Looking at building a .30 cal rifle and leaning heavily toward the .300H&H. Thoughts?

Can't go wrong. I've used one for near 60 years. Never a complaint except extraction problem with a Rem 721, probably my fault, but don't know.

Great choice.

Great round. My first one was a Remington 721 that was incredibly accurate. I wanted a left handed 300 H&H and had Remington chamber one of their KS Mountain rifles in it. I've been using it since 1993. It's a great round with a long, rich history. King of the 30 cals.

Here's mine on a VZ-24...bought action here as well as stock black, done by Mike Cuypers at Bijou Creek Customs. Matching rifles are being finished up now, in 7mm Mauser, 338 WM, 404 Jeffery, 458 Win Mag, and 505 Gibbs. I'll have it covered from Whitetails to Dinosaurs :-)

Handloaded it will still beat the socks off the 300 Win. Mag. and walk on the heels of a 300 Wby... My all time load for many many years was a cup full of old surplus 4831 and the 200 gr. Nosler at 3020 FPS in my 26 inch pre 64 win. that load was deadly on all of earths creatures short of elephant, and that's a maybe.

You don't need to 'build' a gun to get a 300 magnum!

You might to get a 300 H&H as it's obsolete.

If it's mostly just a hobby to pass the winter then go ahead however there are new and used regular 300's out there.

I have a 300 H&H in an old M70 just for the collector fun. Also a custom 300 Win mag.

I don't like either cartridge.

Long ago the guide Les Bowman saw that hunters did not shoot 300 magnums well and he designed the 7mm RM that has become the biggest seller.

He noted that that much recoil is all most of us can take and shoot well.

quote:

Originally posted by Savage_99:
...300 H&H ... obsolete.

TJ,

i just changed my mind on you.

there is maybe an hope with you lol ...
phil

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Handloaded it will still beat the socks off the 300 Win. Mag. and walk on the heels of a 300 Wby... My all time load for many many years was a cup full of old surplus 4831 and the 200 gr. Nosler at 3020 FPS in my 26 inch pre 64 win. that load was deadly on all of earths creatures short of elephant, and that's a maybe.

Ray,

Nosler #7 shows the obsolete 300hh to hold 77.6 gr of water and the 300Win 82.3 both with 180's.

The top velocity with 180's in the bigger 300Win is 3160 fps. The obsolete 300hh is only 3010 fps. Both used 24" barrels.

There is essentially no difference in any of the traditional .300 Magnums as far as velocity. Barrels/leade/chambers vary enough that you might get more velocity from one with a theoretically smaller case capacity. On the whole there's only about 100 fps difference (if that much) between the H&H and the Weatherby versions on average.

The long, tapered H&H cartridge profile does feed and extract quite smoothly and reliably. But it is the razor's edge accuracy that my particular .300 H&H rifle exhibits that has made it a favorite of mine. However, nothing about the cartridge makes it potentially superior in accuracy to the .300 Winchester (I just haven't happened to have had a.300 Winchester among the four or five which I've owned that was as accurate as my H&H).

By the way, my rifle will yield velocities just as high as an identical .300 Winchester I own in the same model (and as fast as the .300 WBY I own in a simliar rifle, for that matter), but I like to throttle it back around the traditional velocity of 2960 fps with a 180 Nosler. Nothing hit with that load has yet to survive.

I'm not really too worried about any real or perceived velocity/accuracy gains over the other 300s. I'm just looking for something a little different and thought this might be a good candidate. No doubt the 300WM and WSM will do everything in a similar manner.

As long as we are on the subject, I also own a .300 H&H.....and it shoots 200 grain A-Frames in very respectable groups....it also shoots 125 BTs in great groups.....but there's not much reloading data on Hodgdon's website so maybe some of you can post your loads.
thanks in advance
Vapo

The 300hh needs a magnum length action unless its a single shot. The col is 3.58".

The 300WM fits in standard actions. It's col is 3.33"

Here is a 300wm I got on a M70 action.



Here are a couple of H&H magnums in old M70's.

Although factory .300 Win Mag loads are kept to the SAAMI maximum of about 3 3/8" in order to fit in ".30-06-length" magazines, the .300 Win Mag is severely limited when kept to this length. In fact, many of the current long range spitzer bullets of 180 grains will not seat at that length and still keep the full diameter of the bullet above the case mouth, rendering them useless in such a rifle.

All of the .300 Win Mags I have owned have had 3.6" magazines, and most of my handloads have run around 3.45 inches or longer. If I were building a .300 Winchester Magnum I would never consider an action with a magazine as short as 3 3/8". In other words, the action requirements for either the .300 H&H or the .300 Win Mag are the same if optimal performance is expected.

A 300 H&H has class.

It does as good a job as any of the other 300 magnums except for the 300 RUM/30-378.

If I was building a custom rifle I would chamber it in 300H&H.

Biebs and Savage 99 - beautiful rifles. Thanks for letting us see them.

If you own a 300 H&H, you will stand a little prouder and walk a little taller. Mere mortals will bow down as you approach. Either that or they will say "duh?????" when you tell them what caliber you are shooting.

Seriously, the Holland's Super 30 has 95 years of proven performance in the hunting fields and the target benches of the world. The British brought it out in 1920; it was first loaded in the U.S. in 1925.

The only caveat is that, when resizing brass, do not set the shoulder back more than .001" to .002". Otherwise you will experience numerous case head separations.

Performance at the top end - slightly less velocity than the .300 Win Mag with bullets up to 180 grains, slightly higher velocity with heavier bullets.

