300 savage powder

[Dave2111]

Gents I'm new to reloading and I have a situation that doesn't seem quite right. I'm loading up some .300 Savage and my Speer manual says with IMR 4350 to start with 41gr of powder up to 45gr. However when I add the powder (42gr) to the casing it fills up to the top of the bottle neck, not leaving me enough room to seat the bullet (165gr Hornady GMX). The manual says its not a compressed load until the maximum of 45 gr. Am I missing something? Just wanted some guidance or clarification before I do something unsafe. Thanks.

[McShooty]

I would ask how you know you are using 42 gr? Needs to be checked with a good scale to make sure it is not more. You can't count on a suggested volume setting to give you the weight you want. That amount (42 gr) of 4350 should not fill the Savage case to the tip top. Sometimes a stick powder like this does not settle well in the case. Tap the case a bit to see what happens. You can drop the powder through a longer tube to settle it better.

That said, 4350 is not a good choice for the .300 Savage. It burns too slowly to give good velocity with 150- or 165-gr bullets in the small case. Any of the choices in the left column of the Speer manual for the 165-grainers would be much better.

[Idaho Spud]

IMR 4064....

[HiBC]

I do not know which data you are using,but you may want to check it again.
I only have a Nosler book within arms reach.

It does not show a 4350 load.It shows 3031,4895,4064,AA2230.Of these powders,not one exceeds a 39 gr max load.They stay within 95% load density.

One powder,N-140,is shown with a 44 gr max.It also shows a 107% compressed load at 44 gr.

I'd do some checking.

One other consideration,the GMX is a solid copper bullet.As it is less dense,it will take more room up in the case.I have not used solid copper,but it may run up the pressure some.Longer bearing surface and a harder bullet.It may very well have a slower powder requirement.

I'm about to load some 300 Savage for a Reminton 81 semi-auto.Its over 80 years old...the springs are old.I think I will use 4895,and sneak up on the load till the bolt reliably stays open on the last round,then I might go just a touch more.It an iron sight gun,2300 fps plus will shoot as far as I can hit.

Good luck

[rodfac]

Check your scale, and cross check your loading manual. Your Speer manual only says that a 45 gr charge is compressed, but lighter charges may also be compressed as well. With heavy bullets in limited volume cases, like the .300 Sav., some compression is necessary, and safe to get the velocities you need. That said...read on...

I just filled a Winchester .300 Savage case to the top of the case mouth with IMR 4350 and weighed it on a digital scale...49.2 grains. You are definitely doing something wrong, or your scale is messed up...I re-weighed with your charge of 42 grains and found it was level with the start of the shoulder, leaving plenty of room for bullet seating, though with that long 165 gr bullet, some compression is probably going to happen.

For powders, I've had great success with 3031, 748, Re-15, and 4895, all with 150 gr Sierra or Hornady Spitzers. I load for a .300 Savage M99 and get some truly amazing results, in my opinion, for a lever action rifle. IMR 4350 sounds a bit on the slow side for the .300 Savage. It's probably workable, but with a 165 gr bullet, you'll be sacrificing some velocity.

Best Regards, Rod

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond or not covered by currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

I have (44.7) listed as Max in two Hornady Reloading Manuals. 1967 & again in 1982's printing. IMR-4350 isn't a suggested powder for the purpose. But since it does a listing for its use. That's your decision to use or not.

[Dave2111]

Im using 4350 because the speer manual lists it as usable and its readily available. One of the gun shops here has IMR 4831 and IMR 4198 available. Would one of these work better than the 4350? I know my scale is accurate and Ive checked the manual several times. I havent tried settling the powder yet, I wanted to stay on the cautious side.

[SSA]

It's a short case with a short neck, a long bullet, and a bulky powder. So, it's not be the easiest combination to work with.
Tap or vibrate the case to settle the powder. A little compression won't hurt anything. You can go down to 40 or 41 grains if you need to.
Velocity won't be much. Maybe not enough to get good hunting performance with that bullet. Maybe not enough to stabilize that long bullet.

[reynolds357]

Use an ultrasonic toothbrush. I would honestly be surprised if 4350 could crammed into the .300 Sav in sufficient quantity to be dangerous.

[Hunter Customs]

In my 300 Savage rifles I'm loading IMR 4064 with 150 grain bullets, I've also had great results with IMR 4320.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

FWIW: I've found the 300 savage to be kind of finicky about its powder. The powders you listed as available OP (#7 comment)__ i.e. 4198 4350 4831 aren't the best for the purpose. Ones that are 3031 4064 4320 4895. I've personally tried 3031 4320 & 4895 and prefer 4895 over all the others. 150-gr & 180-gr bullets from my experience seem to group very well with 4895s use.

4350 & 4831 are a little to slow in their burn speed and 4198 is a little to fast in its burn speed for the 300's application when it comes to the 300's accuracy.

Frankly. Those powders I commented and many others have also for the 300's purpose. Their almost none existence at this time. Since you have 4350 available. Perhaps with a little extermination {range time} with 4350 you could come up with a decent recipe for use in that 300 of yours. Sliding up and down 4350's published measured scale weight's quite possibly you may discover a sweet spot in 4350's use. No harm done in trying Sir.

[44 AMP]

add the powder (42gr) to the casing it fills up to the top of the bottle neck, ...

Not exactly sure what you mean, do you mean the powder fill the case all the way to the case mouth (as is you can't add any more?) or that it is up to the bottom of the case neck?

if its the bottom of the neck, this is normal.

As others have noted, you might get to a compressed load before you get to the listed max (which happens to be a compressed load itself).

IMR 4350 isn't the best powder for the .300 Savage, but it will work. 4350 is better in larger cases, its a little too slow for best efficiency in the .300 Savage. As to groups, it might not matter, as many guns group better at less than max velocities.