Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 200 NPT load for .300 WM

Looking to try 200 NPT's in my .300 WM.

Would appreciate pet loads for that combo.

DF

I recall MD recommending Ramshot Magnum for 200s in the 300 WM. I would look at their online data for charge weights.

I had a couple 300 wins that liked a near max charge of RL-22 and 200 grain Partitions.

I've used IMR 4831 in the past with great results. Starting at 68.0 grains working up from there until you see 2950ish fps (24 inch barrel) and call it good. I've used others, but I've been most pleased with IMR 4831.

Almost any powder slower than the 4350's will work, and they'll work too. Magnum and Retumbo will usually provide top velocities with good accuracy, but H4831, RL-22, or anything else in that range can do real well.

The tightest groups I've ever seen fired at the Nosler Ballistics Lab were with the 200-grain Partition in the .300WinMag.

The barrel was on an UltraLight Arms action and the four five-shot groups were: .000", .000", .000" and .000".

Holy CRAP!!! Impossible, but absolutely true.

Hey, I was standing there ... what can I say?

Blessings,

Steve

I have had good luck with Retumbo and the 200gr AB in the 300 win magnum.

Hey Steve, do you know what load Nosler used to shoot those groups?

Steve,

Wow! And some people claim Partitions won't shoot.

The first .300 Winchester I ever shot was an Ultra Light Model 28 that Melvin loaned me for a few months. In fact it was the first Ultra Light I ever fired. Worked up three loads, one with the 200 Partition, another with an accurate lot of 180 Grand Slams, and one with 165 Hornady Interlocks. Even outdoors, it would put three of each load into a composite 9-shot group under an inch. The most accurate load of the three, however, was the one with the 200 Partitions.

75 grains of H1000 and work up to 77 gr or 71 gr of H-4831 are good starting points. The 4831 load is near max

Not the NPT, but I got 2900-2950 fps with the 200 NAB using RS Magnum in 3 different rifles with 24" barrels. Accuracy was excellent. Retumbo and H1000 were too slow in the first one. JB recommended Magnum and it worked great so I kept using it in the other rifles.

My .300WM 200 NPT favorite powder was Reloder 22.

My friend, I have absolutely no idea.

Interestingly, it takes a lot of skill to shoot the rail guns well. You'd think that it would be a matter of BANG, BANG, BANG, but it is not. The barreled action recoils back along the two rails (or is it four rails?) and a consistent hand pressure must be applied as the unit recoils back.

I was told before that particular series of five-shot groups was fired that the 200-grain Partion in the 300WinMag was without a doubt the most consistently accurate combination that they shoot. Each lot of bullets is shot, so it was a test of a particular run of bullets.

When the results came back as they did, I was absolutely blown away. I'm not particularly a fan of heavy bullets, of Partitions, or of the .300WinMag ... but, there is was.

Yep, I still kept on shooting my boring .280 Ackley with 120Ballistics and .25-'06 with 100Ballistics. Some old farts never learn

Steve

Steve,

Very interesting stuff, I appreciate the info! Big fan of the 25-06 with 100 grain Ballistic Tips here as well. I turned quite a pile of deer and antelope into meat with that combination in my early years, before I started experimenting. Would have been just as well off to stop while I was ahead!

Have a great evening,
Billy

Friend John,

Gale Root told me that if I ever had problems betting Partitions to shoot to just shift to a little faster powder. Gale thought of powders like I do, like gears on in a transmission.

The Partition is basically a Mini� ball and the base needs to be flared in order to fit the bore properly. Often, shifting to the next faster powder increases accuracy ... and sometimes the difference is dramatic. The flaring of the open base is the key.

Experience has proved to me that two gears (of burning rate) is best, owing to fact that some propellants' performance degrades with lowering temperatures.

Garth had a helluva problem getting one of the Leupold range rifles in .338WinMag to shoot with ANY Partitions. I spent a day at the Leupold Range with him just proving that going a powder gear or two faster with Partitions pays INCREDIBLE dividends.

