The rifle is a 1962 Winchester M-70 and after three reloads with a mild load I can feel the web thinning inside the case with a wire hook.

The cases are Wincheser and the load is 70.0 gr of surplus 4831 with Fed 215 primers. Velocity is 2950 fps. The primers are seated to just below the surface of the case head and the pockets are reamed with a Whitetail pocket bottoming tool. The seating depth is about .020" off the lands and the bullet is a Sierra 165 gr SPBT.

The cases are neck sized only with a .300 Win mag FL die set back .100" Chambering is easy and the rifle groups into 1 MOA or better. The case length does not increase that much. Maybe .003" with each shot.

I made a "headspace" gage by soft soldering some solder just ahead of the belt and then filling it to shape so as to crush fit when the case was chambered. It measures .228" to the solder after chambering it. The cases measure .220" to the belt. The tolerances for cases is .220" -.008" and the chamber tolerances are .220", .227" max.

This is my first experiance with a .300 H&H and I never loaded a .458 Win Mag either. The .375's that I have loaded for decades have never had any problem at all but their shoulders are twice as steep.

How many loads do you get out of a .300 H&H?

Don, good question. Have had good luck with the .375 H&H cases sizeing most of the neck but have zero experience with the .300. Had one once was a dope and sold it unfired. Older now, hope to be wiser. My .375 cases have been fired 6 times now and have been trimmed once. FWIW they are Rem cases.

Looking forward to Ray Atkinson's reply............

I just ran the cases thru the chamber that have been reloaded three times and I can feel that the case shoulders are finally contacting the chamber shoulder. Once fired cases chamber as if they were FL sized.

Perhaps a way to get reasonable case life will be to "fireform" the first reload with a bullet that seats hard into the lands?

Don I have a M98 with an FN barrel I don't lost any case most five times reloaded and some more than 10 times , I have Hornady Dies and shoulder in the chamber are 1 mm ( 1/25") forward then I need to resize partially or the cases don't last two firing , as In Spain the H&H 300 it's not so common I reload on reformed 375 H&H ( one pass on the FL die ) and mostly are 300 Weatherby reformed , I have only 20 RP cases , but I lost cases for neck split , to check headspace on the shoulder I smoke the fired case and adjust die until the die shoulder barely touch the shoulder of the case , are you sure you have a positive headspace on the belt ?

Saludos Cordiales

Daniel

Saludos,

Thanks for the thought on reforming cases from others. I will try that also. I am just in the process of making a fireforming load up now.

I mentioned in my first post what my headspace is. It seems to be .001" over spec as I measured .228" to the lead crusher that I soldered to the case and the max dimension is .227". I am not positive of the situation with this information. It's so close to the specification that it's really not far out of spec. I think I will make up a lead solder "headspace" gauge for my .375's and see what their headspace is.

This insipiant headspace problem has taken a lot of the fun out of this .300 H&H. I had switched my best scope over to this rifle which means that it was taken off of another favorite. Now it seems that if this was a 30/06 it would still be a pet but now the shine is off of it.

Here the .300 H&H is not common either. In the old M-70's the 30/06 outsold the .300 H&H by a ratio of 9 to 1.

Mine is a Hart barreled Sako and I have 6-8 loads on cases right now, those are my oldest. I have had zero problems. And my loads are 100 fps hotter than yours.

Cheapest solution if the "fireforming" doesn't work would be trying new dies, I would suggest REDDING's.

What about turning the barrel back a thread and having a good Smith rechamber to more minimum chamber spec's?

I'm sure Ray will have a good reply, he's one of the better resident Experts on these matters.

Frank,

What are your cases like on the inside? Do you use a hook feeler gage like I have described?

I can't see how new dies will help. Right now I am neck sizing only with a .300 Win Mag FL die set back .093" from the shell holder. This will necksize a .300 H&H without coming near the case body. The last new dies I bought were Redding. I am impressed with their quality. Most of my dies are RCBS but CH dies were good. I also have a few Lee neck crimp dies. The case increases .0025" in length from neck sizing.

The rifle is a pre-64 M-70 and it groups very well. It would be a waste to touch the barrel. I can put it in the back of the safe or develop some way to avoid head separations. I admit that this situation has spoiled my fun a little.

Some collector will pay for this rifle. It's nice as is.

Frank I understand he uses 300 Winchester Mag for neck sizing not 300 H&H dies.

Daniel

I get about 4 to 8 loadings from my 300 H&H and have to trim pretty often...depending on how I load it, which is pretty warm mostly..with a mild load, about factory speed I can get 8 loadings mostly....

I figure 4 or 5 with hot loads, 73 grs. of 4831 (old surplus) with a 180 or 200 gr. Nosler..Don't use this load with the new 4831's as it might be a bit too warm...

The 300 H&H like the 404 requires regular trimming because of its slopeing case, but that's what makes the 300 H&H and the 375 H&H feed so well...I only use them for hunting so I don't mind the trade off of 4 loadings and 2 trimings..

The 300 is a hunters caliber and for the shooter it's probably not the first choice for brass that last forever..

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Thanks for the response Ray. It will calm me down.

I just made a few .300 H&H's out of unfired Remington .375 H&H brass thanks to Daniel M (Saludos)and they look really good. I sized them to a tight fit in the rifles chamber. However the weight of the Remington .375 cases is 256 grains and the Winchester .300 H&H cases is only 230 grains. Also the .375 Rem brass seems to hold less powder.

I also just ran that .300 H&H case with the solder on it into a like new pre-64 .375 H&H M-70 and it measures about like it did coming out of the .300. It's about .227" now. It's hard to tell if the headspace on one is any different than the other rifle. I think the problem is the very tapered shoulder of the .300 H&H and the cases being made on the minus side with the chamber to the shoulder on the plus side.

The load I use is light as I really am warming up to this rifle. When the fall season comes I guess it will have a 180 gr load in it. My 4831 is from the old surplus lot from the 1960's.

[This message has been edited by Don Martin29 (edited 04-29-2002).]

Don,
Huntingtons has both WW and Rem brass and both seem fine in my gun...You are correct in that the 300 H&H due to the sloping shoulder is a bit harder on brass than say a 300 Win., the price you pay for nostalgia and perfect function...

Give me an email and I will quote you my velocities with that load and the old powder, but I won't print it on this thread least I be gilflurted and stringhaltered once again,

I know Alf and Dagga are out there somewhere lurking, and I have become somewhat gun shy, as they get into a feeding frenzy and and it's hopeless to fight them, they are wroght with knowledge and cold blooded to the bone, I now live in constant fear of condemnation, it's hell out there!! ;(

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Thanks for the loads Ray. I will be loading 180's for the fall and surplus 4831, 215's and Partitions are my favorite components.

Don