Fortier SGN Dec 2011 300WinMag

A quality rifle in .300 Win. Mag., like this Tactical
Rifles Chimera, is capable of excellent accuracy at
distances beyond 1200 meters in the right hands.
CLASSIC
AMERICAN
.300 WIN.
THE
MUSCLE: MAG.
IS IT AN ECONOMICAL ALTERNATIVE TO EUROPE’S PRICEY .338 LAPUA?
The .338 Lapua Mag. is the sexiest thing going in long-range riflery, but at $6 a round, the price is hard to
swallow. Fortier says the .300 Win. Mag. is the economical alternative for most users. ByDavidM.Fortier
T
here is, and has been for a while now, a great deal of
interest in a fabulously far reaching cartridge from
Finland, the .338 Lapua Mag. Many long-range
shooters are entranced by this beltless bruiser.
I have to admit, there’s a lot there to grab one’s attention. Its exterior ballistics and accuracy are very impressive. Here’s a cartridge that, in the right hands, is capable
of reaching past 1500 yards. Terminal performance is
also very impressive, even at extended distances.
This is a cartridge that, in its military AP loading, is
capable of punching through a Russian APC at 900 me-
ters. Yet a rifle in this caliber is not ridiculously heavy like
a .50 BMG. Fielded successfully by numerous armies, it
currently holds the record for the longest sniper shot ever
taken. British Cpl. Craig Harrison made back-to-back
kills at 2.47 kilometers in Helmand Province Afghanistan
in November 2009. What’s not to like about such a wonderful long range cartridge?
What’s not to like? In one word, cost. This is a shockingly expensive cartridge to shoot. Many riflemen who
read about it in magazine articles and online get sucked
in, only to vapor lock when they see the cost of ammuni-
tion. A 10-round box of Lapua-manufactured ammunition runs more than $60. It’s kind of obvious why they
offer them in 10-round boxes. Black Hills Ammunition is
not quite so shy, and a 20-round box from them will set
you back more than $120.
Think about it. You can cut costs by reloading, but the
price of empty cases and match grade projectiles will still
shock you. In a way the .338 Lapua Mag. reminds me of
an exotic European sports car. It’s visually attractive with
toe-curling performance, but simply too damn expensive
for your average blue-collar worker.
Truthfully, I’ve never been a fan of prissy, high-strung
European sports cars. I’ve always preferred American
muscle, and the mind-numbing torque of a Chrysler bigblock. So when I began contemplating a rifle with more
reach than my .308 Win., I didn’t choose the .338 Lapua.
Instead I picked a traditional American classic, the .300
Win. Mag.
The ‘Win Mag’ is a truly great long-range cartridge in
its own right, and is noticeably more affordable to shoot
than the .338 Lapua. For a blue-collar worker like me, the
Win Mag makes more sense. After all, what good is a rifle
you can’t afford to practice with regularly?
The .300 Win. Mag. was introduced by Winchester
Repeating Arms Company 49 years ago in 1963. It was
preceded by the .264 Win. Mag., .338 Win. Mag. and .458
Win. Mag., which were all unveiled in 1958. All three of
these cartridges were based upon a modified .375 H&H
Mag. case. The parent case was blown out and shortened
to 2.500 inches.
The 2.500 length is significant, as it allowed it to function through a standard-length rifle action. Roy Weatherby had popularized this length beginning in 1943 with
his .270 Wby. Mag. Winchester followed this lead when
they developed their own line of magnum cartridges.
However, when Winchester finally introduced a .30
cal. magnum cartridge, they didn’t simply neck their .338
Win. Mag. down. Rather than doing the obvious, they
instead tweaked the case design a bit.
Namely, they moved the shoulder forward .156", which
increased case capacity, but also gave it a relatively short
neck. The result was a large belted magnum with a case
length of 2.62 inches. Rim diameter is .532" while base
diameter is .513". Shoulder diameter is .489" and overall
cartridge length is 3.34 inches.
Maximum SAAMI recommended pressure is 64,000
psi. Since its introduction, the .300 Win. Mag. has gone
Introduced in 1963, the .300 Win. Mag. has gone on to
be enormously popular. Today it can offer an economical alternative to the expensive .338 Lapua Mag.
The .300 Win. Mag. outmuscles military rifle cartridges like the 7.62x54R, 6.5x55 and .308 Win.,
while lagging not too far behind the big .338 Lapua.
on to become the most popular of all the various .30 cal.
magnum cartridges by a large margin.
