.30-06
.300 Weatherby

I am trying to work up some good hunting loads for whitetail deer and hog.

Thanks a bunch!

For the 30-06 look no further than 57.5 grains of H4350 and the 165 grain bullet. I use the Sierra Gameking.

Incidentally, 57.5 grains of the H4350 works quite well driving 180's.

If you'll poke around at this forum and others, you'll find that several folks use this recipe routinely.

Use the CCI 200 primer, and seat the bullet a caliber's depth into the case. Unless your rifle is an oddball, it'll love the 165's and 57.5 grains of H4350.

By the way, some folks will correctly point out that there will be no way to arrive at a good load for your rifle simply by using someone else's load data. While that is basically true, I think the only variable that needs to be employed is *seating depth*. If the powder charge is optimized, you'll need only to adjust bullet seating depth to really tighten things up in a good rifle. What you're doing by altering the bullet seating depth is you're timing the bullet's release from the muzzle to coincide with a "near still point" or harmonic node.

Post back and let us know how things go for you.

Dan Newberry
green 788

David, the 30-06 load information given to you by Dan Newberry is a classic. That load is indeed used by lots of people. I used to load 57 grains of IMR 4350 and a 165 grain bullet in a couple of 30-06 rifles and had very good results.

For the 300 Weatherby I would suggest a little stouter bullet since the velocities should be up a little. I personally have shot mostly 180 grain Speer Hot Cores or 180 grain Nosler Partitions out of my 300 Weatherby. I currently shoot 180 grain Nosler Partitions over 81 grains of RL 22 in a Remington case and use Fed 215 primers.

If you load for the 300 Weatherby be sure not to mix Remington and Weatherby cases. They are both fine, but they are different. The Remington case is thicker and will give higher pressures with the same amount of powder.

The other powder that you should try in your 300 Weatherby load is H 4831, this is a classic powder for that caliber. Not that other things will not work, I have tried everything from IMR 4350 to H1000, but keep getting the best results with RL 22 or H 4831.

R F

My 300WBY seems to do it's best work using IMR-7828, amounts vary depending on the bullet used. The 200gr Nosler consistently groups the best of all the hunting bullets I've tried.
In my old M70 30/06 I've also found that H4350 does very well, especially with 165gr bullets. Using WW cases I can get 2975fps with them and healthy charge of the H4350, which makes it a pretty flat shooting load for antelope/deer.

Here are 3 loads for the .300 Weatherby that I've had good luck with.

Powder: 84 grains IMR7828
Brass: Norma
Bullet: 180 grain Swift Scirocco
Primer: Fed 215M
Velocity: about 3150 to 3200fps (max load)

Powder: 85 grains IMR7828
Brass: Norma
Bullet: 180 grain Speer Grand Slam
Primer: Fed 215M
Velocity: about 3230fps (max load)

Powder: 87 grains H1000
Brass: Norma
Bullet: 165 grain Hornady SST
Primer: Fed 215M
Velocity: 3050 fps (below max, but very accurate)

As always, with max loads start with about 8% less powder and work up.

[ 08-14-2002, 22:36: Message edited by: Delta Hunter ]

Thanks for the info. I currently have IMR 4350. Will the load you list for H4350 work with IMR 4350 or do I need to go buy another powder? Thanks!

Just work up to 57 grains using the IMR 4350, it's a little different than the H4350, but will work well indeed, as mentioned by R Flowers.

And with a tip of the hat to Hotcore, you'll want to load up a shot or two each using 54, 55, 56, 56.5, and finally 57 grains, all the while watching for pressure signs (hard to lift bolt, funny looking primers, etc.)

Good luck. If you can safely reach the 57 grain mark with the IMR 4350 (and I feel fairly certain that you will, since published maximums have to consider the old Springfield's which don't have the structural integrity of modern rifles) that'll be the load. Adjusting OAL (bullet seating depth) and sticking with a charge of 57 grains of the IMR 4350 should get you what you're looking for.

The same 57 grain charge should also work well with 180 grain bullets, for a similar velocity to that given by the 165's. I like the 165's flatter trajectory, however, and it's more than adequate for just about anything you're likely to want to use it on.

Dan Newberry
green 788

JEEZ DELTA--there you go showing the versatility of a 300 wby--you give a load that dup's 30-06 performance with a 165 doing 3000 fps. How do ya expect them guys to sell 30-06's now???????

My deer load in my 30-06 carbine is 47.2 grains of IMR 4320 behind a 180 gr ballistic tip. This gives me 2471 fps, and bang/flop performance on whitetails out to about 150 yds.

Well, Kraky, I guess the cat's out of the bag now. The demise of the .30-06 will surely follow shortly.

Count me as another fan of H4350 and 165 grainers. I used Hornady 165's and get really nice 5 shot accuracy with anything from 57 to 59 grains of H4350-with the bullet just touching the lands. Have also used IMR 4350 in the past with similar results.

SHARKBAIT,
I'm with GREEN788 and HOTCORE on this. If the same load works equally well in two different rifles it's pretty close to a miracle.
I'm all for H-4350 and the 165 grain bullets for the '06. These two make a terrific combination. If anyone says "this load is the best one for your rifle" and proves correct, he should have been buying lottery tickets that day.
I cannot remember one of my rifles that favored exactly the same load as another one. That is true for all cartridge/rifles combinations, not just the '06. I've had many that were close but not the exact load. My current '06 likes 59.5 grains of H-4350, CCI BR2, 165 grain Sierra SBT. The average of five five shot groups goes .247" Vel=2830fps, Extreme spread=11.0 fps, standard deviation=5.1fps. This rifle is a Rem. M-700 BDL. With the 165 grain Nosler Partition its 57.5 fps. A pre-64 Win M-70 with a 24" barrel liked 59.0 grains of H-4350 with the Nosler 150 grain Nosler Partition. Still pre-64 Win M-70, with a 22" barrel, did well with 54.5 grains of IMR-4320 and the Sierra SPT. Well I'm sure you've got the idea. Starting low and working up in half grain increments is the only way I know to be sure of finding the best load. If the rifle has been tuned, and doesn't give you what you're after, then it's time to change components, one component at a time. The bullet is the best one to change first. I hope that this is of some help. Good luck.