Build a reduced recoil load for 300 wm?

bigbore14

bigbore14

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Have heard you can buy these on the shelf. What I am wondering, after I did a search on here and found nothing, is if I can build a reduced recoil load for myself, I have a 300 wm and a 270 wsm. Would like to build something for the wife to get a bit more comfy with shooting. At the store they told me its not recomended. However I want some real advice from some real reloaders.

I know it is possible because a guy at the range had some, that he said he reloaded himself. Second question is why is there a minimum powder charge for each load?
 
A lighter bullet will give less felt recoil out of the same rifle. I'd lean towards the .270 for your lady. And put on a recoil pad(will increase the LOP though). Or buy her a PAST pad. She'd be wearing it as opposed to it being on the rifle. No LOP issue.
 
I'm told that reduced charges with standard powders is a no no because if there is too much air space in the case you get a detonation instead of the standard burn rate. So you have to go with a different powder altogether.

Possibly SR4759? It is designed for reduced loads.

I'd like to be able to load a 300WM to a 308 winchester sort of velocity for target shooting, if it would shoot accurately.
 
Apparently Speers #13 reloading manual has the following information. But it looks a little too light for me. Don't run this load without confirming this data firsthand. I simply got it off another website, not original source.

Speer #13

308 Win
150 gr SP
SR4759
25.0 grs Max @ 1925 fps
21.0 grs Start @ 1632 fps

300 Win Mag
150 gr SP
SR4759
28.0 grs Max @ 2028 fps
24.0 grs start @ 1743 fps
 
Or do the smart thing and buy her a rifle in 7mm-08 that fits he properly and load it for her. Why #### around with reduced recoil loads when you could just get the proper tool in the first place?
 
Speer #14 says 31.0-33.0 gr of IMR 4198, with a 180gr bullet for the 300wm. I believe my best accuracy came at 31.5gr. It prints 14 inches lower than full power loads, at 100y. Just be ultra careful about double charging, could very easily happen. I load one at a time, powder, then put bullet in immediately. Haven't been using them lately, but I've only been shooting off the bench, I'll probably start using them again when I'm practicing other positions. It's good for getting some extra trigger time on your main rifle, without punishing yourself (although, I'd love to be in a postion where I could buy an extra rifle every time I feel like it).
I think my accuracy was hovering around 1 inch, maybe a touch more, with this load. Nothing to write home about, but enough for the purposes of the load.
 
If you go to the hodgdon powder web site ( w w w .hodgdon.com ) and click on the data tab & then youth loads they are there.

They feel that H4895 is the only powder they make that is stable enough to be reduced to 60% of the posted load.
As an example : 300WSM. 41.5 Grains H4895 & 135 grain SIE SP for a velocity of 2,507 fps & pressure of 28,600PSI.

I use H4895 in a 300WSM for target shooting & it is great. Accurate also.
 
Some cartridges can't have their powder charged lowered very much before unreliable ignition and hangfires start to occur. Usually in higher volume cases from what I understand.
The guys are right about the H4895. I have a reduced load of .30-30 using 110 grain flatpoints to try on coyotes. I just took 60% of the max for H4895 listing, H4895 only, and loaded some up. Nice little plinker round.
 
I load 150 grain bullets pushed by IMR-4064 for managed recoil. You should not load it with less than 47.5 and you can always work up to 65 grains if you want some speed. Ive also shot the max load and it does not recoil all that much. (****may not be safe in your rifle)
 
blacksmithden said:
18.5 grains of Unique under a 200 grain cast bullet give me 3/4" groups with a recoil that's a little less than a 30-30. I've never had a load fail to go off. Very consistant. I've probably fired 1500 of these in my Stevens 200 in 300wm.
Click to expand...

If I was you I wouldn't look any further for advice than this. Blacksmithden gives excellent advice based on very broad experience.
 
Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence Bruce, but I goofed a bit. The old brain computer/confuser got my 180 grain and 200 grain bullets loads mixed up. I went and pulled out my log book just to make sure.

Let's see. Here's my notes directly from my log.


June 22/08 Unique powder, 20 deg C with about 80% humidity, Genesee range, Alberta
Best group with 180 grain cast round nose with gas check
1.3" using 18.5 grains of Unique powder
Click to expand...

July 6/2008 Unique powder 23 deg C with 70-80% humidity, Genesee range, Alberta
Best group with a 202 grain cast round nose with gas check
0.775" - 3 shots - 14 grains of Unique
Click to expand...

