.300 Win Mag bullet choices & loads...advice?

J

Jeff/1911

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Hi Folks,

I am about to start load development for my Ruger 77 in .300 Win Mag, and I thought I'd ask for a few recommendations. Do you have any pet loads you'd care to share?

I guess I am looking for a really good all-around load that I can use for deer, moose, elk and bear...if that's realistic.:)

What I am most interested in is whether I can stick with a 180 grain bullet or if I should consider the 200 grain selections in favour of possibly better penetration on the big guys...I'd like to find the "perfect" combination of adequate penetration on tough game and still a fairly flat shooting load for the "longish" shots. Tall order, I figure.:rolleyes:

I appreciate any feedback you can offer, and the benefit of your experience.

Best wishes, Jeff/1911.
 
My pref is for a 180 grain load. My pet load was 75.5 grn RL 22, Fed 215 primer with 180 grn Grand Slam. Shot slightly over MOA for me. Should get you in the 2900 fps bracket. IMR 4350 is a good one too. Every moose & deer shot was quick and final!

180 grn is my pref. Will work in any situation. 200 grn is good too but that is too big a bullet for most game - my view. Recoil will increase as well over the 180 grn. Consider 165 grn Barnes TSX.
 
I believe the 180gr. bullet is the best choice for the 300WM. I shoot 180gr. Accubonds and TSX, but I have loaded some 200gr. in both just to see how they are at the range right now. My hunting buddy and I have identical rifles (Sako m75ss 300WM). Over the past 8 years, we have taken many large moose, elk, WT's and mulies. Mostly all 1 shot kills. The only one I can think of are elk that were very close to the river valley edge, and didnt want them to get into the valley, so they were 2 shots.

I'm into reloading since last year and have similar load development as Ltbull01, with RL22. I may try some REtumbo also this year. Last year my reloading buddy did up some 200gr. TSX with RL22 and had a nice tight clover leaf group. Before reloading I was shooting Winchester Supreme Ammo - Partition Golds and since 2004, the Accubonds with great success.
 
many years i used a ruger 77 in 300. shot bears, deer and moose. my only load was 72 grns imr 4350, fed 215 primer and 180 noz partition. worked great and dropped almost every animal with one round.
 
I loaded and shot 2 different 300WM.A 700BDL and a T3,both liked 180 accubond bullets with IMR7828/fed215M primers.The BDL liked 74.5gr,the T3 73.5gr they ran 2975fps&2925fps chronied,both under MOA accuracy.RB
 
Yeah I did a lot of testing with my 300WM and I have settled on the Accubonds as well.
The 180 Gr. Accubond has an S/D of .271 and a B/C of .507...
The 200 Gr. has an S/D of .301 and a B/C of .588... the higher B/C on the 200 makes it a very good long range choice!
When you see the job that the 200's do on reactive steel targets at 400 yards the choice is clear.
 
Thanks a lot guys! Fantastic ideas. I have been thinking about how the
less-than-180 grain Barned TSX might work...like the 168. If I were not considering the Barnes I'd go right to the Nosler Partition. I've had incredible success w/ the 165 NP in my .308 Browning A-Bolt.

Thanks again, Jeff. :)
 
I have used 180 grain Partitions with 73 gr of IMR4350 for good accuracy and a velocity of 3140 fps. Shot under an inch at 100 yards. Killed good on the big stuff.

I switched to the 168 TSX and RL22 with a mediocre velocity of 3050, but the thing will drive pins into a target at 100 yards all day -- typical 3 shot groups of 5/8 to 3/4 of an inch. They retain their weight better than a partition, and if I wanted to walk on them, I could do some real shooting. :grin:
 
I really like the 220gr Nosler Partition. It is effective out to 350 yards, which is about as far as most can shoot effectively anyways. With H1000 I was averaging 2858fps out of a 24" tube. That is 3990ft-lbs of muzzle energy. Sighted in +2.7" at 100, you are +1.6" at 200 and -5.6" at 300 yards. Performance is excellent, even on deer sized game.
 
For .300 win mag, the best all round load I have used is 165 grain Nosler Accubonds with 70 grains of H4350. If you live in wide open spaces, this is good to 1,000 yards and still hits like a truck. Slow burn, super fast, and recoil is minor when shooting a light rifle like a T3.

Fire a 200 grain all day and you'll feel it in the morning.
 
WildWildWest said:
For .300 win mag, the best all round load I have used is 165 grain Nosler Accubonds with 70 grains of H4350. If you live in wide open spaces, this is good to 1,000 yards and still hits like a truck. Slow burn, super fast, and recoil is minor when shooting a light rifle like a T3.

Fire a 200 grain all day and you'll feel it in the morning.
Click to expand...
Interesting ...
How many animals have you shot with the 165gr Accubond? How far was your longest shot?
 
1899 said:
Interesting ...
How many animals have you shot with the 165gr Accubond? How far was your longest shot?
Click to expand...

Sorry about that, 1899, I misspoke. The 165 grain bullets I use in .300 are Nosler Ballistic Tip Hunting (a little cheaper, no less accurate). The Accubonds I used were 180 grain (more expensive, jury is still out as to whether these are better than the BTH for accuracy). Same powder load for both. If Nosler made the Accubond in 165gr., I'd use it. Their 150 gr. seems a little small.

As for both of the previous loads, longest shot for me so far is 600 yards on mule deer. My friend who also loads for .300 win with a similar configuration has an 800 yard kill (one shot...I was there)) on a mulie buck and he's going for 1,000 this fall. An 800 yard with this loads requires at least a 6 foot hold over. (and fortunately a standing broadside mule deer buck).

And if you've never hunted in southwest Saskatchewan, our CWD zone 14 in the Southwest gave me 16 deer in the last two years (15 Mule, 1 Whitetail)...with the aforementioned loads. And a lot of shots in the wide open start at 200 yards and go up from there. Learn how to shoot or go home empty handed in this area.

PS. All heads tested for CWD, all negative, all meat used. We eat what we kill. Obviously too much for one family, but everyone I know will take all the deer sausage I can give them.
 
168 or 180 grain TSX would be my suggestion, depending on which is the bigger priority, penetration or trajectory. I am loading 200 grain TSX in a 300 win mag, which will be devastating on moose (if I can draw a tag).
 
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