Custom 300 Win Mag optic and reload?

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Devildawg3039

Inactive
I built a custom 300 Win Mag, true bull barrell, no taper from the chamber roughly 1.25" diameter barrel 26" in length. intended zero is 400 and increasing to excess of 100 meters. I have been doing a lot of reading on suggested loads and would like a starting point please. I am looking at either the RL 22 or IMR 4831 with 180 grain Barnes TTSX bullet. I use 4350, 4064 and Varget for my 308.
Other piece of the puzzle is an optic that will provide great clarity at 1000 meters with great illumination. I am looking at the Night Force beast, Luepold LRT and SWSFA, any thoughts?

Thank you for your help, it is always an adventure starting out with a new rifle and getting it dialed in for your intended purpose.
 
I am not shooting 1000yards but I can tell you I have a Leupold's VX6 3-18 and it is impressive to say the least. Absolutly class leading. They have a VX 6 4-24 that might be perfect for you. The firedot is amazingly good and you get a free custom CDS with the VX6.

Leupoldscopenet.jpg
 
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Thank you, I have been thinking about trying a few loads with 4350, I am still learning about powder burn rate and harmonics from each powder, I think the issue that I am going to run into is the diameter and amount of material on my barrell and the drastic effect that it may or may not have on the harmonics.

Luepold gets grave reviews based on their products and warranties, that is one reason that I am leaning towards them.
 
Devildawg3039 said:
I built a custom 300 Win Mag, true bull barrell, no taper from the chamber roughly 1.25" diameter barrel 26" in length. intended zero is 400 and increasing to excess of 100 meters. I have been doing a lot of reading on suggested loads and would like a starting point please. I am looking at either the RL 22 or IMR 4831 with 180 grain Barnes TTSX bullet. I use 4350, 4064 and Varget for my 308.
Other piece of the puzzle is an optic that will provide great clarity at 1000 meters with great illumination. I am looking at the Night Force beast, Luepold LRT and SWSFA, any thoughts?
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First question is why, what is you intended purposes of this rifle? The barrel you describe is heavy that suggests you built a target rifle, not a hunting rifle. However, the bullet you chose isn't a great choice for shooting targets. There are much better long range bullets out there, Berger VLD, Sierra MK and Hornady A-Max come to mind. For hunting the TTSX is a good bullet but even the LR hunting crowd doesn't use them, because they need more velocity to give proper expansion over other bullets at long range.

Second the 180 grain bullet is a poor choice of LR bullet just because of the BC. There are better bullets in the 200+ grain range that will work better, and if you want to go all copper then the Cutting Edge bullets might be the ones to look at. Cutting Edge makes some pretty impressive LR projectiles that are a bit more expensive than your regular choices but not out of line with the cost of the Barnes.

There is plenty of load data out there and powders to launch your .308 bullets. Find a powder that gives you the desired speed of the bullet you want to use. Load accordingly and go shoot to see what your rifle likes the best.

Scopes is all personal preference, making it all about what appears the best to you. All three scopes you mentioned are reputable and will serve you well. I'd just say buy the one that fits your budget the best.
 
my knowledge with bolt rifles is limited, building this 300 wm was a project and now I am still trying to figure it out. The 180 was just a start, some have mentioned the lighter bullet weights opposed to heavier. It is a heavy rifle, not one built for long packs unless necessary. I have heard some great reviews around Sierra gameking rounds, I want to find a round that has excellent expansion while allowing me to maintain accuracy. My abilities at this point are out to 500 comfortably with my 308, but prior to going to a formal school next year I want to get my reloads locked in for my 300 so I can work with both.

I think that I am going to go with the Nigth Force 5.5X25 with the velocity 1000 reticle. Should be a good match for what I am looking at as well.

I appreciate any input that I can get! I have a 1000 yard range available but it is over an hour away, so I want to lock in a better load using the 400 yard range for trial and error.
 