All tests were at 100 meters.

Now, that being said, I made a note here on the previous page.

Best group 2.3" using 200 grain round nose with gas check. 17 grains of Unique - bullets were tumbling a bit. Might have been a very dirty bore.
Click to expand...

I no doubt cleaned it and then got the 3/4" group with 14 grains. That's become my standard load for shooting 200 grain cast in my 300wm


Now, for a standard full pop load, if anybody cares.
The best I've found so far in that gun is a 180 grain Speer Spitzer over 68.5 grains of 7828SSC powder. I always got under and inch with that. I've made another note in here.

Aug 3/08 Genesee range - 22 - 24 deg C. (didn't guess at the humidity this day) 180 grain Honady soft point boat tail.
Best groups 68-69 grains of 7828SSC.
Got 1" at 100m but couldn't get it to settle down anymore than that. Not really a good bullet in the Stevens 200. Need to go back to Speer Spitzers 180gr soft points with 68.5gr 7828SSC.
Click to expand...


From further back in the log

June 22/08 - 300 win mag 100 meters
Shooting Alliant Unique powder. 180grain gas checked round nose lead. Mixed brass. Crimped cases. Federal 215 magnum rifle primers. 3 shot groups. Temp aprox 20 deg C aprox 80% humidity. Best group was 1.3" with 19 grains of unique.
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Ok. That's all the info I have written down in the log for the 300. I haven't tried a 200 grain jacketed bullet in it yet, but it definately liked 200 grain cast over 180 grain cast bullets. I know my previous log book is around here somewhere in a box. If I find it in the next day or two, I'll put up any other loads I've tried.

Like I said before though. With the light charge under a 200 grain bullet, the 300 will kick a little less than my 30-30 lever. The Mrs. should be able to pop those off all day long without too much complaining. I remember we were able to shoot these out to 200 meters without too much trouble, but 300 meters was too much of a stretch for them. For 100 meter plinking, it's a great load. Hope this helps.


Have fun.
 
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I've tried both 20 grains of 2400 and 20 grains of SR4759 under 180 grn lead bullets. Both loads grouped about 1.5" and clocked in around 1600-ish fps.
 
horseman2 said:
for a reduced load I used IMR 4064. Markedly reduced kick with 168 grain match Hornadys.
Click to expand...

Ken Waters' 7mm Remington Mag Pet Loads (HL #9) says:
Earlier I promised to tell readers how
this cartridge could be handloaded so
as to provide increased flexibility. The
“secret,” if you want to call it that, lies
in the selection of the proper amount of
the right powder; namely, one that is
.faster burning but not too fast. Basing
my experiments on similar tests which
had been conducted earlier with the .300
Winchester Magnum, I found that IMR
4064 has the correct burning rate for reduced
loads in the 7mm Remington
Magnum. The 175-grain bullets provide
the necessary resistance and CCI
Magnum or Federal No. 115 primers
the ignition for complete and uniform
combustion of a charge that little more
than half fills the case.
The result, as finally worked’out, calls
for 40 grains of No. 4064 coupled with <-- note: for 7mag, not 300wm!
Hornady’s new 175-grain spire point
seated 1/2” deep in the case. This load
has given me such extremely fine accuracy
that I’m not even going to quote
group sizes! Velocity is only about that
of a standard .30-30, recoil is negligible,
and a barrel fired with these loads
should last a lifetime. There have been
no bad side effects whatsoever.
Click to expand...
 
adriel said:
I've tried both 20 grains of 2400 and 20 grains of SR4759 under 180 grn lead bullets. Both loads grouped about 1.5" and clocked in around 1600-ish fps.
Click to expand...


Your 20 gr load using 2400 is my favourite load in my 30-06 using 170 gr gas checked lead bullets. Under 1/2" out of my Husquavarna at 100 yards.

All I shoot now in my rifles is lead including SKS, M-14, Husky , K-31, and two .303 Brits. Great fun and inexpensive to boot.

Take Care

Bob
 
Canuck44 said:
Your 20 gr load using 2400 is my favourite load in my 30-06 using 170 gr gas checked lead bullets. Under 1/2" out of my Husquavarna at 100 yards.

All I shoot now in my rifles is lead including SKS, M-14, Husky , K-31, and two .303 Brits. Great fun and inexpensive to boot.

Take Care

Bob
Click to expand...

A-men to that brother. With ammo and component prices in a near vertical climb, casting your own is the only way to.
 
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