300 Weatherby Loading and old stuff

[SJB358]

Well, I loaded up some developmental loads for the 300WBY. I am a little ahead of the ball game, as I don't have a scope or heck even mounts yet. Woodycreek hooked me up with a ton of WBY, Rem and some Win cases. Plus, he gave me a set of RCBS dies and a few old boxes of Rem 300 H&H match rounds. Anyhow, I ended up using RL22, WBY cases, CCI 250's and the 200gr PT. I am hoping it shoots, cause I have a ton of them. If they don't shoot well, I may look at the 180gr PT's? Who knows.

Here are some pictures of the stuff

Rem UMC 180gr Match rounds

The mighty 300 H&H

Some Weatherby ammo, some pretty bold advertising back in the day!

The old RCBS dies. They work as they should. Seem to be in great shape and turned out some nice stuff

The loaded 300WBY with RL22. Loaded from 76.5-78.5. I am ultimately looking for 3000 FPS out of the 200's. Honestly anything above 2900 with good groups will make me happy. I have some IMR7828SSC also to try out if it doesn't like RL22, but so far, in my experience, RL22 and IMR7828 are just about the same.... I know, not exactly, but they act very similar with similar charges.

I have to say, that 300 WBY is one great looking round and there is no shortage of powder space! Right now I am hoping the little Vanguard performs. The only hang up would be the trigger, but it feels okay. If, once I get to the range, it seems too creepy or something, I will swap it out for a Timney. Never had any decent luck with the WBY triggers, and a Timney is relatively decent in price. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

The advertising was bold, but accurate. Roy was correct in building that cartridge. I'm working up loads on a 300 Bee right now.

 

[Guy Miner]

Very cool. That .300 H&H ammo of yours looks OLD. I wonder if there's any collector interest in it?

Keep us posted please - a good 200 gr bullet should work very well from the big .300 Weatherby!

 

[SJB358]

I think 200's really make the 300 sing. I just looked up the trajectory, 3" high at 100 yard gives me a 300 yard zero or so and about 24" low at 500 yards. That is pretty darned flat. I am really looking forward shooting this rifle. The WBY seems like a very straight forward cartridge to load. The Forster made EASY work of sizing those cases. Plenty of room and they seemed to press through very easily.

I would imagine there might be some collector interest in them? Don't know though. To be totally honest with you, I was going to use a few of the H&H rounds to zero the new scope when it comes in. It is pretty neat to chamber a 300 H&H round in the WBY chamber. It has that crisp, crush fit like a AI cartridge. I have about 5 loose rounds in order to get the scope on target, so I may not have to molest those boxes of 300 H&H Match rounds.

Overall, I kinda like this Weatherby, even though it is the poor mans Weatherby, still feels pretty good. Should have the mounts this week and a scope shouldn't be too close behind. Scotty

 

[OldMan]

I have several 300 Weatherbys that I have worked up loads for and Rl-22 has a faster burn rate than the 7828 so be careful! My old Mark V likes RL-22 and 78 gr with the 200 pt, giving 3000 fps and good accuracy. Many of the new manuals have backed way off on the IMR-7828 from older manuals claiming better methods of pressure testing than before so be careful.
My son has a Jap 300 Mark V and it likes the 200 Speer and RL-25, again giving over 3000 fps. My model 70 likes 180 AB's and RL-25 at over 3200 fps. I tried the 200 AB bullet for a short time in this rifle but gave up when the tips were breaking off in the magazine. Nosler fixed the problem and I will try them again. Be careful when changing brands of brass as volumes vary. The Wby brass is the thinnest and will accept more powder than Remington. Save the Wby boxes with the lion as they are no longer made and will become collectors items. Also it is really tough to find good 300 H&H brass to fire form these days and those factory loads may be collectible too!

 

[BK]

I love the old Weatherby ammo boxes! You could feel the excitement of the hunt just standing in the store looking at them!

If I could talk you out of them, I'd buy the H&H stuff from you... lemme know.

