Stink- If you buy name brand 300Wby brass- it will be more expensive. But Hornady and Remington-make that brass almost the same price a hundred as that 300win.

Joe R- First of all-You don't know what you are talking about. Any 300Wby in a Wby like the Accumark or a Rem- Sendero will handel a BT, In which I have both guns. Free bore has nothing to do with it. If you've got problems better switch powders or bullets and learn how to handel that gun. The best for me Imr 7828 and other's I have used-Rel-19,22 and good old H4831, and with any 165gr flat base I can put the 165gr Scirocco in as tight or tighter group. And even going to a heaiver bullet, as heavy as I have went-above a 180gr Scirocco a 190gr Hornady BT --Excellent Results--Smell the Roses Buddy--
But I always have used use the 165gr for hunting-But just a bit heaiver with Bear Loads.

I've loaded for a couple of different 300wby mark V rifles. They seem to be tempermental. Neither cared for RL 22. They seem to shoot partitions well which is a good thing. I've always had dissapointing accuracy with ballistic tips in this caliber (this has been a real surprize given how well they shoot in every other gun I've ever loaded them for). Barnes X, XLC, trippleshocks and the lazzeroni lazzerheads ((a modified barnes)) have been a huge disapointment and waste of $ (yes the barrel was completely clean). I recent ordered some MRP and MRP-2 to try the recipies norma lists on their website and in hopes of matching the factory ammo. Both of the rifles shot norma factorty loads (165 hornady spire points) into MOA. One of the guns would shoot factory 180 partition loads into a MOA, the other wouldn't do any better than 2.5 MOA. I've had a couple of conversations with weatherby warranty gunsmiths. They have both told me that for most of the guns they see, flat base bullets shoot better. When a weatherby rifle is struggling, accuracy wise, if everything else is in order, they change from the factory bedding which has pressure on the barrel at the end of stock to free floating. They tell me than most weatherby rifles shoot better with some upward pressure. Finally, the sporter weight barrel is very quick to heat up. I've found that shooting from an absolutely cold barrel makes a significant difference. For example, one weatherby rifle I own will regularly shoot one hole groups. However, if the barrel is warm to hot, the groups regularly open up to 11/2" and the point of impact moves up and to the left about an 11/2"

He says it's a 35 year old wby. I have one from the sixties, German made, that mirrors the previous posters experiance. Keep in mind that older Wby's have more freebore then newer ones (3/4" vs. 3/8", if I recall), and this does make a difference. In my case, IMR 7828, RL 22 and RL25 under 200 gr bullets (flat based) work the best for me. FWIW - Dan

I have a Remington 700 Classic in .300 Weatherby Magnum, and I've loaded for and shot it a lot. I find that, in my rifle at least, the powder that gives the highest velocity is IMR 7828, while Reloader 22 and Hodgdon 4831 seem to give slightly better accuracy in many loads, but at a bit lower velocity.



Although the 4350 and 4895 powders you mention will certainly work, I doubt that they will give you optimum results -- either in terms of velocity or accuracy -- in this caliber as they are really too fast-burning for this application. But if you want to produce reduced loads, then they may work quite well. (I once did experiments with my rifle to see whether I could produce loads that would give 30/06 velocities with good accuracy. The answer is yes.)



You can buy new Remington brass in bulk (from Midway, Grafs, and other suppliers) at about the same price as Remington or Winchester brass for the .300 Winchester Magnum. You can also get nickel-plated brass at a higher price, but I don't recommend it.



If you can get a copy of IMR's Handloader's guide -- it's a phamphlet just under the size of regular typing paper and is printed on light brown colored paper -- this manual has a separate page for data using IMR7828 powder in Weatherby Magnum cartridges. I've found that, using that data, I get 3200+ f.p.s. with 180 gr. bullets and 3000+ f.p.s. with 200 gr. bullets from my rifle with its 24 inch barrel.



(If you can't find this manual, I'll photocopy the appropriate page and mail it to you if you will send me a private e-mail message with your snail-mail address.)

I used to have a mkV in 300wby that shot boattailed bullets as well as flat bases.However in spite of a great deal of load development the accuracy was disappointing(1-1/4" three shot groups at 100 yards).I therefore replaced it with a 300ultramag that produces 125fps to 150fps more with 180gr bullets and shoots groups less than half the size.Of the two weatherby mark Vs that I have owned (the 300 and a 257)neither produced great accuracy.

