168 Hpbt For 300 Win Mag?

[pepemarine]

I´m new in the rifle reloading and just bought my press and everything, except the powder.

I´m reloading for hunting (whitetails) purposes but presicion is priority no. 1.

What kind of powder is best for 168 gr. Hollow Point Boatail?
How many Grains?

any advice is welcome

[Poodleshooter]

Please don't use the match bullet for whitetails. While it is accurate, at the ranges you will hunt at, any decent boattailed soft point will expand much better. Try a Sierra game king 165gr bullet instead. If you feel that you must use a hollowpoint for deer, Sierra makes a game king 165gr HP that will expand on deer.

[labgrade]

Ditto poodle's comments. That MatchKing isn't designed to do anything but be accurate. Anything else is a by-product.

Far as 165 GameKings, I'd concur, & you might even want to step up to the 180 GameKing. The 165s are a great bullet at .308/.30-06 velocities & should be as well for "bean field" shots outa the .300 Closer up, the 165 might prove to be a bit more "expansive" than you'd want especially i you tag a heavy bone.

The 180 is a bit heavier constructed. With neither bullet will you give up anything accuracy-wise for sub-minute-of-deer.

[Pampers]

The Jacket on a 168 gr Matchking is so thin that at .300 WM velocties, it would probably explode at first contact, and give no penetration.

Always use a bullet for it's designed purpose!

[Johnny Guest]

Actually, the 168 MK tends to simply break off the front one-third or so of the bulled, without significant expansion, and the rear portion may go anywhere within the animal, rather than pressing (more or less) straight on through.

Please don't be confused by the fact that many of the most popular military and police "sniper" loads use match bullets, esp the Sierra MK. Their goal is extreme accuracy, possibly (but usually not) at extreme ranges. Once a sniper incapacitates a specific target, his job is pretty much accomplished. It matters not if the target dies instantly or is simply horribly wounded.

The sporting hunter, on the other hand, is constrained by considerations of a quick, humane, kill. A proper game animal is, truly, deserving of consideration not due a criminal or terrorist.

Other than these uses, let's leave the 168 MK to its designed use: Superbly precise paper punching.

In answer to the rest of your question, IMR 4350 was for many years the powder of choice for the .300 WinMag. Elder son and I worked up an excellent load with ReLoder 19 and the Sierra Game King 180 SPT. He wanted an elk load and didn't see the point in having a magnum rifle and developing "merely" hot .30'06 loads with the lighter bullets.

Sorry not to have an answer to your specific question.

Best,
Johnny

[Long Path]

I spoke to a Sierra rep about loads for the 165 GK for elk in my .300 WM, and he said that the 180 was far better suited to the .300 WM, as the 165 was a tad lightly constructed to depend on good penetration if it hit anything inside of 100 yds out of a .300 Win Mag. Rule of thumb, he said, was to keep the 165's below 3000 fps when they hit. If you're hunting beanfields, then you're probably fine with the 165's. If your shot is likely to be a bit closer, the 180 would be better.

That said, there's nothing in the world saying you can't load the 165g bullet down a tad.

That also said, I realize that the Sierra rep and I were talking about elk, rather than deer. Likely the 165g GK HP would be fine for whitetails. (165g GK HPs are supposed to be slightly "harder" than the 165g GK spitzer SPs)

Consider that top loads for the 165g bullet give you 3200 fps, while top loads for the 180g bullet give you 3100 fps. Not more than about 1/4" difference in trajectories until you get beyond 300 yds, where the 180g bullet actually exceeds the 165 (better Ballistic Coffecient on 180).

[Greg Mueller]

I must confess that years ago when I had time to hunt (before I started my own business), I used the 168 sierra in my 06 for accuracy. But, I would not take a shot if it were not a head or neck shot assuring an immediate kill. It worked well. I know it's illegal but I also know that nothing I ever shot, suffered.

[pepemarine]

Thank you all!

Very helpful data about the HPBT

the thing is that there are no articles written about the use of the MK´s in game , guess I better stick to Noslers 180gr. or Sierras HPBT in 200 gr.

thanks!
keep blasting!

[labgrade]

Too, before getting too excited about the HPBT, do take a look at the same thing, but in SBT. The 165 GameKing comes in two flavors - the HPBT & the SPBT

IIRC, the SPBT has quite a bit better BC. May make a difference, may not. Both seem to be up to snuff for anything whitetail.

[sricciardelli]

See my post today regarding Sierra MK bullets...

[Art Eatman]

I used the Sierra 165-grain HPBT for a while in my '06. Yeah, at any sort of close range, they're devastating. I was probably getting around 2,700 ft/sec muzzle velocity, mas o menos.

If your shots are no more than 400 yards, a 165-grain flat-base Sierra will work just fine. All their flat-base bullets are of a bit heavier construction, compared to their boat-tails.

My father used the Hornady 150-grain flat-base in his '06, exclusively, from 1946-1974. He killed quite a few deer that dressed out near 200 pounds, mostly one-shot. Several witnessed one-shot kills at 400 yards and more.

Art

[cheygriz]

I too, recommend the 150 gr bullet for deer. You don't need anything heavier, even for big rocky mountain mulies. Try WW760, H414 or H450 ball powders for loads up to about 3300-3400 fps.

For your target loads with the 168 or 180 BTHP Matchkings, use H4831, regular or short cut, and just work up from starting load. RL19 works quite well also. I've had my best results with Remington cases and Remington 9 1/2M primers in this caliber.

[slick slidestop]

Go with the 180 Gr Game King......300's love 'em.... deer hate 'em