Long range recipe for 300win?

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Well this morning I took the plunge and ordered myself the Lee Precision 50th Anniversary kit. My main reason for getting it was my new rifle build in 300win. I'm limited to Winchester Super X 150gr ammo here locally so I thought that reloading would be best.

The gun was built purely for long range target shooting, no hunting or anything. The barrel is a 26" hb with a 1/10 twist. What recipe would you guys in the know recommend for this? If it makes any difference, the gun is braked and weighs 17 lbs so I'm not worried about going big with the loads.
 
The one that I'm playing with now is the 190 Grain LR Accubond, 215M and 81 grains of H1000 in Norma brass, seated to the lands. It shoots well in a couple different rifles, and the lack of wind drift is spooky. Its right up there with my .338 Edge and 300 grain SMKs. Compared to my load with 190 SMKs it took 2 1/2 MOA off my 650 yard come-ups. I know what the numbers predict, and I know what the targets say. Hard to argue with targets.
 
photog_shooter said:
Well this morning I took the plunge and ordered myself the Lee Precision 50th Anniversary kit. My main reason for getting it was my new rifle build in 300win. I'm limited to Winchester Super X 150gr ammo here locally so I thought that reloading would be best.

The gun was built purely for long range target shooting, no hunting or anything. The barrel is a 26" hb with a 1/10 twist. What recipe would you guys in the know recommend for this? If it makes any difference, the gun is braked and weighs 17 lbs so I'm not worried about going big with the loads.
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I would suggest the new Berger 30 Cal 200.20X gr Hybrid Target bullet if you can find it. CCI 250 Mag primer, and H1000 or Retumbo should get it going. See the Hodgdon site for loads.

Another alternative to the Berger 200 grain would be the Sierra MatchKing 210. X-Reload appears to have both the Berger and Sierra bullet in stock.

In addition to your Lee kit, I would suggest buying the Hornady Headspace Gauge to measure case length to the shoulder, and a bullet comparator bushing to measure your cartridge overall length to the ogive. The headspace gauge is to let you control the bump of the shoulder so you don't set it back too far. A bump of 0.001 to 0.002 is fine for target shooting. The bullet comparator will let you measure how far your bullet is from the lands in your gun. That is a critical dimension to control for accuracy. Some bullets like a jump, and some like to be jammed into the lands. I would suggest you do initial load development with a jam, and then try the jump settings later.

Hornady does not package these things well. You will need the following for your 300 WM:

1. Comparator Body
2. Bullet Comparator Insert for your .308
3. E - .420 size insert to measure Headspace

You can use the same body to hold both types of insert. And a 6" vernier is required as well.

That should get you started.
 
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CCI 450 Mag primer, you may find this primer a bit loose in the primer pocket.

For long range you will want to have a low ES, I use a regular large rifle primer, it does not influence the powder charge as much as a magnum primer. Have no trouble lighting off up to and ~80grs of H-1000 down to -10C, ES stays very good as I chronograph every shot to build the statistical record.
 
Only Ron AKA and Sunray would advise the use of a small rifle magnum primer in a 300 WM case...........Next he'll come back and say he had his 300 cases made this way because it makes for a less violent ignition and lower ES and SD..........but the rest of us pions will just have to make do with the regular large rifle pocketed cases...........
 
I went to the forums and tried all the advise I could for powders , bullets etc . I tried h1000,h4831,rl22 with a variety of bullets .
I'm just a regular Jo type and the availability of powders etc made me try what I could get (locally) . Rl 22 gave me the best results in my gun , but then I ran out so I had imr 7828 to use and it turned out to be even better and is now my preferred powder in this gun ( 7rem mag) and on another impulse buy at a gun show I picked up some 168gr chinchaga bullets from a guy named Dale and the combo is magic for my rifle and my abilities. So I came up with you never know UNTILL you try.

I use the foster datum comparator and lee collet die for neck sizing with a propane torch and drill/socket for annealer. Pretty humble set up but I get 3.5" groups at 500 on calm days . So not a competition type guy just thought I'd add my 2 cents about " you never know"

I also get better groups with non magnum primers in my 300 and 7mm mags , I shoot in the cold and have had no problems . Found this out when I ran out of mag primers too LOL
 
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BCBRAD said:
CCI 450 Mag primer, you may find this primer a bit loose...
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BCBRAD said:
CCI 450 Mag primer, you may find this primer a bit loose in the primer pocket.

