I have a buddy that has been wanting to reload for me for a long time. He has dies and powder and primers. So all I have to do is give him bullets and brass. My ? is do I shoot a 180 gr( the rifle has liked any thing 180 I have feed it) or do I try one of the other two? I know if it ant broke don't fix it but would be nice to just see. Any ideas? Thanks Zimmer

Starting with a 180 gr would make the logical starting point since factory 180's have worked well for you in the past. The 220 gr Partition makes a great bear load but the 180-200 gr spitzers are superior to it for most things. I do love those 220's though What brand and type of bullets are you thinking of trying?

I went through this recently with the following results in a 300WM Tikka T3 Lite:

168's - Pretty nice groups and very little recoil.
180's - Shot ok, not as good as expected. Recoil noticeable.
200's - Groups under 1/2" on both Partitions and Accubonds with IMR 4350. Recoil fairly well pronounced.

Any good bullet will do the trick. Depends on "how" you want to do the trick (recoil level, distance, game, etc). I will likely end up using the 200 grain Accubond as I have smaller caliber rifles for other stuff and I want this one to be my longer distance/wind buffeting thumper.

+ 1 what remfak said

Have had many 300Win Mag's over the years and most of them shot very well with 180gr. Ballistic tips or accubonds with RL22 powder and 215 primers.
my latest is a Sendero that does not shoot the 180's all that great but shoots incredibly well with Berger210gr.VLD's with H1000. you might have to tinker just a bit to find what your rifle likes best.
B
btw I have had the best luck with my 300WM's shooting Nosler,Sierra and Berger bullet's for some reason Hornady ,Speer and Barnes have never shot well in mine. besides the two powders I mentioned also try VVN165 and IMR7828.

Some time ago more that 15 yrs back I read and artlicle with the same concerns you are having about reloading the 300 Win Mag. Regrettabley I only remember: the Author preferred for all his hunting the 220 grain round-nose at moderate velocity. Todays norm seems to be 'smok'n' velocity which does not necessarily equate with dotting-the-i accuracy!

In years past, I used the 300 Win mag and 200gr Partitions to take 6 elk (if memory serves me right) including my biggest bull. The 200gr would definitely be the bullet I would pick if I were loading for a 300 Win. mag.

I load for 3 different 300 win mags and load 200 grain Noslers and Sierras in all but 1 of my guns.

I have been using 180 Sciroccos in my .300 Wby for elk, but when I acquired a .300 WSM a couple of years ago, I decided to try the 200 grain AccuBonds. At approximately 2,900 fps, they shoot well under an inch at 100 yds in my rifle and worked very well on the one elk that I have taken with them--a very large-bodied 6x6 bull. However, the 180 Sciroccos (at about 3,250 fps) killed two other big bulls just as dead, just as quickly. I imagine that Partitions would have worked just as well...

You said the rifle likes 180's.Save the time,trouble,and component cost.Shoot a cheap 180 for practice,a good 180 for hunting.Load a pile of ammo with the cheap bullet and learn the load well.Other bullet weights are embelishment.

In a 300 mag for big game hunting,if you cannot get it done with a quality 180,you will likely not get it done with anything else.

Use whichever good bullet shoots best, with a preference to 180 grains. I've used 200 grains on elk and moose, and 180 grains on elk, and they both tasted pretty good to me (the animals, not the bullets). Seriously, there's no reason not to have complete confidence in a good 180 grain, but if you like other weights go ahead and use them.

I prefer 200 grain partitions with Retumbo powder in mine. Check out Hodgdon web site for recommended loads. I believe the 200 grain Nosler bullets are slightly better ballistically than the 180 grain Nosler bullets. Good all around load at near 3000 fps.

The 200gr accubond with a b.c. of .588, I think you would be hard pressed to find a better bullet. Any other opinions out there?

I agree.

180's, shoot plenty flat at long range deer, elk, or anything else. Doesn't kick quite as much as 200's or 220's (splitting hairs on recoil, I know, but there is a difference)

Packs plenty of wallop to take anything a 300 WM was intended to take.

If you loaded youself I would say, sure, play around with it........or I may not.

Bill

The bottom line is that a good 30 cal bullet is an effective killer. It was an awesome event when the 30-30 hit the market, it was improved when the 06 came along, & ditto for all the mag versions. I think the 308 is often underestimated for its honest effectiveness in the field, let alone a good shot with a 300 mag.
Any of the weights you mentioned will get the job done on just about everything. I would happily hunt a 300 Mag using whichever one the rifle performed best with.
If a quarry needs more killin', move into an AFrame, TSX, etc..

Spot on. jorge

pdxhunter, I have owned at least 4 .300 mags over the years and love the caliber for knock down killing ability and long range accuracy out to 450 yards. I draw the line on that distance for myself on animal.

