I have finally found a reasonably priced Browning High Power Safari Grade .300 H&H Magnum so I can scratch this one off the bucket list. It is currently wearing a Burris 3x9 in Weaver pivot mounts. I need to put a 6x Leupold in some better looking mounts on it.

I like them. Well done; it looks like a really nice one.

It has some crazing on the left side near the recoil pad and a couple spots of minor flaking but overall is in great shape

They are a dipped finish, much the same as the wbys so they do craze, but they are easy to refinish..I Like those old Browning and that great Mauser action about as well as any of the pre war guns..They all shoot good it seems..Good catch and a fantastic caliber..Ive been shooting the 300 H&H for at least 50 years, owned several of them. Sold my pre 64 Win recently but still have a Rem 721 that shoots one hole groups. My elk load is a 200 gr. Nosler or Accubond right at 3000 FPS give or take 100 FPS.

Any recommendations on dies? I haven't had any .300 mags so reloading this one will be new to me. I will be using it on deer and pigs for now. What would be a good deer bullet in this? Would the 150 gr or 165 gr hold up to the speeds or should I go with the 180s?

RCBS dies are my favorite but there are many brands out there that work admirably.
A 300 H&H and 180 grain bullets goes together like peanut butter and jelly. If it were me I'd load some Sierra 180 's or your favorite brand and start plugging deer and hogs.
You may change your mind on that Burris they are not bad scopes just get some sturdy rings for it like Weaver Grand Slams or Warnes or Leupolds and you are on your way.
Nice rifle, wish I had one to play with...

You could shoot 150's or 165's if you chose, but 180's are about the universal bullet for a .300 Magnum and most rifles chambered for .300 H&H will run between 2900 and 3000 fps with them. That is plenty fast for longer range shooting, and with the 180's you won't need to change loads to go for larger game like elk and moose should that eventuality take place.

Might try the Berger VLD bullets but then again there aren't too many questions that can't be answered by a 200 grain Partition

The cartridges look like they could feed themselves

A beautiful rifle IMHO. Were it mine I'd look for a clean, classic scope from its time like a B&L Custom 2.5-8x, German 1.5-6x or perhaps a pre-64 Leupold (without the constantly centred reticle).

I am thinking I will try a Leupold 6x36 from the custom shop so I can have a gloss scope with a #4 reticle. I have not tried the 6x36 but have had a boat load of their 6x42 in the M8s and the FX series. I have heard and read that the new 6x36 scopes are as good as the 6x42. Since no one has a 6x36 near me to look through I don't know if it has the same "short range" capability that the 6x42 has. I have shot deer at 10 yards and had no problem getting on target at that range.

I have shot around 100 head of African plains game with my pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in .300 H&H. I used factory Winchester ammunition with 180 grain Silvertip bullets, and they performed perfectly. The heavier bullets give you the capability of reaching out and making the longer shots without having to concern yourself too much with wind drift.

I consider 4X to be the maximum for fixed power hunting scopes. My personal favorite is the Leupold VX-III 1.75-6x32mm, which I have on my little .250 Savage Kurz Mauser. It is no longer manufactured, but sometimes appears on the used market.

YOur Kurtz is a lovely rifle in a awesome caliber..congrats on that.

I use RCBS dies and a few Redfields..

The 300 H&H is famous for feeding, but about any gun will feed if its tuned, the real beauty of the 300 H&H is extraction and you can handload it to walk on the heels of a 300 WBY as you have the powder space and a long neckto hold heavy bullets..Its still the best of the 300 magnums IMO..Claimed for Case streatching? That's only by folks that have a lack of reloading experience and they are many, Load her properly and cases will last as long as any other case once fireformed and held to that spec.

I think my 721 in 300 H&H has been in my safe since 1968, a reliable rifle, dependable cartridge thats never let me down.
One of my pet loads is the 165 Nosler Partition over a case full of RL22...

quote:

Originally posted by pacecars:
I am thinking I will try a Leupold 6x36 from the custom shop so I can have a gloss scope with a #4 reticle. I have not tried the 6x36 but have had a boat load of their 6x42 in the M8s and the FX series. I have heard and read that the new 6x36 scopes are as good as the 6x42. Since no one has a 6x36 near me to look through I don't know if it has the same "short range" capability that the 6x42 has. I have shot deer at 10 yards and had no problem getting on target at that range.

Despite the neat look of a 6x36 scope, I would worry that it might let you down at the extremes of daylight. The 6mm exit pupil is smaller than the eye's pupil can open to in poor light, making the scope pretty much a day glass. Nickel used to make a small 6x once and, mistaking it in the shop for a 4x, I thought it might work on my .30'06 and was about to buy it until I saw the printing on the side.

Or just put a an old zeiss diatal of Swarovski z3 in 3-9x36 - very good and good at low light.

Put the Leupold FXII 6x36 on the rifle but I am still waiting on the Talley QD mounts to complete the package

Fixed scope gather more light than varibles, low powder scopes gather more light than high power..But keep in mind its a rather manufactured problem in that the human eye can only gather so much light..

Ray,
I would offer that the newer Swarovski's , Schmidt and Bender and Leica's in any combination gather a lot of light. I just tried out the 2.5x15x44 on a hyena and night in moonlight, made a clean shot at 175 yards. The newer optics are truly amazing.

quote:

Originally posted by sambarman338:
The 6mm exit pupil is smaller than the eye's pupil can open to in poor light

Well, maybe if you're a 20 year-old who has never smoked and spent most of your life in a cave your pupils will open to 7mm. But if you are middle-aged or older, plus if you have ever smoked, your eye pupil dilation will be doing good to make it to 6mm.

Scope glass and quality can vary a great deal, and not all scopes of similar exit pupil diameter perform the same. But all things being equal, once you reach a 6mm exit pupil there is very little in the way of low light performance to be gained for most of us in going any wider.

Good point, Stonecreek, but I have heard that people with myopia have pupils that can open wider than others. Though I am one of those, I don't want to be caught in forest with no easy tracks out, so tend to go home early.

Why do you think the Germans bothered making 4x36 (aka 4x81) scopes? Was it just to share lenses with the small variables?