New Reloader -- Load Development/Recommendations, 300 WM

[snox801]

I think he's right the hells canyon now comes with a 1/8 which I thought was cool if you wanted to shoot heavy monos.

 

[Brydawg512]

Are you sure this comes in a 1:8 twist. I haven't seen that in a 300WM. 1:9 would be about as fast as you'd need if you were shooting at sea level for the 215's

Yes, 1:8 is correct. My understanding is that it was a limited production rifle, and one of the biggest differences was they offered a faster twist.

 

[WildRose]

You have gotten excellent recommendations! "My" advice to a new reloader is to get the reloading manual of the bullet you are going to load "if" available, i.e., Berger, Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, etc., ... take your time and enjoy the reloading process and rewards.

Good advice as would be recommending they spend a lot of time reading and participating in our reloading forum. I doubt there's a question anyone can think of that hasn't already been addressed there.

 

[WildRose]

Never tried the RL 33. May need to do some more load development for these heavier bullets

I'm shooting quite a bit of it now with my bigger cased magnums and getting very good results. With the 300wm's two of mine performed better with RL26 on the 183 Peregrines but for the heavy for caliber bullets RL33 is tough to beat.

 

[Brydawg512]

215 Berger, H1000, Fed GM215M primer. Tried and trued combo in the 300 Win Mag. Try them at 30-40 thou off. 30 off has worked great in a few different guns.

512, 210 or 215 Bergers with H1000 has great accuracy along with 215M primers. It's becoming a bit difficult to find quality brass for this cartridge. Loaded some for the neighbor using Remington brass, but a lot of prep time with the brass. Good luck

So, what is the performance like from the 215 hybrids? Is the 210 VLD hunting load a better option? I'm concerned with the hybrid being a target load, what is performance like on game at closer distances? It's very probably I have shot opportunities at 50 yards and others at 500. Will the 215 hybrid perform well on elk, bear, deer at ranges from 50-500?

 

[livetohunt]

I'm at 76 grains of H1000 with the 215s in my 300 win mag, .04" off running 2925 fps out of a 24" remington barrel. did great on a dead right there cow elk at 470 yards this year.

 

[BEEMAN]

Performance has been great for me with the 215. I haven't shot anything under 100 yds though. I run them right at 3000 FPS out of my 300 Win Mag. Closer shots stay off the shoulder. Farthest deer was at 734 yds. Also got a elk at 625 yds. Not sure you could get better bullet performance. If it hasn't been mentioned do a search on this forum looking for 215 Berger terminal results. Or comparing the 215 Berger. Posts were from awhile back by Broz and it's about as good as it gets as far as data with pictures. I wouldn't worry that the 215 is a target bullet. It's being used by so many people with great results.

 

[trhall]

Yes, 1:8 is correct. My understanding is that it was a limited production rifle, and one of the biggest differences was they offered a faster twist.

Interesting, I knew they were doing that on some of the .280 caliber cartridges but didn't realize they had done that on the 300wm as well. Not sure the 300wm has enough case capacity to take advantage of the 230 - 245 class bullets. The RUM would though.

 

[tlsmith22]

Gonna depend a lot on what reamer was used to chamber your rifle. VV N570 is by far the best powder for 215 bergers. Where u hit pressure is gonna depend on which 300wm brass you use and how much freebore you have in the chamber. I would say start really low on the powder charge and work your way up. I have found 300wm brass across brands to hold way different powder amounts.

 

[trhall]

So, what is the performance like from the 215 hybrids? Is the 210 VLD hunting load a better option? I'm concerned with the hybrid being a target load, what is performance like on game at closer distances? It's very probably I have shot opportunities at 50 yards and others at 500. Will the 215 hybrid perform well on elk, bear, deer at ranges from 50-500?

The 215 is a fantastic game killing bullet with hundreds of example in this forum. All you have to do is use the search function to find more positive examples with that bullet than you'll want to ready. I have been using it exclusively in 2 300wm's since it came out several years ago for antelope, elk, and deer. Only one critter did I ever shoot more than once with this bullet. It was the bull in my avatar at 639 yards. Punched him through the crease behind the shoulder taking out both lungs and the top of the heart. He spun and ran 20 yards then stopped so I punched him again hitting 4 inches from the first shot and dropped him. It's actually better than the hunting VLD's for up close shots as it has a slightly thicker jacket and tends to hold together better.
All that said, if you're hunting from 50 to 500 yards max there's really not much benefit for you to use a VLD bullet. You'd be better served using something like a standard Accubond, or similarly constructed bullet. 500 to 1,000 and beyond are where VLD bullets start to shine.

 

[Mackinaw BOB]

As you can see everyone has a different opinion on the question at hand. H-1000, 215 Berger's and 215M primers are top shelf materials for sure, but maybe hard to find. Any bullet from a top shelf manufacturer between the 180-220 grain range is a good place to start. Other powders to look at that will be easier to find are 4831,7828,reloader 25. If you shoot varmint calibers don't be afraid to start with your reloading journey there. Components are a lot cheaper and will help get your reloading turned in before you go and waste a bunch of high dollar components. Good luck, reloading is a very enjoyable hobby for me

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

215 hybrid or the 200gr 20x hybrid with H-1000,cci 250LRM primers and match prep your brass, have taken many boos bear and moose with the 215 hybrid and steel out to 1700 yards easy to load not that picky as to OAL like vlds and some other bullets

 

[Wedgy]

from Broz

"Just let me say, we have taken 113 elk off the ranch I manage in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. I get to see a lot of terminal performance from a lot of bullets and calibers. It was during these seasons that I was testing the 7-300 with 180's and 195's. I also was testing the 215 gr Bergers at this time from a couple different chamberings, mostly the 300 win mag.

When you say elk at 1200 yards it is my opinion you are stretching the limits of any 7mm or 30 cal bullet under 200 gr. For elk over 1000 yards I will strongly suggest you consider a 338 with a 300 gr bullet and case no smaller than a 338 Lapua. However a large 30 cal chambering sending 230 Bergers will work well too.

I advise and set up may people who want to do exactly what you want. I set them up a 300 win mag with a 215 Berger and although they will take elk over 1000 I recommend they keep it to 1000 or less in good conditions. At 1000 yards @ 4100 ft asl this round will impact at 1980 fps and 1875 ft lbs of energy. At 1200 yards 1802 fps and 1550 ft lbs.

Consider the 300 win mag, or even a 30 Nosler if you want something with "cool factor", either will offer way more barrel life and terminal performance well above any 7mm on elk.

There is not one 7mm rifle left in my safe. And we just re barreled a good friends 7mm that shot lights out to 300 win mag because they were tired of having to put 2 or 3 in an elk to put them don't quickly. Rebarreled another good friends 7-300 to 338 EDGE for the same reason.

Probably not what you want to hear, but it is something I feel strongly about and have the kills to be sure of my opinion.

Jeff"

 

[BigDon]

Bump