300 RUM Bad Luck Loads

[calongshot]

Hey gang. I received a Rem700 XCRII in 300 RUM for my college graduation. I got into reloading about 2 years ago and have not looked back. Some friends of mine purchased identical guns and have had great success with a load.

180gn Accubond
87.5gn IMR 7828
COAL 3.624"

I have tried this load with absolutely horrible success. I have read many articles and forum posts about this round and I am still unsure which route to take.

I recently had a KDF muzzle brake installed which, for anyone interested, was a fabulous investment. However I have been unable to find an accurate load for this gun. I have tried different seating depths, charges, etc. with minimal results. The best I have built thus far is a load that shot 1/2" with one flyer @ 100yds.

Any suggestions regarding bullets, powders, etc. would be much appreciated. I am not stuck on speed, more so accuracy. I'm not sure if slowing it down or speeding it up or shooting a heavier bullet will help.

ANY IDEAS?

 

[MachIVshooter]

ANY IDEAS?

Yeah-You're expecting too much from a sporter. I expect ~MOA from hunting rifles in the XCR pricerange.

The Accubond is a good bullet, the XCR is a good rifle. But it's a hunting rifle, not a BR gun.

If you want consistent .5 MOA, you'll have to pony up for a Sendero or a custom build.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I agree with Mach4;
I have a Savage M110 in .300RUM. Your particular load should be a good one. I actually prefer 84.0gr of IMR7828. My rifle has a 26"bbl and has a Weatherby type "free-bore" throat. This means that you can't seat the bullet out to touch the grooves and still fit the round in the magazine. But, it gives an additional ~100fps over a conventional throat such as the Remington has. Also, the extra 2" of barrel gives another ~75-100fps boost in speed. The original Remington barrels in 1998 when the cartridge came out had 27" barrels to get the "good" out of the .300RUM. It really emasculates this cartridge to shorten the barrels below 26" as you loose a lot of velocity potential.

My rifle will shoot about 1.0" groups at best, but I don't consider that a handicap. It isn't a target rifle but a hunting rifle. Your listed load is a factory duplication load. From my rifle it gets over 3,300fps. At 84.0gr, I get about 3,100fps and at or just under MOA from my rifle. (3-shots to save components and barrel life).

I'd just be content with your load. It's about as good as you can expect. For additional speed, you could try either Reloader25- Max with the 180 is 96.0gr, but my rifle doesn't want more than 93.0. At this, it gets 3,350fps and MOA. Furthermore, Retumbo at 98.5gr gets 3,380fps and similar accuracy. (max is 101.0gr per manuals). Remember, this is from 26" bbl with Remington brass. From a 24" bbl and Federal brass, expect lower maximums and ~150fps lower velocities. (See the Speer manual to see what I mean).

I've not shot the Accubonds, but the Hornady SST's and 180gr flat-base Interloks as well as the Sierra's and Nosler Partitions have shot well from my rifle. Even the 180gr Remington Corlokts when they were "cheap", shot extreamly well.

I load my rifle "cheap" these days. I bought 16lbs of WC-860 powder from Widners in 2005 for $50.00 plus hazmat (10.00 then). Also, 500 Remington 180gr Corlokt's for $48.00. At 105.0gr I get 3,200fpss and at 108.0(MAX) I get 3,350fps. Costs less than shooting a 30/30. (or did, at the time).
Currently WC-872 is available for about $8lb. I'd suggest trying that.

If you want to extend the life of you barrel, I'd consider Accurate #5744. At a max load of 58.0gr, it will get 2,880fps, or about like a .300WSM. Will prolong the life of the barrel by 2X. (Not that you'll likely shoot it enough to burn it out real soon...).
If you aren't using Federal #215 primers, you should be. That might further "tighten" your groups. Switching to a CCI magnum primer will lose me about 75fps...

 

[calongshot]

Gents...

I appreciate the feedback and I totally understand that my rifle is a hunting rifle not a BR rifle. I'm not looking for BR groups out of it. I have been able to consistently get .5" groups from a Ruger M77MKII in a .25-06 as well as my Remington 700 Varmint in .223. The .223 just cuts one ragged hole at 100yds and shoots <1.5" at 200yds.

I have seen the exact same rifle as mine shoot .5" groups consistently with the same load that my gun struggles with, so my inquiry was somewhat along those lines. Being what I consider to be a novice reloader still I am glad to get some feedback from you guys.

Goose: I am using Fed 215M primers and my gun has a 26" barrel with the muzzle brake adding an additional 2" or so. I currently have some 180gn Accubonds that I have loaded at 84gn to try out.

I was also talking to some buddies that have .300WBY's that shoot 82gn IMR4831 just over 3000fps with Hornady Interlocks. Those guns are tack drivers. Might give the flat base bullets a shot.

In your guys' experience is there a significant difference between flat base and boat tail bullets inside of 500yds?

 

[calongshot]

Goose I shot 120gn CorLokts out of my .25-06 for years. Those bullets performed great especially for a factory load. I had taken everything from Coyotes, Blacktail, Muleys, Black Bears and even an Elk with those bullets and never once had to do any sort of tracking job.

 

[redneck2]

I have seen the exact same rifle as mine shoot .5" groups consistently with the same load that my gun struggles with

Uhhhh........no

They're supposedly the same rifle. Each rifle has a personality of it's own. One of those "built on Monday or built on Friday" things. I own several 700's, but lately Remington quality is very hit or miss. I have personally seen examples that have come out of the custom shop that are really crappy.

I have friend that had a Savage that absolutely would not shoot. Sent it back to the factory. They said the old barrel was bad and installed a new one. Now shoots sub MOA

In your guys' experience is there a significant difference between flat base and boat tail bullets inside of 500yds?

Typically, no. Until you get over about 400 yards, there is little to no difference. Actually, I believe most BR type bullets are flat based.

As noted in the above posts, I think you're maybe chasing ghosts. If I were going to change something, it would be brand of bullet. I've personally had more success with other brands. I'd go to Sierra or Nosler

 

[jaktime]

Hey all,
I just stumbled over this post & I've seen mention of " barrel burn out" I too shoot a 300RUM . I use a 180gr bullet over 80gr, or 84gr over a 150gr bullet (powder is IMR 4831), my question is how many rounds would I in theory have to shoot before I noticed a decrease in accuracy or increase in group size?
Any insight would be great
J

 

[hardluk1]

You are shooting a production barrel . It may not shoot as well as your buddies assumming they really shot better groups. Let your buddies try it too. I would also try a different bullet and the SST is also my favorate. One last thing ,If you have shot it alot , have you have the bore scoped?? Throat erosion or coppering?? Those well cause fliers to start with.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Jacktime-

There is no exact answer, but those are fairly light loads, and if you're never allowing the barrel to overheat, I expect you should get at least a couple thousand rounds through it before it needs rechambered/replaced.