re-loading 300 WSM

Shoot2026

Shoot2026

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Hello,

From scratch what would I need to do to? I know that's a lot to get into so I'll retract that broad question for now and wait until at least I'm exploring the details.

I'll need equipment like die set and press. Scale/funnel/trickler, case loading block, hand primer.

Anyone with specific experience with .300 would be greatly appreciated.
 
As others stated, grab a good reloading manual. It will walk you through the process of what you need and how to do it. If you just want to start simple, buy a reloading kit. Lee will be the cheapest, then it goes up from there. Decent Hornady kit has been on sale recently.

Once you have the kit, if you already know you are loading for the 300wsm, you need a set of dies for that cartridge. Then pick up the bullets you want to load for it. Look at the reloading manual to see which powder works for your bullet, buy one of the powders, then you need primers. More than likely magnum rifle primers.

Follow the directions in the reloading manual step by step, and follow the directions on your reloading die manual for setup of your rifle dies. Stick with the basics first, and pick a powder that's close to or just under a hundred percent case fill, you don't want too light if a charge with that wide magnum case, and you don't want to mess around with compressed loads yet.

Good luck, and keep us informed on how it goes. You will get plenty of help if you ask for help on specific reloading steps, not a whole lot of help when you ask for the entire process.
 
Shoot2026 said:
I'll need equipment like die set and press. Scale/funnel/trickler, case loading block, hand primer.
Click to expand...

Forgot a huge step. Case prep. Rifle calibers the brass needs to be trimmed to length after sizing. So you need a trimmer, deburring tools, flash hole cleaner, method of cleaning them.

A good set of calipers.

Hand primer are not needed. As alot of presses esp Lee has a simple primer system built in.
 
Thanks for all this info everyone. I appreciate it
I'm probably looking at 300wsm only for my rifle as that's all she can take
My wife's .223 maybe I'll start with that.
Is it the same basics?
Or would one round be easier to work around that another
 
Reloading manuals show favouritism for cartridges and powders the of the day. Powder burn rates are imperfect. That’s why I own five manuals and am familiar with Nosler, Sierra, VV, Hogdon online.
Single stage press.
Dies.
Loading block.
Drop tube funnel
Case lube pad. Spray is the easy less good way.
Lyman case trimmer when they reach max spec.
Lyman makes primer pocket cleaning tool/ chamfer tool(to use after trimming)
Calipers.
Scale.
Loading block.
Hand primer. Seat by consistent feel.
I own a case tumbler but don’t use it. Doesn’t show on target.
Case prep: I wipe the soot off the necks before the lube pad.
FL size only. Manuals will say to FL size by bottoming the shell holder on the die. You will read about shoulder bump gauges and .002 of bump. Which can extend brass life. Cause less trimming. Truth is loose shoots good so keep it simple to start.

Nosler brass is overpriced but shoots like it too.

I have custom barreled WSM. Hornady 200,212eldx and 208 hpbt with Winchester brass weight sorted to one grain, with 60 grains of H4350 shoot 3 inch vertical at 1000yds. Same load for 1800 rounds.

4350 is a step too fast. Case isn’t full to make room for deep seating.
185 Berger and Nosler brass unsorted is better. But lots more money.
 
Yeah your 223 is easy to load for, so thats where I would start.

Just jump on youtube and start watching videos, theres 100s of hours worth of vids on there
 
I reload for my 300wsm.

As stated grab a manual, never follow recipes online. You can use them for guidance, like what powders or primers work best, but always work your way up and know what to look for in pressure signs.

Berger makes a good bullet twist calculator for knowing if a bullet will work in your rifle or not.

Sometimes your gun will surprise you with the loads it likes, or doesn't like.
 
300wsm isn't any more difficult to load for than any other round.
It uses a fair bit of powder and you'll get just over 100 rounds to a pound.
.223 will get you around 350 rounds to a pound.
Magnum primers are more expensive than the small rifle primers in .223, and SRP are generally easier to find.
Decent .223 brass is quite a bit cheaper than 300wsm brass.

