How do you make the price of shooting 300 WIN MAG manageable?

The cost of the brass and quantity of powder kind of puts you behind the 8 ball cost wise

Day in and day out, Powder Valley generally has the best deals on components. Hornady (in my opinion) has the best cost/quality of the bullet makers

ammoseek.com will help you find the best deals on factory ammo.

You did ask the question on a reloading forurm so I'm guessing most people here reload. The problem with rounds like the 300 Win Mag is that the bullets aren't cheap and the powder isn't cheap. I have never loaded a round of that specific ammo, but a quick glance suggests 70 to 80 grains of powder which is going to run about $.25 or more and the proper bullets are going to be about that much also.

The most powerful rifle round I reload is .30-06. I can get light loads using homecast bullet for about $.10, but the velocity is about half a true .30-06 load.

How many rounds per year do you shoot?

Well yeah, not trying to be a wise guy, but this is the Handloading and Reloading section of THR.
I don't handload for the 300 Win Mag anymore, but yeah, back when I did load for it, my handloaded ammo was a lot cheaper than factory ammo. Hah, for that matter, try comparing the cost of my handloaded .308 Norma Mag ammo to .308 Norma Mag factory ammo (if you can find it).
But I'm kind of curious - what do you mean by shooting a 300 Win Mag "on a regular basis." I mean, what's "a regular basis?" To me, a 300 Win Mag isn't exactly a plinking rifle. And while I practice (usually with reduced loads) with my .308 Norma Mag year around, I wouldn't take it to the "range" (if we had one around here) on a "regular basis." It's a hunting rifle, not a range rifle.
But that's me. If you want to take a 300 Win Mag to the "range" everyday, it's none of my business. I'd recommend getting into handloading though - it makes ammo a lot cheaper, and you can download a 30 caliber magnum so that it doesn't kick any harder than a 30-30.

I reload for my 338 WinMag so I know how expensive ammo can be. Average price for a box of 300WM is about 40.00 per box or 2 bucks a round. Providing you have brass already, Using a 180g Nosler Hunting BT, 66g of H4350 and a CCI Magnum primer you can reload for about .70 per round. If you use a premium bullet like a Woodleigh it goes to 1.00 a round. Substantial savings! I buy powder and primer from local gun shops to avoid paying hazmat charges. You don't deed to buy bulk powder to reload rifle or pistol. (For shotgun you need to buy 8lb kegs) Providing you have brass already, you get about 105 rounds of 300WM per lb of H4350. Magnum primers are about $31.00/1000. Bullets can be bought on line, no hazmat. Midway USA, Midsouth Shooters Supply, Pat's Reloading and Graf & Sons are good sites

MSgtEgress said:

Average price for a box of 300WM is about 40.00 per box or 2 bucks a round.

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Holy cow! I am getting old!
$40.00 a box of .300WM?! I guess you mean Winchester Magnum, right?
I can remember (a long time ago) watching a guy I worked with lay down a $100.00 bill for 5 boxes of .300 Weatherby Magnum ammo. And I thought THAT was outrageous! But $40.00 for a box of .300 Win Mag - I'm having a hard time getting my 69 year-old head around that.

If you don't have once shot brass already you will need to buy some. 200 pieces will cost you $ but you can use them until they fail.

Factory Hornady ammo will cost you $1.65/round. Loading the same bullet buying new brass will cost you $1.12/round the first time and then the price drops to 56¢ from then on.

If you want to shoot a 300 Win Mag other than a few rounds a tear for hunting you will save a considerable amount if money reloading.

i shot a 300wm as a target rifle, i dont really save that much reloading (for this cart). you COULD its possible, but my issue is the powder. i just go through so much of it, and h1000 is my area is not easily available in bulk....sometimes its even hard to find on the interwebs. I still shoot factory ammo once in awhile. if you should high volume then $150ish dollars a week would start to hurt after awhile for some..

I currently load ELD-X 220gr with IMR-4350, Fed Primers. Store Ammo about $1.30 ea, reloads $0.63, for a savings of $0.67 per round. Using my existing brass.

Yes, there is a startup cost, but since I reload about a dozen calibers, it is mute point for me.Component cost is shown above.