 

[SJB358]

I love the old Weatherby ammo boxes! You could feel the excitement of the hunt just standing in the store looking at them!

If I could talk you out of them, I'd buy the H&H stuff from you... lemme know.

BK, I have two boxes of the H&H stuff. 20 rounds a piece with 180gr FMJ's. They are in pretty decent shape. I am not sure what they are worth, but I would trade for 300WBY brass of Norma or Nosler make. Scotty

 

[SJB358]

I have several 300 Weatherbys that I have worked up loads for and Rl-22 has a faster burn rate than the 7828 so be careful! My old Mark V likes RL-22 and 78 gr with the 200 pt, giving 3000 fps and good accuracy. Many of the new manuals have backed way off on the IMR-7828 from older manuals claiming better methods of pressure testing than before so be careful.
My son has a Jap 300 Mark V and it likes the 200 Speer and RL-25, again giving over 3000 fps. My model 70 likes 180 AB's and RL-25 at over 3200 fps. I tried the 200 AB bullet for a short time in this rifle but gave up when the tips were breaking off in the magazine. Nosler fixed the problem and I will try them again. Be careful when changing brands of brass as volumes vary. The Wby brass is the thinnest and will accept more powder than Remington. Save the Wby boxes with the lion as they are no longer made and will become collectors items. Also it is really tough to find good 300 H&H brass to fire form these days and those factory loads may be collectible too!

No worries, I am sticking to book data for this and working up pretty incrementally. I would like to stick to RL22 since it is listed as Nosler's most accurate powder and I shoot a bunch of it in others rifles. If it doesn't work, I think RL25 will get a try. Scotty

 

[ScreaminEagle]

Scotty, I'm in the same boat as you. I have 30 test loads made up right now for my 300 bee, but I have no scope and no mounts. I'd rob one off another gun but really don't wanna do that. Oh well just gives me more time to play with other guns! I have been using reloader 25. Interested to see how the re-22 works.

 

[SJB358]

This should work out well. What are you loading SE? A 180 or 200? I am sticking with 200gr'ers unless they just wont shoot. If those won't shoot, I will try the 180gr AB's. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

I can't imagine that the 200 grain bullets won't shoot. That'll be a thumper, for sure.

 

[R Flowers]

Well, you have some great stuff there, for sure. The old Weatherby boxes are a story in themselves and I have never even seen 300 H&H match ammo. What a find! You certainly should save those as they are never to be seen again.

I was lucky enough to purchase a mess of 300 Wby brass and old ammo boxes last year from a fellow who used to work at Nosler, if you can imagine that. I will never possibly use up this brass, just wanted to have it and the boxes.

You seem determined to shoot the 200 grain bullets, but I have been shooting 180 grain Partitions out of my 300 Wby Mag for more years than I want to admit, they work great.
I used to use surplus H 4831 for my loads but when it ran out, I switched to RL 22 and never looked back.

Listen to the other posters on here. Do not mix different brands of brass. The Weatherby brass is thinner and will allow more powder than any other manufacturer. When switching from Weatherby to Remington brass I have to use 1.5 grains less powder to get the same velocity.

Have fun with your new rifle.

 

[JD338]

Scotty

That old ammo is cool. Check with shooters pro shop, maybe you can score on sone seconds for a decent price.

JD338

 

[ScreaminEagle]

This should work out well. What are you loading SE? A 180 or 200? I am sticking with 200gr'ers unless they just wont shoot. If those won't shoot, I will try the 180gr AB's. Scotty

Scotty, I'm using 180gr Accubonds and RE-25 per desertfox's reccomendation. He had the target to back it up. I can't believe how long it is to the lands of my vanguard. I couldn't seat 180 AB out far enough to touch them, and those bullets are long! I just set my starting OAL to just fit in the mag.

 

[BK]

I love the old Weatherby ammo boxes! You could feel the excitement of the hunt just standing in the store looking at them!