4BAMBAM, I did not say Weatherby's cannot shoot BT, nor did I say some can't shoot them well. Weatherby's do tend to be more accurate with flat based bullets. Just ask Weatherby. Or just look at what Weatherby loads in their factory ammo. If you have a problem with this, or with me, just kiss my ass! Wilma just take you off the teat, or what!

just look at what Weatherby loads in their factory ammo.

weatherby loads both flat based and boattailed bullets.The ballistic tip is considered a boattailed design.

Such a big talker for a newbie on the forum-Tell us all that Weatherby does not reload any BT's in there factory ammo, or even as well as any other Ammo manufacture's they all load some kind of BT's. You're full of S---.You said you're self AVOID BT's. May be you are the one still sucking on mommies tit and need's to grow up. Try to compete in 1000yrd matches with a flat base bullet and see how far it gets you.??

BamBam, yes, I know that Weatherby does load boattail bullets, and yes I have shot quite a few of the factory Nosler BT's as loaded by Weatherby. Yes, I know that boattails do better at long ranges. No, I am not new to the forum, but the new server ate my old ID. Yes, I have had several conversations with the nice tech reps at Weatherby in trying to get rifles to live up to their 1.5" guarantee, and yes, they told me that Weatherby's, due to the freebore, do tend to be more accurate with flat base bullets. Ron does not intend to shoot his rifle at 1000 yds, I think he is trying to get some info for accurate rounds, and I just passed on what Weatherby suggest, and what my experience has shown to be correct in his rifle. Now, instead of telling me I don't know what I'm talking about, telling me I'm full of shit, telling me I can't handle my rifle (that didn't make any sense BTW, maybe I handle it better with flat based bullets?), why don't you just call Weatherby on Monday and ask them about the best bullets to use for accuracy in a factory Weatherby. And may I suggest, that unlike your responses on this forum, please try to be polite with them.

Hey Stubble,

I am surprised at your disappointment. I know my Mark V can shoot 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards, but I don't have the secret recipe. I have seen my father shoot 1/2 in groups at 100m and 3 inch groups at 400m, but he was truly a marksman and had the recipe. The recipe died with him, along with his talent for the Weatherby. I do know that this gun is a very hard gun to tame, but once you know the recipes, it's hard to change your mind about it. The .300 weatherby has become my challenge, along with my ruger super blackhawk. I am doing better, but along way to go for 1000 yard shots. I can hit a refridgerator box at 1000 yards, but as far as consistency, I don't have it yet. I think I need a new recoil pad (this one is 35 years old).

One trick that I have been told today at the range is the bullet length. It is critical to find the optimum bullet overall length and proper seat for each type of bullet to shoot in the weatherby action.

I do hope that you give the good ole weatherby a second chance, and maybe shoot some norma ammo through that baby.

Stubblejumper, I know Weatherby loads both type bullets, I never said the did not. What I meant was, out of 63 factory loads in my most recent Weatherby catalog,, 53 are flat based bullets. For a company that specializes in long range performance, which clearly favors boat tail designed bullets, that is significant. Joe.

Ron posted

"I do hope that you give the good ole weatherby a second chance, and maybe shoot some norma ammo through that baby"

That is not going to happen since the rifle was sold when it would not shoot accurately after a couple of hundred rounds fired trying to find a load that it liked.I bought the two weatherby's thinking that the extra cost would result in better performance but this did not prove to be the case.By the way both of my 300ultramags(which by the way cost only a few hundred dollars more than a new mark V weatherby here in canada) shoot consistant 1/2" groups at 100 yards and produce 125fps to 150fps more than my weatherby did with 180gr bullets.I don't mind paying a little extra if it means better performance and in the case of my custom rifles the performance has been worth the cost.

Joe -you are so 2-faced-Avoid BT's you said, then look at what Wby Factory loads You said-which is BT's also. Kiss my A-- you said it to me First-[[POLITE HUH]] As far as me saying you was Full of Shit, that was that Wby does load BT's as well as flat base bullets. Say what you MEAN, NOT WHAT YOU MEANT TO SAY, and then try to change it as to what Stumble said, you meant to say. We was talking about the 300Wby Not all factory Wby loads. after all is said and done. Change Change. Does Wby say 1 1/2 guarantee with flat base bullets only??- Out of 6 Wby's I have owned From 7Wby to 30-378 none have failed to shoot a BT in over a 1in gp. Does Wby come out and measure the proper seating depth in you're chamber, and factory load it for you're gun,since you say it is co critical?? They do guarantee there Ammo as well. And I for one have never seated my bullets past the cannelure or crimping groove. And i have never had a problem..

