New reloader question

[300wby]

Evening All,

I‘m jumping into reloading and need some help establishing a repeatable process and a place to start.

I’m going to be reloading for my 300 wby. I have about 60 rounds of one fired brass, all WBY / Norma, from my accumark, ready to be worked up. I also had purchased, de primed, once fired not from my rifle wby/Norma brass.

I have redding FL and neck sizing dies. I have an RCBS big boss 2 single stage press. Looking to load up some IMR4350 with 165 TSX and or 168gr TTSX for an all around do it all round.

I was going to just try to load up and the Barnes published data for these two caliber bullets and was curious if anyone had run them, found either to be more acc from your WBY rifles. Also, is it even possible to look to get the bullets seated at .0050 off the lands like Barnes recommends with the WBY freebore?

How do I know or set up the bullet seating depth?

Looking for any advice, help, tips.

thanks

 

[Elkhntr08]

Set them with the COAL of 3.560 and you should be fine. If not, it’s a good starting point.

 

[j_clinesmith]

This has been interesting. Thank you all


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[j_clinesmith]

You were right about aneling


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[ODB]

Here’s been my experience with Barnes...max load of most accurate powder listed crimped with a Lee crimp die into the front groove.

Live long and prosper...

 

[Nealm66]

I’ve been having good luck with the new imr copper reducing powders. Might be a good pairing with the Barnes as they do tend to leave a bit in the barrel from my experience

 

[Nealm66]

From my experience with weatherby calibers, start at the beginning load charge and work up 2 tens of a grain with 4 shot groups. Don’t try to find the lands in a weatherby - no. Use suggested coal. After you find the most accurate, load ten more to confirm.Once you have settled on a load , consider if you plan to shoot in higher temperature days. Once you have settled on a load, tighter groups might be found by changing seating depth by a couple thousands at a time in both directions but keep a careful eye on pressure signs. I like to stick with powders that are less temperature sensitive in large cases if I plan on long shots. Don’t try to anneal using a torch and use newer brass to hunt with. Try to keep your powder burn rate selection a a fuller case capacity. I haven’t noticed an accuracy improvement by crimping. If your concerned about bullets creeping out in the magazine when rounds are fired, load the magazine and check after firing. Most weatherby dies put a significant grip on the bullet without crimping. I say that because the crimp groove in the bullet never seems to be in the right spot and trying to put a crimp on a bullet without one is silly.

 

[300wby]

on the brass.

its all Weatherby Norma. I have like 50 from my own rifle and 60-80 from another rifle, once fired.

do I run all the brass thru my full length resizing die, do i should neck size only?

does anyone have loads that generally shoot accurately from a 300 wby accumark? Again mine does not seem to group well with 180gr accubonds, the 180 gr $39 wby spitzer.
I do have some 180gr etips and 200gr partitions and 212 i think eldx that I’ve not shot from my rifle.

also.. when at the range and shooting the rifle after it’s been fully deep cleaned, in talking to one of the guys from Berger, he spoke on fouling the barrel before trying to dial in and sight the rifle in. I’ve never done this practice before and maybe that’s why I’ve had a helluva time trying to sight the rifle in?

sorry all over here with questions, just trying to absorb as much tips, tricks and best practices to try and work towards before throwing in the towel and giving up with reloading and trading in this rifle.

 

[WCS]

I've always had my best accuracy and velocity with reloder 25, I've always had better experience with 4350 in other calibres. From what I've read above, don't neck size your first time since some of your brass was run through your rifle and some you purchased once fired. I have 3 weatherby's and haven't been able to get close to the lands on any of them, so don't worry about seating depth right away. Find the right powder charge, and powder type and work from there. I didn't have good luck with Barnes' lighter than 180 in my Wbys, not saying you won't. Lately I've been shooting the barnes 190 gr lrx and 200 gr lrx over top of 85.3 gr of reloder 25. Both bullets seem to group well over that powder charge, although I'd like to play around a little more with that load.

 

[Nealm66]

From my experience with 300 weatherby, it needs a dam good brake to get good groups unless you are the very rare exception. Definitely a good idea to full length resize . I recommend getting a headspace gauge and just bumping the shoulders back to resemble a once fired from your rifle. Make sure they chamber easily. I recommend using a powder that fills the case well and is not temp sensative

 

[Nealm66]

My bad, I see the accumark does have a brake.