Garth is a believer now.

Blessings,

Steve

Steve,

Yes, our friend Chub told me that about Partitions quite a while back, mentioning Gale of course. I have often used it to my advantage!

I'm not fond of the .300 myself, though used to use it quite a bit, partly because I figured part my job was to try various cartridges. Used the .338 Winchester a lot too, and remembering what Chub said, found Reloder 15 a great powder for 210 Partitions! It gets almost as much velocity as the more conventional slower-burners, and superb accuracy. (Plus the load doesn't kick too bad--for a .338.)

Hope you and Karen are doing well! Lately it's been kinda like an old-time Montana here.

My Win Classic Stainless with a 24" barrel in .300 Win Mag, loves Retumbo powder and Fed 215 primers with 200 grain Partitions. Last time I chronographed this load, using 3x fired Win brass and a near max load of 83.0 grains of Retumbo, I shot several five shot groups at varying ranges from 100 to 400 yards. Velocity ranged from 2960 to 3020 and averaged 2990 fps for the fifteen shots I took. Five shot groups at 100 yards were about 1", at 200 yards 2" and just under a 4" group at 400 yards. Good enough for me. It sure did spit fire out the end of the barrel though. Interestingly, using a max load of 84.0 grains of powder resulted in lower velocity than the 83.0 grain load in my initial load development so I stayed with 83.0 grains for my hunting loads.

H4831 and H1000 are what have given me the best results in my 300WM and 200gr NPT. Good luck!

71-72g of H4831 is a good combo, but not the fastest.

A 300 win mag is my main big game rifle. And 200 NPs are all I shoot out of it. This may border on treason on 24hour, but I really hate experimenting with different loads or changing my load for the next hunt or game animal.

I built my rifle wanting it to be able to handle almost anything with one load.

So after we finished with the rifle I picked 200 NPs, win brass and 215 primers. Then started pouring different powders in. I settled on a max load, according to Nosler, of H4831.

I know other loads and cartridges will work, but so does this one, so I keep using it. Not that I'm a well traveled hunter, the rifle has only hunted Wyoming so far.

I figure I'm good until cape buffalo and even if I could ever afford it I'd probably go insane on the plane ride.

I'm glad to hear the 200 Partitions are so accurate. I bought a few hundred last fall from SPS. Figured I give em a go in my 300 WBY and maybe even the old 30-06.

I have blem 200 NPT's on the way from SPS and have the powders mentioned. I have some 60's vintage H-4831 that shoots great, so may try it. Also will try Magnum, Retumbo and RL-22.

I have an Ed Brown Damara in .300 WM. I'm thinking what a nice rig it would be, loaded with 200 Partitions, for a Nilgai cow hunt this Spring. The gun is pretty light and shoots great. I just mounted my Zeiss Victory 1.5-6x42, thinking it would be a good scope for that type hunting.

DF

74 gr RL-22 lit with a Fed-215 GM all day long and four times on Sunday.

Runs 3K and under an inch for three in a 26" barreled New Haven Supergrade of mine, very hard killing load DF.

I recently worked up 200 grain loads for two different 300 win mags. Without exception, Magpro was my go-to powder. 79 grains gave me 3000 fps and <.5 MOA. Book loads show up to 82 grains but that is too high in anything I have seen. This was with Accubonds and Bergers so work up a little with the Partitions.

72gr RE22 Gives Me 2800fps and good accuracy in a 24" ruger

My load for my .300 was Re22 and the 200 part.. It clocked 2950fps, but it does have a 26 inch barrel..

Bravo! And the 200 gr Partition is a great load for the 300 WM.I used to get a bit over 2900 fps from the 300 WM,and a bit over 3000 in the Weatherby. The bullet is a great penetrator.

