.300 Win Mag Question

MNDroptyne · November 11, 2012, 10:16 PM

Hey guys I am thinking of buying a .300 win mag, seems that I only have interest in buying guns I want to reload for haha. What I am wondering is what powders work best and what bullets? I would like to stick with sierra or nosler bullets any info would be great!

joneb · November 11, 2012, 10:22 PM

The brass life is short as far as accuracy goes, I would opt for a different cartridge.

FLChinook · November 11, 2012, 10:27 PM

What data exists for short 300 WM brass life? This is one of the oldest and most used medium game cartridges of all time. Does the 338 WM also have a history of short brass life?

jdillon · November 11, 2012, 11:13 PM

I like IMR 4350 in my 300 Win Mag behind Berger VLD's. I use only Norma Brass and get quite a few firings out of them. The key is to size your brass so it head spaces off the shoulder and not the belt. The difference in headspace between new Norma brass and once fired brass is .017 in my McMillan. I neck size until brass starts chambering hard then body size. Oversizing the brass is what typically leads to premature brass failure. I also anneal the brass after two firings.

joneb · November 11, 2012, 11:18 PM

Quote:

What data exists for short 300 WM brass life? This is one of the oldest and most used medium game cartridges of all time. Does the 338 WM also have a history of short brass life?

I do not reload any belted cartridges, but I know at least a 1/2 dozen who do they get about four reloadings per case and then they report the accuracy goes south.
From what I have read and what my fellow shooters are telling me regarding the 300 Win mag could all be hog wash

Jimro · November 12, 2012, 08:58 AM

All brass fails eventually. That being said a high pressure round like the 300 Win Mag you expect fewer firings of full pressure loads than something mild like a 30-30.

If you want long brass life, you can load 30-30 pressure levels in the 300 Win Mag, and neck size.

Or you can cram a bunch of magnum rifle powder in it topped off by heavy bullets and "reach out and touch something."

Personally I find that auto-loaders are much harder on brass than any bolt gun.

Jimro

Saskhunter · November 12, 2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

I do not reload any belted cartridges, but I know at least a 1/2 dozen who do they get about four reloadings per case and then they report the accuracy goes south.
From what I have read and what my fellow shooters are telling me regarding the 300 Win mag could all be hog wash

Sorry, but four reloadings per case is hogwash. There is no reason anyone who knows how to reload will not get as many reloads from the .300 WM as they do from any other case. Accuracy does not "go south" after 4 loads.

Accuracy does not go south with any specific case after a few loads if the loader is sizing cases properly for his rifles. You will get split necks and incipient head separations long before accuracy starts to degrade.

thallub · November 12, 2012, 05:14 PM

Quote:

What I am wondering is what powders work best and what bullets?

Been reloading the .300 Win Mag since 1965: Did extensive load workup back then. i use IMR 4831 almost exclusively for reloading 150 grain, 165 grain and 180 grain bullets. For infrequent use with heavier bullets i use IMR 7828.

Saskhunter is right about .300 Win Mag case life.

Bart B. · November 12, 2012, 06:23 PM

Folks shooting the .300 Win Mag with max loads in long range matches have got 15 to 20 reloads per case. They full length size using dies with necks a couple thousandths smaller than a loaded round's neck diameter. And don't set the fired case shoulder back more than 2 thousandths. A second body die's often used that sized the case all the way to the belt; normal dies don't. Larry Willis makes collet dies that do the same thing these days www.larrywillis.com

I've got that many reloads per .30-.338 case.

Best powders used in competition for accuracy with 190, 200 and 220 grain bullets was/is IMR4350 or some other extruded powder of the same speed. Slower powders may well shoot bullets out faster, but they won't land on target very close together.

JimDandy · November 12, 2012, 06:23 PM

My brother loads our Bolt Action stuff, but I want to say he uses Nosler (green) ballistic tips, and 4350 as well for the Win-mag and/or RUM.

fishbones182 · November 13, 2012, 07:48 PM

I use IMR4350 at 70 grains with standard large rifle primer and 150 grain soft points. Im up to 4 loadings on my brass with that load. I full length size them if not fired out of my gun then only neck size the brass and trim to length.

