If anyone is wondering why they can't get their Browning A-bolt 300wsm to shoot, look no further!!

The magazine on the a-bolt is so short that no bullet I have found will fit in it and sit anywhere near the lans.

Any ideas as to what fixes there are out there, short of buying a different rifle?

I own 2 standard caliber A-bolts that had very long throats and I could not get close to the lands, but rifles shot well, MOA or better.
I’ve also had an A-bolt in a .300 WSM. It feed well but I never got it shot to suit me. I did not reload for it.
Don’t get me wrong it shot a minute of deer out to about 400 yards but a MOA rifle it was not.
If your handloads have an OAL of 2.86†or less they should feed. If not I would call Browning.


The Ol’ Man said, “Son, don’t brag to me about the long shot you made! Brag to me about close you got!â€

Compromise of the .300 WSM. Might have to go with regular .300 if gun is inaccurate.

Never had a problem with mine and factory loads. It was sub MOA all day long with anything I put in it. Maybe try a different magazine?

My hunting buddy's handloads are seated about .066" from the lands because of the magazine length. His loads also shoot .33" - .38" @ 100 yds. He doesn't feel a bit handicapped by not seating bullets to the lands in his 300 WSM A-bolt.

Hoghunting-
I would love to have his recipes, case lengths, and as many details as possible. So far I have tried the following:
- weighed cases
- trimmed cases
- resized only half neck length
- measured each powder load on digital scale
- shot twice, let cool ... etc
Any other ideas out there guys?

Mramsay, do a search here on AR and look for Creighton Audette method. Hot Core will school you up if you mis-speak about it. I think the technically correct way to say it, is something like THE NEVER IMPROVED UPON CREIGHTON AUDETTE METHOD,

In short, it is a method of working up loads with consumption of as few as possible components to find the accuracy nodes for your particular rifle. IT WORKS. The goal is to find the right powder charge combo to work for your rig.

For what it's worth, I know of at least 5 A-bolts in 300 and 270 WSM, and they all shoot good--most with factory loads.
If all else fails, I would firelap your barrel with the Tubbs Final Finish sytem.

Good Luck!

You can single-feed long ammo to determine if the gun has preferences.

If you're having accuracy problems, have you checked your bedding, crown, and scope mounts?

quote:

Hoghunting-
I would love to have his recipes

His A-bolt must have been chambered with a new reamer as his chamber is slightly oversized. His chamber length is 2.137", so his trim length should be 2.117". His cases don't get that long.

He uses new Win brass and fireforms his cases. Then trims to a uniform length, uses RL-19, WLRM primers, and Nosler Partition or Accubond bullets. He seats the bullets .007" short of the magazine length so the bullet tips won't get smashed during recoil.

Just be aware that what's accurate in one rifle, may not be in yours.

Thanks for the input guys. I am trying a bunch of new loads next week and will let you know how they work out.

Hog -
Thanks for giving me that info on your friends loads. Why .007? Why not .010? Just curious.

quote:

Why .007? Why not .010? Just curious.

That length works for his rifle. He could have used .010".

Forgot to mention the Partitions and Accubonds are 165 gr.