Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Good .300 Winchester Magnum Loads

Wondering if we could start a sticky thread with favorite .300 WM loads?

I've never loaded for it, but my brother just gave my son his c. '84 tang Ruger 77 in McMillan stock w Leupold 3.5-10X50mm. He's been shooting factory in it for the past 20 years (and it hasn't been shot a lot).

When my brother and dad got .300s I got a .338, so never delved into the mysteries of the most popular .30 Mag.

Would love to hear your recipes for marmot-launching, coyote disassembling, crow misting light bullets; DRT deer loads and heavy crushers for large-framed ungulates...not to mention high B.C. long-range hole punchers.

Thanks,

cc84

Work up to 76 gr RL22 with a 180 gr bullet and Fed215 primer. The load will vary a bit depending on bullet,throat and barrel.Vel should be in the 3100 fps range.You are about maxed out with the 180 gr from the 300 Win Mag at that velocity,regardless of powder.Still plenty enough for about anything.

A couple gr more with a 165 should give about 3200 fps.Again work up.....There may be better things out there for knocking a big buck on his butt but I don't know what they are...with a tough 165 this will work on elk as well.

Also,use H4350 with the 130 gr TTSX.The Barnes manual max load (82.5 H4350)gave the 130 XLC(the discontinued blue bullet)almost 3700 from a 26" M70,and great accuracy to 500 yards.The charge may be slightly lower with the 130TTSX;not sure so again, work up and chronograph as you go.I would expect about 3550-3600 from a 24" tube.YMMV.

Good luck.

76.0 grains H4831sc, 180 grain Nosler Acubond, Fed GM215M primer, RWS brass. This is one of the hogdon's extreme, temp insensitive powders. COAL is 3.5" Good stuff. One ragged hole 3 shot groups out of my Sako TRG. ~ 3050 fps.

77 to 79 grains RL22 with a 165.

Had great luck working up loads at 200 yards with 200 SMK's and 208 A-Maxes, both tops with 75 grains RL-25 in a long throated 1-8 twist put on a Sako action.

RWS cases and Fed 215's, 2830 on the Chrony. The Sierras ran a little faster.

My gunsmith had a chatter in the chamber; its [bleep], but it shoots good for a tomato stake.

Nosler 165's
74 gr. RL-19
CCI-250
R-P BRASS

Nosler 180 Partition
70 gr. IMR-4350
CCI-250
R-P BRASS

Nosler 200 Partition
70 gr. H-4831 sc
CCI-250
R-P Brass

All of these are 1 moa and less through my Ruger M77 MKII 300 wm.

I ended up using the same load as BobinNh with 180 gr Partitions, tho' I got a bit less velocity that he did. This load is a smasher, and very, very accurate.
It will be the only loading my rifle will ever see as long as I own it.
Were I sarting over, I would look very hard at some of the loads for 200 gr bullets. The powder manufacturers are listing some impressive results with velocities well over 2900fps.

I have used a bunch of loads in several .300 WM's, but these are the ones that stood out:

168 TSX, 72 grains of RL-22 for around 3200 fps.

180 Speer Grand Slam, 75 grains of H4841 for 3050 fps.

200 Nosler Partition, 78 grains of Magnum for 2950 fps.

All of these grouped three shots well under an inch at 100 yards, often with all shots touching or nearly so. They killed stuff, too.

a stiff charge of H 1000 in mine, shooting a 220 grain RN gets an MV of 2950 out of a 26 inch barrel on both my Browning and Model 70...

primers are still tight at the 5th reload...but the load may be a little hot.. it is over book max... got it from sold older reload data that disappeared...

Now for years I used the Nosler Partition bullet in the 180 grain and for target shooting long range, I used the Sierra 190 grain boattail bullet.

Several years and hunts later, I started using a 200 grain Bitterroot bullet and always got pass throughs on elk, moose etc.

I am now in the process of working up a load for the Accubond bullet (200 grn) in my .300 win mag and the 225 grn Accubond in my .338 Win mag.

200 gn. NP
74 gn. RL-22
Fed 215 Primer
Vel 2975
Col 3.585 [knocked spacer out of mag. well]
Shoots .500 in my newer NH supergrade, just about the perfect all purpose load for the 300 Winchester magnum.

Gunner

Thank you all for the loads posted. Gettin some great stuff on the mid-to-heavies.

Anybody got some zappers in the 110-150 range?

JB:Do you recall the rifle and barrel for that load? Not that I doubt it,just that I had to go a good deal heavier than that charge in my 300's (which were M70's) to get that velocity.

Wonder, does the Barnes require lighter charges than, say, the Partitions I was using?