Most of thoes rifles prefered 180 grain or 190 grain bullets! Yes, they did shoot the 165 ok (1.5 avg. MOA at 100 yds) as I recall. The 200 grains shot better, those being Hornady, Sierra, Nosler's and Speer. I tried the Barnes X bullet but only one rifle would shoot those 180 grainers less than 2-MOA. Remington factory ammo was used in the 180 grn and shot under 1.5 MOA.
Winchester Silver Tips in 220 grain shot around 1.5 MOA in all guns at 100 yds.

Darn near all of them did shoot the 220 grains very well up to around 200 yards....distance I picked to test them. All those rifles shot 220 bullets at least 1.5 or better. These would be my pick if hunting moose in grizz country.

I would start with a bullet weight your most likely to use on the game that you plan on hunting and then either purchase several boxes of various factory brands or pick out the bullets and let your friend load them up for you. This is the only way (trial & error) that you will know exactly what your rifle shoots best ok.

Thanks guys. Great info. You guys said what I was thinking. Stick with it it ant broke. I ll stick with 180's. They have done the job on the last 3 elk that have came my way.

Bob: I've used the 165,180, and 200 as well.All are very good and it's tough to find a bad weight.These days i stick to one bullet per rifle, or try to....but that's the beauty of a 300;lotsa weights work well.

pdxhunter,

You gotten good advise, a 180 gr in a 300 mag case is never a bad choice. That said I have had very good luck with 200 grain and 220 grain Nosler Partitions in any 300 mag case.

My very best accuracy (using hunting not match bullets) have come from 300 mags (300 win mag or 30-338) using the old 200 grain Semi-spitzer partitions (not made any more), and the newer 220 gr Nosler Partition semi RN. I don't know why but the 1-10 twist, and around 2700 to 2800 FPS works like magic.

Now what can you do with 220 grain bullets in a 300 mag. that you cannot do with a 180?? Not much, but consider the following:

I once shot a deer running at about 75 yds, with a 30-338 and 200 grain Semi-Sptz Nosler Partition. I shot and the deer dropped. On walking over I realized I shot through a 3" sapling and nailed the deer on the other side. Would a 180 have worked as well, yeah maybe. And Barnes X's were not yet invented.

I went to Africa a few years back, and used a Win Mod 70 SS in 300 win mag as my light rifle. I had two loads worked up: Nosler 220 Partitions, and Barnes 220 gr solids, both over H1000. They made a nice and deadly combo. Granted that was a limited and once in a lifetime application.

As far a recoil goes, I find 200-220 grains bullets in a 300 mag to be very mild shooting. By now you must be thinking this guy is crazy, 220 from a 300 mag will recoil more than a 180 gr going 300 FPS or more faster? WEll yes and no. Most people forget that recoil comes in two components: Pure recoil that is felt on your shoulder, and then there is recoil velocity, which is the speed it comes back. So a 180 grainer at 3100 FPS slaps your shoulder, where as a 220 grainer at 2750 pushes it. I am more sensitive to recoil velocity than pure recoil myself, and many other shooters are the same.

Another example is a 375 H&H Mag. People that have never shot one always remark after their first firing, "well that was not bad, the recoil was more a shove than a slap". Well a 300 grain bullet out of a 375 H&H moving at around 2550 FPS does indeed shove and not slap. That is the combination of high FP of Recoil and low recoil velocity.

Now if you are planning on using your 300 mag at long ranges, 300 yds plus, by all means develop and use 180 to 200 grain bullets. On the other hand, if your hunting somewhere that the trees and cover are thick, and shots planned are well less than 300 yds, and your quarry weighs more than 500 lbs. Then try the 220 grainers. I think you will astonished at how well they perform in those situations.

Best of luck,

Bob

Bob: Good post!

Interesting!

I'd take a look at the 212 great Hornady ELD. Fired from a 3006 it has more energy at 400 yards than a 180 gr partition from a 300 mag. It has more energy at 125 yards than a 220 great RN fired from a 300 mag. Aerodynamics matter even at moderate ranges. I can only imagine what it does at 300 mag speeds

I like the NAB/NP 200gr and H1000. A real can of whoop arse! My rifle is 9-1/2 lbs so recoil is not bad.

Nothing personal....I ran these numbers last night on the ballistics calculator,but used a 300 Weatherby with a 180 NPT at 3200 fps against the 30/06 and the 210 VLD at 2700 fps.. Turns out at those velocity levels the 180 NPT beat the 210VLD in just about every category.Like you say the numbers can look close.

Energy figures are swell on paper, but since I've stoned bull elk where they stood out to400- 500 yards with a 180 NPT a few times,and after smashing the onside shoulder at near 500,and recovered what was left of the 180 Partition clear back against the rear ham on the opposite side,folks will have to forgive me if I ignore the paper ballistics.

I could also talk about the Alaskan brownie I saw wither like an empty puppet after he took a 180 NPT through the chest at about 100 yards from a 300 Weatherby.Or another big herd bull I killed that collapsed at 70-80 yards from a 180 NPT from a 300 Win Mag that broke both shoulders.