If you shoot much of it reloading will save you money (assuming you don't shoot up the savings, which most of us tend to do....ah only cost me $10 a box not $20 so I can shoot twice as much.)

Target Sports USA has the Privi 300 Win for $18/20 so $.90 a round. + shipping Not premium bullets but if you are just shooting it for fun it should be ok. (shot decent in my 7mm Rem Mag for purchased as a brass doner)

Handloading will most likely give you better accuracy than most out of the box ammo once you find what your rifle likes.

To make the math easy lets say 70 grains of powder per round, that gives you 100 rounds out of a lb of powder.
I don't know how much your local stores want for powder but if you say $30 a lb and you can order it for $20 lb you would need to buy about 3-4 lb to come out ahead after hazmat and shipping. (rounding #s)

Most of us here enjoy reloading as a hobby, so if you think you will go for it.

If you just concerned with the $ only you need to figure out where your break even point will be once you buy all the equipment necessary.
Press, dies, scale, case trimmer, chamfer tool,etc, Quick off the top of my head guess for a number would be say $300-$400
If you save $1 a round that's 400 rounds to break even.

I don't know how much a regular basis is but one thing you need to consider if shooting it a lot is barrel life. (some of the more experienced rifle guys can probably give you a good guess of barrel life in .300 Win Mag)
Not a 9mm pistol where you will get 10 of thousands of rounds out of a barrel.

I enjoy shooting my 7mm Rem Mag but I don't shoot it a lot. It just eats up the $ much quicker than say a .223 or my pistols.

I sold mine and UPGRADED to a 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. Honestly, those 2 rounds are every bit as effective out to 400-500 yards on game. The 300's don't do anything better until you get past 500-600 yards. I ain't shooting at game that far so a 300 offers me no advantage.

I don't have a 300 WM, I have a 300 H&H and brass is around $2.00 a case. So feeding it is not cheap.





What I do, on first firing, is put a light coat of lubricant on the outside of the case, and fire it. I also happen to be greasing the bullet, to reduce jacket fouling.

The base to shoulder distance on a belted magnum and belted magnum chamber is not controlled. Headspace is off the belt. Because of this dimensional mismatch, case sidewalls will be often stretched badly, unless by serendipity, all the dimensions just happen to be within tolerance. On a dry case with dry chamber walls, the case mouth/shoulders stick to the chamber, and when pressure builds up, the case sidewalls stretch, allowing the cartridge head to stop at the bolt face. That stretch ruins cases, many belted magnum shooters report short case lives because the base to shoulder distance for belted magnums can be anything. If however, you lubricate the case, on ignition, the case mouth will expand, the shoulders will expand, but they won't cling to the chamber walls as pressures build. Instead the case will slide to the bolt face and the shoulders will fill out, the case walls will expand, and there will not be any sidewall stretch. The case will be perfectly fireformed to the chamber. This is a practice Bench Rest National Champions do, to get a perfect, stress free case.







Greased cases and bullets also shoot fine.





Now, after you have spent all this effort to create stress free, perfectly fireformed cases, to set up your sizing die, go buy the Wilson gage for belted magnums, as described in this article. Also, read the article, it has very good advice.

Extending Cartridge Case Life
http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar46.htm

Because the base to shoulder distance is not controlled inside the sizing die, just as it is not controlled in the rifle chamber, you have to have this special tool to set up your sizing die. You do not want to push the shoulders back a quarter inch on those perfectly fire formed cases in some stupid sizing die. I would recommend pushing the shoulders back about 0.003".

This ought to make your cases last forever, as long as you don't push pressures and expand the primer pockets. People who buy magnum cartridges tend to push the pressures, because, they believe they would be "robbed" if they did not:



Or that they don't have to worry that much about marksmanship, because the cartridge will do the rest.

At this time in history it is sad but true that shooting firearms on a regular basis is expensive. It comes down to a matter of degrees of expensive- depending on the caliber and the quantity of trigger pulls.

Take comfort in that a fine hand rolled cigar and a good single barrel bourbon is also expensive, especially if you partake at an establishment. Think about it though, who brags about their brand of cigarette and their stash of Boone's Farm?

