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.300 WSM WOW!

ben_g said:
Thanks guys.

I am getting starting to get to grips with how to shoot this cartridge now.

For me I don’t find the recoil uncomfortable or painful, but you do have to be holding it right for best results.

I got a friend to film me, just firing a 5 shot group during load testing at 1100yards on ET’s a couple of weeks back.

My rifle is built on a Barnard P action, March 8
-80scope and barrel is only 1.220” parallel finished at 30inches.

I have a few barrels which I hang off this action at 32” finished 1.250straight and it still only weighs 9.2kg, with this 300WSM barrel it would be under 9kg so is a good 2.5lbs underweight for f-open.
Next barrel will be up to weight and should really tame recoil down even further.

Ben,
I was wandering if you are using a bedding block with your Barnard action or a recoil lug?
Thanks DS
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LA50SHOOTER said:
Patrick,

Temperature and Elevation are BIG factors to consider when using a stability calculator. Also, what "perception" do you have that 1.5 is "barely stable ? - Do you have "real world" experience that leads you to believe this ? - And I'm NOT trying to belittle or pick at you at all.
- A 1.5 stability factor is plenty. (I saw a 1-13" twist .308 Win shoot 187 gr. BIB bullets into very small bug-hole groups at 200 & 300 yards, which isn't supposed to happen as the recommended twist is 1-12.5 but it did & repeatedly).

Straight from the BIB website & I'd say Randy knows something about bullets & stability rates. twist rates which impart between 1.4 and 1.9 Sg will provide the best precision. While faster/slower twist rates may work well enough, twist rates which produce Sg outside this window begin to errode potential precision.

I personally believe a 1-8.5 twist is Not going to yield the Best accuracy, because it's not conducive to do so with the bullets we are talking about.

@Steve Blair has done extensive testing using the 230 gr. Bergers in the 300 WSM and has shared a good deal of information here on the forum with the members.

- Regards, - Ron
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I believe I read Litz says the minimum twist to stabilize a bullet is the most accurate but for hunting a faster twist/higher SG is necessary for penetration and proper expansion. Just because a bullet punched a round hole in paper doesn't mean it will perform on game. It wants to tip over and fly base first as it is actually more stable that way. Think of a top spinning on a table, it's very stable when it's spinning fast but gets wobbly as it slows down and is easy to push over. I have seen a 230 SMK make a 90 degree turn after hitting an elk(no bone, broadside) and initial reports on the 7mm Berger 195 on game were horrible when shot from a 9 twist, even they shot very well on paper. Now guys are shooting them with 8.4 or faster and getting better reports. Again this is for hunting, not paper where the minimum for stability is more accurate. IMO
 
Anyone running 200.20X Berger’s??

As 215’s are scarce here in Australia I’m looking to develop some loads for Mid-Range F-open.

Thinking 210VLD’s and the 200.20X
 
ben_g said:
Anyone running 200.20X Berger’s??

As 215’s are scarce here in Australia I’m looking to develop some loads for Mid-Range F-open.

Thinking 210VLD’s and the 200.20X
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Hey Ben! This is Ben! LOL!! I have 2 .300WSMs. One of them shoots the 200-20Xs.. I use 61.3grs of H4350 and have them seated 18 thousandths OFF the lands.. It generally shoots UNDER 1" inch at 330 yards! I just re-read my post Ben>>>I meant to say 1" NOT 1/2" sorry>>> so I just changed it!
 
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F-Class interest in the .300WSM is growing fast in the UK. Gary Costello has taken both Rounds 1 and 2 of the GB F-Class League championship series with the cartridge, that's the season's opening weekend (600 yards) and The Northern F-Class Challenge last weekend (two matches each at 800 and 1,000).

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/?s=Gary+Costello&submit=Search

https://gbfclass.com/2019/05/21/2019-diggle-round-2/

If he keeps up this form throughout the season, I'd expect to more people here thinking about a switch from 7mm by November when our national season closes.
 
Hello Laurie! The very first match I shot with the 200-20Xs I won the John Martin Cup in Arizona. It was a 500 yard match at Rio Salado Rifle and Pistol Club. The winds at Rio are very tricky and difficult to "read". However, I shot a 599-39Xs! It was 2 points over the #2 fellow. At 500 yards that was a significant point spread. It is very, very accurate and bucks the wind incredibly!
 
Ben, it's always a marvellous confidence booster to do that on a rifle / cartridge's first competition outing so that was a great start to what is obviously an ongoing success story! :)

I've just got the barrel run-in on my 300SAUM F-Open Barnard and am looking forward to seeing how I get on with this one once I get some proper load development in. ( ........... a BIG cartridge for me these days!)
 
Laurie said:
Ben, it's always a marvellous confidence booster to do that on a rifle / cartridge's first competition outing so that was a great start to what is obviously an ongoing success story! :)

I've just got the barrel run-in on my 300SAUM F-Open Barnard and am looking forward to seeing how I get on with this one once I get some proper load development in. ( ........... a BIG cartridge for me these days!)
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I think the .300SAUM, especially with RL-23, will get you to where you want to be! I have no doubt in my mind!!
 
ShootDots said:
For the past year+, I have shot nothing but 6mms and 6.5mms at ALL ranges in F-Open. I chose this route because as I age, recoil becomes less desirable. However, losing matches due to light bullets being blown about, especially at 1000 yards, is even less desirable! So I decided to change directions. I built a .300 WSM to shoot either Berger 215 Hybrids or 210 JLKs..

