Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 300 H&H

This is one of the rare things O'Connor wrote that I could never reconcile....apparently he came to the conclusion that the 300H&H was not any better than a 30/06 because th early ammo for the cartridge was designed as a "tropical load",meant to provide 30/06 ballistics in tropical heat with lower pressures.I guess this avoided mechanical difficulties under tropical condiitons with the powders of the day.

In addition,he lopped the barrel off is M70 behind the front sight (he did not like long barrels much),and his loads with 180's gave pretty anemic velocities.

I've owned and shot several,all pre 64 M70's,and at various times have had a H&H, 300 Weatherby, and 300 Win mag (both standard chamber and long throated),and while the Winchester and Weatherby both went a bit faster, the H&H was so close that any practical differences would be barely noticed..plus, as JB points out the H&H kicks more agreeably.

When the 300 WSM came out, I did some load work for it and was surprised when my charges of RL22 with the 165 gr bullet ended up at 72 gr;exactly the same as what I was using for the 300H&H and for the same velocity.Like Mule Deer says, they are peas in a pod.

As for "efficiency",the lowest velocity spreads I recall ever seeing coincidentally occurred the same day with a 300H&H and a 375H&H,and the 300H&H only showed 7-8 fps over a 10 shot string. It isn't any accident that the cartridge is known for its' LR accuracy despite the belt and antiquated case shape.The Brits knew what they were doing when they invented it.

I took one of mine to Canada to hunt deer and moose....only one older hunter even knew what it was;offers to the young guides to shoot my ammo in their 300 Weatherby's was declined.They thought I was nuts.

Cool story Bob. That is kinda how I ended up with a 300WSM. I would have liked a Model 70 300 H&H but I was willing to sell any of my children for one. The 300WSM chambered in a Model 70 allows you some seating flexibility and the ability to attain some good speeds with regular 180 Noslers. I would still like the old 300, but for now, the WSM will get it done I think. Plus, they both seem to do well with 24" tubes too. Makes for a nice rifle for carrying all day.

Well I have two, both pre-64s, a pre-war (1939) and one, recently acquired made in 52. I've been loading the cartridge since the 80s and all the data then and now is REALLY underloaded. For example, Nosler's max load of 65gr IMR 4350 barely breaks 2880, but as John says, modern powders really improve performance. Loved John's article thas as usual pretty well covers it so I'll just add a couple of more points:
Winchester no longer makes brass for it and hasn't for years. Remington's is available year round at least in my experience. Nosler makes beautiful! brass but ridiculously expensive. My pre-war has the uncanny ability to shoot Nosler 180 or 200gr bullet to POI with half MOA accuracy as well as 180gr T/TSXs with all three types of brass even though as you know there are differences in brass density/capacity.

I only shoot TTSXs now in just about everything I shoot so here is my recipe for ANY 180gr bullet:

71gr RL-22
CCI-250 primers
WW/RP/Nosler brass
I generally crimp everything with a Lee Factory Crimp die but this is not a requirement. This load produces steady half MOA @ 3010 fps. I've reloaded cases as many as five times (full length resize with trimming so be careful) and have NEVER had a case separate. Lastly, NOTHING feeds like a 300 H&H and certainly not one of those hideous short fat cases.

Beretz....ahh what the hell.Most of have enough kids anyway and too few 300H&H's....

Of course jorg is right...nothing feeds like a 300H&H, and the 300 WSM is more difficult to get to behave properly in a staggered box but it's been around long enough now that it seems to behave well in the Kimber and new M70's...pretty slick in fact.

Not sure but if I wanted a mag 30 the 300WSM would be the one (unless I bumped into another pre 64 H&H).Just too convenient with brass and factory ammo everywhere....that sways me a bit more than the short action and rifle weight thing...I don't think any 30 caliber magnum should be too "light". Guys start out thinking they are great ideas,but eventually come to their senses,get tired of the beating,and dump them for something that kicks less..

I agree with you, although I did ditch my old Ruger 300 Win Mag as it was just too heavy for a 300 magnum. Would have been a nice 375 or something. I sold it to a buddy of mine and he restocked it and has been killing stuff ever since with handloads we worked up (180 PT's and RL22). It is a great cartridge.

Your right, I do have enough kids, but I am still not sure I could get enough for a Pre-64 300 H&H. I was kinda hoping Winchester would chamber their Alaskan rifle in the H&H this year, but the 375, 300WM and 30-06 made the cut. Ah well, the little Featherweight shoots pretty well and feeds nice for me. I am still young, there is always time I guess! HA!

We get romantic over cartridges, but 180 gr bullets don't care how they get to 3000 fps....animals even less.

Great point.. Really good point..

Nothing really to add that hasn't already been said, other than it is one of my favorites. My first 300 H&H was a used Ruger No. 1B someone had built using a stainless fluted barrel which never seemed right on that rifle. Fiddled with it for a year or so, shot one elk and sent it down the road. Since then I've acquired a pre-64 and a No. 1S which are both keepers. I primarily shoot 200 gr. Noslers and H4831 in both.

Boomer, my load is in R-P cases, 180 Nosler Partition ("seconds" with a cannelure off Nosler's, Shooter's Pro Shop page), 64.0 grs of H4350, a Winchester LR Magnum primer. Base to ogive (B-O) length as measured by a Hornady tool is 4.018" (the max B-O for my rifle with that bullet is 4.046). This is not max in my rifle but I'd start a bit lower. Hope that helps.

JGray,

Did you by chance by that No. 1 off the used rack at Capital Sports? I remember seeing one exactly like that some years ago, and was tempted myself, but the fluted stainless barrel eventually dissuaded me.

Thanks navlav8r, much appreciated!

Sorry I missed this back when you asked the question John - yes I did buy it at Capital, so I'm sure it was the one you looked at. One of the reasons that I got rid of it (other than the stainless fluted barrel), is that it gave me extraction problems with handloads. The lever would periodically stick and I would have to literally beat it open to get the fired case out - didn't seem to matter if the loads were very mild or approaching max. I had Arnold do a chamber cast and test fire it - he said the chamber was fine and it functioned perfectly with factory loads. I bought factory loads for it and they all worked fine and as soon as I reloaded the brass, the problem came back. After going from neck sizing to bumping shoulders and everything in between, and not getting it resolved through the gunsmith, away it went. I did see it for sale again at a gun show in Helena a couple of years later.

Probably a good thing you passed on it...