JimDandy · November 14, 2012, 10:39 AM

As for how many reloads, we buy a box of factory, shoot it, and reload 3 times, so four firings total per brass, then don't reuse them, more for worrying about extraction than accuracy or anything. We don't anneal(yet, I'm starting to get into this reloading thing too, now) and it's just easier peace of mind to get new brass after an almost guaranteed safe 3 reloads, than deal with a case head seperation or anything while you're shooting.

AllenJ · November 14, 2012, 11:16 AM

IMR4350 and a 180 Grain Nosler Partition has taken more than a few elk for me. My gun liked the max load recommended by Nosler.

November 11, 2012, 10:16 PM	#1
MNDroptyne Member Join Date: January 13, 2012 Posts: 49	.300 Win Mag Question Hey guys I am thinking of buying a .300 win mag, seems that I only have interest in buying guns I want to reload for haha. What I am wondering is what powders work best and what bullets? I would like to stick with sierra or nosler bullets any info would be great!

November 11, 2012, 11:13 PM	#4
jdillon Senior Member Join Date: October 7, 2011 Location: Southern NM Posts: 141	I like IMR 4350 in my 300 Win Mag behind Berger VLD's. I use only Norma Brass and get quite a few firings out of them. The key is to size your brass so it head spaces off the shoulder and not the belt. The difference in headspace between new Norma brass and once fired brass is .017 in my McMillan. I neck size until brass starts chambering hard then body size. Oversizing the brass is what typically leads to premature brass failure. I also anneal the brass after two firings. __________________ "Emergencies have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded" - F.A. Hayek

November 12, 2012, 08:58 AM	#6
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	All brass fails eventually. That being said a high pressure round like the 300 Win Mag you expect fewer firings of full pressure loads than something mild like a 30-30. If you want long brass life, you can load 30-30 pressure levels in the 300 Win Mag, and neck size. Or you can cram a bunch of magnum rifle powder in it topped off by heavy bullets and "reach out and touch something." Personally I find that auto-loaders are much harder on brass than any bolt gun. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

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November 11, 2012, 10:22 PM	#2
joneb Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2005 Location: Central , OR Posts: 1,888	The brass life is short as far as accuracy goes, I would opt for a different cartridge.

November 11, 2012, 10:27 PM	#3
FLChinook Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 378	What data exists for short 300 WM brass life? This is one of the oldest and most used medium game cartridges of all time. Does the 338 WM also have a history of short brass life?

November 12, 2012, 06:23 PM	#9
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	Folks shooting the .300 Win Mag with max loads in long range matches have got 15 to 20 reloads per case. They full length size using dies with necks a couple thousandths smaller than a loaded round's neck diameter. And don't set the fired case shoulder back more than 2 thousandths. A second body die's often used that sized the case all the way to the belt; normal dies don't. Larry Willis makes collet dies that do the same thing these days www.larrywillis.com I've got that many reloads per .30-.338 case. Best powders used in competition for accuracy with 190, 200 and 220 grain bullets was/is IMR4350 or some other extruded powder of the same speed. Slower powders may well shoot bullets out faster, but they won't land on target very close together.

November 12, 2012, 06:23 PM	#10
JimDandy Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2012 Posts: 2,556	My brother loads our Bolt Action stuff, but I want to say he uses Nosler (green) ballistic tips, and 4350 as well for the Win-mag and/or RUM.

November 13, 2012, 07:48 PM	#11
fishbones182 Member Join Date: August 1, 2012 Location: Florida Posts: 98	I use IMR4350 at 70 grains with standard large rifle primer and 150 grain soft points. Im up to 4 loadings on my brass with that load. I full length size them if not fired out of my gun then only neck size the brass and trim to length.

November 14, 2012, 10:39 AM	#12
JimDandy Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2012 Posts: 2,556	As for how many reloads, we buy a box of factory, shoot it, and reload 3 times, so four firings total per brass, then don't reuse them, more for worrying about extraction than accuracy or anything. We don't anneal(yet, I'm starting to get into this reloading thing too, now) and it's just easier peace of mind to get new brass after an almost guaranteed safe 3 reloads, than deal with a case head seperation or anything while you're shooting.

November 14, 2012, 11:16 AM	#13
AllenJ Senior Member Join Date: December 11, 2009 Location: Northern California Posts: 1,766	IMR4350 and a 180 Grain Nosler Partition has taken more than a few elk for me. My gun liked the max load recommended by Nosler.