If I could talk you out of them, I'd buy the H&H stuff from you... lemme know.

BK, I have two boxes of the H&H stuff. 20 rounds a piece with 180gr FMJ's. They are in pretty decent shape. I am not sure what they are worth, but I would trade for 300WBY brass of Norma or Nosler make. Scotty

I'm driving by the Pro Shop tomorrow, I'll see what they have in stock.

 

[SJB358]

I love the old Weatherby ammo boxes! You could feel the excitement of the hunt just standing in the store looking at them!

If I could talk you out of them, I'd buy the H&H stuff from you... lemme know.

BK, I have two boxes of the H&H stuff. 20 rounds a piece with 180gr FMJ's. They are in pretty decent shape. I am not sure what they are worth, but I would trade for 300WBY brass of Norma or Nosler make. Scotty

I'm driving by the Pro Shop tomorrow, I'll see what they have in stock.

Sounds good, anything 264WM or 300WBY would be awesome.

I found another box of for 180gr Winchester Silvertips 300 H&H. They aren't Silvertips though, just a bunch of Pointed Soft Points. The box is in decent shape also. The Remington UMC Match stuff is pretty good looking though. Scotty

 

[SJB358]

Well, you have some great stuff there, for sure. The old Weatherby boxes are a story in themselves and I have never even seen 300 H&H match ammo. What a find! You certainly should save those as they are never to be seen again.

I was lucky enough to purchase a mess of 300 Wby brass and old ammo boxes last year from a fellow who used to work at Nosler, if you can imagine that. I will never possibly use up this brass, just wanted to have it and the boxes.

You seem determined to shoot the 200 grain bullets, but I have been shooting 180 grain Partitions out of my 300 Wby Mag for more years than I want to admit, they work great.
I used to use surplus H 4831 for my loads but when it ran out, I switched to RL 22 and never looked back.

Listen to the other posters on here. Do not mix different brands of brass. The Weatherby brass is thinner and will allow more powder than any other manufacturer. When switching from Weatherby to Remington brass I have to use 1.5 grains less powder to get the same velocity.

Have fun with your new rifle.

I plan on sticking with Weatherby brass or Nosler. Since they are both made by Norma, I will do a capacity check and see how they come out. I hate switching brass.

The only reason for the 200gr bullets is I have a bunch of 200gr PT's on my bench, and being bullets aren't inexpensive, I would like them to work. I am not super hard headed about it and if they won't shoot well, I will drop back to 180's and give them a whirl also. I only have 180gr BT's right now, so I would have to invest in some 180gr PT's or AB's to try. I kinda think they will shoot though. Scotty

 

[BK]

I plan on sticking with Weatherby brass or Nosler. Since they are both made by Norma, I will do a capacity check and see how they come out. I hate switching brass.

Curious to hear what your findings will be. I keep looking at Norma brass for my .257, but I already have some Weatherby and I'm a little hesitant to mix. Plus, at some point I will start loading for my .300 and already have some Remington brass for it.

 

[SJB358]

I have a bunch of Weatherby brass for the 300 right now, so I am not too worried about that. I will buy Norma/Weatherby or Nosler brass as I can find it on sale. Scotty

 

[OldMan]

I have a bunch of Weatherby brass for the 300 right now, so I am not too worried about that. I will buy Norma/Weatherby or Nosler brass as I can find it on sale. Scotty

Don't hold your breath waiting for a sale on Weatherby brass. I used to make mine from 8mmMag brass but I can't find it anymore. It's even getiing hard to find Remington 300 Wby brass. If Nosler brass is the same as Norma or Wby it may be as good as any. Just be glad you are not looking for 30-378 Wby brass. The last box of factory loads for that was over 100 bucks!

If you find a good buy on a bunch of 8mm Mag brass it's simple to make into 300 Wby. Just run it through the sizer and trim. I also did a neck turn after everything else to make the necks perfect and shot some tiny groups with 180 PT's and RL-22.