300 WM - Reloading how to?

[Stockrex]

I bought a LRH in 300 WM last year.

I bought some factory ammo but I would like to reload for it.
I have a varied stash of 30 bullets 140 grain to 208 grain.
I have 100v hybrid
which brass should I be looking at?
and dies, what are you guys using to load for 300 wm?

[WinnieTheBoom]

Norma is the good stuff but Hornady and R-P work fine too. 210 grain VLDs are a great choice for ELR duty but it sounds like you've got a good variety. Stay away from the lighter bullets (let's say 185 and under) as they generally don't shoot very well. There are probably a dozen diffterent types of dies, all over the cost spectrum. I've used RCBS, Lee, Redding... It's really a crap shoot. Go pick out what looks good based on what you're wanting to spend and get to it.

Don't get caught up in the 'this die vs. that die' because to a novice reloader, there really isn't much difference. Once you learn the craft then you can start considering some better equipment, but until you have a handle on what works, what doesn't... the cheaper stuff is going to serve you just fine.

[LongRange]

I disagree with 99% of ppl and what equip to buy...if your planing to keep that rifle I'm of the mind set but once cry once...no since spending $50 bucks on equip to just spend $200 more on the same stuff...buy the best or at least the best you can afford.Like Winnie said Norma is good and so is nosler...I had 15 loads on a batch of nosler brass in my 300...also agree about the bullets Winnie suggested.

[LongRange]

And powders...4831 and slower.

[Stockrex]

Nosler/Norma brass - check - Danke!

Dies - buy once and cry once has been my motto too since I learned from my misdirected attempt to save $$$.

What is the key resizing for belted mags?

Seater - Wilson seater - micrometer one probably
Neck die?
FL die?
Lee collet die?

[Russmerle]

Nosler/Norma brass - check - Danke!

Dies - buy once and cry once has been my motto too since I learned from my misdirected attempt to save $$$.

What is the key resizing for belted mags?

Seater - Wilson seater - micrometer one probably
Neck die?
FL die?
Lee collet die?

I'm waiting on this answer too... What is an experienced reloader's personal process for the belted mag?

[WinnieTheBoom]

The belt is no different than non-belted cases, it's nothing more than a difference in design. The process is the same.

Only problem with the buy once cry once mentality with dies is that people don't fully understand how to use them.

You can buy the $250 Redding Type S competition dies with micrometer adjustments and bushing-style sizer die. Great, best on the market. Only problem is, until you understand how to use those dies correctly, there's no point in spending that money.

The RCBS die sets are what, $30 at Cabela's? And they're super easy to use. Hell, I bought that and then the Redding Comp set, and I still use the RCBS die to this day. It's just a matter of personal preference, and until you absolutely understand the ins and outs of precision reloading, there's no point in spending the money for benefits that you really won't be able to use. You will never regret having the cheaper die set laying around, even after you've become an experienced reloader.

Same goes for rifles. No point in buying the top of the line, $3k rifle when you're new to precision shooting. Granted, this is on a much smaller scale, but you'll learn exponentially more by starting out small, and working your way up rather than just going to straight to the top because of the 'buy once, cry once' mentality. For certain things, absolutely. This is not one of them IMO. Simplicity is paramount when first starting out. Once you get your bearings, then consider moving on up.

[Londerko]

In my opinion:
Neck sizing is the KEY to loading the 300wm. Not only for accuracy, but for brass life as well. A belted magnum case is head spaced off the belt, not the shoulder like a standard cartridge. So the shoulder is essentially unregulated until you fire form the case.

[Londerko]

+1 on having good luck with the simpler dies. My "magic combo" for the win mag is a Lee collet neck sizer & a Redding body die. Both are about $20.
I usually neck size 4 times or so and when they start getting tight in the chamber I run them through the body die and do it all over again

[yobuck]

Years back when i was young, some guys i knew wishing to get more performance from their 6 cylinder chevys, installed twin carberaters on them.
What they ended up with was a 6 cylinder chevy with twin carberators. Otherwise their world didnt change much.
I can see the point to using higher quality dies with well tuned guns having better barrels and custom chamber jobs.
But for factory guns and even some with custom barrels, standard dies will produce loads more accurate than most of us can shoot.
Id opt for a set of standard full legnth dies in whatever brand strikes your fancy.

