225 gr ELD .300 win mag load data

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Since the Hornady ELD bullets are relatively new, and there isn't much load data for 225 gr bullets in .300 win mag, I thought I would share todays test results .

My rifle is a .300 win mag with a 28" Shilen barrel #8 1:10 twist(heavy bull barrel), 1lb Timney trigger, comp recoil lug, AICS magazine fed, Aluminum piller bedded.

Virgin Norma brass
CCI - 250 Primers
H1000 powder
Hornady 225 gr ELD bullets.

As per Hornady's recommendation, I seated them 0.020 off the lands. This gave me a COAL of 3.6220. The Hornady manual has a recommended OAL of the standard 3.340 .300wm length but on the phone Hornady's rep recommend a 0.020 jump so that's where I started.
This is a long bullet, 1.655 with a .175 polymer tip. Using the Miller twist rule for poly tip bullets, this bullet will stabilize in a 1:10 twist barrel and a 1:10 is the twist Hornady tested it in. The bearing surface is 0.5865. with where I have it seated, there was about 0.423" of bullet down in the case...The boattail length is 0.1865.

Temp today was 72 degrees with a 5mph left to right breeze. I tested at 200 yards. This test was mainly a pressure test but I shot over my Alpha Chroney and I fired 3 shot groups at each charge weight.

70 gr.
2630 fps avg, 60 fps es group .75"

70.5 gr
2675 fps avg, 20 fps ES, group 1"

71 gr
2694 fps avg, es 26 fps, group 1.1"

71.5 gr
2720 fps avg, es 70 fps, group 1.8"

72 gr
2730 fps, ES 36 fps, group 2"

72.5 gr
2739fps, ES 90 fps, group 2.25"

73 gr
2745 fps, ES 5 fps, group 1.3"

73.5 gr
2767 fps, ES 43 fps, group 1"

74 gr
2771 fps, ES 18 fps, group 1.25"

74.5 gr
2801 fps, es 46 fps, group 2"

75 gr,
2829 fps, es 41 fps, group 1.5"

75.5 gr
2851 fps, es 24 fps, group 1"

76 gr
2871 fps, es 12 fps, group 1/2"

That is all I loaded. There were no signs of pressure at 76 gr or below. I will try 76.5 and continue on up until pressure forces me to stop. Also, the POI flattened out from 75-76 gr. 2850 - 2900 fps may be the sweet spot.

I will update this thread as I continue to work this load up.
 
Thank you for this information. I am building a 300 Win Mag with a 28" Bartlein 1:10 barrel (Stiller TAC300 action, XLR Carbon chassis). I want to shoot some heavy bullets out of this thing, and was glad to see the new 225gr ELD-Match bullets from Hornady. I'll be following your progress closely! Keep us posted...
 
I hadn't just updated this thread in a while but for the guy building the .300wm, I will finish it out.

I went up to 79.5 graines. I was able to go that high because I use NORMA brass Which holds 8 more graines of water than Remington and 4 more than SAAMI. Also I seated them long.

I'll fast forward to the end.

79 grains gives 2900-2910 fps and 79.5 gives about 2925.
2950 is the max I can get according to QL and believable based on what I found.

My best groups occurred with 79 gr, H1000,... Seated .020 off the lands... Groups at 1/2" or less at 200 yards every single time. In fact I get those groups from 78-79 gr as that charge keeps me between 2850 fps and 2900.

Be advised, this is over max for most brands of brass. But in my rifle it isn't over max (according to Quickload and evaluation of my own extraction and brass).

Also be advised, pressure begins to spike quickly once you hit 2900 fps.

Another note is that beyond about 2915 fps or 79.5 gr of powder, my groups began to open back up. 79.5 was about 1.25" at 200 yards and 79.7 was about 1.5".

I believe 80 gr would get me 2950 but that would be a Max pressure load and I doubt it would group well.

I'm not going to mess with the seating depth because 2900 fps and 1/4 moa is outstanding, plus if I seat any longer I will have to modify the feed ramp again to get the rounds to clear it and still feed from the magazine.


If you have any specific questions just send me a private message.
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Again, very helpful information! Those are some pretty hot loads, but it sounds like they group well at around 2900 FPS.

My barrel is still in the lathe as of right now, and I'm waiting for my chassis and glass to show up, but I should have it ready in a couple of weeks. I'll get it chambered and install the muzzle brake this weekend, hopefully. I'm really looking forward to load development for this project!
 
Again, very helpful information! Those are some pretty hot loads, but it sounds like they group well at around 2900 FPS
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Not really. I am seating the bullet almost 0.30" longer than SAAMI which increases the case volume by 6.5 gr of water. Then, since I use Norma brass which has an additional case volume of approximately 4 gr of water over SAAMI, the pressure in my chamber stays below 60 psi all the way up to 78.5 or 79 gr. of H1000. BUT! once I go above that, it spikes quickly.

As you can see from the post, I started VERY low compared to where I am ending up.