Why has the .300 Win. Mag. reached and maintained
such popularity? For a combination of very simple and
straightforward reasons. Namely it offers a useful step-up
in terminal performance over standard cartridges like the
.30-’06 for hunters. It will kill anything that needs killing
in North America, and do it in a standard length action.
Long range shooters appreciate both its exterior ballistics and match winning accuracy at 1000 yards and
beyond. Plus from the start it was intended for the bluecollar worker rather than being an expensive snob round.
So, loaded ammunition and components are relatively
affordable compared to many other magnum cartridges.
Despite all this praise, the .300 Win. Mag. is not without its fair share of faults. Pushing the shoulder forward
means it has a very short neck. It is actually shorter than
the caliber of the bullet loaded into it. Many have criticized this feature, claiming a short neck would not hold a
bullet in proper alignment with the axis of the bore.
Others have criticized it claiming it provided insufficient tension on the projectile to adequately retain it. This
issue is said to be exacerbated by the need to seat heavier
bullets very deeply to maintain the .30-’06-like 3.34-inch
OAL. Deeply seated bullets will, of course, also eat into
the .300 Win. Mag.’s case capacity.
Then there is the belt. A distinctive feature of Winchester’s .264, .300, .338 and .458 Mag. cartridges, it is
little more than a holdover from the British cartridge they
are based upon, the .375 H&H Mag. However, it should be
kept in mind the justly famous .375 H&H Mag. was first
introduced in 1912 as the .375 Belted Rimless Nitro-Express. It is old enough to have been originally loaded with
cordite and was only the second cartridge to feature a belt.
On a long tapered case intended for dangerous game
hunting, during this specific period in time, the belt made
sense. In the late 1950s it was a useful marketing tool to
catch the attention of the American sportsman. On the
comparatively straight-walled .300 Win. Mag. in the 21st
Century it is nothing more than a nuisance.
Although the .300 Win. Mag. is designed to headspace
on the belt, very few reloaders actually do this. Belt thickness can and does vary, especially from manufacturer to
manufacturer. More consistent accuracy can be achieved
by headspacing off the shoulder. Reloaders can accomplish this by simply backing their resizing die off a quarter to a half-turn. This should also extend case life.
When carefully loaded, a quality Win Mag is capable
of excellent accuracy at 1000 yards and beyond. Its accuracy and ability to buck the wind has endeared it to
many competitive shooters and it has won its share of
1000-yard matches.
Without a doubt .338 Lapua Mag. rifles are flat shooting, hard hitting and excellent in the wind. But do
you really want to spend $120 for a 20-round box?
Bolt guns in .308 are very accurate, have a long barrel life and are relatively economical to shoot. But the
.300 Win. Mag. outperforms them across the board.
The military developed and adopted the A191 .300
Win. Mag. Match load with a 190-grain Sierra MatchKing for competition and then later for combat use.
All that performance does come at a price, though. Recoil
tends to be on the attention-getting side. My high power rifle shooting friends and I would joke about a stiff .300 Win.
Mag. load “lifting the elbows off the mat.” While reality
isn’t quite that bad, the big Win Mag will fatigue a shooter
faster during a long string of fire than lighter calibers.
Times have changed and some things are no longer politically or culturally correct to say. But in the “old days,”
members of the military rifle teams used to refer to the
6.5-284 Norma as the “Fag Mag.” This was due to its
exterior ballistics being close to the .300 Win Mags, but
without the recoil.
Hand in hand with the stiff recoil is throat erosion. If
you want to go fast, you have to pay the piper. In this
case it’s not only a pound of your flesh but also a healthy
scorching of your barrel’s throat. Do not expect to stuff
copious quantities of slow burning powder down a .30
cal. hole and have Methuselah-like barrel life. If you demand performance which would make a HEMI driver
grin, peak barrel life may only be 1,200 to 1,800 rounds.
So what’s my point? Simply that the .300 Win. Mag.
isn’t perfect. It’s kind of like a 1969 426 HEMI Roadrunner. The old Plymouth was difficult to keep in tune,
ate spark plugs like candy, overheated in a Maine winter
and would put the fear of God into you on a windy back
road. But pop those dual 4-Vs open on a straight stretch
and run the pistolgrip 4-speed like you hated her and by
God you’d know what unconditional love means.