[LongRange]

The belt is no different than non-belted cases, it's nothing more than a difference in design. The process is the same.

Only problem with the buy once cry once mentality with dies is that people don't fully understand how to use them.

You can buy the $250 Redding Type S competition dies with micrometer adjustments and bushing-style sizer die. Great, best on the market. Only problem is, until you understand how to use those dies correctly, there's no point in spending that money.

The RCBS die sets are what, $30 at Cabela's? And they're super easy to use. Hell, I bought that and then the Redding Comp set, and I still use the RCBS die to this day. It's just a matter of personal preference, and until you absolutely understand the ins and outs of precision reloading, there's no point in spending the money for benefits that you really won't be able to use. You will never regret having the cheaper die set laying around, even after you've become an experienced reloader.

Same goes for rifles. No point in buying the top of the line, $3k rifle when you're new to precision shooting. Granted, this is on a much smaller scale, but you'll learn exponentially more by starting out small, and working your way up rather than just going to straight to the top because of the 'buy once, cry once' mentality. For certain things, absolutely. This is not one of them IMO. Simplicity is paramount when first starting out. Once you get your bearings, then consider moving on up.

as i said i disagree with most ppl about reloading equipment but thats just my opinion.

but a question for you...what can you learn from a less expensive die or rifle than you can from high end dies or rifles? and im really not trying to be an A$$ im just wondering why you think this.

[GaCop]

In my opinion:
Neck sizing is the KEY to loading the 300wm. Not only for accuracy, but for brass life as well. A belted magnum case is head spaced off the belt, not the shoulder like a standard cartridge. So the shoulder is essentially unregulated until you fire form the case.

+1, totally agree.

[GaCop]

+1 on having good luck with the simpler dies. My "magic combo" for the win mag is a Lee collet neck sizer & a Redding body die. Both are about $20.
I usually neck size 4 times or so and when they start getting tight in the chamber I run them through the body die and do it all over again

+1 again!

[WinnieTheBoom]

as i said i disagree with most ppl about reloading equipment but thats just my opinion.

but a question for you...what can you learn from a less expensive die or rifle than you can from high end dies or rifles? and im really not trying to be an A$$ im just wondering why you think this.

It's not a matter of learning from one type of die vs. another, it's just that for the new reloader, being able to keep things simple is key. At least to me it was because I'm still only a year into it myself. When I first started out, it gets to be pretty overwhelming with all the different types of equipment, what's best for my application, what else do I need, am I doing this right etc. etc.

It was easier for me to get the RCBS dies and not have to worry about getting the proper bushing size or wondering if the micrometer adjustment was set correctly. While these things aren't necessarily difficult to do, it's a lot to consider when you're first starting out. I could take that RCBS die, read the instructions, install it in the press, and start re-sizing cases whereas with a Redding Competition die for example, you're not even able to re-size without the correct bushing.

Furthermore, I'd argue that even having used those more expensive, more involved dies, I can get just as good, if not better results with the $30 RCBS set. It's a difference of opinion I guess, and everyone's mileage is going to vary, but I've seen nothing to show me that the more expensive ones are absolutely worth it or improve accuracy so much that they need to be used. If I'm putting rounds in the same hole with the cheap Cabela's stuff, there's no way that I'm thinking I need to upgrade my dies to get better results.

I completely agree with the buy once, cry once mentality for most things in life. This is one of the few things that I'd suggest not to use that line of thinking. To me, simplicity is paramount to the amateur reloader, and there's no point in getting serious equipment when you're not able to take full advantage of it. It's also easy enough to come onto a site like this and sell that equipment that you don't use to recoup some of your investment if you really wanted to... but as I said before, you're never going to regret having the cheaper set of dies around.

[LongRange]

gotcha...

[Londerko]

Let us know how many reloads you get out of your (very expensive and hard to find) 300wm brass after using an RCBS FL sizing die on them every time.
Not trying to be a smart A$$, just trying to pass along some info/lessons learned from someone who has been loading for the win mag longer than a year

[yobuck]

Let us know how many reloads you get out of your (very expensive and hard to find) 300wm brass after using an RCBS FL sizing die on them every time.
Not trying to be a smart A$$, just trying to pass along some info/lessons learned from someone who has been loading for the win mag longer than a year

Let us know when you get an empty hung up in the gun while shooting at the first buck youve seen in 3 years.
Because case life was the most important issue. Most guys lose cases on magnum cartridges because of primer pockets.
For the same reason most guys lose back tires on Corvettes.
But some offset that by practicing with smaller cartridges, so they can make the cases last longer for when they really need them.
But a good group is still a good group. And a dead deer is still a dead deer.

