New 300 WM —How to find “THE”bullet

[Wolf76]

While the 8 twist would support a heavy bullet, I really don't think the 300 WM has the powder capacity to make it worthwhile. From my experience ~215 grs is about the max without suffering big velocity loss. In a RUM, that's a different story.
The WM running 2900 fps and a 215 gr bullet is just nasty on animals, but for lighter recoil a mono wouldn't be bad.

 

[bigngreen]

While I agree, not sure why posting group size at any range is significant to the ops question? To me he was looking for advice on how people choose their bullets and build loads.
Personally with a 1:8 twist there's no way I could resist trying the heavies, 230/225 and comparing to the 212/215s while ballistically the 212/215 probably will outperform the real heavies you might find a better long range load, with any of them, difference in wind drift would be insignificant I would think.
If throated properly, what can the 300wm get the 230s to velocity wise?

Groups size and cold bore capability is part of choosing a bullet I thought, at least for me it's a major part, if I have one shooting small at 300 but it opens up then I need to re tune it at a longer range.
The 215 and 230 ballistics in general of set each other in ballistics but once you start crossing that 3050-3100 ish range with the 215 I like the 230 better because it brings the speeds back down. Both bullets are excellent on game though!

 

[Canhunter35]

Groups size and cold bore capability is part of choosing a bullet I thought, at least for me it's a major part, if I have one shooting small at 300 but it opens up then I need to re tune it at a longer range.
The 215 and 230 ballistics in general of set each other in ballistics but once you start crossing that 3050-3100 ish range with the 215 I like the 230 better because it brings the speeds back down. Both bullets are excellent on game though!

The cold bore shot and group size at long range is what I agreed with. Long range loads are best built at long range imo. I just wasn't sure how photos of anyone's groups helped the op lol. Each rifle has its particular tune

 

[Blackhawk]

All my Long Range shooting has been with a Ruger Precision 308, and it is way to heavy to take to the mountains
Just got a Browning Xbolt Long Range Max in 300 WM,26" barrel, 1:8 twist Bought for a Colorado Bull Elk hunt. Range limited by me to 800 yds
I have a decent selection of 30 cal bullets and powders for testing and I can get others.
I also have a LabRadar for the range.
What process to you use to optimize bullet selection to give you max range and max impact energy? Any help would be appreciated

I have had good results using Horandy SST (Super Shock Tip) #30702 180 grain .308 diameter bullets. They shoot for me very well up to 400 yards(my longest shot to date) and have a vey high BC number of .0480
Additionally I have used Barnes TSX BT Bullets #30353 180 grainers(Triple Shock X ) with a BC of. 484
The following load data has yielded good results as well.
Alliant Powder RL-17 67.3 grains Just my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps?

 

[Gcan]

All my Long Range shooting has been with a Ruger Precision 308, and it is way to heavy to take to the mountains
Just got a Browning Xbolt Long Range Max in 300 WM,26" barrel, 1:8 twist Bought for a Colorado Bull Elk hunt. Range limited by me to 800 yds
I have a decent selection of 30 cal bullets and powders for testing and I can get others.
I also have a LabRadar for the range.
What process to you use to optimize bullet selection to give you max range and max impact energy? Any help would be appreciated

Selecting a bullet and determining a max effective distance is a process not an answer for me. There are bullets that expand well at lower velocities or on smaller animals (1000yds) that might not be my first choice for short range or for larger animals at LR. There are bullets your gun will like more than others regardless of what you want to shoot.

In addition to the range equipment, a solid hi quality range finder that works 100% of the time on anything you can see through a scope, a hand held ballistics calculator and a Kestrel or an all in one SIG 2400 are pretty useful.
I found a Cosign indicator (manual or digital) handy too. A 20 degree +/- angles at 800-1000 on an animal is far more common than at the range. I practiced shooting up and down.

Assume you use a hammer. The 300WM is a killer at 1000 plus. That doesn't make the shooter or gun a killer at 1000 plus. I Developed a load and shot in a bunch of conditions until I could not consistently hit a kill zone for the animal I'd hunt. For elk sized animals in most conditions (up down & 10mph winds) I shot a 12" plate. I moved it out 25-50 yards at a time until the majority of my hits started landing at the edges. Then I made cold bore shots at that distance. When I couldn't hit the plate every time cold bore I backed up 50 or so That became my max range for that load/rifle/shooter combo.

 

[Blackhawk]

I would like to recommend 2 bullets the 300 Win Mag. These two bullets I have shot and taken game with so they get my endorsement. I.M.H.O. the Horandy SST( Super Shock Tip)#30702 . It is 180 grains in weight with a very high BC of .480. It is flat shooting and a proven performer. .308 Diameter. O.B.T.W.I use Alliant RL-15 41.2 grs.
The longest shot that I have made to date is 402 yards (sighted through a Nikon Pro Staff #3 Laser range finder) and can stand by this bullet.
I also use the Barnes GR TSX BT (Triple Shock X) 180 grainer #30353. with a BC .484
This bullet has worked very well for me so I can recommend it with confidence. I am using this load from my personal data. 67.2 grains of Alliant RL- 17 .
Just my 2 Cents worth !