As an aside, the Hornady 225 ELD works great in a 1:10 Twist barrel. Others who have used the .308 cal eld bullet say that the best results are with a jump from 0.040 - 0.030. However the Hornady rep said 0.20, Which is where I started and given the groups I am getting at 2900 fps, I am not going to mess with it. However, if 0.020 doesn't work well for you around 2850 fps, the hornady guy said to move INTO the lands from there, so try shortening the jump. But don't jam it. the difference in pressure from a 0.005 jump to a 0.010 JAM is pretty big. If you begin jamming you'll need to lower the charge and work up again.

I went with the Norma brass because they do not sell Lapua in .300 wm and the consistency is excellent. Plus the additional volume is a nice bonus giving me excellent velocity. We'll see how long they hold up, I am annealing them after every single firing. I bout 200 pieces so I am hoping they last long enough to wear out this barrel.

Good luck!!
 
Sounds like you hit the jackpot, well done!

I've always had the best results using Norma. If you haven't already, you should check the difference in capacity after you've ff the brass and neck sized. I haven't done that yet in my wm. I have no doubt our chambers have different dimensions but I'm still curious to see the gain you get in capacity.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
One Mile Load

With your 28" barrel everything at 76 grains and above gives you a one mile supersonic range (according to Applied Ballistics. com). :)

At one mile those 225 grain ELDs are hitting harder than a 45 ACP at the muzzle - not bad - not bad at all.
 
With your 28" barrel everything at 76 grains and above gives you a one mile supersonic range
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That is what my external ballistic software is telling me also... Transonic at around 1750-1800 yards depending on atmospheric conditions on that day. The nice thing about the ELD's is that you subtract the ballistic tip (0.175" according to Hornady on all .308 ELD bullets) from the overall bullet length. This gives you a stability factor well above the magic Sg 1.5 in a 1:10 twist.300 wm.

With a G7 BC of almost .4!

I am very pleased. I'm sure the Berger hybrids and VLD's do well, but I see no upside in trying them.


What's more, is that this load/rifle can do almost as well as my .338 Lapua with 225gr bullets....... Except that with 300 gr bullets my .338 pushes a 300 gr match king 2895 fps haha.
 
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Mississippi, do you know what the specs were of the reamer that was used to chamber your barrel? I'm trying to decide which reamer to get for this build. I'm leaning toward the PT&G .300 Win Mag Tactical Match reamer at this point, but I'm not 100% on that yet...

Thanks again for the great info! Your rifle is doing exactly what I hope for mine to do once it is finished!
 
Mississippi, do you know what the specs were of the reamer that was used to chamber your barrel? I'm trying to decide which reamer to get for this build. I'm leaning toward the PT&G .300 Win Mag Tactical Match reamer at this point, but I'm not 100% on that yet.
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My barrel was chambered/reamed by Shilen. It is built on a Savage 110 long action, standard shank, and I headspaced it using the Savage Barrel nut method. I headspaced it using Forster belted magnum gauges which have .004" from the go to the No-go...At least the set I bought did. I can tell you that it is a tighter chamber. My old .300wm brass wouldn't chamber in it without being squeezed down with a collet die
 
Well, I don't have a .338 Lapua - but I have rigged up a simulator for one.

I lie on the ground and have a friend kick me in the shoulder as hard as he can while I tear up a $5 bill. I figure that is a pretty good simulation of the .338 Lapua shooting experience. :)
 
I lie on the ground and have a friend kick me in the shoulder as hard as he can while I tear up a $5 bill. I figure that is a pretty good simulation of the .338 Lapua shooting experience
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Even with Lapua brass, my cost to load my .338 LM is less than $1.50 each. And with a big muzzle brake plus an 18 lb rifle, the recoil is less than a .308
 
I have no need for the 225's, but I've been experimenting with the ELDX bullets some. Initially the only 30 caliber versions I could find were 200's. They shot very well in my 300 WSM. I've played with them a bit in my 30-06 and 308 and just haven't found the right combo yet.

The 178's however are shooting great for me in the 2 smaller rifles. And the price is pretty reasonable.

I recently bought a 6.5 Creedmoore and a box of 143gr ELDX bullets for it. Only 1 range trip, but once again they shot very well. This may become my go-to bullet. 178 gr is considered a bit heavy for 308, but they are very accurate for me and running the numbers on a ballistics program only show about 2"-2.5" more drop at 400 yards vs conventional 150's. But with a lot more energy.

No experience on game yet, but based on what I've read from those who have they work great as long as impact speed is under 3000 fps. Some early reports I read indicated close range shots at 300 mag speeds caused bullet blow up. I won't have that problem with any of my rifles.
 
My last try didn't work...So I'm trying again. Here she is!

That is a Vortex Viper PST,30mm, 6x24x50 SFP. I use it for target shooting and I find SFP scopes to be better for known long distances.
Shilen 28" heavy bull barrel, 11 degree crown
Savage 110 action
CDP bottom metal with AICS magazines
Glades armory chrome bolt handle
Burris XTR rings
Nightforce 20 MOA base
Chote V-Block piller beded stock
Timney 1 - 2.25 lb adjustable Trigger
Sharpshootersupply competition heavy recoil lug

All total I have around $2400 - $2500 into the gun and did all the work myself



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JMR40: I have no need for the 225's, but I've been experimenting with the ELDX bullets some. Initially the only 30 caliber versions I could find were 200's. They shot very well in my 300 WSM. I've played with them a bit in my 30-06 and 308 and just haven't found the right combo yet.