The exterior ballistics and terminal performance of the
.300 Win. Mag. were not lost on the U.S. Military. It soon
became popular with the various rifle teams for use in
competition. In addition, the Navy in particular took an
One of IOR Valdada’s new 6-24x56mm
FFP Tactical scopes with moa reticle was
mounted onto the Tactical Rifles’ Chimera
for testing a variety of loads.
early interest in the Win Mag as a means to extend the
range of its snipers. Basically it wanted something with
more zing than a 7.62mm NATO, but without the signature and size of the .50 BMG.
The first loads used a 185-grain Lapua FMJ-BT,
but eventually the Navy switched to a 190-grain Sierra
MatchKing. Target velocity was 2950 fps. During development of what came to be known as the A191 load (type
classified as the Mk 248 Mod 0) much work was done
on the chamber design (headspacing off the shoulder, not
the belt) as well as maintaining a consistent velocity over
a wide temperature range.
The result of this work was a flat-shooting and hardhitting sniper cartridge with 200 to 400 yards of extended reach compared to the 7.62mm M118. With a flatter
trajectory and less wind drift, the .300 Win. Mag. offers
a useful step up in performance in a similar size rifle. It
does this while keeping recoil and muzzle signature similar to the 7.62mm.
Combat performance of the .300 Win. Mag. has been
very good. The US Army eventually decided to retain its
M24 rifles by converting them to .300 Win Mag. Originally with the coming of the semi-automatic 7.62mm
M110, units were told to hand in their bolt-action M24s.
This didn’t go over well with a wartime army. So the decision was made to convert the 7.62mm M24 and utilize it
as a bridge to a more advanced design. The conversion
was straightforward, as the M24 had been originally designed with this capability in mind.
With the U.S. military embracing the .300 Win. Mag.,
work was undertaken to improve it. The A191/Mk 248
Mod 0 was refined and a new Mk 248 Mod 1 load introduced. This new load was developed to stretch the .300
Win. Mag.’s reach even further. The traditional 190-grain
Sierra MatchKing was replaced by a 220-grain MatchKing. Doing so bumped the ballistic coefficient from .533
to .629.
Despite the heavier projectile, muzzle velocity remained
very similar. This was accomplished through a very heavy
charge of H1000 powder that pushes pressures slightly
above SAAMI levels. As the Mk 248 Mod 1 is loaded to
a longer OAL than SAAMI specifies, it may not be safe
in some commercial rifles. The end result is an effective
long-range sniper load well suited to U.S. military needs.
But what about your needs? If you have fancied a .338
Lapua Mag., but choked on the price of ammunition, consider a .300 Win. Mag. Loaded ammunition, dies and components are all readily available. Ammunition, even match
loads, is significantly less expensive. Brass is plentiful from
a variety of domestic and foreign manufacturers. Federal,
Hornady, Norma, Nosler, Remington and Winchester
all offer brass. Winchester brass is relatively inexpensive,
while Norma brass has earned a reputation for excellent
quality. Just keep in mind that brass will vary in weight
and volume from manufacturer to manufacturer. It can
also vary depending upon the lot and date of manufacture.
There are a number of fine powders that work well
with the .300 Win Mag. IMR 4350 is a traditional old
[Cont. to page 26]
IOR Valdada’s new 6-24x56mm FFP scope offers .25
moa adjustments with a whopping 25 moa per full turret
revolution. Also note the digital illumination selector.
One big advantage of the .300 Win. Mag. is that its popularity has made dies
and cartridge cases not only readily available but also relatively affordable.
There are a number of fine powders which work well with the .300 Win. Mag. such
as those seen here plus IMR 4350 and Retumbo. Medium to slow burners are best.
[Cont. from page 24]
school favorite that remains popular. Hodgdon’s H1000
and Retumbo both have their followers. If you are a fan
of Vihtavuori powders, one I recommend trying is N560.
RL-22 is also an excellent powder to try.
The important thing is to start well below max and
slowly increase your charge weight while carefully watching for pressure. You will also need to decide how fast you
wish to run your handloads. This can be a balancing act.
The faster the load the better the exterior ballistics, but
the harder it will be on your barrel.
Seeing as the Win Mag utilizes standard .308" diameter
projectiles, there are a host of fine choices available. Sierra’s 190-grain MatchKing (.533 BC) is the traditional
choice, but hardly the only one. Sierra’s 155-grain Palma
(.504 BC), 175- (.505 BC), 200- (.565 BC), 210- (.645
BC) and 220-grain (.629 BC) MatchKings also deserve
consideration.
