300 wsm to far away from lands?

[Bigcat_hunter]

I'm starting to reload for my 300 wsm and dicovered that the longest you can make the cartrage to fit in the magazine is the overall length listed in the book. Has any one had any accuracy problems related to this?

 

[rick smith]

You don't have to be up at the lands for good accuracy, many short actions display that condition. Seat the bullet to clear the mag box and start working up loads. Just one of those things the press forgot to tell you when they were promoting the short mags.Rick.

 

[steve4102]

Just one of those things the press forgot to tell you when they were promoting the short mags.Rick.

The fact that your "magazine" will not allow you to seat your bullet out to the lands has NOTHING to do with the fact that it is a "Short Mag". There are many many rifles of different calibers out there that are NOT "Short Mags" that have the same situation. Have you checked your chamber to see what the "max" COL would be for your choice of bullet? The 300WSM is known for a short throat, I'm guessing your mag length ain't to far off from your COL.

Seat your bullets so they will cycle smoothly and work up your loads. I think you will be very pleased with the accuracy of your 300WSM even if you can't reach the lands.. Don't be discouraged by all of the WSM bashing. The 300WSM is becoming very well known for it's excellent accuracy and ballistics performance. And, without the "pain in the butt" "belted case".


If you can put up with the moderator's attitude, this is a good site to find out a lot about your 300WSM.

http://www.shortmags.org/shortmags/


I use Ramshot "Hunter" in my 300WSM and Nosler Partitions. Hunter gives me the best velocity along with excellent accuracy. I have had excellent accuracy with MagPro, R-19 and IMR4831 also, Hunter beat them all hands down in the fps. department though.

Good Luck.

 

[tapehoser]

The 300 Weatherby typically has the same issue. Not in ALL rifles....but most. There's no way in Hades that I can even come CLOSE to the lands in my Mod 70 - unless the bullet seating depth is only 10 thousandths!

Just pick a good length and work up a load from there. If you don't get good groups, seat the bullet a little deeper and try again.

I'm betting you get some good groups out of the first set though!

 

[rick smith]

Steve4102, I mentioned that many short actions display that condition. Don't know why you think belted cases are a pain in the butt. Been loading them for years without a problem. I am not against short mags, own two of them, but do think they are not as good as the full sized mags. I put the 300WSM as in between the 30/06 and 300WinMag. I have done side by side comparisons over the chronograph on the same day of the above three shooting the same bullet. The 300WSM was 150fps faster than the 30/06 but 250fps slower than the 300WinMag. All loads were approximately one grain below max for my rifles. Barrel length of the 30/06 and 300WSM were 22", the 300WinMag has a 24" barrel which would give it a 50fps advantage,at most, over the 300WSM. All three are custom rifles built by the same smith. There are no free lunches in the ballistic world. I did have the 300WSM built on a full sized action so I didn't have to push the bullet so far into the case.Rick.

 

[steve4102]

Rick, I too have run some test between the 300WM and the 300WSM. My results are much different than yours.
Ramshot Hunter powder was used along with 165gr Nosler partitions. All components were the same. Although the two rifles were of diff manufactures they were both 24in barrels. The 300WSM took a full 5 grains Less than the 300WM and produced velocities about 20fps more than the WM.
Nosler data:

300WM- 180gr bullet, 75.5gr R-22,velocity 3118
300WSM 180gr bullet, 69gr R-22, velocity 3057
That is an increase in velocity of 61fps for the WM using a whole 6.5gr more of powder.

As for the comparison between my 300WSM and my 30-06 I again have very different results than you. Using Ramshot Hunter and 165gr Nosler Partitions my 300WSM has an increase in velocity of over 350fps compared to my 30-06.

 

[big rifle man]

Hi guys, I own a Kimber Montana in 300WSM, (24 Inch barrel) and I seat 165Grain Nosler partitions to fit the length of the magazine. I'm not really worried about getting the bullet close to the lands as I'm getting 1 1/8 inch groups at 200Yds. I use IMR483l which gives me the velocity (3050FPS) and definitely the accuracy. By the way there's been a lot of comments on whether the 165 is adequate for Elk and I can tell you it definitely is as an Elk in Colorado found out this past season.

 

[rick smith]

Steve, you say Nosler data. Did you shoot them over your chronograph? I would like to try Ramshot Hunter but have not seen any in this area. Our shops carry IMR and Hodgdon. Tried a couple of gunshows without any luck. Don't want to pay the hazmat just to try one pound.Rick.

 

[steve4102]

Rick, All of my loads using Hunter have been shot over a chrony. I added the "Nosler Data" only cuz this is Nosler's site. I have not compared R-22 in these two calibers myself, I will do this as soon as I can.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Just seat them out as far as you can in the magazine box. Your tips might get damaged, but if there BTips, it wont matter in flight out to about 800 yards. For instance, the recomended OAL for my 300 RUM is 3.6" well my magazine box, I can go to about 3.660". I get smashed tips, but my groups at 525 and 800 cant tell the difference.

 

[Blaine]

The OAL has more to do with the diameter of the bullet than the fact that it is a "short mag". My 300 Win Mag has the same condition. If I try to load a 150 grain bullet, it is just too short to seat it out far enough to reach(or even approach) the lands. Using a heavier bullet helps. As has been said already, closeness to the lands is not a condition of accuracy. Some rifles "prefer" the bullet to be away from the lands for best accuracy. My Win Mag is that way, as is my 308. The 308 likes the bullet set back as much as .120" for best accuracy. Just go as long as the magazine will allow and try different powders and charge weights and you may be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Blaine