.300 Win Mag "practice load"

I have shot many reduced loads in the 300 H&H, the 308 Norma Mag, and the 300 Win Mag. One of the best in all of these was 46 to 50 grains of IMR 3031 behind Hornady's 180 grain FB SP bullet. This gives 308 velocities and is generally very accurate. Recoil is on a par with the lighter chambering. As has been mentioned, with proper care, the 300 Win Mag has reasonable barrel life, even with full power loads. I have a 300 Win Mag with 1800 rounds [full power] through it that will still shoot moa with it's favorite loads. Regards, Eagleye.
 
Tak said:
Interesting, and this is for the 300 wm right?
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Yes in the 300 Win Mag. My notes say that the best load in a Winchester M70with a 24" barrel was 48 grains for 2605 avg. This load shot right around MOA and was mild to shoot.
In a 308 Norma Mag with a 25" barrel, the best was 50 grains for 2655 avg. This shot under MOA consistently. I also have a note here that I used this load to take a respectable Muley in the Shuswap in 1970. :)
Regards, Eagleye.
 
ykkid said:
Hodgdon website loading data, youth loads. If they list a H4895 load for a specific cartridge, specific bullet weight in that caliber, then 60% of that H4895 load is safe, per Hodgdon. If they do not list H4895 for that catridge/bullet weight combination, then all bets are off.

These make nice, cool practice rounds, the use of which gets you on trigger, and up to speed on the administrative functions of a rifle. Like mounting and firing the rifle from any safe carry, and working the handle such that the rifle is reloaded before the ejected case has hit the ground. All while calling your shot. All much easier to practice with a mild load than with the full recoil of .300. Getting that first round on target quickly is far more important than tweaking an extra gazillionth of an MOA, or a few fps out of a cartridge.
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http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Youth Loads.pdf
 
The advantage of using Trail Boss is that it is a very low density powder so you get a reduced load with a near-full case thereby avoiding the potential problems encountered with a lot of reduced loads. IIRC Hodgdon suggests filling the case to the bottom of the shoulder and weighing that charge. This is your MAX load. Reduce that by 10% to get your starting load.

I have tried this with both a 375 Ruger and a 458 Win Mag. It turned them both into real pussy-cats.

Hugh
 
Tak said:
i'm probably way above my knowledge here but did you need any special primers?
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No special primers needed. I would not use any Magnum primer, however....definitely unnecessary.
FWIW, my practice load of around 50 grains of 3031 makes it impossible to double-charge, since none of those cases will hold 100 grains of any powder. Eagleye.
 
Meph

I've been shooting the same Rem BDL 300 Win Mag I got in '81. I've shot it where you couldn't hold the barrel. This very seldom, I'm not an idiot but my point is it is not prone to excessive barrel wear. I just put together a Scirocco 165 gr. load that is printing just under 3/4" groups for my wife. I really wouldn't worry about reduced loads. It you don't shot a string of shots with a hot barrel it will be fine.
 
My longtime range buddy passed away recently, but we had good fun for as long as he could pick up a rifle.

A year and a half ago, he picked up a pre-'64 Winchster Model 70 which had been built in .300 H&H and converted almost immediately to .300 Weatherby. My friend was weakening at this time but he bought the rifle anyway, got 100 rounds of new brass and some slugs and a big tub of fresh powder.

We spent the summer of 2009 shooting a .300 Weatherby at power levels somewhere down between the bottom of the .30-30 and the 7.62x39.

Standard primers. Whatever bullet you like. Big Sierra manual (if I remember) has loads. For powder, the best choice of all is SR-4759, which is a perfect powder for reduced loads, also perfect at 38% for Black-substitute loads. It is not position-sensitive and it is very fast, very bulky and extremely consistent.

We spent the summer making teeny-tiny little groups.... with a .300 Weatheby Magnum that didn't kick.
.
 
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