What grain for .300 Win
 

Hey everyone. I recently took my new Rem 700 300 Win mag 26" SS barrel with the Burris E1 4.5-14X42 scope on it with 150 grain Winchester XP and I cant seem to get a good solid grouping to work with up breaking it in at 200 yards. I'm thinking that the 150 grain bullet/quality ammo I'm using might be my issue and was hoping to get some suggestions from any other .300 Win mag guys on the ammo they are using and what grain of bullet seems to be the best for good accurate groupings.. Any additional suggestions are appreciated.

What are you going to be hunting with it? I'd recommend you use the same exact load you're going to be hunting with. I can't answer that question with certainty as all rifles shoot different, even among the same make/model/cartridge. I do know that the 5 different 300 win mags I've owned all "liked" 180 gr loads regardless of brand/model, and most really shot anything 168 gr and above excellent.

I like 180 grainers also. And the BC of a .308" 180 grain BTSP bullet is pretty darn good.

I'll be deer hunting with it in Nov, but also plan on large game hunting. Elk..Moose, ect. I figured 180 grain was going to be the most popular grain, but I really wanted to some insight on it from here. Any specific brand of ammo recommendations? I was looking at Winchester silver tip and federal. Seems like a lot of people are saying that shoots pretty well..but I guess the barrel likes to pick the brand of bullet sometimes.

I'd experiment around with different brands/types/grains but if it "likes" Nosler Accubonds GREAT! I don't know much about modern centerfire loadings as I use all ammo I've loaded myself only for about 35 years now or possibly even longer.

Like said depends what you plan on using it for.
I use mine for long distance (300yds or better) white tail across cranberry bogs. I hand load a 165gr Sierra HPBT game king bullet for this.
I would not hesitate to use the same load on elk or moose.

:D Al

I'd think Game Kings would open up too quick for elk or moose. I used to use the Game Kings on deer and they seldom if ever exited so a elk or moose needs a lot more penetration than what's ideal for deer, unless you use your elk load on deer.

Try 165 gr., guns are like women one shot, she do'nt like you- now you go to then next one.

I agree with all of Stalkingbear's posts - especially about Sierras.

Re. 180-grain Accubonds, they fly great out of my M70 and have put some nice critters in the freezer, but my bull elk experience last week makes me think they might be a tad fragile. (Of course, the elk's dead, so maybe I'm overthinking it.)

Dang BTM that's a great compliment! Thank you! I didn't know anybody paid any attention to my posts lol! I've had great results with 180 Accubonds out of a 300 win mag. From 50 yards to 419 yards they perform perfectly!

Not so Bear. I shot a fairly large bull moose last year with a 30-06 and sierra 180 grain game kings and it only went 40 yards. First shot (I came to find out later) separated but got him pretty sick very quickly. It was a quartering to shot and after going thru the point of the shoulder the jacket turned downward and followed the inside the rib cage cutting everything on the way and exited just in front of the hind legs. The core continued straight on and ripped up the left lung and lodged in the back strap. Two quick follow up shots went in behind the shoulder and exited the other side. But to be safe I likely would not use them again and would probably use Nosler Accubonds or Barnes TSX bullets just because of the separation.

Like others have posted, every barrel will "like" some bullets better than others, so the only way to find out which bullet your rifle likes is to shoot different brands/weights until you find out which one shoots best in your rifle.

When I first started hunting deer and elk, the only rifle that I had was a .30-06. Back then we didn't have the variety of bullets to choose from that we now have. Other than my first few deer and elk, I've only shot handloads in all of my guns. My .30-06 liked 150 grain Hornady Spire point bullets at 3000 fps that I used for mule deer and antelope, and 180 grain Sierra GameKing bullets at 2700 fps that I used for elk.

I had no problems killing a half dozen or so elk with those 180 gr GameKing bullets.

I then had my .30-06 rechambered to .30 Gibbs (mainly because I thought the Gibbs case really looked cool). My .30 Gibbs shot 180 grain bullets at 2990 fps (.300 Win velocities) and I didn't think I would get enough penetration with the Sierra bullets so I switched to 180 gr Nosler partition bullets. With those bullets I didn't have any trouble killing another 20 or so elk and 2 Shiras bull moose. The 180 gr Partition bullets that I have recovered from elk had an average retained weight of 109 grains or 60% of their original weight.

