300WM, 165gr bullets and some noob questions...

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mistahmojoryan

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Finally took the plunge and purchased some reloading equipment. In spite of some advice I rec'd, I bought a lot of Lee stuff:

Lee Anniversary Kit
Lee 3-set Pacesetter dies
Lee Case Length Guage/Trimmer
Lyman SS calipers
165gr Ballistic Tips

Got lots of brass to use and after I work up a good load I'd like to try 165gr TSX's...that's pretty much why I went with 165gr BT's.

Question- If I plan to stick with 165gr bullets, what powder do you recommend? I'm thinking RL22, H4831, IMR 4831, IMR 7828, ? It might as well be something that works best with 165gr and 180gr since I can't see using anything else.

Besides being Large Rifle Magnum primers, does brand matter?

If I start loads 4 or 5 grains below max, should I use increments of .5gr or 1gr? And how many rounds of each powder charge do you load (3, 4, 5)?

Thanks for any feedback! :)
 
Firstly, there is NOTHING wrong with Lee equipment. It has served me well.
I reload 300WinMag with IMR4350.
If you plan to shoot a lot at the range, you can use loads for 308 winchester or 30-06. It will save you some discomfort in your shoulder as full magnum loads will make you ache after 20 or so rounds.

Loading down to a .308 Winchester gives similar results to the new "Managed Recoil" ammo that is available.

My personal favorite is 55gr of IMR4350 with a 110gr SP (Spire Point) bullet. Very low recoil and I group under 1" at 100yds. Perfect for yotes and groundhogs.

I would only load full magnum loads for Moose or Elk (or Kodiak bear if I was brave enuff to hunt them).

I would suggest 20 rounds (10 @ 50yds and 10 @ 100yds) just to see how your rifle digests them. If group is good but feel recoil is heavy tune them down a bit, if grouping is sloppy, tweak them up. As we cover quite a range from 308 to 300 WinMag (you could also try 30-30 loads) I would suggest 5 grain increments.

I do suggest you read the chapter in the LEE reloading manual on reducing loads, read it TWO or MORE times so that you understand it fully. Remember never to exceed the recommended load and never reduce more than 50% DEPENDING on the powder your are using. It is clearly explained in the reloading manual. Best to read it so as not to blow your face off! We had a "kaboom" at our club last weekend, a double magnum load, scrapped the gun. Luckily, it was the only injury (besides the reloaders underwear).
 
165 BT will give you lots of speed, likely good accuracy--and a lot of bloodshot meat if you use it for hunting. If you want to stick with 165's you might want to use a little "harder" bullet for hunting. The various 300 magnums are really at there best with 180 grain bullets. Not to say 165's won't work--I use them occasionally in my 300 H + H but as I said there are trade-offs.

44Bore
 
I was thinking about going w/ 180's as it seems to be the "standard" all-purpose bullet for 300 mags. 165's ought to do everything especially using TSX's but I may switch to 180's yet. ;) I don't think the 165 BT's are made very tough....unlike the 180's which Nosler designs w/ tougher/thicker jackets for large game.

Anyway, regardless of whether I load 165's or 180's it seems that everyone has there own favorite powder :D ...I guess whatever works in your rifles.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
I've had my best results on both targets and game with the 168 gr TSX and 75.5 grs of reloder 22. Excellent velocity, excellent terminal performance.

A word about btips, they are very explosive, they also will handle more powder before max pressures and velocities arrive than a TSX. I was shooting Hornady 165 and some btips with 78 and 79 gr of reloder 22 and 75.5 gave me the same velocity with the TSX, right around 3200 fps.
 
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