Hornady’s 208-grain AMAX (.630 BC) in particular
has earned an enviable reputation. While on the heavy
side, Hornady’s 225-grain OTM (.670 BC) has a very
impressive claimed BC. Berger Bullets has a wide assortment of match projectiles to consider. These include their
185-grain Match VLD (.549 BC), 190-grain Match VLD
(.570 BC) and 210-grain Match VLD Target (.631 BC).
From Lapua I suggest the 170-grain Lock Base FMJBT (.498 BC), 185-grain D46 FMJ-BT (.506 BC) and
185-grain Scenar (.482 BC). Of all the projectiles mentioned here Sierra’s 190-grain MatchKing is well known
for being relatively easy to get to shoot well. Many of the
VLDs can be a bit touchy regarding OAL, and can take a
bit more effort to dial in. Currently Hornady’s 208-grain
AMAX is the flavor of the hour and proving very popular.
When it comes to projectiles, the .338 Lapua Mag. has
a payload advantage. It can throw a significantly heavier
projectile, 300 grains, compared to the Win Mag. These
heavy projectiles also have a noticeable advantage in ballistic coefficient. As an example Sierra’s .338" diameter
300-grain MatchKing has a claimed BC of .768. Lapua’s
300-grain Scenar has a claimed BC of .736. Dropping in
weight to the 250-grain projectiles the .338 Lapua was
originally designed around also reduces the BCs. Lapua’s
.338" diameter 250-grain B408 Lock Base FMJ-BT has
a BC of .625 while the 250-grain GB488 Scenar is .648.
In comparison, Sierra’s lighter .338 diameter 250-grain
MatchKing has a claimed BC of .587. So with the best
bullets available the .300 Win. Mag. is close to the .338
Lapua Magnum’s 250-grain loads.
However keep in mind a box of 50 .338" 300 grain
MatchKings is about $33, or what 100 .308 Hornady
208-grain AMAXs run.
Currently there seems to be a change in thought happening among American shooters regarding long range rifles.
Many are moving away from .308 Win. bolt action rifles to,
horror of horrors, modern semi-automatic systems. This
is a direct result of experience gained, lessons learned and
technology developed during our ongoing wars.
Many of these same riflemen are now interested
in a bolt gun only if it offers a noticeable step up
in performance over a .30
cal. 175-grain MatchKing
launched at 2600 fps. This
was the boat I found my-
self in. I dearly love my Sako TRG-22, but realistically,
my 20-inch 6.5mm Grendel DMR is a lighter, more efficient and versatile platform inside 700 yards. Past 700
yards I desired more zing out of a bolt gun.
I solved my problem by having Tactical Rifles build me
a .300 Win. Mag. Although not as well known as some
custom rifle shops, I have been extremely impressed by
this Florida-based company. I posted my highest score
ever in 600 yard competition, 200-15X, using one of their
20-inch .308 Win. sniper rigs.
Accuracy is the name of the game with a precision rifle,
and they have consistently impressed me. They use traditional well proven methods and understand the theory
behind what they are doing. Building rifles isn’t just a 9-5
job for them, this is who they are.
My .300 Win. Mag. was built on their own Chimera
Magnum length action. Riding inside this is a fluted bolt
with an oversize knob. Bottom metal consists of their
own design which accepts detachable AI magazines. I absolutely loathe drop floorplate designs, and appreciate the
benefits of detachable box magazines.
The trigger is adjustable, and out of the box was excellent, being both very light and crisp. Fitted to the top
of the action is a one-piece steel M1913 rail. Mated to
the receiver is a 24-inch heavy stainless steel match barrel. The chamber on this was cut to minimum SAAMI
specifications.
Twist is 1:9.25, facilitating use of very heavy 208- to
230-grain bullets. I am not a fan of muzzle brakes, but
as I grow older I become less a fan of recoil as well. So,
one of Tactical Rifles’ three baffle brakes is fitted. If a
customer desires it, they can also set a barrel up to accept
a sound suppressor.
The barreled action was dropped into their distinctive
T-7 rifle stock. As Kansas is brown a good bit of the year,
I had them finish the rifle accordingly using their moly[Cont. to page 28]
Some excellent bullet choices: Sierra 190-grain, 210- and 220-grain MatchKings,
Hornady 225-grain OTM and 208-grain AMAX, Berger 185-grain VLD and Lapua
185-grain D46 Lock Base and Scenar.