As to the lethality of Sierra GameKing bullets on elk, for 30 some years my favorite bullet for deer size game was the 117 grain Sierra GameKing bullet at 2988 fps from my .257 Ackley. One year I was hunting Bighorn sheep in one of the Montana unlimited sheep tag areas in the Wilderness Area north of Yellowstone Park. By the last morning of my planned hunt, I hadn't seen any rams and when a when a dark, heavy antlered 6x6 bull elk came bugeling through the timber toward me I couldn't resist. When he stopped about 75 yards in front of me, I put a 117 gr Sierra just behind his shoulder. He dropped dead in his tracks, and when I dressed him I found that the bullet had hit a rib bone going in, shredded his lungs and heart, and didn't cut the rib cage on the opposite side.

In 2010 I started hunting with a .300 Weatherby. It likes 180 grain Barnes TSX bullets at 3150 fps and 168 gr TSX and TTSX bullets at 3250 fps. Mono-metal bullets have a reputation of holding a higher retained weight than other bullets, so you can shoot a lower weight bullet that will shoot faster (for less drop) and still have enough weight for deep penetration. So I decided to use the 168 grain bullets. The TTSX bullets are slightly more accurate in my rifle than the TSX bullets of the same weight.

Unless it hits a large bone, a 168 gr TSX bullet will easily completely penetrate a broadside bull elk at 100 yards. Of the 18 North American, African, and New Zealand animals that I've shot with my .300 Wby and 168 grain TSX/TTSX bullets, all but 3 of the bullets went completely through the animals. Two of the recovered bullets retained 99% of their original weight and the other retained 85%.

I'm a fan of heavy for caliber bullets so I'd be looking at 180-200 gr bullets if I was shooting a 300 Win.

I shoot 180s in my 300 wby

Buffybr I recently decided to semi retire all my rifles except for a bull barreled AR for use on yotes to use my Browning A-Bolt 30-06 my best friend gifted me and have been kicking back & forth rechambering it pretty seriously to 30 Gibbs. Would you recommend it and would you do it again? I use only handloads and have since the 70s so case forming won't be a problem and it's never going to be sold so resale is not a consideration. PM me if you want. I'd also like to pick your brain for 30 Gibbs loads if I decide to rechamber to it. Yeah Bronko the core/jacket separation was what I was referring to on the Gamekings. I used to have an exquisitely accurate model 788 in 6mm that I used Gamekings in to break an embarrassing number of deer's necks with it.

For a .300 Win Mag I would recommend a heavier bonded or partition bullet (180 - 200 grains) for elk and moose to ensure you get good penetration and bullet weight retention so that you can get the job done in one shot. As far as accuracy goes you'll have to experiment with various bullets to see what you gun likes. It is easier if you handload (or find a buddy who does) to hone in on that perfect load, but you can also try various factory loads to find out what your gun "likes".

Personally my .300 Win Mag A-bolt really hates 150's (think 4-5+ inch groups) and prefers the longer heavier bullets. Since I "roll my own" I was able to work up a good big game hunting loads with decent accuracy (1.5 - 3 inch groups) and good power.

I've had good success with 180 grain Nosler Partitions on 70.0 grains of IMR 4350 (~3050 fps) that dropped two cow moose in their tracks. I wasn't real happy with the accuracy (~3 inch groups), but then again a moose is a really big animal.

My current big game load is a 200 grain Nosler Accubond sitting on 72.0 grains of RL22 that comes out right around 2900 fps (I can't remember the exact chrony numbers) that is shooting closer to 1.5 inch groups. I've tested this load on 2 bull moose and 3 whitetail bucks. A decent size bull moose dropped in its tracks and a big bull made it 10 yards into the river, but never made it out. The load may be overkill for deer, but all three bucks never moved after being hit and there was not too much meat damage.

I was able to recover the bullets from the big bull (broadside at 100 yards) and one of the bucks (quartering hard to at 90 yards). Due to the shot angles both bullets traveled through ~36"-40" of game with the bullets embedded on the far side hide. Both bullets performed very similarly and retained 63%-65% of their weight (looking remarkably similar to Nosler's bullet gelatin tests results shown on the box and their website)



I've also seen 180 grain Hornady Interbonds (fired from .300 short mags) recovered from moose that did the job, I've never weighed one after the fact, but they held together good, but were a little more expanded and ragged than the Accubonds in the photo.