That load is quite a bit lighter than most quoted in loading manuals. I have always gotten right at 3200 with a 165 with between 77 and 79 grains, which is quoted in several manuals.

First or second most popular belted magnum and these are the only good loads???

Back to the top.

JB, whats your opinion in Magnum for the 300WM? My interest it growing in it and would like to see what you think of it.

Zappers? 110-150 grains?

ColdCase, loaded up some 130 grain speer Hp's, behind 66 grains of Re15. Should of been about 3200 fps, not really that quick for a 300 winny, but was very accurate.

ColdCase,
Try the 130 gr. TTSX over Hunter for about 3500 fps. and great accuracy !

74.0gr of RL-22 with 215 primers and 180gr Accubonds. My Sako m75ss 300WM shoots under 0.5"-5 shot groupings all day. Use it for coyote and wolf if I see them when hunting elk, moose, bears, whitetails and mulies. I'm sighted in at 3.5" high at 100 metres.

I had 180gr TSX's to reload back in 2005 but with the performance of the Accubonds in my 300WM and 270WSM at the range and on big game...the Accubond is MY bullet of choice. A tipped TSX in 168 or 180gr would be a great big game bullet or for larger step up to the 200gr in the AB's or TSX's.

Here's a load I've never seen before. It's one that a popular maker of custom rifles uses and they gave me a box of them to go with a gun I had made:

300 Win
72.0 gr Vihtavuori N560
185 gr Berger VLD-H
Fed 215 primers.

168VLD kissing the lands. The first three can always be covered with a dime.



180 grain TTSX

Five rounds makes a tiny hole



Same load at 550 yards



GreTan built 300WM, Lapua spec chamber
NightForce NSX

In a 26" barrel Ruger #1 with bullets seated out to 3.5"
Winchester cases, Federal 215 primers.

168 TSX - 80gn H4831sc - 3230fps

180 TSX - 76gn H4831sc - 3070fps

200 Partition or
200 Matchking - 75gn N560 or R22 - about 2920 fps

Walt

72 grains for H-4350 has worked for years. 180 PT for hunting, and 180 SBT for targets. A .250 shooter. I want to try some of the new Screnar 180's this fall with H-1000 but shoulder surgery may set that back a season.

These work for me.

I've been using the 300WM for about 20 years and I've used a few loads over the years. I started with:

Win cases
Win WLRM primer
71gr. IMR -4350
180gr. Hornady SP
This load was 3080fps in a 24" barrel

Then I went to:

Win cases
Fed 215 primer
76gr. RL 22
180gr. Speer Grand Slam
This load is 3125fps out of my 26" Rem 700.

Current do everything load is:

Win cases
78gr. RL22
168gr. gr TTSX
This load is 3220 out of the same Rem 700 with less than 1" groups.

These all have killed deer and elk reliably. Sorry no light bullet loads. I have other rifles for that.

Hope these loads help!

Elk Country

Revived 4 year old thread... but I'll play..

I use mine in thick brush usually... so I run a load that is considered hot, over book max, but the Rifle doesn't seem to notice nor does the brass....

83 grains of H 1000, 220 grain Round Nose....MV well into 300 Weatherby Territory....

Highly accurate in my Browning A Bolt or my Model 70....

Or....you can take a look at the July 2015 Handloader. Has a feature article covering the 300WM, with 100+ recipes.

BUT this is the Campfire....

that would be too simple of a solution, plus all too easy and no room for the trolls to heckle everyone they chose to....over the usual stupid stuff they come up with...

Don't have the specifics handy but used IMR 4831 with 180 partitions on several decent moose, at least one black bear and a few mule deer. Very effective moose load that shot very well in a 700 bdl.

Max load of RL22 and 200gr TSX is a good combo.

Got a link?

72 grains of any 4350 with a 180 grain bullet should get you about 3100 fps

I guess you are in 300 WBY territory considering your five grains over max.

Dink

There are lots of classic .300 Winchester Magnum loads out there. Here are a few that I've settled on:

For testing the accuracy of a rifle, I use the following load. It has given about 1 m.o.a. (give or take) in every .300 Winchester I've tried. Velocity hovers around 3,000 f.p.s. If this load doesn't work, then you need to check your rifle or scope:

73.0 grains of IMR 4831 with any decent 180-grain bullet.

Another classic, one that seems to work in most rifles, is 75-76 grains of Reloder 22 pushing any decent 180-grain bullet. This probably gives a bit more velocity than the above IMR 4831 load, but it is widely used.