You have a great cartridge and don't believe any of the guff from the "usual suspects"about the 300 RUM being better and certainly not more accurate. It's at best equal in velocity( or maybe 50 fps more but who cares) but it even takes more powder. As far as accuracy, frankly, if a rifle shoots under 1" as both my 300s do, I don't sweat the small stuff. Now for your loads.



Try and find an old "Weatherby Guide." They stopped printing them in 1985, but they are around in EBAY and other places. Then get some NORMA MRP powder and with Hornady or Nosler Partition bullets, you can duplicate factory performance of 3200 plus FPS. I've had good luck with IMR 7828 and H-4831 also, but to me, MRP works best. Yu have a GREAT rifle and cartridge on your hands. Email me if you can't find one and I'll gladly send you the loads. jorge

Jorge posted

"don't believe any of the guff from the "usual suspects"about the 300 RUM being better and certainly not more accurate. It's at best equal in velocity( or maybe 50 fps more but who cares)"

Lets start with the accuracy issue.I stated that I was dissapointed with the accuracy of the weatherby rifles not necessarily the accuracy of the cartridge.

Now as to the velocity potential ,I have owned one 300wby myself and have developed and chronographed loads for two others.I currently own two 300ultramags and have chronographed loads in one other.Using handloads in all rifles the 300 ultramags produced from 125fps to 150fps more than the 300weatherbys with 180gr gr bullets due to the increased case capacity that the 300ultramag offers.And yes the 300 ultramag does use more powder which anyone that understands ballistics would understand is necessary to gain velocity with a case of larger capacity.
Now you could try to make it appear as though the two cartridges produce similar velocities by using factory norma loads for the weatherby and factory remington loads for the ultramag but since norma loads their factory loads much hotter than remington you would not actually be comparing the true velocity potentials of each cartridge.Then again serious shooters handload for both cartridges to get the maximum performance from their rifles.

Jorge-Just for a comparison ,just how many 300ultramags have you personally chronographed with full power handloads?.How many 300 weatherby's did you chronograph?When you compared them what were the results?I prefer to compare real statistical data than to discuss this type of thing based on hearsay.

I'm not going to get into another pissing contest here. Suffice to say that I get 3230 +/- out of my 300 Weatherby rifle. I own 5 Weatherby rifles and they are ALL accurate right out of the box. One in particular, a 257 WBY shoots 3/8" groups all day and I don't have to have them rebarreled, tuned or worry about glued on handles. Maybe I'm not a "ballistician" but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand this stuff.

I've never owned nor do I plan to own a 300 Ultra Mag, especially in a Remington rifle, but I have been at the range and seen enough to know that they are not 150 fps faster than factory Weatherby ammo. If you say you are getting 150 fps more out of a RUM than a Weatherby that means you are clocking 3390 fps ( Weatherby factory 180s 3245MV and I have attained that with factory loads no problem) and I'll accept your claim. What I question is your contant harping about every time *YOU* buy a Weatherby they are innacurate pieces of junk. Frankly, I don't believe it. So, if you want to expouse the wonders of Remington Ultra mags that's ok by me, but your constant denigration of Weatherbys affects your credibility.

But I digress. The 300 Weatherby is a GREAT cartridge and the Weatherby owned by the originator of this post is a great rifle. jorge

Jorge -With 180gr bullets my two 300ultramags are producing 3375fps and 3395fps.By the way I never said weatherby's were junk.What I did say is that for the price they should offer a better accuracy guarantee.They only offer a 1-1/2" accuracy guarantee while tikkas costing less than half the price have to shoot 1" groups before being sold.

Jorge,

I'll chime in here to say this. I currently own a Remington 700 in .300 Winchester mag., and a Weatherby in .300 Weatherby mag., and the Weatherby will shoot rings around the Remington with virtually any load. I have zero use for Ultra anything. Crying about a couple of hundred FPS isn't worth the effort. No animal shot with either will ever know the difference. I have a total of 4 700's, and 4 Weatherbys. Same deal, the Weatherbys are ALL more accurate. At least with every load I've tried. Another thing is Weatherbys trigger is FAR better than the POS Walker "sue-o-matic" found on all Remingtons. Bill T.

SJ: That's great that you can attain those velocities and I a impressed. I have to admit I'm one of "those" who happen to like Weatherbys. They have been consitently accurate without any modifications and I do enjoy them, albeit not the prices for factory ammo. But you do have a dislike for Weatherbys SJ. Every thread where they are mentioned you jump in saying your rifles shoot better, faster and more accurate. To each his own. I wouldn't use a 700 action for a paper weight but if others like them and swear by them that's fine by me. And Tikkas don't appeal to me. jorge

The Weatherby just has to much free bore for my likeing.All my reloads have the bullet tutching the lands,for less bullet distortion.

