hello all,

I am new to reloading and also to this site. I wonder if I could get some advice about my reloading.

I have a Bolt action, .300 Win Mag rifle. It has a 1917 Enfield(Remington) action that was " sporterized" and a new barrel and stock applied. 2.5-10 scope.

I started with 200 grain Sierra Game King bullets, frontier brass, federal large mag rifle primers and IMR 4350 powder.

First Load was 62 Grains of powder, and an OAL of 3.370" (no bullet crimp)
I did all of this because of several recommendations from " the boys" at the general store. (I realize this may be all BS)

Anyway.....I got three groups of 5 each at an average of 2 and a half inches. Now, cheap factory loads with 150 grain and 180 grain bullets gives me groups of just over an inch.

Please, what would you suggest? I just loaded more with 64 grains of IMR 4350, but haven' t had the chance to fire them yet.

Mainhunt, that' s an incredible action...my 1917 is a winchester and I converted it to .375 H&H...It' ll certainly be adequate for the .300 Win Mag. I believe the Remingtons are supposed to be slightly better actions.

Prior to proceeding you need to be assured that the barrel is free floating and that the action is properly bedded. (this means accruglas to me) If it' s not you' ll drive yourself up a wall trying to make it shoot. Since factory loads shoot fine it' s possible this has already been done.

After that' s done I suggest a different powder....I' m going to suggest RL22, RL25 or H-4831SC....RL22 is my pick for the .300....

You may also wish to try other proven bullets...Hornady' s 190 gr interlock, Noslers accubond....but by all means make sure the bedding is right and the barrel is floated.

Hi Vapodog,
Thanks for the reply so quickly. When I think of p-dogs, I think of Nebraska. I have driven through that country a few times and can remember all of those targets! must be nice.
Anyway, The barrel is free floated but there is not any bedding under the action. I was thinking about bedding it, but since it shot the factory ammo decently, I figured that I could get it to shoot my reloads at least as well.
I will take your advice and and try the other powders, but I would also like to use the rest of the IMR. Do you think that my best accuracy with the IMR 4350 will be at the higher end of the powder load??

That sounds like a small amount of a fast burning powder for that cartridge. I can' t remember off the top of my head what I load in my 300 Win and Wby Mags but it' s RL22 and more than 62 grains. I think the powder change will help things a great deal. I use RL22 in 3 different magnums and it' s the best for all 3. Try it. Usually the max load in the manual is the best for my rifles but it might not be for yours. Rememeber to work your way up from the minimum when you try a new load and watch for pressure signs.

Thanks barnesX,

That' s two of you now that have suggested RL22, but my old reloading manual doesn' t list that powder.
Does anybody out there have the Min/max powder charges for?;
.300 Winchester magnum
200 grain bullet
RL22

mainehunt,

Welcome to the site and handloading. My experience has convinced me that before trying to work up a load, tuneing the rifle is a good idea. Without a tune up, you may never get a good load. I start by having the action and chamber area of the barrel glass bedded and the rest of the barrel free floated. The trigger also needs to be cleaned up to remove creep, backlash and adjusted for pull weight.

Then it' s time to start on the load. You didn' t mention what you intend to hunt. But unless it' s Brown bear, moose or eik, IMHO the 200 grain bullet is to heavy for deer sized game. IMHO, the 165 grain bullet is about ideal in your cartridge for deer. I' ve had good results with H-4350 and H-4831SC with this weight in a .300 WM.

This info comes from the 48 edition of the Lyman manual. With RL-22 and the 200 grain bullet the low suggest load is 65.0 grains for a velocity of2489 fps at 35,800 cup. The max suggested load is 74.5 grains for a velocity of 2878 fps at 51,500 cup pressure.
I hope that this is of some help. Good luck.[&:][&:]

This needs to be fixed friend!!!

My Lyman 47th manual shows a .300 Win Mag with 200 grain JHP and RL22 powder to have a MAX charge of 74.5........velocity is 2878

Loading manuals are free from Alliant...ask at your reloading store for one....also IMR and Hodgdon manuals are free and available on the internet.

Thanks for the info Vapodog and Big Bob. I forgot to mention that I did install a Timney trigger in that rifle. The original trigger had the worst and longest creep that I have ever felt. I like this new trigger.
You all have me fired up about glass bedding this rifle. Lucky for me, a gunsmith with tons of experience opened for business about a half mile away. I' ll talk to him about the bedding job.

Thanks again for the recipes!

Some stocks dont needed beded. first of all what kind of stock do you have?

My pick for the .300Win mag is IMR7828...66Gr. powder.

I think since that was your first load you tried out of the .300 you need to make alot more ammo, and shoot some 5 rd groups to see what it likes best out of any ammo.

You just dont load a few up shoot it then if its a bad group switch to another powder..

This is what you need to do with any powder.
For example .300 Win Mag

200 gr jacketed bullet...
IMR 7828

start with 5 rds of 62.5gr. then
63.0 then
63.5
64.0
64.5
65.0
65.5
66.0
66.5
67.0
67.5
68.0
68.5
69.0
69.5
70.0
70.5
71.0 MAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do this shooting 5 rds per each load then pick your best group..

Troy

Thanks Troy.

For the last week I have been loading the 300 WM cases five to a group.

I satrted at 62 grains, (I' m using 4350) and I have been loading the powder in 1/2 grain increments. Haven' t had a chance to test them lately, my shooting range is under water. We have had several inches of rain in the last few weeks here in Central Maine.[:' (]