Well I guess there are some. But as another poster said $300-$400 to buy what you need to start handloading. I always say a budget of at least $500.00 is needed, less is possible and more is better. So even if you have second thoughts about the 300 win mag and go for something a tad more modest you still have to either get used to coughing up a buck for every bang or paying the cost of admission to the handloaders club limited. Either way you need to open up that old wallet good buddy.

But, I sort of know how you feel. I have this irrational desire to get me a 270 hunting rifle w/scope and a few accessories. I already have about 500 pcs of range brass and a set of dies, primers that will work and powder also. I keep looking at them gunz thinking my budget is about $500.00 which I realize is entry level but on the other hand the contents of my gun safe isn't stopping me from hunting this season. I want a real wood stock on mime.

Klint Beastwood said:

i shot a 300wm as a target rifle, i dont really save that much reloading (for this cart). you COULD its possible, but my issue is the powder. i just go through so much of it, and h1000 is my area is not easily available in bulk....sometimes its even hard to find on the interwebs. I still shoot factory ammo once in awhile. if you should high volume then $150ish dollars a week would start to hurt after awhile for some..

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No reason to use only H1000 or another very slow powder that uses close to 80gr of powder. IMR-4831 is a widely available bulk powder and it will generate similar velocities and accuracy in the 300 Win Mag. Even IMR-4350 will do a good job with charges of ~65gr although it might he a little too fast with the heavier bullets.

You don't reload for .300 Win. Mag. to save money; you reload for .300 win. Mag. to tailor your loads to your rifle. If you want something cheaper to load, get a .223.

thomas15 said:

But, I sort of know how you feel. I have this irrational desire to get me a 270 hunting rifle w/scope and a few accessories. I already have about 500 pcs of range brass and a set of dies, primers that will work and powder also.

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I hear ya. I have about 6-700 pieces of .30-06 brass and no rifle in that caliber. I keep looking at a Savage Axis in '06 just so I can use it.....

ArchAngelCD said:

No reason to use only H100O or another very slow powder that uses close to 80gr of powder. IMR-4831 is a widely available bulk powder and it will generate similar velocities and accuracy in the 300 Win Mag. Even IMR-4350 will do a good job with charges of ~65gr although it might he a little too fast with the heavier bullets.

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Thanks for the suggestion on the powder. 4350 bottoms me out with a max load in the 2715 fps range, h1000 gives me in the 2820 fps with less pressure, with heavy grain boolets, very tight groups as well. In addition, I have to make sure my SD's are good enough to give be the best hit percentage as possible at the ranges i like to go shoot. After trying several powders, i replaced retumbo with h1000, seem to give me the best yield and consistency over all.
I use slow powders for .223 and 308. 73gr eld, 75gr bhtp, and 77 sierras, and for the 308 175 sierras and the 178 eldx all take varget very well....for me.

In reality I was suggesting 4831 and only mentioning 4350. Have you tried 4831? It will deliver comparable velocities and accuracy. I'm only asking because I agree H1000 is expensive and hard to find in bulk but 4831 is not.

oh sorry, multi tasking here. No, i havent tried 4831. maybe ill give it a go next time i need some powder. worst case scenario i can always go back to known data. i check the shops next time i get around to it, see what they have on hand. Thanks!

I'm only posting so I can refer you to Post #11. If you can't afford it, don't do it. I know it sounds harsh, but tough love is smart love.
jmr40 is right, if you can't afford tickets to the dance, don't line up a dancing date with the most expensive girl.
Just sayin' ...

ATTHECROSS said:

hello everyone -

Looking to eventually get a 300 win mag rifle but the price per round is quite high. I was just wondering how you all manage the cost of shooting this round on a regular basis? Do you hand load to cut costs or do you have a specific outlet that you buy from or????