As long as you have the shoulder (and appetite for punishment) to catch the rifle, the 300win mag has enough case to capitalize on the high BC 180-200 (or 220grn even) 30cal bullets. 180grn seems to be where my brain sticks for the 300win mag.

I'm very prone to believe that if you can't kill it with a 180-200grn 300win mag, it can't be killed. They don't let us hunt the super big stuff (or dangerous stuff) with 30cals anymore - I can't think of anything on Earth that you can't DRT with a 300win mag and 180-200grns?

Big10Hunter, I can't imagine a Browning A-Bolt giving that poor of accuracy. I've owned and seen a BUNCH of A-Bolts and personally haven't seen 1 yet that wouldn't group under an inch (even if barely) with it's preferred pet load. The acceptable accuracy of 1.5-3" is that at 100, 200, or even 300 yards?

Minimum 180 grain, preferred 200 grain. I found that the 150's and 165's were too fragile and destructive on the meat.

Here are photos of a 168 grain TSX bullet shot from my .300 Weatherby that went through the chest of a 5 point bull elk. The bullet entered and exited behind the shoulders. There was virtually NO meat damage.




Previous bulls that I shot in the chest with 180 grain Nosler Partition bullets at .300 Win velocities produced large (18" +/- diameter) areas of bloodshot meat.

Every animal that I have shot, with any bullet, where the bullet hit a large bone resulted in massive meat damage.

Buffy, what range and impact velocity? I shoot a lot of animals at extended range, once the bullet slows a bit I have punched the scapula and could still eat right up to the bullet hole
RR

RR, I shot that bull at 80-100 yards. The muzzle velocity of that load is 3250 fps.

Last summer I tested that load on water filled milk jugs. I lined up 6 one gallon plastic jugs filled with water. The jugs were placed on a board, touching each other, at 100 yards. The 168 grain TTSX bullet hit the center of the first jug. It open up like to a flat piece of plastic. The next two jugs also completely opened up. The last 3 jugs were split in half. The bullet had completely penetrated all 6 one gallon water jugs.

Heck I shot my last bull at long range (for ME) at 419 yards lasered after the shot with a 300 win mag. For RR that would be point blank range but even though I placed my shots perfectly, I still wasn't totally comfortable shooting it that far.

I practice shooting at 430 yards almost every week. Of the 35 elk that I've shot, I think the only one that I've shot at over 300 yards was my first one. The closest bull that I've shot was at 10 yards.

I am using 180 gr. ballistic tips for my Ruger M77. I use mine for hunting. It also shoots 200 gr bullets nicely.

What's the heaviest game you've hit with the 180grn NBT?

I love the NBT's for small game up to deer, but haven't brought myself to trust one on anything bigger than a whitetail. Maybe at longer range where such a fragile bullet would still expand, but that puts me in a pickle if I get a short shot. I've legitimately splashed more than a couple tipped bullets, so I don't tend to take them after any game that I'd use a 30cal or a 180grn pill, but I'd love to hear how they perform, especially on elk size game or larger.

largest for me was a 200# bear at 80 yards with a 140 gr 7mm running 3540 fps from my stw, impact was the onside shoulder, didn't exit but came close, have never had a 115 gr 25 at 3000 fps mv not exit a whitetail, have tried every angle presented and have not recovered one.
RR

I have two rifles, one a Rem.700 with a 5R barrel and is set up as a sniper weapon. It likes the 220 gr. match king:

5 shot group at 100 yds:



Now this is my Ruger Model 77 shooting a 180 gr. Nobler BT:



Now the Rem 700 doesn't like the 180 gr. bullets and the Ruger M77 doesn't like the 220 gr. bullets. Different guns like different bullets.

I load 200 grain accubonds, for my .300, here's the exit on a big White-Tail at 350 yards, from last week. It usually pass's completely threw a Whitey. I hit him in the left shoulder he dropped in his tracks.

I'd say if I was going to try my luck with one weight bullet it would be 180gr... My next choice would be 165gr