 

[dfanonymous]

All my Long Range shooting has been with a Ruger Precision 308, and it is way to heavy to take to the mountains
Just got a Browning Xbolt Long Range Max in 300 WM,26" barrel, 1:8 twist Bought for a Colorado Bull Elk hunt. Range limited by me to 800 yds
I have a decent selection of 30 cal bullets and powders for testing and I can get others.
I also have a LabRadar for the range.
What process to you use to optimize bullet selection to give you max range and max impact energy? Any help would be appreciated

As far as bullet selection is concerned it's about having a high trued BC

 

[Gord0]

How do the hammers compare to the Barnes LRX (BC, expansion velocity, seating sensitivity, etc.)?

Not sure how they compare BC wise, but Barnes BC seem to be inflated. The Hammers are going to outperform the Barnes in every other category.

 

[jareese]

165-180 grain lead points, like a Nosler partition, would be best. If you can dial that in as a hunting load then you'll be fine. Try to avoid using ballistic tip bullets or match grade, as the expansion is too rapid and will tend to tear up the meat if you accidentally hit it in the shoulder and not behind it. The accubonds will work ok as well even through they are polymer tipped they seem to expand slower. Just what I've learned from experience and growing up in northwestern Colorado aka the elk hunting capital of the world.

With an 8 twist? Maybe the 185's, but an 8 will be too fast for the 165's and possibly the 175's.

 

[jareese]

We used the 165 grain Nosler Partition in the old days, before all the new calibers showed up. I shot my 6x5 Bull In Washington State with it. One shot behind
the left ear.


View attachment 131629

Right - but what is the twist rate of your barrel? My guess is it's 10 - maybe a 9. 8 is SUPER fast - theoretically the lighter bullets will over stabilize.

 

[acourvil]

Not sure how they compare BC wise, but Barnes BC seem to be inflated. The Hammers are going to outperform the Barnes in every other category.

Do you have any detail/data? I haven't tried the hammers but have heard good things. I have used the BarnesLRX, and have had good results and have a solid load developed. I'm trying to figure out if there is a good enough reason to go through another load development.

 

[Gord0]

Right - but what is the twist rate of your barrel? My guess is it's 10 - maybe a 9. 8 is SUPER fast - theoretically the lighter bullets will over stabilize.

A 165 at 3200 out of a 10 is running 230,000rpm, and 288,000 out of an 8. Not something that is likely to cause an issue. That being said, I wouldn't run anything lighter than 200gr in that rifle.

 

[Gord0]

Do you have any detail/data? I haven't tried the hammers but have heard good things. I have used the BarnesLRX, and have had good results and have a solid load developed. I'm trying to figure out if there is a good enough reason to go through another load development.

I believe there's a hammer terminal performance thread around here somewhere...

Edit:
https://www.longrangehunting.com/th...ts-terminal-performance-picture-heavy.218288/

 

[Don Titus]

All my Long Range shooting has been with a Ruger Precision 308, and it is way to heavy to take to the mountains
Just got a Browning Xbolt Long Range Max in 300 WM,26" barrel, 1:8 twist Bought for a Colorado Bull Elk hunt. Range limited by me to 800 yds
I have a decent selection of 30 cal bullets and powders for testing and I can get others.
I also have a LabRadar for the range.
What process to you use to optimize bullet selection to give you max range and max impact energy? Any help would be appreciated

I just finished working up a load for the same purpose, although there is no way I will be shooting beyond 350-400 yards, wouldn't even try. Anyway, I selected the 181 gr. Hammer Hunter after doing a ladder comparison with the 180 gr. Barnes TSX. Both shot great, but in my rifle at least (tricked out Remington 700) the edge went to the Hammer. I started with 70 grains of H4831sc and Federal 215's with COL at magazine length (3.685") which for my rifle is .0050" off the lands for the Barnes and .0040" for the Hammer. Shot groups for both bullets were consistently under 1" @ 100. I hit a node for the Hammer at 74.3gr. w/o pressure signs; groups are averaging .35", with velocity a bit lower than I'd prefer @ 2850.
I just loaded a few more rounds at 74.5 and 74.7, so will see if I can reach 2900 w/o adversely affecting accuracy and w/0 pressure signs.

Results: 74.5gr. = avg. FPS 2799 /.245 m.o.a.; 74.7gr. = avg. FPS 2816 /.410 m.o.a. with no pressure signs ...I can't figure out why I can't reach or get close to 2900 with a 26" barrel; maybe the fact that the throat shows .047" erosion limits things a bit. At this point I'm hesitant to nudge the load up a bit more. I've been told that IMR 7828 would give me another 50-100 FPS, but I don't want to hunt in CO in November with a temp sensitive powder. I think I'll "leave well enough alone".