300 WSM 180 NAB how far off lands?

[ART300WSM]

My first post here hello all. Been hunting with and shooting Nosler PT's, BT's, and now AB's for a long time. Looking to develop a load for my new Tikka T3 light in 300 WSM using 180 grain Accubonds.

Did a ton of research and am reading to start setting them anywhere from .030" to.75" from the lands. As Accubonds a not cheap I am looking for if there is such a thing, a general consensus on a good starting point from the lands. I also gathered with Accubonds you are better off starting far and working closer.

What do you all suggest?
Thank you,
Art
Thanks

 

[OU812]

First off welcome aboard, great groups of guys and gals with LOTS of first hand info and are always willing to share.

I always start with a round that will fit and feed from my mag box. Unless you want a single shot you can only seat deeper from there. AB do like a jump.

 

[gerry]

Welcome to the forum.

I would also be inclined to start at mag length as well and seat deeper if necessary. Tikka's are very accurate so you may find a load quickly.

 

[Tommer23]

I have had good luck with jumping accubonds.
If you are looking for absolute accuracy then you need to figure out what your rifle likes. It might be jammed, just off lands, or significant jump.
If you are looking for good accuracy in a hunting round but not willing to load one at a time, then you are left with loading to magazine length or less, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I am sure you will be able to find a seating depth that is less than magazine length that is more than accurate enough for hunting.

 

[DrMike]

Welcome aboard, ART300WSM. Hey, Bill, who you outing? I have found that bonded core bullets give the greatest accuracy when they have a good jump to the lands. Almost every load I use begins at 0.100 inch off the lands. It is not unusual that they remain at that seating depth. Only occasionally have I seated closer to the lands, and on a couple of occasions I have seated farther from the lands. Still, 0.100 inches seems to be where I usually begin and end.

 

[lefty315]

I can't tell you how far off the lands we are but I load the 180 Accubonds in my buddies .300 WSM Tikka. Seated at 2.855 they shoot exceptionally well.

 

[OU812]

Welcome aboard, ART300WSM. Hey, Bill, who you outing? I have found that bonded core bullets give the greatest accuracy when they have a good jump to the lands. Almost every load I use begins at 0.100 inch off the lands. It is not unusual that they remain at that seating depth. Only occasionally have I seated closer to the lands, and on a couple of occasions I have seated farther from the lands. Still, 0.100 inches seems to be where I usually begin and end.

Mike I had no idea what you were talking about until I reread my post. I have no idea how I got the a and u mixed up, there are not even close on the keyboard. Fixed it now.

 

[DrMike]

Couldn't pass the opportunity, Bill. :mrgreen: I have a few of my own typos that left me red faced.

 

[OU812]

Couldn't pass the opportunity, Bill. :mrgreen: I have a few of my own typos that left me red faced.

I agree 100% Mike, it's hard to pass up a free lunch. :lol: I offer such lunches from time to time.

 

[DrMike]

Couldn't pass the opportunity, Bill. :mrgreen: I have a few of my own typos that left me red faced.

I agree 100% Mike, it's hard to pass up a free lunch. :lol: I offer such lunches from time to time.

From now on, I'll be watching my back! :shock: Guess I set myself up for a rerun. :lol: Still like my ABs 0.100 inches off the lands.

 

[Charlie-NY]

In a hunting rifle it is best to start off at magazine length. Using a custom .308 win, I loaded a few at magazine length and measured them to find that the bullet sat .165" off the rifling. I didn't expect them to shoot very well but was surprised when they produced the smallest group fired with that bullet.

With that said, I have several rifles that shoot Accubonds rather well at .020"-.030" off the rifling. It's the AccuBond-LR that seem to need plenty of jump in my rifles.

 

[Teknys]

I'm in the .100" or greater (big jump) camp on AB and LRAB. Not even because of mag length limiting the OAL.