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> 300wsm reloading
300wsm reloading
@ 09:06 pm (GMT) |
ProutyHi NathanFirstly, I have to say that I spotted your "goats at 835 yards" video on the Reloaders Supplies website, and since then I have spent about 20 hours watching your youtube channel and reading your webpage. Needless to say, my wife is not impressed! The article, "hold that forend" motivated me to dust the cobwebs off my trusty Weatherby Vanguard and hit some targets, utilizing your techniques of course. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with the world on this great website.... truly awesome and inspirational! I have been trying to convince mates to sign-up for a tutorial hunt with you and will definitely be contacting you in the future. Anyway, to the point of my post. After spending $67 on a packet of ammo this week, I have decided to try my hand at reloading. I'm pretty new at this but have been getting help from an experienced mate. I read in your knowledge base that 4350 and ADI 2209 powders are good starting points. I usually fire one shot per year at red deer and apart from that I am keen to hone my target shooting skills, hence the need to save on ammo cost. I'm thinking of trying a combination of 4350 and 165gr SST's. Can you or any other readers offer any advice on loads for this rifle/calibre? Thanks in advance, Prouty |
Replies
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@ 02:29 pm (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 300wsm reloadingHi Prouty, glad you are enjoying the site, hope you are not in too much trouble with your wife.Start with ADI 2209 powder. The 165gr SST will work well across a wide range of game weights as you have already read. As far as powder charges go, sometimes you have to go a couple of grains above max listed loadings to duplicate stated velocities. This depends on bore/chamber tolerances. If you are unfamiliar with reading pressure signs, then you are best to stick to the reloading manual specs until you have a handle on it all. One thing to bare in mind, when the WSM's came out, a lot of gun writers started this thing where they stated that the WSM's don't recoil as much as longer magnums due to the smaller powder charges. Well- that has to be one of the biggest bullshits of the history of the WSM's. Our modern rifles (especially the short actions) are now so light that in the WSM chamberings, they boot like all hell. Now felt recoil may be fine but thats all to do with advances in recoil pads and modern stock pitches. But recoil as far as 'hey where did my forend go, I had it in my hand a second ago and then I was like hail Hitler' is a different story. Getting to the point though. The .300 WSM is a powerhouse, an amazing little cartridge. What we neglect to remember is that (for example) if you were to drive the 165gr SST at 2800fps (250fps slower than the manual states as optimum), its still a veritable powerhouse. Anyone who has owned a .30-06 will agree, anyone with a .308 reading this will have a feeling of slight envy knowing just what an edge this means in a cross wind. Furthermore, in an ultra light weight rifle, 2800fps can be a lot easier to shoot than a full 3050fps load. So, if you want to go for 3050fps thats fine. But if you want to look for a very mild load, thats also fine, there will still be plenty of power. The .300WSM is a rare one in that you can have your cake and eat it. Compact rifle and big power- even if its downloaded a bit or simply not duplicating the manual listed max/optimum velocities. So you have a lot to look forwards to. |
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@ 04:23 pm (GMT) |
ProutyRe: 300wsm reloadingGood information thanks heaps Nathan. I agree with you completely with regard to the recoil of these things. I've certainly noticed that the factory loads kick a truck load and I have no intention of mimicking these kinds of forces. Fortunately, I haven't given myself an eyebrow makeover yet.On another subject, I have been reading and watching your videos regrading bedding and wonder if you would recommend that I give it a go? My Weatherby Vanguard is an early SUB MOA model which came with a Bell & Carson stock. When I brought it, before the recession thankfully (2006), I immediately had the trigger lightened (2lb) and the barrel free floated. After reading the bedding article I'm concerned that the later was a mistake. In saying that, it appears to still shoot straight - I'm not a good shot.. yet.. but I can hit a deer at 40m. I shot some 180gr Winchesters the other day while practicing your forend techniques and managed approx. 2 inch groups but of course I want to do better. Not sure if you have worked with one of these stocks or not but it looks like this (if I am inserting it correctly): 
I had a scratch around with some sand paper and discovered that there is an aluminum block/pillar at the forend and aluminum pillar at the rear. There is no perceivable flex in the stock. What do you think? Appreciate your input, cheers. |
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@ 10:01 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: 300wsm reloadingHi Prouty, that stock has a full length bedding block running through it. Its a good unit and yes I have bedded them.Its a fairly straight forwards job, the only area of difficulty being the paint work on the top edge. If you leave a bead of compound on the top edge, then sand off the bead, you can end up losing the paint finish. This can be touched up with auto body paint from a local paint supplier. Although a 2 pot paint is the toughest, it is not really needed on the top line as this area does not wear. A simple flat enamel (GP 10 or GP 15 sheen) is fine and can be dabbed on with a sponge. To test weather the rifle is in dire need of bedding, release the floor plate and let the magazine spring dop down. Rest the butt of the rifle on a table or on your knee, point the muzzle to the 1 oclock position. Next, loosen the front action screw a half turn and observe whether the barrel tries to climb out of the stock. If it does, it means the action is under stress and that yes, the rifle definitely needs bedding. |
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@ 04:45 pm (GMT) |
David ProutRe: 300wsm reloadingGreat, thanks heaps for your advice Nathan. It doesn't appear to move when I loosen the screw so I will see how it goes with some hand loads and lots of practice. |
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