300WM Velocities

[wapiti16b]

I'm working up a load for my 300WM and found a load with a SD of 3.2 and a MV of 2864 average .
My components are 1. Norma Brass
2. FED Magnum Primers
3. H-1000 75.5 grains
4. Hornady 212 grain ELDX
26" Barrel
So my question is , would you consider this an average speed and or a low node and should I pursue a higher node ?

 

[honuswagner]

Hi, saw that this is unanswered, I'm no expert but I'll share my experience to get things started!

I'm loading H1000, Fed Magnum primers, Hornady ELD-M 208 -- not exact to yours but pretty close, should give you an idea of where you're at.

I run a 22" barrel.

I chose 73.7 as my node. It's not the highest velocity I could get out of it but I get sub .5 MOA accuracy and might help extend the life of my brass. Started seeing considerable ejector marks at 75.3 gr.

 

[wapiti16b]

Thank You , no expert myself ! , I plan to see if I can find a higher node 76 g yielded an SD of 9.6 so I might be there but will go higher just to see !

 

[honuswagner]

Those SDs are impressive! On my last trip to the range I chrono'd 10 rounds of my load at 13.2 SD. I think I could get that down with some higher quality brass, right now I'm using some once-fired S&B brass (fire formed to my chamber then neck sized)--it's not bad, but certainly not Norma.

Let us all know how it goes!

 

[black5.3]

OP, what does the 75.5 gr of h1000 print on targets? Sd’s and ES’s are important but before you get 200 rounds down the barrel chasing low sd’s just to find out that load prints like garbage, i would find a load that shoots tight groups and then tune it for your sd’s..... sometimes that requires changing up your powder/primer/seating depth combo.... i would say 2864 mv is no slouch but of course if you are not seeing ejector marks or other signs of damage to brass then it could be pished harder but it might now be worth it when your only getting 2-3 loads out of a batch of brass.

 

[Supersubes]

2864 is where it should be imo. You’re just going to hammer brass if you go higher.

 

[Silverjay]

I am at 2860 with 208’s out of a 22” barrel. I also ran out of pressure before another node.

 

[airmonkey13]

I am at 2870 with Berger 210 VLD's out of 24" barrel. I believe this is a common node before you start seeing pressure signs. 76.8 grns H1000. My groups start opening up at 77 grains which is pushing 2890.

 

[XLR308]

My hunting load is very close to your set up.
Nosler/Norma brass, Fed215M, 75.5gr H1000, 200gr Accubond at 2860 from a 24" barrel.
Seems to be a fairly common node for the caliber and powder combo with bullets in the 200 gr range.

 

[wapiti16b]

I have not measured my brass as of yet but pressure signs were acceptable , the expansion above the belt seemed pretty much the same between starting 75g & 77.1g just looking at the brass . The barrel is a Broughton 5RC @ 26"s with less than 100 rounds on it so far .
the 75.5 g H 1000 load yeilded an average of 2864 fps with a SD of 3.2 , the next load of 76g H 1000 yeilded 2882 fps and a SD of 9.5 . The group size was slightly smaller on the 76g load and my seating depth was .015 off the lands as I recall , I loaded this brass about 4 months ago and lost my work up information . I plan on some additional loads of 75.5 , 75.8 , & 76.1 @ .020 off the lands to see what happens . In your experience what is the grain difference between a low node and a high node ?
Thanks !

 

[XLR308]

I have not measured my brass as of yet but pressure signs were acceptable , the expansion above the belt seemed pretty much the same between starting 75g & 77.1g just looking at the brass . The barrel is a Broughton 5RC @ 26"s with less than 100 rounds on it so far .
the 75.5 g H 1000 load yeilded an average of 2864 fps with a SD of 3.2 , the next load of 76g H 1000 yeilded 2882 fps and a SD of 9.5 . The group size was slightly smaller on the 76g load and my seating depth was .015 off the lands as I recall , I loaded this brass about 4 months ago and lost my work up information . I plan on some additional loads of 75.5 , 75.8 , & 76.1 @ .020 off the lands to see what happens . In your experience what is the grain difference between a low node and a high node ?
Thanks !

I never went for a higher node, I tested up to 76 gr with two different bullets the 200gr accubond and 200gr Sierra SBT. Both shot pretty tight but the Nosler was better so I stuck with it considering the main purpose was for hunting and I wasn't trying to work up a long range load. I think it could be improved a little by varying the seating depth but the accubond didn't seem to be fussy about jump in this case.
I starting working up a ladder with the 208amax but haven't progressed beyond initial testing yet.