For competition shooting, the following is the longstanding classic Wimbledon Cup load for 1,000 yards:

68.5 to 69 grains of IMR 4350 pushing a Sierra 190 MK

My own 1917 Enfield (the origin of my nickname here) has a #3 contour E.R. Shaw barrel. It simply adores a mild 70.0 grains of H4831 (old or new; doesn't seem to matter) behind a 190-grain Nosler or Sierra match bullet. This only gives me about 2,840 f.p.s. velocity, but it is consistent and accurate day after day. The furthest I've shot it so far is 600 metres, but it just plain works, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it at 1,000 yards.

My main hunting load is used in my Sako L61R Finnbear. This rifle has a thin and stubby 22.5-inch barrel. It gives me better than 1 m.o.a. all the way out to 600 metres (the furthest I've shot it so far) FOR THE FIRST THREE SHOTS. After three shots, it heats up and shots start walking. It also gives me unbelievable velocity for such a short barrel:

77.5 grains Vihtavuori N560 behind a 180-grain Nosler Accubond. Velocity: 3,070 f.p.s.

The only lighter bullet load I've played with so far is as follows, but it also seems to be pretty common, from what I have read on the internet. It is also startlingly accurate, but seating depth can be tricky with lighter bullets in this cartridge because of throat lengths:

74.0 grains IMR 4350 pushing a decent 150 or 155-grain bullet.

There are so many great loads for this cartridge. I'm looking forward to playing with premium bullets in the 165 to 168-grain weight.

.300 WM Ed Brown Damara

100 yds, 180 NBT, 74.6 RL-22, GM215M primer, W/W brass, Lee Collet Neck sizer.

4 into 3/8", 3/4" 5 shot.

180 NAB's hit same POI, almost as accurate.

DF

As I recall, Rick Jamison had written on more than one occasion that this charge with whatever 180 grainer he happened to want at the moment was his ‘go-hunting’ load for the 300. It has shot well enough in the 300s I’ve used to see where he probably wasn’t wrong.

Ok, I see a lot of good loads but I need a good load using 168's or 150's with COAL of less than 3.40. I just bought a new Montana Arms Rifle & mag box length is 3.40 MAX. Any suggestions???

DLALLDER -

This load 'OUGHT' to work w/168s. It is NOT a red line load and you should be able to adjust COAL w/o a problem. There is a second pic of this load on P 3.

Good Luck

For accuracy, I've had excellent results with IMR-4350 out of my 300 WM. 72grs under 180 Nosler BT's and CT/BT's.

Another very accurate load with Nosler 180gr CT/BT's is 76 grs of H4831sc in Laupa brass and Federal 215's.

true this!

I'm working up the scale with H4831SC and 180gr NP's and Acc's.
This coming week I'll be at 73gr. and looking forward to something at 74 and 75.
My older log book mentions 75gr regularly but the new manuals stop at 73gr of H4831SC.

Deleted at OP's request.

Nice shooting 300WM.

Thanks Hammer -

I haven't been on here lately. I've been literally sick for 2 weeks and now recuperating.

There have also been a couple of issues, aka posters - POSERS- that made me NAUSEOUS, so it made me feel BETTER to just stay away for a while.


Thnx for the comment on the 300 WM. For whatever reason/s the 300 WM has been 1 of my fav cartridges for a long time. I've had 4 or 5 and the ONLY 1 I had a problem with was a B B R. I even sent it back to Morgan Utah and they couldn't fix it.

Other than that the 300 WM has been easy for me to get to shoot very well and the velocity is not some ghost you're chasing.

150gr Speer Hot Cor over 80gr of 7828SSC, Privi brass and CCI 250 primer. Hits whitetail deer like a truck.

Lets bump this back up

R-P or Barnes headstamp brass
175 gn. Barnes LRX
RL25 80.0
CCI #250 Mag primer
Should be in the 3100-3150 area
24" barrel

Tikka T3, so loaded to the max OAL that works in the magazine box.

I now prefer Magnum to any powder used previously.

Ruger #1 with 26-inch barrel. Win. cases, 215 primers, 3.50" overall length.

180 TSX - 86 gn for about 3100 fps.
200 AccuBond - 83 gn for 3000 fps.
200 Partition - 82 gn for 3000.

Reducing the OL to 3.34" reduces the velocity by about 50 fps. The accuracy of the 180 TXS seems unaffected. Groups with the 200 gn bullets opened up to around 1.25" at 100 yd.

Cheers

In a few weeks I will be using 70gr H4350, 180gr Protected point Partitions out of my 20" 300 win mag 2833fps. It will be close to 2950 out of a 24" and is not a max load. I have seen 3100fps out of 26" with a max worked up load of 72gr.