DevilDawg, 180's shot from a .300 Win Mag are just fine for long range stuff. The difference in wind drift between one of them and a 200 grain or heavier is out performed by their less recoil while the bullets go through the barrel which makes shooting them more accurate. I've shot 180's from a 26" .300 Win Mag at 1000 yards and there's no difference in accuracy between them and 200's; both under 1 MOA.

Few, if any powder, has the great track record for accuracy with 180 to 200 grain bullets from a .300 Win Mag in competition as IMR4350. Stick with it or use Rl17 or N550. Slower powders will shoot a given bullet out faster with the same peak pressure, but the bullet's won't shoot as accurate.

Your rifle barrel is the same piece of metal shaped the same way for every shot. It's harmonics (multiples of its resonant frequency) will be the same for every shot fired regardless of the load used. It'll change only if you remove or add metal to it.
 
Bart B. said:
DevilDawg, 180's shot from a .300 Win Mag are just fine for long range stuff.
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I don't disagree, but there are better 180's out there for long range shooting than Barnes TTSX bullets. The Barnes bullet has a respectable BC of .480, but there are lighter bullets out there that get you into the .475-.500's. Plus there are a few 180 that will take you into the mid .500's. So that would have me rate the TTSX as a mediocre bullet at best for long range shooting.

You mentioned recoil as well, but by the description of DD's rifle I'm guessing the weight will be in the 11-13lbs range before optics. The barrel described is going to weigh 7lbs a M700 actione weighs 2.5lbs and the average quality synthetic stock will weigh 2lbs. Top it off with a NF scope, rings and bases and I'd be surprised if it came in under 13lbs. Now add a sling bipod, and a full magazine you're probably just north of 14lbs. A rifle that heavy will mitigate a lot of recoil from the 200+ grain bullets.
 
Talorce1,

BC isn't the end all be all of long range shooting. If it was then everyone would shoot Bergers.

The Barnes TTSX is a good bullet for barrier penetration. A few years back one of the contributers to Snipersparadise.com did some testing on precision rifle loads and chose the Barnes Triple Shock as the best performer for accuracy and barrier penetration.

I agree that some are more "optimal" than others, but the velocity potential of the 300 Win Mag can easily get you to 1k with such unsuitable bullets as the 168 SMK as it stays above the transonic region and keeps the bullets stable. And if the OP wants barrier penetration, or performance on big game, then most of the traditional long range competition bullets are right out of the selection matrix.

Jimro
 
Brother trust me, I just had my gunsmith finish mine a couple months ago. I have a 300WM in a MannersT-5A Chassis, Timney 1.2 lb trigger, Near scope base, Harris BRM-S bipod with LaRue mount, custom trued and blueprinted action with side bolt release, Kreiger SS 1-10 twist heavy contour barrel, custom built muzzle brake, and a NighForce ATACR topping it off. She weights about 16 lbs. it regularly shoots good hand loads or Army surplus Mk248 mod1 ammo at around 1/3 MOA with tired old eye behind it. While I don't hunt anymore I cringe at the thoughts of trekking through the woods with it, but do like the accuracy and lack of recoil.

All I can say is that my 300WM is my favorite 30 cal I have ever shot, but it is heavy. I use mine to plink steel and use 220SMK's to do that...
 
Jimro said:
I agree that some are more "optimal" than others, but the velocity potential of the 300 Win Mag can easily get you to 1k with such unsuitable bullets as the 168 SMK as it stays above the transonic region and keeps the bullets stable. And if the OP wants barrier penetration, or performance on big game, then most of the traditional long range competition bullets are right out of the selection matrix.
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I never said it wouldn't work, just that there are better options. As for your barrier penetration for hunting, game usually doesn't wear body armor or hide behind walls. I did look for the test you mentioned but didn't find one that really relates to what we're talking about if you have a link I'd appreciate it.

