reloading 300 weatherby

[Allen]

Looking for info on reloading 300 Weatherby, the rifle is a Mark V with a 26 inch barrel. I plan on shooting 180-200 gr bullets and no shots over 300 yards. I hunt in the Southeast so white tail deer is the largest game I hunt. I would like to know what other people have come up with and how it worked for you.

Thanks
Allen

[dakotah]

I like to have enough gun for the game also.

With that rifle and bullet weight, most bullets will work pretty well in the 300. I prefer bullets that won't fragment though. I have already said enough about that. But there has been considerable amount of testing on bullet penetration, blow up etc. I have a copy of one of those extensive tests. The graph I have has been saved in a jpeg format and is called best-bullet.jpg. If you would like I could send you a copy. I would post it but am not sure how to do it on Hunt Chat. The premium bullets like Nosler partition and several others would be good choices.

The slower powders I use include 785WW, IMR4831, MR3100, H4831 and H4831SC.

I am almost out of WW785 and seemingly had some problems with it with top loads and 100 degree plus heat.

I have gone through sevral 8 pounders of the MR3100 which I bought when it was dirt cheap. It worked well with the large cases and heavy bullets. It is very similar to the H4831 in my estimation.

The powder I now mostly use with such gun combinations is H4831SC.

So, I would start with 180 grain Nosler Partitions (Parttitins are my favorite) with a full load of H4831SC. And if I ever had to go Elk hunting in open areas I would consider that load combination as a pretty good one (However I might look at 200 grain bullets in the great 300 Weatherby)

[Allen]

Thanks for the info dakotah. Sent you a PM.

Allen

[muledeer]

For Elk I use 180 gr Nosler Partition's over 78.5 grs of IMR 4831. 180 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips for plinking and 78.5 grs of IMR 4831.
I also load 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips and 81 grs of IMR 4350 for Deer although my Weatherby prefers the 180 gr bullets. Actually for muledeer I use my Mk V 270 mag with 130 gr Ballistic Tips and 69 gr of IMR 4831.
Since you will be hunting whitetail you might want to see how your rifle handles 150 bullets. My Weatherby seems to be more accurate with 180's but yours may be different. The reason I suggest 150 grs bullets is that is all you will need for whitetail IMO
muledeer

[dakotah]

I gotta agree in part to Mule Deer in many respects. White tail do not need a 300 Weatherby with a 180 grain bullet to kill them.They die with lesser calibers and with lesser bullets.

I think with the lighter bullets, then the more likely the blowup (higher velocity and often lighter construction). IMO with a high-powered/high-velocity cartridge like the 300 Weatherby, blowup of the bullets on the game is a concern for average hunters like me, especially with light bullets. If I used a 150-gr bullet with that caliber, I think using a preimum bullet would even be very important than it would be with heavier bullets.

What ever bullet you use -- remember the 300 has a lot of power with capacity of very high velocity. It is my belief that bullets are designed for certain velocity ranges. (so choose wisely) The 300 is on the high side of many bullet designs, I think - as far as velocity is concerned. Yet, if you are convinced that you will be able to place a bullet say in the lungs and not have to worry about a running shot or that the deer will be facing you (angling toward you) or facing somewhat in the other direction (angling away) then what the hey -- makes little difference what ever you use. Shoot it in the ribs behind the shoulder (perhaps close to the heart) and the bullet will likely drop the deer like a high school prom dress.

If you think that you might have to take a less than perfect shot, use some thing that can make it through to the vitals and won't damage a lot of good eating. I think the 300 Weatherby is a fine cartrdige. I am willing to bet though that many people in that area of the country will be using a lower velocity round on white tail deer. A bullet that works well in the neighbor's 308 Winchester may not work as well in the 300 due to this 'blow-up' issue.

I have a friend that uses what I consider varmit bullets on prairie deer and antelope. He is 100% successful with his hits/kills. He shoots from a prone position and he is very patient with his shots. He only shoots game in the between the eyes or between the eye-ear area of the head. His favorite two rifles/bullets for such deeds is the 264 Winchester (100 grain bullets) and the 300 Winchester (125 grain bullets). He never worries about bullet blow up and the deer/antelope when hit, drop like that perverbial prom dress. It works for him and it works for others.

(I am not indictaing that I think Mule Deer does this or anything of the kind. So please don't get pissed at me, Mule Deer.)

I know of a local guy who used to use nothing but 125 to130 grain bullets from a 300 Weatherby and thought it killed like lightning. He sold that 300 and now uses a 300/378 Weatherby with 125 to 130 grain bullets. He loves it. In his words."Kills like magic."

Another local guy tells of shooting a white tail with a 50 grain SX bullet out of his 22-250. The bullet penetrated only about one half of an inch behind the deer's ear. It killed the deer - instantly.

The idea of shooting through a meaty portion of the deer (if the situation calls for it) and damaging the least amount of the deer meat (eat up to the hole) yet the bullet traveling into and often through the vitals is not universally held. Some people can always call their shots and they can make up for poorer performance of the caliber bullet combination with expert marksmanship. Good for them, I say.

[Dan in the Delta]

When I hunted whitetail with a .300 Wby down here in Mississippi I experimented with various bullet/powder combinations and finally settled on the 168 gr. Barnes TSX and RL22 as my favorite combo. I don't recall how much powder I used, but I do recall that I was using Norma brass and Fed215m primers. Accuracy was excellent and velocity was in the 3300 fps range. I settled on the TSX after getting less than adequate performance from other bullets, especially at close range.

These days I prefer to hunt deer with a 7mm-08 or .30-06. Just more pleasant to shoot. The old .300 Wby (a Sako 75) was rebarreled and is now a .300 Win. Mag.