The 178's however are shooting great for me in the 2 smaller rifles. And the price is pretty reasonable.

No experience on game yet, but based on what I've read from those who have they work great as long as impact speed is under 3000 fps. Some early reports I read indicated close range shots at 300 mag speeds caused bullet blow up. I won't have that problem with any of my rifles.
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I think a lot of high BC bullets have the fragmentation issue at short ranges. But, even if the muzzle velocity is 3,000 fps, by the time you get to 100 yards it is usually below 2750. The only bullet that I know FOR SURE, will expand properly at high velocities and short ranges are round nose bullets and Nosler Partition-type spitzer bullets.

You might try the 212 ELD-X in your .300wsm. That bullet has a very high BC and I think would be devastating in a wsm out to 1,000 yards.
 
I think I've pretty much decided on the PT&G .300 WM Tactical Match reamer for this build, but I'm just trying to figure out how much freebore to specify.

The off-the-shelf Tactical Match reamer has .097" of freebore built into it. I want to seat my bullets long, and with the long 225gr ELD-Match bullets, similar to what Mississippi is doing here. I'm also shooting for .020-.030" off the lands; somewhere in that range...

Anybody have any idea how much freebore I'm going to need?
 
Akrivis:

Keep in mind that you want at least a caliber's length of the bullet's shank within the neck. So in this instance .308" of the bullet's shank. The Hornady ELD has a relatively long shank, the 225 gr ELD has a shank almost .60" long. Where the 215 Berger hybrid has a shank only about 0.41" long. So with a bunch of frerbore you'll never reach the lands.

I can also say that if I seated the 225 gr ELD to SAAMI OAL I would be jumping about .3" lol

If you want I can check exactly how much free bore I have with this bullet but I'm not sure what the "standard" is.
 
Mississippi,

Don't waste a whole bunch of time on it, but that would definitely be valuable information to me.

I'm to the point in this build where I need to order a chamber reamer, and it appears that you're getting outstanding performance out of your setup; exactly the performance I'm looking for. I hate to be "copycat guy", but you're using the exact brass and bullet that I'm planning on using, and to great effect. I will likely start my load development about where you're at.

The magazine for my XLR chassis specs a max OAL of 3.615", and you're at 3.622". I think I can probably make everything work just fine right in that range, but I don't want to end up with so much freebore that I have to load them WAY out to get to within .020-.030" of the lands. Like I mentioned before, the PT&G Tactical Match reamer specs .097" of freebore. I'm thinking this will get me close with the shape of those bullets, but I don't have enough info yet to make that call...

Thank you, and nice job on your build!
 
The max cartridge base to ogive in my gun is 2.875". This would give you a COAL of 3.6420 with the 225 ELD. I am seating to 3.6220, so 20 thousandths or a CBTO of 2.675. Those were my initial measurements.


But I am going to adjust my seating depth now to 2.678 CBTO because my throat has eroded 3 thousandths in 250 rounds. Which isn't that much for a .300wm. if that tracks linearly, my throat growth in 2000 rounds will be 0.024", and I would just barely be able to fit that in my magazine at a COAL of 3.6244. (I think the tip would drag a little on some bullets though)

And another thing

I hate to be "copycat guy", but you're using the exact brass and bullet that I'm planning on using, and to great effect. I will likely start my load development about where you're at.
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We don't exactly have a ton of options in the .300wm. Sure there are a slew of .308 bullets, but if you want to take full advantage of the .300 wm, you need to use bullets 208 gr - 240 gr. But the 240 smk and 230 hybrid requires a faster twist and special throat to function properly. And the big .30 cal Bergerr bullets are expensive like the 215 hybrid.

So I was going to use either the 220 smk or the 212 ELD-x, but then Hornady plopped this super high BC bullet for $0.37 per bullet in our laps.. unless you already have a load you love, you would be foolish not to try it.
As for the brass, well, Winchester is never in stock because the cheap guys buy it all up first and I just have never really liked it anyway...I consider it low end brass. Remmington brass is tough to come by these days too. Hornady is too soft in my opinion for magnum rifles (sticky bolt with medium rounds has been my experience), Federal is hit and miss with availability, and Lapua doesn't make .300 wm brass. ....So Norma it is!!!
I guess I could have went with nosler but at roughly the same price, I'll go with a brand I know.

Now, as for the powder for your new baby, H1000 is the go-to in .300wm. it is very temp stable, with Very low extreme spreads. And with my load it fills the case.

I think you could squeeze another 25 fps or so using Retumbo but that will be a very compressed load, and IMR 7828 is too temp sensitive for me. (I use Retumbo in my .338 LM)

Reloader 25 is a bit too temp sensitive in my experience and too hot for a 225 gr bullet in .300wm.


I have my first field precision rifle match next Saturday with the gun, only 600 yards this time, so I'm going to use it to fireform another batch of 100 pieces of Norma brass before the 1k Yard matches begin in May
 
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