I like Barnes TTXS with reloader 22. Shoots well in my 700 with 5R rifling.

168 ttsx 80grs H1000
175 LRX 81.8 grs Ramshot Magnum
180'AB 75.5 H4831SC

200 gr. TSX or Partition
76.0 gr. H-1000
Federal 215 M
W-W brass
3.34" O.A.L.


RS

I've recently worked up a 150gr. load to use for deer or antelope.

Win Cases
Fed 215
75.0gr. IMR-4350
150gr. Hornady SP (or Barnes TTSX)

Hopefully this helps your search for a light bullet load.

Elk Country

72.5 grains IMR7828 Win.case 200 grain eldx Fed 215

Good stuff here..

75.5 RL-22
F-210 primers (215s work as well, but I generally don't use magnum primers until powder weight exceeds 80gr)
WW cases
180 TTSXs
Crimped at cannelure using Lee factory crimp die
3010 fps out of a Browning Safari Grade.

I'm interested in trying RL 26 with Barnes 168-180 gr bullets, and Nosler 180 gr bullets. Curious if any of you have experience with these combos.

Also, what difference do you see between Win LRM primers and Fed 215M primers in the 300 WM?

oh, I'll play...

82 grains H 1000, 220 grain Partition SMP....or 220 grain RN...

its a thumper...

... on which end?


FC

Tag.

165 Grain Swift Scirocco II's over 76 Grains of IMR 7828, Fed 215 Primer, Federal once fired brass. I have had the rifle to the range on 4 occasions, twice I got 3 shots under a dime, and twice I got 3 shots under a nickel. I load them at standard COAL that most reloading manuals suggest.

Ramshot Magnum is quickly becoming my go to powder in the 300WM!

210 LRAB. The 78 is hot but man is shoots.

what was your velocity?

Speer has good data for 150-200 for R26. I am going to try both R26 and R16 with the 150 BT (Kenny Jarretts favorite culling bullet for the 300). At close to 3400 fps it should be a deer smacker of the first degree. No need to crawl through the thorns looking for them with this one.

Fed is slightly hotter. Win. is almost a magnum primer as it was designed to work with ball powders, which it does.

I rarely try multiple primers as I usually find a good load with the first couple of components I try, but at times it can make a significant difference.

I have a good load for my 300 WM It's 75 grains of H-4831 with a 180 grain Swift Sirocco's, It goes 3125 fps. Great groups. Kills stuff real dead. Most have exited, I have caught a few. They make nice mushrooms.

76.0 Reloader 22 with 165 grain Barnes TTSX. Works great on Elk. Barnes suggested going down a weight class with the TTSX bullets. So I followed their advice. The round will drop an elk in it’s tracks.

In review of postings here, Some use Barnes 165’s and some Barnes 168’s in .300 Win Mag loads. Here is what Barnes says:

“These bullets have different ogive geometries. The 165-grain TSX incorporates a shorter tangent ogive in the nose profile. It’s designed for cartridges with short magazines such as the .300 WSM and .300 Win Mag. The 168-grain TSX BT has a secant ogive which lengthens the nose profile and has shown superb accuracy downrange. It offers the best of both worlds because it’s also a premium hunting bullet offering exceptional terminal performance. It is best suited for cartridges such as the .308 Winchester, .30-06 and .300 Weatherby.”.

Anyone find a good load with ELDx?

My new favorite .300 WM load is 77 gr/RE26, Fed. 215M, WW brass, 200 gr. Nosler Accubond. Seated quite aft of the lands as long as the magazine will allow. Three shot groups average under .75 MOA, average 2970 fps.

I’ve been happy with H1000 and 180 grain Partitions. I’ve been looking for loads with 200 grain and 220 grain Partitions. Great thread. 200 grain Partitions are on its way. Have a box of 220’s.

I was going to try 220 grain Hornady SP bullets for practice, but so far no luck on accuracy.

This looks like some good medicine.
Thanks for the tip.

Must check these out...

I just came across the most accurate load in my Model 700 ADL 300 WM, 220 grain Nosler Partition, 9 1/2M primers, 3.410" LOA and 74.1 grain RE 26. .75" average group size 4 shots at 100 yards - shot as fast as I could as if shooting at game, but shooting off bags.

I won't have to take the 416 Rigby with 400 grain solids prairie dog shooting anymore. I think I'll get plenty of penetration with the little 300.