For long range you will want to have a low ES, I use a regular large rifle primer, it does not influence the powder charge as much as a magnum primer. Have no trouble lighting off up to and ~80grs of H-1000 down to -10C, ES stays very good as I chronograph every shot to build the statistical record.
Click to expand...

It would be a mistake to not use a magnum powder in a 300 WM, especially if you shoot in colder weather. Yes a 250 mag not a 450...
 
BCBRAD said:
Why?
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The 300 WM like it's brothers, the 7mm RM, & .264 WM, is a longer (more old fashioned) skinny case, but still holds lots of powder - case capacity approaching 90 grains of water. The magnum primer with more power simply makes more sense to get the powder going in a uniform manner. That is why the reloading books will all say to use a magnum powder. And if you talk to those who shoot even less than magnum size cases with 60-70 grain capacity will tell you a magnum powder is good practice, especially in colder weather.

That said, I know there are those who think differently. Some even think the tiny little 6BR case will give better accuracy with a small rifle magnum primer. I have a box of magnums sitting waiting to be tried to test that theory out, but I'm not holding my breath. The other thought is that a "softer" (less powerful) primer will disrupt the load less and rely more on the powder, while making the impact of the primer less significant. If the primer is more variable than the powder, then there may be something to it. All you can do it try it to see how it does. Some also say the standard primer is more consistent than the benchrest primer....

However, when starting out, I think that it makes more sense to start out on the middle of the road staying between the lines. Then down the road if the driving in the ditch looks like fun, then try it.
 
Ron AKA said:
The 300 WM like it's brothers, the 7mm RM, & .264 WM, is a longer (more old fashioned) skinny case, but still holds lots of powder - case capacity approaching 90 grains of water. The magnum primer with more power simply makes more sense to get the powder going in a uniform manner. That is why the reloading books will all say to use a magnum powder. And if you talk to those who shoot even less than magnum size cases with 60-70 grain capacity will tell you a magnum powder is good practice, especially in colder weather.

That said, I know there are those who thinking differently. Some even think the tiny little 6BR case will give better accuracy with a small rifle magnum. I have a box of magnums sitting waiting to be tried to test that theory out, but I'm not holding my breath. The thought is that a "softer" (less powerful) primer will disrupt the load less and rely more on the powder, while making the impact of the primer less significant. If the primer is more variable than the powder, then there may be something to it.

However, when starting out, I think that it makes more sense to start out on the middle of the road staying between the lines. Then down the road if the driving in the ditch looks like fun, then try it.
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I do use magnum primers ,CCI-450 because of the thicker cup, to with stand higher pressures I run in the 6 Dasher. I use magnum primers in my general purpose hunting rifles. The OP is concerned with long range endeavors, however.

The low ES tells me that the standard primer in the 300WM is not producing erratic ignition as you suggest. The powder is weighed to 0.02 grains in volume sorted cases. I have control over all aspects of the loading process, but not the primer, the only control is choice , brand and its attendant brisance.

In a long range application one must have a low ES, single digit preferred, then work on tuning to a node.
 
BCBRAD said:
I do use magnum primers ,CCI-450 because of the thicker cup, to with stand higher pressures I run in the 6 Dasher. I use magnum primers in my general purpose hunting rifles. The OP is concerned with long range endeavors, however.

The low ES tells me that the standard primer in the 300WM is not producing erratic ignition as you suggest. The powder is weighed to 0.02 grains in volume sorted cases. I have control over all aspects of the loading process, but not the primer, the only control is choice , brand and its attendant brisance.

In a long range application one must have a low ES, single digit preferred, then work on tuning to a node.
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ES is important for long range. When you correctly identify a velocity sweet spot with a proper ladder test, you want a load that can stay within that sweet spot velocity range. As always each gun will likely be different and each gun needs to be tested to see what works. 30 cal is not shot a lot with the big magnums. However 7mm big magnums are more popular, and the choice of magnum vs standard or match is kind of split.
 
photog_shooter said:
Well this morning I took the plunge and ordered myself the Lee Precision 50th Anniversary kit. My main reason for getting it was my new rifle build in 300win. I'm limited to Winchester Super X 150gr ammo here locally so I thought that reloading would be best.

