Total noob question I know, but new to reloading and eager to get started. I know this is probably the best place to ask questions and if someone can point me in the right direction I sure would appreciate it! So....Ive just acquired an RCBS reloading kit and now have no idea where to begin, I have a few boxes of once fired brass that I have fired through my Remington 700 chambered in 300wby mag and need a place to start. What powder, primer and bullets should I try first? many thanks
Need help starting load development 300wby
- Thread starter rivergoat
- Start date
Find a workspace and bolt that sucker down.
Then read the instructions, you cant Red Green your way to a box of loaded ammo.
If your reloading kit came with a reloading manual check out witch powders give the highest velocity with the bullet weight you want to use.
Bullet weights between 180 and 200 gr are likley to give good results.
Then read the instructions, you cant Red Green your way to a box of loaded ammo.
If your reloading kit came with a reloading manual check out witch powders give the highest velocity with the bullet weight you want to use.
Bullet weights between 180 and 200 gr are likley to give good results.
- Location
- Eastern Ontario
What do you want to do with these cartridges? Hunting and precision / competition type bullets cost more but plinking / target bullets can often be had in bulk for less. I reload for my 300 WM using 180 gr Hornady SSTs but for target shooting I use 150 gr FMJBT because I can get them in bulk at half the price of the SSTs.
For your Wby, I say 180, 190, or 200 gr would be ideal hunting weights. Maybe 220. I'm no expert on the Wby though but I'm pretty sure it's got even more umph than the 300WM which can handle those bullets nicely.
Check out the Hodgdon site and get yourself some reloading books. For powders you probably need a slower burning powder like H4831, H4350, H1000. TheHodgdon site and the manuals will give you choices of powders for this cartridge and bullet.
For primers you want a Long Rifle Magnum. I'm happy with Winchester and CCI primers. Apparently the Feds are good too but I've never tried them.
You can check out http://handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=300%20Weatherby%20mag.&Weight=180&type=rifle&Order=Powder&Source= for some idea of what others are using for the 300 Wby, but oddly enough, they don't list anything over 180 gr bullets.
Do you know what you're doing as far as the procedure goes?
For your Wby, I say 180, 190, or 200 gr would be ideal hunting weights. Maybe 220. I'm no expert on the Wby though but I'm pretty sure it's got even more umph than the 300WM which can handle those bullets nicely.
Check out the Hodgdon site and get yourself some reloading books. For powders you probably need a slower burning powder like H4831, H4350, H1000. TheHodgdon site and the manuals will give you choices of powders for this cartridge and bullet.
For primers you want a Long Rifle Magnum. I'm happy with Winchester and CCI primers. Apparently the Feds are good too but I've never tried them.
You can check out http://handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=300%20Weatherby%20mag.&Weight=180&type=rifle&Order=Powder&Source= for some idea of what others are using for the 300 Wby, but oddly enough, they don't list anything over 180 gr bullets.
Do you know what you're doing as far as the procedure goes?
I have hunted over most of the world with a Rem 700 in 300 Wby and have tried everything from 150 gn TTSX to 200 gn Parts, I have settled on a load using 200 gn Accubonds (for the B.C.). I will not share my loads on a public forum but I will say use Fed 215 or CCI 250 Primers and powders in the RL 22, H1000, Ramshot Magnum, Win 780 Supreme class of powders and don't be afraid to compress powder.
This is the killingest cartridge I have used regularly and will really reach out and touch things. I took a Marco Polo at 600 yds and my Altai Argali at a ranged 470 mtrs with my 300 Wby. This rifle and cartridge has accounted for more than 50 head of big game for me. It'll drive a 200 gn bullet at the same velocity as a 300 WM will drive a 180 and it kills like lightening.
Enjoy your 300 Wby and know you are not undergunned for any game world wide barring the true heavies, (eles, rhinos and buffs) it is an amazing killing cartridge, with a 200 gn bullet.
This is the killingest cartridge I have used regularly and will really reach out and touch things. I took a Marco Polo at 600 yds and my Altai Argali at a ranged 470 mtrs with my 300 Wby. This rifle and cartridge has accounted for more than 50 head of big game for me. It'll drive a 200 gn bullet at the same velocity as a 300 WM will drive a 180 and it kills like lightening.
Enjoy your 300 Wby and know you are not undergunned for any game world wide barring the true heavies, (eles, rhinos and buffs) it is an amazing killing cartridge, with a 200 gn bullet.
This. -dan
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Mid-weight to heavy for caliber bullets ahead of slow burning powder will provide the best performance. Having said that, I detest compressed loads, and prefer to go with a powder that uses 95-100% of the powder capacity of the cartridge. Drop tubes are a pain in the ass, and significantly increases the time you must spend on each cartridge. But worse than that, if you are not experienced in reading pressure, a small increment to an already compressed charge can unexpectedly spike pressure resulting in trouble where a slightly faster burning powder that reaches its maximum pressure prior to compressing produces the same velocity with easier to read pressure signs and more forgiveness with small increments of propellant. It seems that some people are willing to put up with a lot of trouble for 20 fps.
Weatherby brass has a tendency to fail just behind the shoulder, so annealing your brass might provide some additional case life, although, as with any cartridge, very hot loads will loosen primer pockets in short order. Color the neck and shoulder of a case prior to resizing as this will allow you to more easily see how much of the neck is being resized. Provided the resized case chambers without effort, I would take care not to bump the shoulder. The factory cartridge headspaces on the belt, but for maximum case life you want it to headspace on the shoulder, with the proviso that reliable feeding in a hunting rifle trumps case life. When the shoulder needs to be bumped back, turn the sizing die down in quarter turn increments until the case chambers easily in your rifle, then lock it in place there. As an aside a Redding body die allows you to bump the shoulder of your loaded rounds without having to pull them.
Weatherby brass has a tendency to fail just behind the shoulder, so annealing your brass might provide some additional case life, although, as with any cartridge, very hot loads will loosen primer pockets in short order. Color the neck and shoulder of a case prior to resizing as this will allow you to more easily see how much of the neck is being resized. Provided the resized case chambers without effort, I would take care not to bump the shoulder. The factory cartridge headspaces on the belt, but for maximum case life you want it to headspace on the shoulder, with the proviso that reliable feeding in a hunting rifle trumps case life. When the shoulder needs to be bumped back, turn the sizing die down in quarter turn increments until the case chambers easily in your rifle, then lock it in place there. As an aside a Redding body die allows you to bump the shoulder of your loaded rounds without having to pull them.
