Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 300 Weatherby

anothergun, the 300WBY has elk written all over it!!! The cartridge itself was one of Roy's ultimate designs, as far as I'm concerned. It's the cartridge that forced me into handloading though. Couldn't afford to shoot the rifle I bought because factory ammo was so damn expensive. Learning real quick why I got such a great deal on the rifle at the time!! I burned the barrel out on that sporterized m1917, and used Nosler 180gr ballistic tips to do it too. 84 grains of 7828 was the sweet spot.

Now, shrap is right. These are not benchrest guns. However, most of mine have shot less than 1" off the bench, some closer to 1/2", or off a pack. My spare 300WBY shoots like this:

Lighter bullet using H4831 powder^^ This is a nice shooting load. Mild if you want to call it that.

One thing shrap hits the nail on the head about is your POI/POA. IF you can keep your bullets 3" from POA at 500 yards, that is another question all together. With his example of a 1 1/4" group, that is no guarantee that those bullets are going to even be a 6" group or be 3" from where you are aiming. Especially in the wind. That largely depends on how your rifle is set up, if you have it zeroed properly, and whether you can use it that well. I've seen it so many times at the local range, that I can't even count. Generally guys shooting 300wm, 338 lapua magnums and the like. Some can't even consistently keep their shots on my favorite steel coyote at 400 yards. Let's put it this way: I'd not take them deer or elk hunting with me.

I remember last year, shooting my spare 300wby and doing a side by side comparison with a measly AR15 I have. Set up some targets at 400 yards, and was appalled by how I shot with the magnum. Generally shooting standard cartridges better, I'll admit.

You'll notice, both rifles are scoped the same^^

300wby:


Measly AR15. Rogue Defense with old Bushmaster HBAR:


That's another 7 pound Winchester model 70 of mine.

The group is not great, but any of those bullets (from the 300wby) would have made elk steaks that day..


Also, as a side note to the 175 LRX load I worked up in my pre 64 model 70, I also shoot it in the newer XTR in the pacific research stock (shown above). In that rifle, it shoots 1 moa out to 400 yards:


So to answer the OP's question about magic bullets and powder. That load is proven in both of my 300WBY rifles. I wanted to try that LRX out on an elk, but did not get the chance to. Last day of the hunt I was packing my Tikka T3x 7mm-08 and shot a spike bull with a 140gr TTSX, as luck would have it!!!