Out here in the west where the wind is an ever present factor, I wanted something that would cut thru the wind considerably better than 105s and 140s. I have had several "Straight" .284s and Shehanes, which are excellent rounds in their own right. I have had 2 SAUMS which, personally, I think is a better long-range round than the .284 variants. I wanted something that entertains: 1.) decent barrel life; 2.) ease of tuning and 3.) ballistics the NEAR equal of the SAUM. After doing some research and questioning shooters I tend to trust, I settled on the .300 WSM.

A friend of mine who is an excellent shot as well as a TOP flight loader, decided we were going to capture this round's inherent abilities. John Farraggio, a.k.a. Cognac Jack on this forum, lives near some Arizona BLM land and has set up a 100, 300, 600 and 1000 yard range in the flat desert, complete with a "Shot Marker" target donning "his range".. Since John's "range" is just 5 minutes away from his house he agreed to go back and load after extrapolating loads from what was transpiring on paper.

Prior to going to John's, I loaded up an initial 30 rounds with VV N165 and some 210 JLKs to get some rounds down the barrel and get the rifle sighted in. We did this at 100 yards. I went from 64.5 to 66.5. The velocities were very low indeed. From about 2730 to 2750! Mind you that is 2 FULL GRAINS of powder and only a 20 ft./ sec. increase in velocity! However, virtually all the groups were "one hole", with the exception of the 66.5 which was 4 shots / 1 hole with 1 right next to the group. I KNEW this rifle was going to be a shooter. BUT>> at what velocity?? I scrubbed the barrel down and started with the 215s and H4831sc using Fed 210 primers. I also was using a seating depth of 20 thousandths OFF the lands. I went from 63.8 to 65.0 grs. This testing was done at 300 yards. At 63.8grs it was going about 2755, however, you could tell we were now in the throes of "Barrel Speed-Up" mode. This load shot very well, however, at a very unacceptable velocity. Up at 65.0grs. we were running at about 2830. Not "up there yet" but accuracy was decent. NOTE: the wind was running about 5m.p.h. which is fine, however, the heat-waves were so bad that even at 300 yards on 42 power, the 1" florescent dots were obliterated! I had to turn the power down to 20! John went back and loaded up 25 more, this time from 65.3 to 66.2grs. At 65.3 we were at 2870 and up at 66.2 we were near 2950. Now we were where we needed to be! The best group was at 65.8 at about 2910. Even in horrifying heat waves and down at 20 power, it grouped a horizontally shaped 1 hole group about 5/8th inch! Vertical was only about 1.5 bullet diameters tall!

Next John went back and loaded up 2 groups of 10 each at 65.8 and 65.9. These we did with two seating depths. One group each at 20 off and one group each at 25 off. The 65.8 at 20 off was just a shade better. Next we loaded up 2 groups of 15 shots each at 65.6 and 65.8 and "split the difference" and seated them at 22 off. These were shot at 600 yards. The 65.8 was about 3" high vertical and about 3.5 inch horizontal. Not real good IF you just looked at the groups. However, taking into consideration a 5-7m.p.h. wind, horrifying heat waves and a scope set at 20 power, I did not think they were bad for those conditions.

NEXT: Since I thought the barrel was "pretty much" settled down from speed-up mode, and we had a "decent" load, albeit with a "higher than I care for" e.s. (about 17ft. spread), I decided to drop one tenth of a grain and load up with MAGNUM primers and go shoot a 1000 yard match at Ben Avery Sunday. First match: Fed 215GMs, second match CCI 250s and the last match Win. LRMs.
OBSERVATION: Match 1 >> For the "sighters" and first 10 rounds, I was still in a little speed up mode. However, from shots 11 thru 20 and ALL matches thereafter, the barrel completely settled down! The first match I lost 4 points, 3 from "speed-up" velocity spikes and on the second half of the match I lost one to a wind call. No more velocity spikes! The second half of the match held a very tight water line! The Fed 215s worked very well. SECOND match: I dropped 5 points and used the entire 10 ring! The CCI 250s were not up to par with the Fed 215s. THIRD match, Scott Harris wanted to coach my wind reading to see just how the .300WSM would perform under his direction: Well the waterline was as flat as a pancake, we lost only 1 point and according to Scott, ended up with a "Boat Load" of "Xs"! His statement at the end of the match was "That thing is a FREAKING laser beam"!

It has always been stated on here that the .300 WSM is easy to tune.. It took exactly 1 day to find a load and 1 day at a match to settle on a "final" load after testing at 1000 yards! To say I am pleased is a gross understatement! My thanks to John Farraggio and Scott Harris for their indispensable help on this project!
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Excellent write up, very detailed,much appreciated!!!
 
Tom and I are of the belief we can produce a 30 that will shoot as small as a 6 in calm conditions, Tom's initial limited testing says were right. So now were both gearing up with proper tooling for the bullet, reamers with proper freebore and such, Alex will help with all the particulars. As far as everything else were not going to release until we've squeezed every bit of accuracy we can get out of it. Tom will keep everyone informed in early 2020. Thanks for the interest, Roy
 
Roy H said:
Tom and I are of the belief we can produce a 30 that will shoot as small as a 6 in calm conditions, Tom's initial limited testing says were right. So now were both gearing up with proper tooling for the bullet, reamers with proper freebore and such, Alex will help with all the particulars. As far as everything else were not going to release until we've squeezed every bit of accuracy we can get out of it. Tom will keep everyone informed in early 2020. Thanks for the interest, Roy
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Why not in the wind ? You can keep heavier bullets in the 10 ring when the 6mm want stay there.
 
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