The .30 caliber has always been popular, so a bewildering array of high-quality match-grade projectiles in a variety of bullet weights is readily available.
[Cont. from page 26]
based Extreme Environment finish. The result was a distinctive looking piece which was very pleasing to the eye.
Included with the rifle was a test target measuring .13"
center to center fired at 100 yards. This was shot using
a handload consisting of a 208-grain AMAX loaded on
top of 63.5 grains of H4350. A Hornady comparator was
used to measure the distance to engage the lands and set
at 20 thou.
For this article I mounted up one of IOR/Valdada Enterprises’ big 6-24x56mm tactical scopes. This model is
built on a 35mm tube and I chose to test a model with
a moa-based reticle with moa turret adjustments. The
very large elevation turret provides 25 moa per full turret
revolution in .25 moa clicks with 70 moa of adjustment
available.
The reticle is IOR’s new MP8-X1 (MOA-X) Xtreme
Long Range Reticle. Located in the first focal plane, it provides 30 moa of ballistic compensation using a “Christmas Tree” reticle. Hashmarks provide 1 moa increments
of elevation and 2 moa of windage/lead compensation.
The main horizontal stadia consists of a center aiming
dot with 30 moa of windage/lead correction. In addition,
this model features IOR’s new digital illumination with
auto-shut off. An impressive looking optic, I mounted it
up and hit the range.
I proceeded to test a variety of factory hunting and
match loads at 100 yards. This was done off the bipod
using a rear bag. Velocity was recorded 12 feet from the
muzzle using an Oehler 35P chronograph. Recoil, even
with the heaviest loads, is shockingly light. The rifle hardly moves and is very pleasant to fire.
With almost no recoil it is very easy to concentrate on
making each shot rather than worrying about getting a
scope to the face. Blast and noise are not an issue either,
which is uncommon with brakes.
In addition to the factory loads, Gus Norcross of Angus Arms also provided one handload. This was a duplicate of the National Guard Marksmanship Training
Unit’s (NGMTU) 1000-yard Camp Perry load. It consisted of a 190-grain MatchKing over a healthy dose of
IMR 4350.
Best accuracy was obtained using the NGMTU load.
This posted a best of .19" at 2832 fps and averaged .3"
for four 5-shot groups at 100 yards. Dialing 18.5 moa of
elevation into the IOR put me on at 800 yards.
This load proceeded to average 4 inches at 800 yards in
favorable wind conditions. My best five-shot group measured just 3.5 inches at 800 yards. Let me add that I was
shooting at a plain white steel silhouette after the sun had
gone down. Average of all the loads tested was just .7".
So, I came away impressed by the performance of both
the rifle and scope.
Optical performance of the big IOR was excellent,
especially in low light. The reticle also proved very
easy to use and many shooters will like it being in moa
rather than mils. If you are looking for a custom built
.300 WIN. MAG. VS .338 LAPUA MAG CHARTS
CHARTS WERE GENERATED UTILIZING BERGER BULLET BALLISTIC SOFTWARE
.300 Win. Mag. 208-grain Hornady AMAX at 2850 fps
Range Velocity Energy Trajectory TOF
Drift
(yards) (fps) (ft.-lbs.) (inches) (sec) (inches)
.338 Lapua Mag. 250-grain Lapua Scenar at 2950 fps
Range Velocity Energy Trajectory TOF
Drift
(yards) (fps) (ft.-lbs.) (inches) (sec) (inches)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
2850
2701
2556
2416
2281
2150
2024
1902
1784
1673
1567
1467
1375
1291
1217
1153
3751
3369
3018
2697