Brass is available with a little searching and loaded ammo is available from various makers.

I say "go for it". Take a walk on the wild side, out of the mainstream.

Savage 99

NOte that I was shooting a 200 gr. Nosler and you quoted a 180 Nosler so that isn't a fair comparison..

Also when you get to the 200 and 220 gr. bullets and even moreso with the 240 gr. Woodleigh, the 300 Win. suffers from a short neck and seating of bullets takes up the Win mags powder capacity big time..in which case the old long necked, long cased 300 H&H leaves the Win mag in the dirt and will come within 100 FPS of the great 300 Wby..In many cases the reloading books don't tell the whole story!! Not saying the 300 win mag isn't a great round, it is, but the 300 H&H surpasses it with the heavy bullets and equals it with the lighter bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by Blair 338RUM:
A 300 H&H has class.

It does as good a job as any of the other 300 magnums except for the 300 RUM/30-378.

If I was building a custom rifle I would chamber it in 300H&H.

Exactly!!!

It is just a pretty cartridge. Looks like a little rocket. My son a light weight HS Precision in 300 H&H. It is a great little rifle.

On my 300 Winchester I had the 26 inch barrel throated to chamber the 180 grain Partition seated with the bullet base at the neck/shoulder juncture. That does not take up any powder space and gives an OAL of 3.6 inches. The action is a 700 Remington. That bullet and 80 grains of 7828 produces 3152 FPS. That combination will kill elk dead enough to eat!.

Regards, Keith

I own a very accurate OM 70 in 300 H&H. Anything but the Big Three in Africa. Even them, with a PH carrying a nice double in 500 NE 3".

ISS

quote:

Originally posted by Keith1:
On my 300 Winchester I had the 26 inch barrel throated to chamber the 180 grain Partition seated with the bullet base at the neck/shoulder juncture. That does not take up any powder space and gives an OAL of 3.6 inches. The action is a 700 Remington. That bullet and 80 grains of 7828 produces 3152 FPS. That combination will kill elk dead enough to eat!.

Regards, Keith

That's a .300 Winchester done right. Cramming it in a "standard" length magazine greatly limits its potential. The difference between the .300 Win Mag and the .300 H&H is less than the difference between two barrels and chambers in the same caliber.

Every once in a while I think about selling my 300HH and then I read a thread like this and I realize just how much potential there is in this caliber. Plus, it just such a friggin cool cartridge.

300 H&H it is...thank you gentlemen!

quote:

Originally posted by Savage_99:
The 300hh needs a magnum length action unless its a single shot. The col is 3.58".

The 300WM fits in standard actions. It's col is 3.33"

Here is a 300wm I got on a M70 action.



Here are a couple of H&H magnums in old M70's.

Don, I hate to break it to you, but those old H&H's have shorter receivers than the 300 WM in the first photo. Magazine boxes are not action lengths.

I would love to have a really great .300 H&H if any of you know where one is. If not, I too would love to have one built! Any help will be appreciated.
TC

I checked a supplier of brass expecting to find 300 Win. mag and not 300hh and the 300hh is in stock!

Midway has that and also has:

.300 H&H

Hornady 50/box - $61.99

Norma 20/box $31.99, 100/box $143.99

.300 Win Mag

Hornady 50/box - $59.99

Norma 20/box $27.99, 100/box $126.99

.300 Weatherby Mag

Hornady 50/box - $56.99

Norma 20/box $33.49, 100/box $151.99

Hardly an earth shattering difference, especially when you consider that the H&H and Wby cartridges actually contain more brass than the Win Mag.

.

quote:

Originally posted by Keith1:
On my 300 Winchester I had the 26 inch barrel throated to chamber the 180 grain Partition seated with the bullet base at the neck/shoulder juncture.
That does not take up any powder space and gives an OAL of 3.6 inches. The action is a 700 Remington. That bullet and 80 grains of 7828 produces 3152 FPS.

Since you have a proper magnum length 700, why didn't you just chamber for the larger cap. .300WBY?

Trax,
If you check the numbers my rifle is very close to the 300 WBY without the cost and hassle of finding WBY brass.

The only thing that is bad with this length of round is that the bullet points on the rounds in the magazine take a beating from recoil.

In the late 1970s early 80s both Bob Hagel and John Wooters wrote articles about making this modification. This is where I got the idea.

Regards, Keith

What is not to like about the super 30? Great appeal as far as cartridge designing goes, superb ballistics and a heck of a track record. Sold my Win. Mag yrs. ago and pulled the barrel on my .30-338 and made it a .458, love this old 721 .300H&H. Just my .02

This ram was taken with a Darcy Echols 300 H&H,

quote:

Originally posted by waterrat:
This ram was taken with a Darcy Echols 300 H&H,

Great photo and beautiful ram. Congratulations

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Handloaded it will still beat the socks off the 300 Win. Mag. and walk on the heels of a 300 Wby... My all time load for many many years was a cup full of old surplus 4831 and the 200 gr. Nosler at 3020 FPS in my 26 inch pre 64 win. that load was deadly on all of earths creatures short of elephant, and that's a maybe.

+1

I also shoot 300 H&H and my handloads surpass the 3000 ft/sec mark with a 200grain Nosler ABs with great accuracy.
God I love that caliber!.

Keith1,
I am sure your gun will do just that, I have done the same thing with a 7x57 to make it shoot with factory loaded 7 Rem Mag. or 280. Its a good way to improve most calibers.

My latest long mag, long throated rifle is a .338 Win. and its the full equal to the 338 Wby and will still shoot std. .338 ammo..whats not to like about that process.