.300 wsm COAL

[rinky]

Hi guys, brand new to the forum and have been looking for quite a while about how people using the .300 wsm are getting 175 vlds and 185 vlds into their short actions without seating them so far into the case.

I am pretty new to reloading and need all of the help I can get.

I want a good hunting bullet and thats why Ive came to the decide the bergers are the best for what I want.

I only shoot 1 competition at 1000 a year with a good friend and just am concerned about seating the bergers.

Can anyone give me their Favorite .300 wsm load and COAL etc to confirm I can actually use 175gr+ VLDs in a short action?

Thank you and its good to be here.

 

[1000yardstare]

A Savage 12FVSS in .300 wsm is one of my backup F Class rifles. Very accurate out to 1000 yards. To be honest I do much better with my 6AI, less thump. Howsomever, 178 AMax and 175 MKings scoot along at 3000 fps over a load of 65 gr H4350, both seated at a COAL of 2.870. Have never used the Bergers so cannot comment on them. You didn`t mention the make of your rifle so carefully check the seating depth before using my load.

Unfortunately this cartridge tends to be short-throated in commercial rifles, a restriction imposed on the short magnums meant to be used in a short action. So just about any "heavy" target bullet you use will have the rear of the bearing surface below the donut at the shoulder. You would have to get a custom chamber cut to have the rear of the bearing surface seated above the donut. But this would require single loading in a short action, not a good idea in a hunting rifle.

From a hunting standpoint, the .300 wsm has gained in popularity as a moose cartridge in northern Ontario. But the .308 and .30-06 are still tops.

 

[rinky]

Hey thanks for the reply, its nice to see that my posts dont just get ignored haha. I have a good friend that pushes the 178gr Amax's out at 3100fps but my father lives in south central montana and Im planning on getting a Elk tag... Amax's arent gonna do it for an elk im almost positive anyways.

My rifle is a Weatherby Vanguard Submoa. However barrel/throatlife isnt too much of a concern for me really. My friend also using the a-max's has his own lathe and custom builds everything he owns. I would think if 175gr SMKs work in the mag then 178gr bergers would as well.

Since my friend makes his own barrels I could just have him rechamber the rifle to really anything but I just think for now ill stick with the 300 wsm til she wears out.

 

[rinky]

Might have just found some ground breaking info... I was running some more data on a ballistics resource and damn... granted I can get the 168gr VLDs out to 3150fps Ill be actually outrunning 178gr Amax's and 175gr VLDs at 1000 Yards and nearly identical ballisticly other than about 50fps or so and 100lbs in energy... negligible at best. Since its a smaller bullet seating wont be near as difficult either. Wish it wasnt about 35 below zero so i could actually see how this performs once properly setup....

 

[1000yardstare]

Don`t sell the AMax short as a hunting bullet. There have been threads in this forum in the past discussing the effectiveness of the 178 and 208 AMax in .30 cal. The Hornady manual indicates that both can be used as game bullets. I plan to use the 208 in a .30-06 for moose next year.

 

[scout1]

Here's a few to choose from - http://www.accurateshooter.com/forum/index.php/topic,2427638.0.html

 

[rinky]

Hey thanks for all the replies, its not that I'm selling the A-max's short its just that their bullets are pretty thin jacketed and I just dont want anything to go wrong in that "moment" you know. The Bergers flat out work.

And to reply to that quote "all give some, some give all" thats pretty much exactly it, Ive searched this sight high and low and havent found anything that is exactly the load im looking for. 168gr or 175gr VLDs in a short action magazine hunting rifle with still decent speeds.

I know HSM is working on factory ammo in 300wsm 168 bergers, 3100fps. So it can be done.

 

[rinky]

Oh scout1, I see that youre using the 175s is it in a hunting rifle?

 

[scout1]

It's a Hybrid long action. My Berger 175's are loaded at 2.965 over 72.5 grns VV-N-560 running 3150fps through a 28" Kreiger #17HV. Definetly not a pack gun.

 

[rinky]

Haha very nice, but yeah, thats the biggest problem. I finally find some info and its built in a long action... Ugh.

 

[scout1]

You can always single load ;D

If you need to extract a loaded round, depress the bolt realease and pull the bolt.

 

[rinky]

Haha yeah that is an option but not really one to be considered since I need it in a hunting package. :-\ I might just end up trading my rifle in for a 7mm.... that way if I ever re-barrel or change calibers or whatever I already have a long action etc...

 

[scout1]

rinky, a short action can work but you need the other componets to work with you and not against you. I am having Chris Matthews build me a 7MM WSM on a Stiller Preditor SA using a Seekins extended detatchable box magazine. There are modifications that have to be made to the action in order to take advantage of the magazine capacity of a 3.14 max COAL but it can be done by a compotent smith. This one was built on a Rem SA - http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek064.html

 

[rinky]

Yeah Ive been reading that article too and I like the Idea, plus the 7mm just has better BCs grain for grain. Im not sure what to do, I might just go look around for a 7mm to build and keep the 300 also. I know I can stick with the 300wsm but the recoil is gonna be insane, near 3700lbs energy at the muzzle whereas if id go with the 7mm I wouldnt need a break, Id have better long range ballistics and still have that "go to" rifle.

 

[rinky]

Yeah thats what Im gonna do... Its never a bad thing havin too many guns sooooo, Im keepin the 300WSM for good, and after i file taxes and get my huge return thats comin after my military pay etc, Im buying a new 700 Sendero SFII in 7mm Mag. Already got reloading dies and such so just need to hold off til march sometime. Plus I can get em for dealer cost + like 2% haha... under 1000 for it right now!

 

[scout1]

rinky, Look at the Compstock on this link. I have shot one on a 300 RUM, made it feel like a .410 shotgun.

I have the Axiom V/S on my 300 WSM right now and I love it.

 

[audredger]

My vanguard has a "long" throat... the mag is the limiting factor 2.88 coal... long pointy bullets just have to jump.

 

[rinky]

What do you mean by "just have to jump" my Mag is the same length.

 

[scout1]

what he means is if your shooting a factory barrel they throat them for the heaviest bullet in that calliber leaving a long throat and a jump for anything smaller or pointier unless you load long and single feed.

 

[NDMarksman]

Hello rinky,

I shoot a customized Win. M70 chambered for 300WSM. My barrel is a Lilja 1"10 twist and all Lilja barrels are hand lapped. I use Berger 175 Hunting VLD's quite successfully. Caution: you'll need to verify the COAL for your rifle as they will differ from rifle to rifle. My load, and it's shooting three shot groups under .500" at 200 yards is:

Berger 175 Hunting VLD
Alliant RE-22 @ 66.8 gr.
CCI-LR Magnum Primers
All Brass is FL sized and trimmed to 2.100"
COAL is 2.930" (.010" from lands on my rifle)

If you're curious to figure out the proper COAL for your rifle try taking a fired case that has a neck that's still tight enough that you can't feed a bullet in to the neck by hand. Then use a nylon bore brush to lightly brush the inside of the case neck. Lightly lubricate the inside of the case neck and only slightly seat the 175 VLD with your press and bullet seating die. Then place your test cartridge into the rifle and slowly bolt the round in to the chamber. It may be a good idea to try bolting just the empty case before cleaning and seating a bullet just to ensure the case feeds without difficulty. Once you've chambered the test case and seated the bullet this way measure the COAL then subtract approximately .010" for the COAL you should start with.

The other factor here is your magazine's ability to accept the rounds. This may turn out to be a case where you use single-shot mode to achieve the ultimate in accuracy. My rifle accepts the 2.930" COAL with no problem but yours may not. Hope this helps and good luck.