Loading big calibers for smaller game

[Cookie114]

If your set on not having a full power 300WM then Id get a 150 or 165 barnes and load them down to starting charges. Youll then have yourself a good 30-06, give or take a few Fps.

 

[Gobbler256]

If a guy was moving from Alaska to New Mexico and had one rifle chambered in a 300 win mag and inherited some reloading stuff. Without offering a "get another rifle " solution and he wanted to load that gun to hunt antelope. And you were concerned about not ruining as much meat as possible

How would you do it ? Asking for a friend

Heavy bullets loaded as slow as possible ?
Light bullets loaded as slow as possible?

None of the above ? Find a fmj bullet?

Also where does extreme lower speed begin to hurt velocity as much as trying pushing a bullet faster than an accuracy mode hurt ? No limits imposed except for where twist becomes unstable ?

I realize it's not ideal to a diffent caliber, but sometimes we work with what we have

Let's also remember that the 300 WM bullet is just a 30 cal and the same as the 308 & 30.06. So where does this meat destruction idea change between these calibers?? I've shot everything from a Kudu & Elk down to little springbok and dieker with a 300 and it just punched through with minimal meat loss

 

[david g ranes]

load it with light bullets but normal velocities. The diameter of the bullet is overrated. I think you can go down as low as 100grain bullets iirc...

100grain bullets will not stabilize very good at all when I first started reloading I tried 100 grain bullets in 3006 to shoot coyotes it was tuff to keep them in a smaller target I was getting a radiator repaired with a guy that dealt in guns and reloading things I was telling him I couldn't hit a coyote no matter how I tried told him what I was shooting he said they were to unstable he went got me a box of 125 said they should help I started hitting coyotes immediately he told me the 100s were to short for caliber seemed he was right I haven't heard any different in 45 years any way. David

 

[FEENIX]

The load for elk will work fine for pronghorn. 215 Hyb would be my choice. In fact, it WILL be my .300WM choice exclusively.

This! The .300 WM is my go-to chambering from antelope to elk size game up to 1K yard. Load the .300 WM with 215, and you're golden.

 

[lancetkenyon]

Let's also remember that the 300 WM bullet is just a 30 cal and the same as the 308 & 30.06. So where does this meat destruction idea change between these calibers?? I've shot everything from a Kudu & Elk down to little springbok and dieker with a 300 and it just punched through with minimal meat loss

Impact velocity. Speed kills. Look at energy of the same bullet with 500fps difference. With a cup and core bullet, fragmentation is amplified with speed.

 

[Plinker147]

When the 300wm was my main hunting gun I killed everything in NM with180 Nosler ballistic tips. Any bullet from 180-215 that you can find will do the trick. I prefer Berger's but I'm using a lot of Edlx and m due to the unavailability of Berger's. Loading down is pointless, just use the load that shoots the best

 

[CrankyYankee]

Some good advice already.

I'd load a 130-168 grain bullet to be fast and flat. Shot placement matters most as you know. And bullet construction can expand or narrow desired placement. Learn how to read and dope wind. That's just what I would do in your shoes.

Keep the thread updated with your progress. And when possible, add pics.

 

[Panhandlin Pat]

178 grain absolute hammers at ≈ 3300 in my 300 win mag is what I will tote for antelope. Used a 7x57 with a 140 grain partition my last goat hunt and it destroyed an embarrassing amount of meat. Then the poor creature wouldn't expire. Front shoulder and lungs obliterated, he wouldn't give it up.

 

[jasonprox700]

Stick with a controlled expansion bullet and you'll be fine. Bonded, mono, something premium. I wouldn't even worry about dropping down in bullet weight either.

I can honestly say that my 338 WM shooting Accubonds does less damage than my 308 shooting SST's (on deer). Controlled expansion is the key.

The whole "overkill" bs came from years ago with guys shooting magnums with light cup and core bullets. Pushed to high velocities, they're grenades. I also hear a lot of the older generation say the magnums shoot the bullet "too" fast and the bullet just zips on thru without getting a chance to open, which is the exact opposite of what actually happens.

Pick the right bullet for a certain impact velocity window and match that with the intended species means more than a cartridge name or label.

Just my opinion

 

[davidheart]

As previously stated you could down load the 300WM pretty easily to 30-06 or 308 velocities. Just because you have a 300WM doesn't mean you have to shoot max speed. Bullet selection and shot placement (behind the shoulder) also plays a huge roll in meat loss.

Pro-tip: head over to the Cast Boolits forum if you really want to get in the weeds for what your rifle could do. I used my 308 to hunt squirrel when 22lr ammo was so hard to find.

Edit: I just scooted over to the Cast Boolits forum. It appears Accurate 2400, Unique, and H4895 will treat you well and make ~1800fps cast bullet loads. I won't publish that data here but your options are out there.

 

[Lapuatom]

If a guy was moving from Alaska to New Mexico and had one rifle chambered in a 300 win mag and inherited some reloading stuff. Without offering a "get another rifle " solution and he wanted to load that gun to hunt antelope. And you were concerned about not ruining as much meat as possible

How would you do it ? Asking for a friend

Heavy bullets loaded as slow as possible ?
Light bullets loaded as slow as possible?

None of the above ? Find a fmj bullet?

Also where does extreme lower speed begin to hurt velocity as much as trying pushing a bullet faster than an accuracy mode hurt ? No limits imposed except for where twist becomes unstable ?

I realize it's not ideal to a diffent caliber, but sometimes we work with what we have

Double lung him, no shoulders! That's actually sound advice for almost any caliber as a 243 will trash an antelopes shoulders, so...

 

[FEENIX]

I'm surprised by some of the answers based on the old school preconceptions out there that's I've thought were real such as a 300 win mag will ruin too much meat. Based on the answers I'm guessing this is not an absolute and more of a rule of thumb ?

So a 243 85 gr vs a 300 win mag 190 gr on an antelope at 200 yards .. we we're always told growing up that the 300 win mag was "overkill " and if it's for sake of recoil and what's needed for the job fine.. but I wa sand many others were always lead to believe a 300 win mag is "dumb" on an antelope or deer because you ruin too much meat.. wives tale? I'm willing to accept it I'm coming back into hunting from a 2009 understanding and I know a lot have been dispelled and a lot has changed from the old guard

Yep, I harvested a few antelopes with my .300 WMs and .300 WSms loaded with 178 A-Max, 180 NBT, 200 NABs, and 190/215 Bergers with very good success and minimal meat damage.

Here's one I harvested with 200 NAB with a nice story to go along with it, https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/putting-antelope-out-his-misery.78986/

 

[bultinkle]

Impact velocity. Speed kills. Look at energy of the same bullet with 500fps difference. With a cup and core bullet, fragmentation is amplified with speed.

For sure does kill, but have you seen it really amplify meat loss that bad? The deer I've shot with a 215 going faster than a 150 3006 load have had less meat loss.

It seems either highly variable by situation with tons of external variables to boot, or just a toss up in general. Aside from maybe the extremes.

My father exclaimed just the other day about me using a 215 on whitetail but I still haven't seen it ruin meat worse than anything else tbh

 

[Lee7588]

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