I gues will throw in my 2 bits here. I have owned several weatherbys over the years. A 30.378, a 300, 2 270 weatherby mags, and a 257 weatherby. One was an accumark the rest were mark v, blued or stainless. I could never get any of them to really, really shoot. In my book that in somewhere under moa. all of them would shoot 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 at 100 yards but certainly no better, and believe me when i say i tried. My remingtons on the other hand all shoot moa or certainly better. Dont get me wrong, i still love the look of those sexy weatherby rifles and still love old Roys calibers I have just have never had one that shot really well. And that in my book is very important. Cheers!

Try IMR7828 powder and Federal 215 primers, I guarantee you will like the combination.

I have a Magnaported German Mk.5 in 300Wby and am using up the last of my 180gr. Rem. Bronze Points. I am also using 7828 and Fed.215 primers for 3350(average)FPS. I like the Mk.5 and will likely never sell it nor get anything bigger as it will handle anything I am ever likely to go after. derf

91gr of IMR 7828 behind a 180gr Nosler Partition. This is what works best in mine. It is a tack driver!!

jorge,

You are not alone in that boat Pard. I am in the seat right beside you. I own 15 Weatherby's(11 Mark V's, 2 XXII's, 1 Athena and 1 Orion)two of which are .300 Weatherby Magnums. Got my first .300 Mark V in 1963 and it is the rifle I still grab when the chips are down. It started out shooting under inch and still does it today. I have never understood the argument about brass being so expensive. After reading this thread I went and checked all my .300 brass, both empty and loaded. Very little carries the Weatherby or Norma brand. Most are Winchester, Federal or such. You would be surprised at the number of them that carry the .300 H&H mark. Same with my .375 Weatherby, as a most of my brass for it has the .375 H&H mark on them. Some shooters complain that for the price Weatherby only has a written warrantee of 1 1/2 inch. To this I say show me the written warrantee other rifle manufactures have. Weatherby is what every other manufacture strives to be. They are the benchmark others manufactures measure themselves by. Remington should quit trying to copy or beat Weatherby cartridges and copy Weatherby's Customer Service Department. If they were to do that then they would have something instead of the "Black Hole" they have now. As far as powder goes IMR7828 still works today and if you cut back on the old loads for H4831 and H4831sc works just fine and meters much easier. Lawdog

Results from this weekend......



R-P brass in all shots.....

H4350 powder.

CCI 250 LRM primers

150g Hornaday BTSP

Cold barrel for all shots



71g - allover the place

72g - 4 inch groups

73g - two holes touching, one 1/2 inch away (I jerked I guess)



I will clean it and try the 73g load again, and possibly experiment with .1g differences, as well as 168g BTHP hornaday's. Next weekend will be busy.

LAwdog: Like I stated before (it seems countless times!) all my Weatherbys shoot extremely well. I stick to Weatherby brass and it is a bit pricey, but who cares. As far as reloading is concerned, I stick with the old fashioned loads and bullets that made Weatherby it's reputation, namely, Hornadys and Nosler Partitions and the loads out of the old Weatherby Guide. I have used other powders like Rl-22 ( identical to MRP) and IMR 7828 with some success. But I just stick with MRP and I manage to shoot to the same POI as Weatherby factory loads.

Today, I did experiment with 225gr Barnes Triple Shocks and 89 grains of H-4831( the max load in the Swift book) in my 340 Accumark and obtained a 1" group. I think this load/bullet combo is promising. If I can get it to shoot consistently, I might have to try the XXXs in my 300 also. Man, I really like that Accumark. My wife calls it my "Tupperware gun," as she likes the traditional wood and blue guns.But let me tell you, with factory ammo or my handloaded 250gr Noslers, I get half inch groups all day. I really like that Triple Shock though so I might "sacrifice" the extra .5" in favor of a lighter (225gr) bullet, less recoil and a bit flatter trajectory yet giving nothing away in penetration. jorge

I've got a .300 Wby Sako 75 that's been quite accurate. My favorite powders are IMR 7828, RL22 and H1000. In the accuracy department I've had good luck with several different bullets. This past year I loaded some 168 gr. Barnes Triple Shocks ahead of 84 grs. of RL22 and Fed 215 primers in Norma brass and got excellent results. This is probably my favorite load now. IMR 7828 has always worked really well too.

jorge,

I don't think I would go as far as calling it a "Tupperware Gun" but I do agree with her about traditional wood and blue for my guns. Lawdog

91 gr of IMR 7828 under a 180 gr bullet? That is a HOT load!

