ro0unds to weigh the same. Yes, lighter bullets normally use more powder but NOT 15-30 grains. Maybe 5 -6. You're just not going to find out w/o pulling at least a couple of bullets to see if you're comparing 150 vs 165 or 165 vs 180 but 150vs 180 will be apparent. My concern is that you have a bunch of unknown reloaded ammo using the Remington cases. It could be 125 or 220 for all you know or over max loads that can damage you/your rifle and that's why the rifle was sold.

September 18, 2012, 03:20 PM	#9
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	For some reason, I'm thinking these are reloads. Otherwise you would look on the box to see what weight they are. I'd pull the bullets, weigh them, segregate them, and reload everything. Don't trust the reloads unless you know who reloaded them and that they are competent.

September 18, 2012, 03:25 PM	#10
rentascout Member Join Date: September 14, 2012 Posts: 19	Well I got a hold of the guy and he said he only buys no reloads.

September 18, 2012, 05:14 PM	#11
Mobuck Junior member Join Date: February 2, 2010 Posts: 6,846	You have Remington made 300 Wby ammo received in a Wby and a Win box? I don't see anything that gives much confidence in the statement that this is factory ammo. What color are the primers? I haven't bought any Remington ammo this century but they previously used a gold colored primer.