New to Rifle Reloading need help please

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but one nice addition that I bought was a OAL chamber gauge from Hornady. It allows you to see exactly how far a bullet can be seated out of the case before striking the lands. To use this, though, you will need those very accurate calipers.

Unless you are restricted by a magazine's own dimensions this will allow you to get your bullets to sit just shy of the lands, but not on them which many belief helps with accuracy.

If you keep the bullet with which you made initial measurements, it also allows you to track throat erosion but comparing the chamber dimensions with that bullet every 1000rds or so.
 
Pond said:
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but one nice addition that I bought was a OAL chamber gauge from Hornady. It allows you to see exactly how far a bullet can be seated out of the case before striking the lands. To use this, though, you will need those very accurate calipers.

Unless you are restricted by a magazine's own dimensions this will allow you to get your bullets to sit just shy of the lands, but not on them which many belief helps with accuracy.

If you keep the bullet with which you made initial measurements, it also allows you to track throat erosion but comparing the chamber dimensions with that bullet every 1000rds or so.
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I like that idea. Definitely not bad to check the erosion to keep track of when there may need to be a barrel replacement. I shoot a 300 wby mark V ultra lightweight. So the barrel is already super light and thin I can only imagine that will probably result in a lower lifespan

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Maybe I'm the only one here that thinks that starting out by loading .300 weatherbys isn't the best possible way to learn. I would strongly suggest that you locate a long term hand loader to monitor and advise you.
 
Clark said:
Did you get an antelope tag?
I did not draw one for 2016, but I do have a mule buck tag.
I shot a mule buck in 2015 with a 300WinMag 125 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. I shot a couple does in 2015 too with a 6.5-06 120 gr Nosler Ballistic tip.

The range at which you can keep the bullets in the kill zone is what matters. I practice shooting long range and handload carefully to get the range out to 400, 500, [or 600 yards with the 6.5-06.] Then when I shoot the deer at 250 yards, I could have spent the preseason watching TV.

I think the fastest way to learn how to handload rifle cartridges is to watch someone do it. When I don't know how to do something, I look for a video on youtube. If there is not video, I may have to figure out how to do it, and then make a video to help others.
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Me and a buddy put in for our draw tags earlier last month and we had a couple years of preference points to help our cause. We are going to be hunting in the northeastern part of the state and our guide (an ex nyc detective that worked with my buddy's wife) said with our pref points and the area we are hunting we shouldn't have any issues getting tags for both

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mikld said:
Agree w Mr. O'Heir. And I will add K.I.S.S. To start I would suggest to keep it as simple as possible. Learn basic reloading, then expand into making bench rest, 1,000 yard ammo as your experience grows. No need to have your first rounds produce 2" groups at 1/2 mile, nice but not the norm. Part of the fun...

Go slow, double check everything, and most important, have fun...
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I don't expect half inch groups at 1,000 just yet. But at 300-500 definitely would like to get close, also that will depend on my proficiency with my rifle which keeps getting better each time I head to the range

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I don't expect half inch groups at 1,000 just yet. But at 300-500 definitely would like to get close
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Yea ,no not going to happen . With the caliber and weight of your rifle . If you shoot a 5" group at 300yds I'd call it good .
 
That's very nice shooting . I like to think of my self as a pretty good shot but I can't shoot clover leafs past 100yds . I mean I have but that is far from the norm . 1/2 moa past 100 yes for me is as good as a get on a regular bases . Which is 1" at 200yds and 1-1/2" at 300yds . These are 5 shot groups .

So clovers leafs at 200yds is no more then 1/4 moa and my rifles and I can't do that consistently .

What ever ammo you use that shoots that well is the stuff you should use , very good
 
I can't recall what it's called but the piece that goes on the calipers that helps measure bullet length but also won't cause any changes to the actual bullet.
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You might eventually want to get one of these but after 20 years of reloading for varmint and target shooting I've never needed one. Reloading is a gadget intensive hobby. 75% of those gadgets are not needed to produce quality, accurate ammo.

But as far as calipers are concerned they are a must have.

That's very nice shooting . I like to think of my self as a pretty good shot but I can't shoot clover leafs past 100yds . I mean I have but that is far from the norm . 1/2 moa past 100 yes for me is as good as a get on a regular bases . Which is 1" at 200yds and 1-1/2" at 300yds . These are 5 shot groups
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I agree with Metal God.....1/2" groups from a factory rifle are an unrealistic expectation. The internet is full of guys saying "1/2" groups all day long" and "1/2" groups if I do my part".....those statements are a red flag that usually mean "my factory rifle shot a 1/2" group one or two times and can only be repeated every other blue moon" Don't let what people claim on the internet give you an idea of what happens in actuality. I belong to a private range and many of the guys own rifles that cost thousands of dollars. It's a good day when those rifles can shoot that well. As for the guys shooting factory rigs getting that kind of accuracy?.....I've only seen it a handful of times in all my 30 years of shooting. If my factory rifle averages >1" @ 100 yards I'm a happy camper.
 