Ralphie nailed it didn't he Bob. I'm a 1 bullet 1 load kind of guy as well. Especially when I find a sweet one. I decided when I was using the 300 win mag that that was the only bullet I was going to use. I remember working up a load in my left hand Ruger m77 mkII 300 win mag that was a hair over 2,900 fps and that's all the faster I cared to push that bullet/rifle combo. Plenty of thump and very accurate. Sorry guys, but I'm a big time IMR 4350 user in just about everything I own. That's the powder I ran:

68g. IMR 4350
R-P brass
CCI 250
Nosler 200gr. partition
3.355" (.020" off the lands)

Sub moa 5 shot groups at 2910 fps average velocity... I'm also one of the guys that bought up a bunch of those $13.45/50 200 gr. partitions last month. Couldn't pass that deal up!!! They will get used in my dad's 300....

bsa: Ralphie usually does...

He sounds very reasonable to me. Back when I was using my 300 win mag, that was the only rifle in the safe if you can believe that . If a 200gr. partition running 2900 fps didn't put the smack down on anything I wanted to hunt, it didn't need to be hunted...

JOC once wrote that if you can't kill an animal with a 300 mag and a 200 gr bullet, that animal would be pretty hard to knock off with anything...

It's a pronghorn to brown bear load.

I agree Bob. They wouldn't let me use it when shooting steel plate comp. They figured it would do some pretty serious damage . They catered to the guys running 308's. I had to drop down to 2700 and run an accubomb. SOB's it still pisses me off, I would have rather used the partition load I had worked up. It was a nail driving mother!!. It's one of those great bullets, especially when coupled to something like the 300 win mag or 300 wby..

I knew an older hunter who used 200 Partitions from a .300 on both lions and Cape buffalo in Africa on more than one safari, with no problems. His African hunting mostly took place back when the 200 Partition was a "semi-spitzer," which basically meant roundnose.

In fact I know a retired PH who killed hundreds of buffalo on control with 180 Partitions from a .30-06, including mature bulls, and never felt a need to change. But he was one of those who used a .375 H&H for following up buffalo his clients had wounded, usually with much larger cartridges.

However, most African countries still have minimum-cartridge laws instituted in the days when all bullets were pretty primitive.

Sounds like a familiar plan, I was looking for some 180's to feed my 300's when they shot the deal on 200's at SPS,I ordered 250 and with the shipping they cost less than 2 boxes of 50 locally. Ought to work in any bigger 30 as good or better than anything else. Magnum Man

200 grain partitions and a max load of either Retumbo or IMR 4350 shoot consistantly well under an inch from my rifle. Max loads as per Nosler reloading manual #6. So I bet most of the powders they recommend in between will shoot fine also. 200 grain accubonds also at the max Retumbo load.

JOC also wrote about [don't remember which book] the spooky accuracy of some 200 grain bullet in his 30-06. Perhaps it was the Partition. I believe he was so enthralled with the tiny groups that he expended all his supply in 'group shooting'.

For what it's worth, JOC was a very big fan of the 30-06.

Just think what he may have accomplished in life with a .300 mag...

DF

Jack sure hit it right.. His way paid to hunt all over the world..

He had a 300 Weatherby....

Being you mentioned it, I do remember that and seeing him in photos with Roy.

I don't remember .300 Wby articles by him, although there must have been some.

DF

DF: Oh there were....I will try to dig one up.

As I recall his 300 Roy was on a mag Mauser that was originally a 280 Halger that he traded off some soldier/veteran. I forget who did the stock but it was a nice rifle.JOC used that rifle here in Canada on grizzly,some other stuff...and in Africa as well.

Thanks, Bob.

I'll have to check it out.

From what I remember, he liked Roy but they were back and forth, defending their positions/theories, IIRC.

That sorta stuff sells copy...

And here we are, talking about them long after both have passed to their rewards...

DF

DF: They both set the stage for a lot that has followed.