I just went through a short period of starting to work up some lighter bullet loads. I just bought a Christiansen Arms Mesa in 300WM and it is a sweetheart. I wanted a coyote load/plinker at long distance rocks (110 Vmax) a .308-30-06/150SST "woods deer load" and a stand up all around deer/elk load with the Barnes 150TTSX. Fed 215M primer/ and crimped with FCD/ used with all loads;

Sig Sauer brass:
Hornady 110 Vmax, Varget 67gr > 3200fps
CHOICE IMR 4064 65gr >3200fps

Hornady 150SST, Varget 57gr
CHOICE IMR 4320 58gr 2780fps

Jagmann Brass:
Barnes 150 TTSX; H4831 77.6 clocked 3307 fps
CHOICE Barnes 150 TTSX R17 72gr 3367fps

I'm stopping right there, ha. I have no need for a 180 nor 200 in my immediate future, and I can shoot this w/o the brake very easy. The 110vmax and 150/2800fps loads are really nice to shoot. The hot 150 loads, not bad at all, kinda like a 30-06 with 180s. I mean from a properly stocked 30-06, not my deceased FILs Sears Ted Williams Mod 70 knock-off with knife edge comb and the hard plastic buttplate! OMG. ha

I would like some loads for ELD-X 200, and 220 if you know of a great one.

Throw 80 grains of Retumbo under that 200gr ELD-X, I run that charge under the old 208gr A-Max's, hell of a load, when I get those shot up, i'll build a load with the 210gr Nosler LRAB's.

Hi Jwall,
What projectile is the ABT?
I am trying to pick a few loads to start with.
Thinking 4350 gives me a few options.
Thanks

Anyone try R16 with the 150s? I am working on loading the equivalent of Kenny Jarret's 300 culling load. He used Nosler BT but I have a couple of bags of 150 AB blems I want to try.

In the past I always shot 180 grain bullets usually with R22 but will switch to R23 and 26 next round of load work ups.

165 Barnes TTSX 0.010” off contact with the lands

72.0 IMR 4831

Fed 210 primer

Winchester brass

3080 fps from a 1:10” Montana Rifle Company

Bullet: Hornady 212 ELDX

Powder:AA 4350 65.5gr

Primer: WLRM

Case: WIN or PPU

COAL: 3.475

Group size 100yds .425 MOA (6 shots)

MV Ave: 2755 FPS

Elevation: 750 Ft ABSL

Temperature 55 degrees F.

In the half dozen .300 Win Mags I’ve tried it, 68 grains of IMR-4350 with the 180 grain Sierra Gameking or Nosler bullets all shoot well!

My favorite load with Reloader 19 is 71 gr with a 165 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. 26" barrel

In the process of working up some loads.
I scrounged around to get some QL data for a range of .300WM projectiles and a range of slower powders. This is for a 24" barrel except for one projectile at the heavy/slow end (left side)

These are second table (max/near max) data so don't load without a workup.

I found it interesting that it confirms why loading manuals say not to pick an adjacent burn rate powder if you can't get the one you developed your load for.

The "projectile load fronts are pretty saw-toothed for the data I populated.

Note that if you have QL data for the IMR-H4350 window where I have a data gap I would love to fill the hole.

I also ran up some nodes based on Chris Long And Dan Newberry's optimum barrel time theory. The node error bars are +/- 0.01'S and bases on a 24" barrel.

I recently inherited my dads ruger #1 B In 300 WM. With 26” barrel .
I’d like to develop/shoot some heavier loads with it, 190-210 grain bullets, that are some what affordable and can be used on game. But paper mostly. Think Sierra game King.
I like Ram shot powder In my other rifles (big game /hunter/tac) as it meters like water.
I don’t have dies, powder, primers or bullets. While I know it’s bad time, I’m starting to look and research some stuff.
Thanks

Check the classifieds.
I think i saw some dies recently.

Seems unavailable with a Google search: July 2015 Handloader.

I will try the publisher

I just got ten lbs of H 4350. I want to try it with the 168 TTSX bullets. Trying to save my Reloader 22

I would like to see this article, if you can get it, or find it.

A left wing anti gun Canadian communist offering advice on reloading now?

I shot that same load for years with a 180gr Sierra boat tail. After that I went to H-1000

New to reloading I have 300 win mag model 70. Have purchased some 180 gr GMX to load working on Seating and have found that at .134 jump is as close as I can get that will still run through when load the three in rifle. My concern is that the end of bullet is quite a ways below the shoulder of case and not clear on if ok or definitely not ok any input appreciated.

If they shoot there I wouldn't worry too much about.

I used to burn a lot of AR 2209 which is H 4350 in my .300 Winchesters and worked up to 68gn which generated 3138fps in my 24" barrels.

75 gr of RL 22 with a 168 TSX -- not max velocity, but very accurate and consistent.

BOTH- One end kills--the other end cripples!