The gun was built purely for long range target shooting, no hunting or anything. The barrel is a 26" hb with a 1/10 twist. What recipe would you guys in the know recommend for this? If it makes any difference, the gun is braked and weighs 17 lbs so I'm not worried about going big with the loads.
Click to expand...

What does LR mean to you?

Every bullet maker offers match bullets for 30cals. With the 10 twist, you really can use whatever you feel like and do try some for personal info, if not for the joy of learning to work with various components.

Choice can be affected by the chamber throat vs mag length/feeding style... whatever fits as they all work.

If LR means reaching out to 1000yds and beyond, I would lean towards the bullets from 185 to 230gr depending on the chamber you are using. Some great LR bullets that don't cost too much are the Hornady 208gr ELD-M. there are several Hrn in the 200 to 212gr that shooters are indicating to me work well in their rifles.

I am partial to the Berger 210gr VLD and the Sierra 210gr MK's as well.

The US army is going with both the Sierra 190gr and 220gr MK's

Lots to choose from... for powder, I would suggest the Hodgdon family with an appropriate burn rate to get as close to 100% load density as possible. Use published load data and a chronograph... this is a very well established cartridge with PLENTY of tested and proven load data.

I would use a CCI 250 or Fed 215M to light the fire.

Lee collet neck die, Redding body die - keep shoulder bump to a min, Forster or Redding seater... DONE.

Seat the ogive off the lands and tune accordingly.

Should very nicely for you and the accuracy potential of this chambering is very under rated.

Jerry
 
photog_shooter said:
Well this morning I took the plunge and ordered myself the Lee Precision 50th Anniversary kit. My main reason for getting it was my new rifle build in 300win. I'm limited to Winchester Super X 150gr ammo here locally so I thought that reloading would be best.

The gun was built purely for long range target shooting, no hunting or anything. The barrel is a 26" hb with a 1/10 twist. What recipe would you guys in the know recommend for this? If it makes any difference, the gun is braked and weighs 17 lbs so I'm not worried about going big with the loads.
Click to expand...

The best load in the 300 win mag I have ever used is. The 215 berger Hybrid, federal 215 primers or 215 match either one is fine, and a healthy dose of H-1000
I am shooting them out of a custom at just over 3000 FPS. My buddy has a custom 300 as well and have the same results. I won't share how much H-1000 we use as its different amounts do to the fact we use differnt brass manufactures. Both of these were cut with a reamer with more free bore to allow us to seat the bullets further out. These guns were built as a long range light weight gun. There are under 1/2 Moa out to 1000 yards.
Now your going to say that they are full customs.
Well one stormy Sunday afternoon, being super bored I tried the 215 berger and h-1000 in a factory model 70 winchester. I just wanted to work up and find pressure to see what they would do. The results were very close, and they shot 1 moa or a little better. Keep in mind I just put them 30 thou off the lands and shot them to see what they would do.
I shoot the same bullets in my ultra mag as well. Very easy to load for and they work great.
Shoot me a pm if you want anymore info. Yoo could give me a call if yah wanted to as well
 
For my 300 WM Chou Bros build my load is:
Norma case
Fed 215
70.6 grs of RE 22
SMK 190 seated 10 thou of the lands

I get this round going 2950 fps with a SD of 3. With this load and good wind reading I was able to hit a 12" steel plate at a 1000 m consistently.
 
brybenn said:
I use standard large rifle primers in both 458 wm and 300 wm and never had an issue. With wind chill it was -12 the other day and still no issue.
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Wind chill factor doesn't make any difference in this case. If your barrel was hot it would cool off faster in the wind, or your cheeks would feel colder sooner, but it doesn't make any difference to a chunk of steel that is just sitting there. If it's zero degrees out and still, your rifle temp will soon be zero. If the wind then changed to 100 kph you'll be hating life (and it would be too windy for effective shooting) but the barrel will still be exactly zero degrees.
 
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