If you ever go over to the long range hunting forums there are a lot of guys killing big game with traditional long range competition bullets. Some of the favorites right now are Lapua Scenars, SMK, Berger VLD's, and Hornady A-Max bullets. They're using these bullets because they work on game at long range.
 
I would also look at RL22 and IMR4831 with the heavies. You will have to shoot it to see, but if you get accuracy AND velocity I'll take 'em both. IMO IMR4350 is too fast for the large case capacity. Fine for lighter bullets but not the heavyweights.
 
talorce1

If you ever go over to the long range hunting forums there are a lot of guys killing big game with traditional long range competition bullets. Some of the favorites right now are Lapua Scenars, SMK, Berger VLD's, and Hornady A-Max bullets. They're using these bullets because they work on game at long range.
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All bullets are lethal. FMJ, HPBT, soft nose spitzer, all will kill things adequately dead.

In fact I have have a hard time finding bullets that don't kill things when used as directed. I'll see if I can find a copy of that article on the X bullet used for tactical penetration, but no guarantees. The internet is supposedly forever, but sometimes entropy wins.

Jimro
 
When the .300 Win Mag was popular in long range matches shooting slung up in prone, IMR4350 was used to take home most of the marbles when loaded with 190 and 200 grain Sierra HPMK's. Same results with both versions of the also popular .30-.338 Win Mags. While IMR4831 and RL17 would shoot the same bullets out a bit faster, all those bullets didn't land on target as close together as what IMR4350 made them do.

Read a paper some years ago that one person ran pressure tests with heavy bullets in his .300 Win Mag with Oehler's pressure system using strain gauges. IMR4831 produced less uniform pressure curves than IMR4350 did as well as greater muzzle velocity spreads.
 
Jimro,

I have no doubt that all bullets are lethal. However, some bullets do seem to kill more dramatically. The thing about standard cup and core bullets is they t end to still work at lower velocities, where the mono metals may not. Barnes added the polymer tip to improve tbe velocity window in which their bullets would expand, because at times thier solid copper TSX bullet would act very similar to a FMJ when range got a little long. I really feel the Barnes bullet work best with higher impact velocities.
 
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We shoot 300 WM to 1000-1400 yards every weekend. There are a lot of good combos... but the two that we like most are:

1. 208 Amax, WLR primer, RWS Brass, 75.0 grains H1000, and

2. 210 VLD .030" off, WLR primer, Norma Brass, 76.0 grains H1000.

The VLD shaves about 6 or 7 tenths of a mill off the come up at 1000 yards.
 
I have a Sako TRG 300win mag and it wears a Nightforce 5.5-20X56 with the MOAR reticle. For the money it's hard to beat the Nightforce and the Zero stop feature is great.
 
I have no doubt that all bullets are lethal. However, some bullets do seem to kill more dramatically. The thing about standard cup and core bullets is they t end to still work at lower velocities, where the mono metals may not. Barnes added the polymer tip to improve tbe velocity window in which their bullets would expand, because at times thier solid copper TSX bullet would act very similar to a FMJ when range got a little long. I really feel the Barnes bullet work best with higher impact velocities.
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Below 1800fps even match bullets can behave like FMJ without fragmentation. It happens with Mk262 ammo after 500 meters all the time. Still kills though :-)

And I agree with you that the TSX shines at higher impact velocities. However they added that polymer tip to aid in expansion at lower velocities. It's hard to design a bullet that will hold together at 60 yards impact at 300 Wby velocities as well as give excellent terminal performance at 500 yards at 308 Win velocities. The TSX was designed for both.

Cup and core match bullets on the other hand, driven too fast, will simply explode on contact and cause a bad flesh wound. Charles Askins found this out on live animals with his 8mm-06 handloads pushing 150gr bullets over 3000 fps.

Since I really doubt the OP is going to be taking game at distance (anyone who can already do that isn't asking for advice on an internet forum) I expect the impact velocities will be inside of 400 meters, meriting a TSX bullet.

Jimro
 
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