Does the 300 WM call for a lot of Free Bore? I just went to see a Winchester M70 Super Grade in 300 WM at Gander and they let me put a Stoney point OAL guage down it. The bullet was barely seated in the case. My Ruger has the same issue.

What is going on here?

Tom

About all magnum cartridges call for some amount of freebore. Speed ain't free. I see the 300RUM calls for .1-.2", the 7mmSTW about the same. The weatherby's call for well over.3-.5". The winmag is about the least. My winmag has .05 of freebore if loaded to max SAAMI specs.

If you ever make the mistake of having a custom rifle built and having the gunsmith ream with no freebore, you can count on not being able to shoot factory ammo.

Both of my Remington .300 Win mags have lots of freebore...I prefer the term extended bullet space. I load as for as long of COAL as the magazine will allow.

Jusst as factory ammo is a comprimise in performance to fit every gun, so the guns are comprimises to avoid problems with ammo. My 300WM has a long throat too; I simply seat my bullets out past SAAMI.

I'm lucky; my buddy's .308Win has such a long throat that he can't shoot 168s close to the lands and keep them in the case.

What bullet & weight were you using in the gauge?