RL-22 and 200 grn Partitions shoot sub-MOA in my .300 H&H.

You are all liars.I have read it here on the internet that no one can shoot a magnum of any kind accurately.Only the 223 can be accurate. ED

Only if it wears a 6X Leupy with M1 turret...

DF

That's a big advantage right there.Add in the fast twist and its not even a contest. ED

It's a wonder we learned anything before the internet.

The 223 is the magnum for the old guys.

Thanks for all the good info. Excited about trying some 200 grain partitions in a 300 problem child I have.

For sure...

DF

Yeah DF and AGW all the stuff I had to learn before the internet still serves me well too. DF have you got a powder selection chosen yet or a choice to try first? Magnum Man

Isn't that the truth.

Been too busy killing hogs and WT's with my 26 Nosler.

200 NPT loads for the .300 WM are in line after the season. I'll for sure be looking at RL-22 and similar. I have old and new H-4831 and others in that general burn range.

Will report.

DF

This .300 Win mag does not like the 180 gr Nosler Partition,Swift Scirocco,Sierra GK's or the 200 gr NP. It likes the 165-168 gr NBT. Going to try some 165 gr NP's in it.



The scope(Leopold 4x-12x-40mm) in the pic is now on a .25-06,going to El Paso to look for a replacement.

What's the twist?

DF

The standard 1-10."

I might try some Swift A-Frame 200 gr in it,but,right now it's the 165 gr bullet.

The SAF 200 gr is what my Winchester Sporter .30-06 likes and whenever I order some more I'll try those in the .300 Win.

Yeah, ya gotta go with what the rifle tells you it likes.

Lots of "snake oil" in ballistics. Lot of stuff that we can never explain. So, it's pragmatism that rules. Trial and error, and performance at the range.

DF

Yeah,would rather use the 180-200 gr bullets,but,this one is different.

elk, we have used 165's for a lot of years in the .300 and the 06.. Much of my elk hunting was in very open country, and in the days before turrets and range finders, that flat shooting 165 put much elk and deer in the freezer..

WCH,most of my shots at deer and elk are 200 yds or so.

In the .300 Win with a 165 gr NBT,it was getting pretty darn close to 3300 fps and that is a flat shooting' load. Sight it in at 3" @ 100 yds and it's good to just over 300 yds.

I chrony 3000 with the 200 grain and 3200 with the 180 using IMR 4831 with my 26" A bolt Browning. No excess pressure indications. Yea, I know that equals 300 Weatherby. I use WW std primers. THIS MAY BE TOO MUCH FOR YOUR GUN. YMMV.

In case you want to try 150 grainers. DISCLAIMER THAT THIS LOAD MAY NOT BE SAFE IN YOUR RIFLE. Work up loads carefully.

Again IMR 4831

A few years ago i had two brother in-laws telling me how fast their 270 weatherby and 300wsm were.They both had 150 grainers so i loaded some up in my 300 win. This was the max load in the sierra manual with imr4350 powder. We shot all 3 over the chronograph and i beat them by 200fps. Cannot remember the speed but it sure made believers out of them. ED K

WM is WRA or Weatherby ? Hodgden, Nosler, Alliant, Barnes and perhaps more all have complete loading data for their respective products on the web for free.

Assume NPT is Nosler Partition ?

Here's a link to the Nosler site:

http://www.nosler.com/load-data

Good shooting ! Best, Larry

You're assuming right, Larry. I generally write WM for Win Mag, and Wby for Wby...

Thanks for the tips.

DF

You're more than Welcome.

I use W780 and 168 TSXs in my 300 WM (R1 Benelli), can edge 3200 fps (7200' + up) and 3 from a cold dirty barrel will hold 1" or better.

Sure it would kill anything I run across here in WYO.

Good shooting, Larry

You mean the Benelli you claim to have sold recently and haven't replaced yet? That one?