 

[Nealm66]

Im starting a ladder test with some 180 Sierra matchkings just to plink at targets. I would do the work up the same

 

[Nealm66]

Most of the rifles I shoot need a couple fowling shots before they will start grouping. Some more than others. Having said, not necessarily is one less or more accurate than the other after they settle in

 

[Nealm66]

Trying to use the same load for a different rifle even though they’re the same isn’t a very good practice. Just start at the beginning and work your way up in 2/10 of a grain. Odd that it won’t shoot well with the accubond factory ammo.

 

[Nealm66]

I don’t recommend using a bipod or a one piece shooting rest for load development .i notice on the weatherbys for some weird reason they like the front rest about an inch behind the sling button and use a good slick rabbit bag in the back. Try a light hold down on the stock and play with shoulder pressure. If after the shot your pointing 20 yards away, try something different

 

[300wby]

Most of the rifles I shoot need a couple fowling shots before they will start grouping. Some more than others. Having said, not necessarily is one less or more accurate than the other after they settle in

so this being said.

boom- round goes 11o clock
boom-round goes 7o clock
boom-round goes 9 o clock
boom- round goes 12 o clock
boom- round goes 11o clock
boom- round goes 12 o clock

those shots in this scenario seem to group fairly closely to the 11-12 o clock area. Should I be using the cheap wby $39 a box 180gr spitzers for this fouling? I assume it is yes unless I like to piss expensive rounds and money away.. but I don’t know.

once I have the group location above, would I go adjusting scope and then start shooting my load I’m trying to work with and sight in?

I try to shoot off my lead sled to minimize recoil and try and take out any user error..

 

[Nealm66]

Ditch the lead sled. Shoot off something that lets the rifle slide back . Some rifles want a loose hold against your shoulder, some a bit tighter. Not so tight it pulls to one. You’ll know cus your crosshairs will be way to one side after the shot. Weatherby brass isn’t cheap. Unless you have access to an amp annealer, I would pull the bullets and dump the powder from the cheaper ammo and resize/prep to reload as new brass. I always make an extra 3-4 on my beginning string to fowl the barrel, about 4-5 strings in I clean and have an extra 3-4 for the next string. There will be two nodes. If the first node appears early you might get away with chasing the second. You should be able to get 4 shots into about a nickel size hole at two hundred yards with that rifle/bullet. I’ve been having real good long range results with imr7977 with that caliber. Once you have 4 shots in the same hole , don’t shoot the next strings unless you hit the node real early. I don’t know your elevation but look for pressure signs. If you zoom in on the brass in my picture the one on the right is cratering. Don’t chase speed. Use a larger bullet if you want to shoot further out. The eldx’s are very accurate, not the best reputation for performance but they make 800 yards in some wind look easy. Don’t do load development on a cold or hot day if possible. Make everything you do as consistent as possible. Get a notebook for that gun and write down everything . I draw a small target and mark groups for that load/bullet/powder/primer/seating depth etc.. keep separated for brand and firings. Once you have the group you want, it’s nice if you know somebody with a chronograph so you can use the apps. The hornady app works really well and is easy to use. Hope that helps

 

[Nealm66]

When I’m doing a ladder test I don’t worry about hitting the bullseye. Your groups will move around even with 2/10ths of a grain change. I’ve heard that If you get a tight group that hits way off from the rest of the groups that it’s a false node and will have fliers in the 10 shot group. They say this can be seen with a chronograph. From my experience and my elevation, I usually run into pressure problems chasing the second node. I will say all of this is for load development only. I’m lucky to hit a paper plate at 100yards off hand and if animal is moving at all I might as well throw rocks at it. I would not have any better results than you have been having if I tried to shoot tight groups off a led sled or similar device. I have a couple rifles that took forever to figure out where exactly they needed to be on the front and back. My brother and I shoot a lot and have very different styles. I have old bad habits from shooting large calibers before muzzle brakes. I classify my shooting style as a hunting type with a light hold on the front of the stock. His is classic benchrest style. In my opinion his style takes a lot more focus on trigger and cheek and it amazes me how well he can shoot a heavy recoil. Well , I hope all this blabbering helps. The weather here has been crap and I find myself staring at my phone instead of the crosshairs

 

[bowstruck]

to set up bullet seating depth hornady makes a gauge that has a modified case which allows you to determine total length of bullet ogive to land spacing.