.300 Weatherby - 180, 190, or 200?

[HeathSexton]

I have a Mark V Stainless 26" synthetic .300 Weatherby that I have been wanting to work some loads up for. It is much cartridge for this area, I have mainly been going to just shoot some longer range steel and bottles with it. I have H1000, H4831, and IMR 7828 on hand, what weight bullet should I roll with? I like the simplicity of the 180 as far as finding load data, I like the 190 as a tweener, and I like the 200's BC, there is also the 208AMAX. Decisions, decisions......



Should I float the barrel or try it as is?



Thanks!

 

[DrMike]

I recently worked up a load for a 300 Wby that shoots exceptionally well. It consist of CCI250 primers, 83.5 grains of IMR7828 and 180 grain BTs. I'd give the barrel a try as is, simply because it is there and ten rounds would give you a fair indication of what it is going to do.

 

[SJB358]

I agree with Mike, most WBY's will shoot well as is. I would look at the 180gr Ballistic Tips, Hornady 190's and the Sierra Gameking 200gr SBT's for your longer range practice. Those three will do well at long range, and would also handle deer well. I would try IMR7828 and RL22 for the WBY. Have had some decent luck with those in a few WBY's I have messed with in the past. Good luck, sounds like a great rifle. Scotty

 

[OldMan]

My former 300 Wby was a MarkV and really liked RL-22 in the 180 and 200 grain bullets. My Model 70 300 Wby likes 87grains of RL25 in the 180 BT/AB bullets, always sub m.o.a. groups. My son has a Mark V that likes the 200 Speer with 85 grains of RL25, again sub m.o.a., good accuracy and velocity with the RL25 powder! I have an 8 lb jug og IMR 7828 ssc that i bought for these guns but ended up being the best for my 270 winchester which proves every gun is different!

 

[HeathSexton]

Thanks for the info guys. I have a small few of the 190 BTSP Hornadys left and I have a couple of boxes of the 180NBT on order and I had just made a note on the 200gr Sierras. I think this will be a good rifle to load for, I have always liked the big Weatherbys, or as people call them around here, the big Wheaderbee's, LOL.


A question about the NBT's, has anyone used the regular BT's and then tried the Combined Technology BT's to see if there is any difference? I am just curious if they would be interchangable because I already have a box of those.


Thanks

 

[SJB358]

I am thinking you may be able to push the CBT's a little faster, since they are Lubalox coated. I would bet if you find a load for the CBT's it would be mighty close to regular 180gr BT's. You will have to drop down a little with the regular BT's but I would bet they will be just as accurate.

The 180gr BT's and Sierra 200gr'ers are pretty high BC'ed bullets and should really reach out at 300WBY speeds. Never messed with the 190gr Hornady, just cause I couldn't get them. They look like a great bullet and definitely in the same expense category as the other two. Plus, the Hornady may be the toughest of the three. Scotty

 

[JD338]

Heath,

As already mentioned, I would try to work with the rifle as is before making any changes.
The 180 gr BT will work great in the 300 Wby. I have not shot the Lubalox coated bullets but they should perform close to the BT's.
The 200 gr AB will turn it into a long range hammer for sure. Due to a lower MV than the 180 gr, they will also do less damage to game up close.

JD338

 

[HeathSexton]

I just went ahead with the 180NBT's, I ordered 100 yesterday. Pretty excited to get the big hammer up and going. IF I were to ever get to go on a hunt for bigger game the 200gr bullets are on the menu.


I have a brick of Fed215's, those work for a good primer or should I hunt down some CCI's?


I have 65 pieces of 1x fired brass that I am fixing to resize and prep.



Thanks

 

[DrMike]

The Federal 215s were designed for the Weatherby cartridge. Stick with it, especially since you have them.

 

[JD338]

Heath

The Federal 215 primer is the way to go in your 300 Wby. :wink:

JD338

 

[SJB358]

Those 180gr BT's should be excellent for longer range steel practice and be pretty good for deer and other similar sized game. I have a buddy that swears by the 180gr BT and 300WBY for elk and muleys. Scotty

 

[HeathSexton]

Thanks guys.


