Hi all, I have a few questions regarding a newly-acquired Remington 721 300 H&H. First of all, has anyone tried loading Barnes 250 gr. originals in this cartridge? If so, any loads using H4831? Secondly, I don't have access to a chronograph and have cross-referenced several reloading manuals and see that a good 180 grain load should approach 3000 fps. Has anyone tested this? Finally, has anyone tried shooting the 180 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips in the H&H? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I have shot the 300 H&H for years, mines on its second barrel....I have not shot the 250 Barnes a great deal..I did use it on a couple of deer way back when and behind a dose of as I recall about 65 grs. of old surplus 4831 at about 2500 FPS..They expanded at close range and not at long range so I quit using them...

I have shot the 220 Noslers a lot and they will out penitrate the Barnes by a bunch and be more reliable in that they expand regardless of the range...

My favorite load is the 200 gr. Nosler and I settled on that one load for everything and have had no reason to change although from time to time I do use the 220 Woodleighs in RN softs and solids, mostly just for the heck of it not out of need.

The Woodleigh RNSP sure are good elk bullets. I use 73 grs. of old surplus 4831 with the 200 gr. Nosler but with the new H4831 I'd use about 70 to start with...also with the 200 gr. bullets 68 grs. RL-22 works well.....

With the 220 gr. Noslers and Woodleighs I use 68.5 grs. of H4831 or 66 grs. of RL-22

These are max loads or near it, so approach from a 10% deduction in powder charge and work up.

Joe, thanks for the reply. Strange to find someone else from Laramie on here. I am going to school at UW right now, and don't get to shoot as much as I want to. I have tried the 165 BTs in my 30-06 and it absolutely love them. I have wanted to build a 300 H&H on a Ruger No. 1 for as long as I can remember, but a relative of mine got his hands on this gun for me. I am very pleased with it so far. Thanks again for the reply. Let me know if you want to get in touch sometime.

As you can tell by my handle, I own one and like it a lot. It's a 721 like yours. This is the first cartridge I reloaded for, and my first reference for loads was from Saeed's reloading pages. It calls for 69-70 grains of H-4831 with a 180 gr. bullet. I went with 69.5 grains (H-4831SC) and liked what I saw accuracy wise, and haven't tried anything since.

Performance wise, the only hunting loads I've used are 69.5 grs. of H-4831 and a 180 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip. This load has taken two whitetail bucks. The range was about 70 yards on one. My brother took this shot, the buck was facing him. It dropped it right on the spot. We didn't look much for the bullet but my brother (a greenhorn) made a perfect shot and hit right in heart. The bullet did not travel far due to rapid expansion. It damaged the organs badly but the meat was fine. The second buck was taken by my father. The distance was about 75-80 yards and was a neck shot (he's a fan of neck shots). Buck went right down also. The bullet went through, with about a 3 inch exit hole.
Sorry for the lack of longer range results, many cartridges would do a similar job, but I thought I would mention it because at shorter ranges bullet expansion becomes a concern.
PS: It's a great rifle, mine has 24" not the 26" which may have been standard.

Ray, thanks for all the info. I noticed that you said that you had used 65 grains of 4831 in your 250 Barnes loads. I started to work up a load using the bullet, starting at 63 grains. These loads showed pressure signs in the form of the primer backing into the firing pin hole. I had loads worked up using 65 and 67 grains also, but haven't shot them for this reason. Any suggestions or comments?

Wyo, are you talking about the primer metal extruding around the firing pin into the hole, making sort of a circular fin around the primer's firing pin dent, or the primer backing out of the case head?

The former is often caused by the firing pin hole being a little loose and doesn't always represent excessive pressure, though it can be a pressure sign. i have a couple of rifles that nearly always show this, no matter the load.

The latter is more likely to be a sign of relatively low pressure. The firing pin drives the cartridge forward until it's stopped by whatever it headspaces on (the belt, in the case of full-length sized 300 H&H), and the primer backs out of its pocket from the pressure of its firing. When the powder ignites, the pressure rises in the case and it expands, gripping the chamber wall. As the pressure rises, either the case slips back a bit or it stretches until the head contacts the bolt face, which also pushes the primer back into the pocket. If the pressure doesn't rise enough to push the case head back against the bolt face, the primer remains pushed out of the pocket a little.

Ricochet, thanks for the input. After further examining the cases shot with what I at first thought was a HOT load, I noticed that although the primer material had backed into the firing pin recess as you pointed out, the outer edge of the primer cup was still rounded and not completely flattened. So, I am assuming that this is still a relatively safe load to shoot. Thanks for the advice.

I have a M70 Classic rebarreled in .300 H&H. I use 65 grains of RL22 behind a 200grn Nosler Partition. I clocked it at 2850fps.

It shoots .8 MOA and worked great on a spike mulie at 268 yards last year.



[ 10-02-2003, 07:51: Message edited by: JLHeard ]

JLHeard, have you done any experimenting with 180 gr. bullets of any type? This is the lightest bullet that I ever intend on shooting out of my H&H and am looking for a good reference load from someone with any experience. Thanks for the 200 gr. data.

You have a real CLASSIC cartridge and rifle!

I've got an older Sako with a 24" Hart bbl in .300 H&H in a Mc Millan classic stock. Its my LR elk rifle,meaning two hundred to 300 yd shots. I use 180 Nosler partitions over IMR 4831 or RL22.
Over a chrono I DO get 3000 fps with the RL22 loads.

Also have a really mint pre 64 in .300 H&H with a 26" tube, but haven't had the balls to shoot it yet as its basically a new rifle. Left to me by a dear friend who died of cancer a few years ago.

I've found the Sako to be very accurate and have taken a few elk and several deer with it a few at over 300 yds. With NP 180's at 3000 or even 2900+ its basically a .300 Win Mag. So anything you've read the Win can do, the H&H can do, but in a "classic" way.

FN in MT

JL,

You have got that "classic" style for sure!!
Whats the specs on the M70? Stock gun? Is it accurate,etc?

FN in MT

FN, it's a semi-stock M70. It started as a 7mm and my dad rebarreled it into .300 H&H as a graduation present for me (law school). The trigger has been smoothed up a little and it's been beded. The scope is Burris Fulfield II with Balistic-plex reticle.

With the 200grn Nosler's it will shoot .8 MOA at 100 yards. And, as I mentioned, worked like a charm on a spike mulie from 268 (used a rangefinder) yards away.

BTW, the above rifle is a custom .338 WinMag on a Springfield '03 action and a Wenig stock.

Shooter, I can't answer any of your direct questions but you asked for 'other input' so I'll offer this. I also am the proud possessor of a M 721 in 300 H&H and consider it to be a classic rifle and cartridge combo. When I first developed loads for it, the first trial was with AA3100 powder with a near maximum charge from the Accurate Manual and 180 grain R-P bullets. The results were a near one hole group. I never tried another load. Since I only hunt whitetail with it, there was no need for a premium bullet and the R-P has been quite satisfactory. Should I decide to take this rifle elk hunting, I'd see if the Partition would shoot as well.

Hook, Thanks for the info. Do you know the exact charge of AA3100 that you used? I have never used this powder, but am willing to try it.

Sure! I'll check my records tonight and e-mail the load info to you. It's a great caliber/rifle combination and you'll really enjoy it.

[ 10-08-2003, 19:54: Message edited by: Hook67 ]