[WinnieTheBoom]

$1/case is expensive now? Hard to find? That's strange that the local Cabela's has 50 count unprimed cases going for just under $50 and the local DNR range has once fired cases out the wazoo. Worst case scenario, buy a few boxes of factory ammo for what, $20 each, shoot those and then use the brass? Not trying to be a smart a$$, but come on...

To be fair, I didn't shoot or reload the .300 WM for more than 6 months. I bought a 100 count of Norma cases that were going on their 4th reload and had another 150 Hornady cases that I had gathered from the local range or kept from factory loads that had each been fired at least 3 times. Used in that RCBS FL sizing die every time. Like yobuck said, a handful of Hornady (maybe 10 or so) primer pockets were starting to get a little bit loose by the time I sold my rifle, but the rest were perfectly usable. These weren't hot loads by any means, but I was still getting close to 2,900 fps on average and they seemed to be holding up fine.

YMMV, I guess?

[LongRange]

Winnie what bullets were you shooting?

[WinnieTheBoom]

210 VLDs w/ Reloader 22 or Reloader 25, can't remember which. I think my avg. velocity was like 2,880 or something around there, I'd have to go back and check.

[Londerko]

Ok, sorry I didn't mean to start something. I probably wouldn't change either if the FL sizing is working that well for your gun.
Maybe I had an oversized chamber or something because it seemed like I was trimming way more than I should, and the brass was stretching way more after the sizing than the actual fireing
That's when I tried the body die, and could bump the shoulder back just enough to cycle smoothly, then follow it up by sizing the neck. My problem then went away, accuracy tightened up, and brass stretch slowed way down.
That was in a factory barrel, but I've continued using this process with tight aftermarket chambered barrels and has always worked well for me. Just have to use the body die more often lol.

[Russmerle]

To cool down some of the fire in this thread; I Mic'd two once fired brass fired from the same rifle and found a significant difference in the fire formed neck of the two pieces. I wonder if the warm barrel vs cold barrel was the cause of this. It was a 300WM sporter barrel.

[WinnieTheBoom]

Londerko I wasn't meaning to come across as brash either. I think it's pretty apparent that everyone's experiences are going to differ, based on a lot of different factors. There might be a generally good or accepted way of doing something but it can still produce drastically different results from me to you or the next guy. I guess that's just the nature of shooting

To cool down some of the fire in this thread; I Mic'd two once fired brass fired from the same rifle and found a significant difference in the fire formed neck of the two pieces. I wonder if the warm barrel vs cold barrel was the cause of this. It was a 300WM sporter barrel.

Pressure and temperature are mutually exclusive, so that would explain it!

[LongRange]

210 VLDs w/ Reloader 22 or Reloader 25, can't remember which. I think my avg. velocity was like 2,880 or something around there, I'd have to go back and check.

thats right...we talked about this before i just forgot LOL....i was about the same as you with 210SMKs and 208g hornadys with RL-22.

Ok, sorry I didn't mean to start something. I probably wouldn't change either if the FL sizing is working that well for your gun.
Maybe I had an oversized chamber or something because it seemed like I was trimming way more than I should, and the brass was stretching way more after the sizing than the actual fireing
That's when I tried the body die, and could bump the shoulder back just enough to cycle smoothly, then follow it up by sizing the neck. My problem then went away, accuracy tightened up, and brass stretch slowed way down.
That was in a factory barrel, but I've continued using this process with tight aftermarket chambered barrels and has always worked well for me. Just have to use the body die more often lol.

i dont think you started anything your just sharing your thoughts.

[yobuck]

To cool down some of the fire in this thread; I Mic'd two once fired brass fired from the same rifle and found a significant difference in the fire formed neck of the two pieces. I wonder if the warm barrel vs cold barrel was the cause of this. It was a 300WM sporter barrel.

Id be more curious as to why you mic'd the cases to begin with?
Was there a major difference in the performance of the 2 when you shot them?