A couple of weeks ago, I got rid of my first Weatherby rifle. It was a new (e.g. 2001) Mark V ultralight chambered in 300 WBY Mag. I handloaded until the cows came home and I could not shoot anything under a 2" group at 100 yds. Weatherby brass, factory loads, handloads, boat tails, flat bottoms, ... it just didn't matter. I know of several others that had older Weatherbys and they seemed to shoot the lights out - not mine. For what it's worth, H4831SC seemed to be the best powder out of the lot for my handloads. IMR7831 was a close second.

Lastly, I just started working with my Weatherby replacement - Sako Finnlight in a 300 WSM. So far, it shoots better than the Weatherby. I really wish that Weatherby would have shot better. The Weatherby was a nice rifle but I couldn't justify having that kind of money invested in something that just sits in the vault and never makes it to the field.

I have a Weatherby Vangard purchased at Walmart for $369 that shoots 3 rounds into a dime sized hole. Federal Nosler partitions 180 gr. That's good enough for me. It ain't purty but it shoots.

douglast,

Sako is a fine rifle. .300 WSM is a good cartridge that doesn't kick like the weatherby. Some possibilities:
1. You didn't give yourself a chance to learn how to shoot the weatherby.
2. The gun was flawed, in which case they would have replaced it - FREE ! ! !
3. Damn target was scared of those fast moving bullets.

1 & 3 are humor, 2 is the truth. If I bought a WBY recently, I would hold them to their 1.5 guarantee. Weatherby is all about reputation, and it would hurt anyone's feelings there to read your post and know that they did't have a chance to fix your problem.

Well, bieng that this thread is still alive, I dug up some reloading stats from an old Handloader Magazine ( April 2000) and on the assumption that the figures posted are accurate here are some 300 RUM loads and MVs all using AAC-8700:
180gr Nosler ballistic tip: 113gr: 3,250 fps
180grHornady 113gr 3,254
180gr Remigton Core Lockt (fact): 3,220
180gr Speer Grand Slam: 113gr : 3,304 (compressed load)
180gr Nosler Partition: 113gr 3,323 ( compressed load)
180gr BArnes X: 113gr 3,286 (compressed load)

Test Gun:

Universal receiver, Wiseman Barrel Remigton cases and 9 1/2M primers.

300 Weatherby Mag ( Weatherby Book) and verified by me as "close enough":

180gr Nosler Partition: 81.8gr MRP 3245 MV
180gr Hornady 84gr H-4831 3223 MV

26" barrel ( so take the extra 2" into consideration) Standard Weatherby MK V rifle ( NO TEST BARREL OR RECIVER)

Now you tell me:
A: is the extra say 120 fps ( and that is an assumption on my part had the RUM loads been shot using a 26" barrel) worth over THIRTY (30) grains more powder?

B> GUARANTEED ACCURACY of 1.5" ( I've never had a Weatherby shoot over 1")

C. Quality control AND CUSTOMER SERVICE afforded by Weatherby compared to Remington

D. Remington brass IS considerably cheaper and so are their rifles.

Well, you guys decide. jorge

Just to help out with the original question.

Do a yahoo or google search for "300 Weatherby reloading data" and you might be suprised at how many hits you get and there is a fair amount out there.

If I've learned anything about Weatherby guns over the years, it is this; keep COL within recommended limits (usually the cannelure, or 3.56" for 180 gr partitions) and load 'em hot.

I never have chased the rifling on a freebored Weatherby. Also, I've landed on one powder that works without excessive experimentation, and it's consistent -IMR 7828. Long ago I gave up on RL22, and H1000 as IMO they burn faster than thought.

In a nutshell, F215s, IMR 7828, and Nosler Partitions are the secrets to accuracy in the Weatherby. I've found this to be true in Weatherby's .270, .300, and .340.

I have also found that BTSP do work, but require a little more experimenting to fly level and true. Taking the idea from factory ammo, I started with Hornady's BTSP, but found them to be a little soft. Next, I wasted over $50 making 140 grain XBTs fly in a .270 Wby, but when it was done I had a load that would cruise at a leisurely 3350 FPS, penetrate a rail road track at 100 yards, shoot 1.5 MOA, and cleanly take anything the rifle was pointed at. Never did recover a bullet with that load.

Just my .02 worth...