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In regards to the grouping I need to let that barrel cool for a while, after two shots one after the other it can get pretty hot. If shoot 3 within a minute or two you can damn near fry an egg on it. The price I pay for a wonderful hunting rifle. Should only need one maybe 2 shots anyways so it's perfect for my purposes. For more target only definitely going to need to beef it up a bit

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Damon555 said:
You might eventually want to get one of these but after 20 years of reloading for varmint and target shooting I've never needed one. Reloading is a gadget intensive hobby. 75% of those gadgets are not needed to produce quality, accurate ammo.

But as far as calipers are concerned they are a must have.



I agree with Metal God.....1/2" groups from a factory rifle are an unrealistic expectation. The internet is full of guys saying "1/2" groups all day long" and "1/2" groups if I do my part".....those statements are a red flag that usually mean "my factory rifle shot a 1/2" group one or two times and can only be repeated every other blue moon" Don't let what people claim on the internet give you an idea of what happens in actuality. I belong to a private range and many of the guys own rifles that cost thousands of dollars. It's a good day when those rifles can shoot that well. As for the guys shooting factory rigs getting that kind of accuracy?.....I've only seen it a handful of times in all my 30 years of shooting. If my factory rifle averages >1" @ 100 yards I'm a happy camper.
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Well mine was a range certified by weatherby. Guaranteed to shoot sub moa at 200

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That's nothing more than a marketing ploy. Will the rifle do it? Sure....most rifles these days can make a similar claim......Usually the real question is can the shooter/ammo combination accomplish that feat?

MOA is a reasonable expectation. Start stretching out the ranges past 100-200 yards and that's when you start running into factors that the shooter can't control which will open up groups considerably.

Weatherby makes an excellent product. Careful reloading will probably have you shooting better than MOA.....enjoy your rifle.
 
That's absolutely true. Oh don't worry I love this rifle and fully expect to get many decades of great hunts out of it and one day in the far far future hand it down to my future grandchildren. I do think within the next few years as I become more proficient with it I may wind up having my smith do some custom work to it to help it shoot even better than it already does. At this point I cannot yet say that I can outshoot what this rifle is capable of. Hopefully that will change in the future

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Looks like I may have found a round workup that seems to work well. Attached is a picture from my latest trip to the range. Shot roughly .76 MOA at 100
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I always assume that these tight shot groups are using a $100+ rifle rest which to me is a bit too scientific for my tastes.

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rklapp said:
I always assume that these tight shot groups are using a $100+ rifle rest which to me is a bit too scientific for my tastes.

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Haha I wish. That was just a block of wood and a sandbag on top of the block as a nice rest. I tried with my sled before couldn't shoot worth a can of beans. And unfortunately I did miss the nickel but it is illegal to deface currency so at least I stayed out of trouble there [emoji12]

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The 300 Wby. is a high chamber pressure rifle so stay off the rifling as some one had mentioned for the pressure reason.

So you want to use Barnes bullets? If you haven't purchased them yet try a Hornady A-Max in 150Gr. They are very accurate and you won't need to worry about kinetic energy.

168 gr. might get you more BC if you feel you need it. You don't need to pay the Barnes price for Mileys or Prairie Goats.

Practice shooting off hand, kneeling and prone position after you work up your load from a bench.

Good Luck.
 
Not easy to even reach the lands in a factory chambered Weatherby...they typically freebore them loooong.

Glad you seem to have found your sweet spot. I just finished a load workup for a Vanguard in .300 WBY, found a great load with IMR7828SSC and 180gr Swift Scirocco II bullets loaded to mag length. You're right about no more than 2 shots at a time...that sucker heats up FAST. Anyway we have a good load at just under 3100fps that will consistently do about 2 in groups @ 300 yds using a Lead Sled. Because I found conflicting load data, before doing anything I loaded one round at the lowest of the starting data and went up in 1 gr increments (over a chrony) until I started getting sticky bolt lift and diminishing FPS gains, then used the previous load as my upper limit and then started working up for accuracy. Ultimately ended up very close to the top end of the higher data.
 
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