Nope I did not sell any Benelli, I sold a Merkel. That's 3 strikes for you. Wrong, wrong and wrong.

Special selected wood and 2.5-10x32 Nightforce with HV retcle in S&K mounts. Handles like 20 bore Benelli shotgun. Scope cost a tad more than the rifle, IMHO never a mistake.





Might I suggest that letting hatred affect you abilty to read and comprehend is not a good place to be.

My best to you and yours, Larry

Lying Larry,

I simply asked whether that was the rifle you just recently sold. That was a question, not an accusation. Your mask is slipping, you lying old piece of dog feces. So, one question isn't any strike at all, much less three.

There's no hatred, Larry, only showing you for what you are. Your "best" is quite easily seen. Thanks for letting those true colors shine on through.

I never said I sold any Benelli.

Here is what you said:

"You mean the Benelli you claim to have sold recently and haven't replaced yet? That one?"

Show us the post.

I'll turn the other cheek.

I hope you find a more constructive outlet for you endless energy.

Best to you and yours, Larry

back on topic...My pair of 300 Wins seem to like H1000 best.. I run a little warm with 83 grains and large rifle primer.. not a mag primer...flat shooting and hard hitting...

recoil is more like a big slow motion push...

I had a book handy, and a little time, so I thought I'd help out a little...on background.
In the Arms an Ammunition Annual, copyright 1952, JOC wrote that an ex-GI came to his place with a .280 Halger Magnum made by Halger of Keil, Germany on a Magnum Mauser action with a good stock.
Thebig rifle went to Bill Sukalle in Phoenix for a 25" .300 Magnum barrel with a twist of 1 in 15 "which I figured would be sufficient to stabilize the long 220gr bullets at the high velocity atwhich they'd be driven.Then, he had Weatherby rechamber it to his version and mount a Weaver K4.
Weatherby's top stocker, Leonard Mews did a "sweet job of refinishing the stock, fitting a recoil pad and recutting the checkering." The rifle weighed 10 1/2 pounds, including scope.
He "figured," and gave his reasons why, that he was getting at least 3200fps, possibly 3250fps, with 75.0 gr of IMR 4350.
A few years later, I built a .300 Mag, with a 24" 1 in 12" Douglas barrel and a Weaver KV. MINE, over an Oehler M33, gets 3200fps from 180gr bullets.
Mine is a WinMag, with a long-throat, and uses H1000, 7828, and IMR 4831 to get 2950fps from 200gr NPT into a 1.25" group after several thousand bullets through it.
I've never been sorry I listened to Jack. I miss him.
Have fun,
Gene

Damn, All this "Jack" talk is gettin' me emotional, he's the reason I shoot a 280 as my light rifle. Told me ftf "the 280 is a better caliber"

FWIW , When on Safari, Eleanor shot a 30-06 w/ 200 gr Speer ptd. as her light, and touched off a 375 H&H on Buff,Rhino,& Tuskers.
For all US game her Favorite was the std 257 Roderts
Rich

Not hardly,Eleanor used a .30-06 with 220 gr solids on elephant. She never shot a Cape buffalo or a rhino. Her favorite "light" rifle for Africa was a 7x57 loaded with a 160 gr bullet. She never used a .375 H&H.

Thank you For both the correction & scraping the crust off my memory just enough to validate your post.
I do remember Eleanor shooting the 220 solids , and it was Jack himself who shot the 375

Jack used the .375 on lion,tiger,leopard,brown bear and I think Cape buffalo. He also used a .450 Watts on buffalo and his only rhino. For his only elephant he used a .416 Rigby.

And you're welcome.

Re: 200 Nosler Partitions
My #1 gets excellent accuracy with R22 in Win brass with 215 primers at around 2920 from a 26" barrel. N560 gave identical velocity with the same powder charge and even better accuracy.

Switched to 83 gn Magnum for higher velocity, equal accuracy and less temperature sensitivity.