Thanks for the help

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I am a very avid fan of both the .300 Win Mag and .338 Lap Mag, neither of which are economical to shoot by any means however for me they are a blast (quite literally) to shoot at distances of 800-1200yds even at my mediocre skill level and should the need ever arise I know the cartridges have the power to get many jobs done. The way I offset my cost, besides hand loading in general is simple; bargain hunt! I look for sales, buy pulled bullets from places like American Reloading whenever possible, use the most economical and far stretching powders I can to accomplish the loads I need. I also do not load max loads when it isn't necessary. I don't load powder puff gallery loads either, simply work up ladders to get the accuracy and velocities I need and nothing extra. Another thing that helps me is I just have one rifle for each caliber that I use regularly, so I am able to do a "quick and dirty" resize and mess with the brass as little as possible to prolong life. I'm also not ashamed to be the guy picking up unwanted brass off the floor at the range. Lastly, and this goes for all calibers not just .300 , I also don't use any fancy chemicals or systems to clean/process my dirty brass either. I shoot ALOT every week so spending massive amounts on media and fancy chemical cleaners doesn't interest me. I use a simple process involving a vinegar soak (clear/white) followed by a quick hot water rinse, dry with air gun and then a little Brassco on a soft rag for a quick wipe if I want to make a batch pretty and sparkly new looking. For plinking/range brass I skip that step usually. I'm not poor by any means, I make a comfortable living and am lucky enough to be able to spend the massive amounts of money I already do on this hobby, however at the same time I've never been one to throw away money when a cheaper alternative will save me money AND achieve the same results.
lf your interested in any of the loads I use for my .300 shoot me a message and I'll be glad to share. For reference the bulk of my .300 WinMag handloads are fired through a 24" Ruger bolt gun.

entropy said:

. . . I have about 6-700 pieces of .30-06 brass and no rifle in that caliber. I keep looking at a Savage Axis in '06 just so I can use it.....

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Clearly you need a Garand!

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this:
1. Check out gi-brass.com. Jeff Bartlett sells surplus powder, brass and bullets.
2. MidwayUSA and MidSouth Shooters Supply frequently sell blemished and 2nd's bullets from Hornady.

I have a Savage M110 in .300RemUltraMag. This monster uses ~100gr of powder per shot. Back in 2005 when I aquired it, I bought 16lbs (2-8lb) of WC-860 powder (pull down from .50BMG), $6/lb -that is the same as the discontinued Hod. 870. I also bought some bulk 180gr Remington PtSpt Corlokts. $50/500.
Best load is 105gr WC-860, Fed215 primer, 180gr CL. Three shot groups under 1"@100yds. 3,300fps!
Not counting cost of 100 cases ($80 in '05), comes in at $0.25 a shot.
I've killed a couple of deer with it, and 180CL performed splendidly.
I subsequently got a .257 Weatherby and with 76.0gr under 117gr Hornady blem is likewise accurate and easier on the shoulder. It's been 9mos since either left the gun room, but both are sighted in and ready to go.
Jeff B. currently has several powders suitable for the .300WM.

Not to even venture into cast bullets and alternative powders at reduced velocities.

btw; just checked and Jeff had ofb .300wm. This is from military sniper/match grade ammo. $60/100
rmr reloading often has good deals on pull down bullets such as Nosler or Sierra.

RMR offers THR members a 5% discount with the code, has free shipping and frequently has good deal on .30 Cal bullets.

thomas15 said:

But, I sort of know how you feel. I have this irrational desire to get me a 270 hunting rifle w/scope and a few accessories. I already have about 500 pcs of range brass and a set of dies, primers that will work and powder also.

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entropy said:

I hear ya. I have about 6-700 pieces of .30-06 brass and no rifle in that caliber. I keep looking at a Savage Axis in '06 just so I can use it.....

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Now that is just plain crazy. First of all I'm waiting for Cabelas to put the Savage Axis II rifle/scope combo with hardwood stock on sale. There is a $50.00 rebate and I think I have a $20.00 gift card, and I think it's time for a Cabelas CC, that would get it well under $400.00 depending on the sale price.

The other thing is I have literally a ton of 30-06 brass, my Dad's old dies and a CMP M1 Garand that I have had for at least 3 years and it's still packed in cosmoline. Tomorrow I'm hanging an 8 foot long two tier bookshelf that I made over top of my gun cleaning bench. Second coat of paint and then Sunday will put 18 plastic shoe boxes of brass on the top shelf and all of my handloading and gunsmithing books on the bottom shelf. Once that task is completed I will have no further excuses for not cleaning up the Garand. I have 1000 rounds of Greek ball ammo and I'm seriously going to shoot this thing by the end of September. I think.