I figured the 180NBT would be a pretty decent bullet, again, probably won't hunt with it as most of my shots are under 50yds. With the 26" stick I could just about smack them on the noggin at my shooting distances.

 

[Greg Nolan]

Just to be different.
I've found IMR4350 to be the most accurate powder in the three 300Wbys I've had. I've tried IMR7828 and RL22 and they worked ok but not as accurate. I used the 180 gr. Nosler partitions or swift a frames for hunting and the 180 gr. Remington core-lokt for sillouetes. The Federal 215 primers were developed for the 378/460 wby size case. I always used CCI 250 primers but the Federal 210 or 215 primer will probably be just fine.
I've found that the 300 Wby. to be one of those inherently accurate calibers. Once you find it's favorite load you'll be happy with the results.

 

[HeathSexton]

Well, I will have to give a look at IMR4350 also, just happen to have a spare 5lbs laying around.


Thanks for the help guys

 

[Desert Fox]

My old standby powder for the 300 Weatherby is the IMR 7828. I also have good result with Reloader 25, so I will be switching powder here pretty soon since I've acquired 40 lbs of it for a song. Any 180 grain bullet will be an ideal all around weight for this great cartridge. Use either a bonded core or homogenous bullet for elk size game and regular cap and core for deer size game.

Shoot the rifle first and see how it perform before doing anything else. Chances are that probably don't have to do anything.

 

[Elkman]

I will be the minority commenter. I will be interested to how it all works out. I would go with the 200's , float the barrel and bed the recoil lug an inch or so forward of the lug. I do not own a rifle that has not shot better after this treatment. Good luck with your project let us know how it comes out.

 

[hardpan]

I use 180s AB. Reason is simple, Great accurate bullet with great knockdown. The 200 is too slow and had similar knockdown as its faster 180. I shoot 84.5 gr of 7828, with Fed 215 primers. The key to my grouping for this rifle was OAL. I pushed it out to just under what my magazine would hold. The rifle has shot several single hole 3 shot groups.

Other advice, let the barrel completely cool between shots. A .300 WBY generates a TON OF HEAT!
Hardpan

 

[HeathSexton]

I will bring this thread back from the grave.

I decided it was time to drag out the big 'bee. I had a couple hundred 180NBT's on hand so I went with them just to see what would happen. IMR7828 was the powder, Weatherby brass, Fed 215, OAL 3.700".

IMR7828
83.5grs - 3" @ 135yds
84.0grs - 2.5" @ 135yds
84.5grs - 2.5" @ 135yds
85grs - 1.392" @ 135yds


I ran out of time. The 85gr load will be tried again and I am going to try 85.5grs. I had zero pressure signs, extraction was easy, primers are still round.


It has been awhile since I have fired the ol'gal, I forgot how it kicked. The first round was quite the surprise.


Edit time, just noticed something. I have some 2x fired brass, fired from my rifle. A friend who has loaded for many years loaded them for me some years back. I took 6 of the fired pieces to use for these loads. I noticed that when I tried to trim the brass with the Lee case length gauge it was not even close to trimming, so I measured. The brass was 2.785" - 2.807", the Lee gauge trims to 2.812" and the other brass I have is 2.825", that is what is in the Nosler manual. Would the brass being so short and different lengths cause accuracy problems? ANy ideas as to why he trimmed so short? I know those are probably stupid questions, but I have never seen something trimmed so weird, especially by someone who has been doing this for 10 years.


Any other tips?

 

[kraky]

No one could guess why he trimmed short....maybe just didn't set his trimmer right. It won't hurt a thing. One comment I can add to all the good info already is that my latest 300 wby didn't like bullets seated long. Most my wby's like them seated to max clip length but this one wouldn't shoot anything till I seated much deeper. I wasted a ton of powder and bullet combos' trying to find magic with this gun and almost sold it...then seated bullets deeper as a last ditch attmpt and accuracy magic came alive.

 

[FOTIS]

My 300 Bee had always loved 200 grain bullets.

200 AB or PT with 81-83 gr of IMR 7828 or 82-85 gr of RL25 always worked well. 3050 fps with a great SD and BC. What else can you ask for.