Buy at least one reloading manual. They all have reloading basics in the front of the book.
Try to follow the recipes exactly if you can, Although I would compare between different sources to ensure that there isn't a typo somewhere.
Different brass manufacturers will have slightly different capacities.
Different primers may burn hotter.
Different bullets may be longer or the ogive is in a different spot.
Only use the powder specified in the recipe. Every powder is different, if it says H4350 use H4350 or find a different recipe.
All of these can lead to pressure issues.

Watch a pile of reloading videos on YouTube to help you understand the steps if you don't have someone who can mentor you.
Johnny's reloading bench on YouTube has a ton of videos and he doesn't edit out his mistakes. Better to learn from other peoples mistakes!
All the steps are the same if you're loading for common rifle cartridges, so watching someone load for 30-06, 300blk or .223 will be the same other than primer type and powder type/charge.

You'll want a quiet area with no distractions while reloading. Especially when starting out.
It's pretty easy to mess up if you're having to deal with distractions while at your bench.
Check and double check every step before moving on to the next.

I started out buying a Lee Breech Lock Challenger kit.
It wasn't "the best", but other than specific dies and a trim length gauge it had everything I needed to get started. (already had a caliper)
I still use most of what was included in the kit.
Bought a better scale and de-burring tool.
I've loaded tons of accurate .308, 300wsm, 30-30, and 9mm on that press.


Good luck, stay safe, and let us know how it goes.

Sam
 
I have reloaded 300wsm since I bought mine in 2004. As others have said you can start out with a basic reloading kit and add on pieces as you need. I am partial to the RCBS kits since that is what I started out with and they used to come with a manual too which helps you get started. If you are just starting out with the 300wsm I have had good results with IMR 4350 for 165 gr bullets, IMR 4831 with 165 and 180gr bullets. My best results have been with H4350 and 180 gr bullets and Hybrid 100V with 165 gr bullets. Components are not cheap so do some research and choose what bullet you want to shoot. After some tinkering you will likely find what you are looking for and that is all part of the process.
 
I might try a different sized ammo to re-load at first.
Maybe someone will trade me 300wsm or exchange, you know, through direct messaging and not advertised :cool:
 
I had someone message about 7.62 (probably Chinese?) Almost 1500.. would take a while to go through. They load their own too.
Would be fun to reload, for sure, I think.
 
I load the Hornady ELD-X bullets for mine. I load the 200g ELD-X with 62.0g of IMR 4350 with a CCI 250 Primer at a C.O.L. of 2.855
I also load the 178g ELD-X with 63.0g of Alliant Reloader 17 with a CCI 250 and a C.O. L. of 2.840
I tried experimenting with a 125g Nosler Ballistic Tip but thought shooting that would be I good way to burn out my barrel.
 
My old stainless A-Bolt II has the BOSS system on it. When I first got it in 2004/5 ..I got 5 boxes of Win Supreme CPX ammo..180 grainers. Used a couple boxes up on the break in then started my reloads. Tried a couple of powders and weight combos, and settled on the IMR 4350 with the 180 grainers.

I loaded three different Nosler combos, all near max loads and looked for pressure signs goin up. Slightly flattened primers (same as factory O/F ammo ) and no other signs I stopped there.
Dialed the BOSS in to .06...barely had to move it to get me tighter groups, under moa @ 100 & 200 yds ! Perfect ! Very pleased !! This system works great !

Powder yielding the best results for me during my initial testing (pre-BOSS dial up) was IMR 4350..64.2 grains ..WLRM primers...Nosler B Tips, Partitions and Accubond's all printing to the same POI for me. Win Win.
That beauty of a gun is still one of my favs. My son calls it "his" lucky gun too...lol
Moose, deer, Black Bears and stinkin yotes, it ain't fussy.
...I concur, it certainly has been for me for more than 20 yrs !
 
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