I've used the 200 gr Partition on game as well from both the 300 Win and Weatherby,as well and it's just more of very much the same thing.

During all these years I never looked at an energy number, kill quotient,or other formula which purports to quantify killing effectiveness,which tend to fall flat on their face in light of bullet performance on animals.

I could go on ad nauseum but I am not going to trade dependable expansion and deep penetration of a Partition (and similar designs) for a thin jacketed C&C bullet just based on its paper ballistics.

Especially since i don't aspire to kill them at much over 600,where i think these high BC specialty bullets come into their own. For that I suspect they are swell....but 1000 yards is beyond my abilities and desire.

I am not much for chasing energy numbers.

Please forgive the rant....

You dig up a thread from nearly 7 years ago and that is your response ??????? that is interesting!

What velocity?

Remfak pretty much nailed it. I all but switched to the 200gr. Nosler partition in my 300wm, but expect more recoil than either the 165 or 180. I ran them at 2,950 fps and it really thumped chit, especially my shoulder...

Is 2950fps what you're also getting from a 24" barrel?

I'd think that any 180 gr bullet at 3050 fps would kill anything that a 200gr bullet would at 2950 fps.

see this is a revived old thread but,

not a big magnum guy... but own a pair of 300 Win Mags..

one bought cheap on an after season sell.. and the other was a trade to someone that just had to have a 22.250 I had...

When I do need a mag, I believe in making it a magnum...

worked this up and it functions fine in my Browning with zero issues... and the brass doesn't seem to mind, as I've loaded some cartridges 10 times with this load...

but 83 grains of H 1000 ( 300 Weatherby Data, 5 grains over 300 WM data).. with a 220 grain Sierra or Hornady round nose...

velocity is just short of 3000 fps...however you'd be surprised on how flat shooting a 220 grain RN can be at that MV....when I hit steel with it at 300 yds, the "Clang" sure gets people's attention....

a 220 grain SMP partition would be my pick for hunting big stuff with it...and actually think it is superior to a 338 Win Mag with a 250 grain Bullet...

but without the extensive experience others here can bring to the table... its just that, my opinion...but then again, I'm the one carrying my rifle...

^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^


Jerry

My .300 WM likes 180 NBT's and NAB's, over RL-22 with Fed 215 primers.

The NBT's are slightly more accurate, both have the same POI, same B.C.'s and same ballistic performance in general.

I choose the bullet depending on critter being hunted, desired termainal performance.

DF

I generally agree. This said, I'd somehow prefer to have a 200 gr. NorthFork over a 180 gr. Accubomb if hunting Grizzly

Well.....yeah. I mean construction varies.

I agree with you 100%

I have seen and ran a couple of 300's for elk and muleys. Most of them have ran 180 PTs. Lately the shift has occurred towards the 200 PT and ABs. Can't see much detriment to it, and the heavier 200 PT seems a little more robust than the 180 version, but me and friends would have to take another 100 animals to really tell the difference I'd bet.

200 grain Partition in a 300 Win. Mag. I would say is a heck of a load. The 200 grain Partition is a real digger. I'm sure a guy could hunt any North-American animals with that combo. Pair it up with a nice .308 Win. That would be pretty nice.

I like the 165 Barnes in my 300 Win mag! Kills deer-pigs-Aoudads dead!!!

I would think that a 200 or heavier bullet run at maximum velocity would be a handful as far as recoil goes and would not kill any deader than a similarly loaded 180 gr. bullet. I have harvested lots of deer with 180 gr. bullets all one shot kills so I am satisfied with the 180 gr. and in some instances have gone to the 165 gr..

I have a Remington 700 5R heavy-barreled .300 Winchester Magnum. It shoots quite accurately with several bullets, but these have all been 150-180 grains. In the last couple of weeks, I've done some preliminary work with the 200 grain Sierra GK and H4831SC powder. While I've struggled to get a muzzle velocity of 2800 fps, it appears that this bullet may be the most accurate hunting bullet tried so far. This is one of the few bullets I've ever used where seating depth made virtually no difference in accuracy.

Again, I've only done limited work, but it looks promising so far.

Back when I was a 1 rifle guy, I decided on using just 1 bullet in the 300. That bullet was the 200gr. partition running at 2900+. It was a sledge hammer on both ends. Now days, I'd rather run a 30-06 with 200's. I see no difference in the critters reaction. Have also never caught a 200 partition, have caught 180's in the far side hides though..

A dozen or so years ago Remington loaded a 200 grain Swift A-Frame .300 Win in their late, lamented Premium Safari line at just over 2,800 fps. My rifle liked it and I bought a case. It proved exceptionally effective on both African plains game and Red Stag in Argentina. Still have 80 rounds left.

Big fan of the 200 grain Swift A-Frame as a result. A 200 grain Woodleigh Weldcore will be substituted when I run out of the Remington load.