2403
2135
1891
1670
1471
1292
1133
994
873
770
684
613
-1.50
-0.00
-3.27
-11.86
-26.41
-47.65
-76.42
-113.68
-160.57
-218.39
-288.65
-373.09
-473.71
-592.73
-732.63
-896.02
0.0000
0.1081
0.2223
0.3430
0.4708
0.6062
0.7500
0.9030
1.0658
1.2395
1.4249
1.6228
1.8341
2.0594
2.2990
2.5526
0.00
-0.51
-2.08
-4.80
-8.77
-14.09
-20.88
-29.28
-39.42
-51.47
-65.57
-81.89
-100.57
-121.71
-145.35
-171.48
.300 Win. Mag. 220-grain MatchKing at 2900 fps
(Mk 248 Mod 1 equivalent)
Range Velocity Energy Trajectory TOF
Drift
(yards) (fps) (ft.-lbs.) (inches) (sec) (inches)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
2900
2749
2602
2461
2324
2191
2063
1940
1821
1707
1599
1497
1403
1316
1239
1171
4108
3691
3308
2958
2638
2346
2079
1837
1619
1423
1249
1095
961
846
750
670
-1.50
0.00
-3.10
-11.34
-25.33
-45.76
-73.43
-109.28
-154.37
-209.97
-277.52
-358.68
-455.37
-569.75
-704.23
-861.40
0.0000
0.00
0.1062
-0.50
0.2184
-2.03
0.3369
-4.70
0.4624
-8.57
0.5953 -13.76
0.7364 -20.39
0.8863 -28.59
1.0460 -38.48
1.2162 -50.24
1.3978 -64.00
1.5917 -79.94
1.7989 -98.20
2.0198 -118.89
2.2550 -142.09
2.5044 -167.79
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
2950
2801
2658
2518
2253
2127
2004
1886
1773
1665
1562
1466
1376
1295
1222
4831
4356
3920
3520
3154
2818
2510
2230
1975
1745
1538
1354
1192
1051
930
829
-1.50
0.00
-2.93
-10.79
-24.13
-43.60
-69.91
-103.93
-146.60
-199.06
-262.59
-338.68
-429.03
-535.59
-660.54
-806.25
0.0000
0.00
0.1044
-0.47
0.2143
-1.93
0.3302
-4.44
0.4527
-8.10
0.5821 -12.99
0.7192 -19.22
0.8645 -26.90
1.0188 -36.16
1.1828 -47.14
1.3575 -59.99
1.5435 -74.85
1.7419 -91.87
1.9533 -111.18
2.1782 -132.88
2.4170 -157.02
.338 Lapua Mag. 300-grain Lapua Scenar at 2850 fps
Range Velocity Energy Trajectory TOF
(yards) (fps) (ft.-lbs.) (inches) (sec)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
2850
2722
2597
2476
2358
2244
2133
2025
1920
1819
1721
1628
1539
1455
1377
1305
5410
4935
4494
4084
3705
3354
3030
2730
2455
2203
1973
1765
1578
1410
1263
1134
-1.50
0.00
-3.19
-11.54
-25.56
-45.83
-73.01
-107.84
-151.15
-203.90
-267.17
-342.18
-430.33
-533.16
-652.44
-790.08
Drift
(inches)
0.0000
0.00
0.1077
-0.43
0.2205
-1.77
0.3388
-4.06
0.4629
-7.39
0.5933 -11.82
0.7304 -17.43
0.8748 -24.32
1.0270 -32.58
1.1875 -42.32
1.3571 -53.64
1.5363 -66.67
1.7259 -81.52
1.9264 -98.30
2.1385 -117.11
2.3626 -138.02
.300 Win. Mag., I recommend talking to the folks at
Tactical Rifles.
There are many excellent cartridges to choose from for
long range shooting. The .300 Win. Mag. is just one to
consider. Like all of them it has its strengths and weaknesses, good and bad. A true American classic, it is capable of impressive performance. The latest generation of
very efficient match bullets blessed with very high ballistic
coefficients only make it better.
While not capable of matching the performance of the
.338 Lapua Mag., it can come reasonably close. More
importantly it can do it for less money. And in today’s
economy, that’s always important
TACTICAL RIFLES .300 WIN. MAG.
ACCURACY CHART
Load
Bullet
Weight
(grs.)
Black Hills AMAX
Federal Fusion
Hornady AMAX
Winchester XP3
Winchester Accubond
Winchester SilverTip
NGMTU MatchKing
178
165
178
150
180
180
190
Muzzle Standard Group
Velocity Deviation Avg.
(fps) (ins.)
2977
3150
2978
3287
3041
2932
2832
9
8
8
19
22
6
13
.7
.7
.6
.9
.9
.8
.3
Groups are an average of four 5 shot groups fired
from a rest at 100 yards. Velocity readings measured
12 feet from the muzzle at an ambient temperature of
40° F 1030 feet above sea level with an Oehler 35P.
.300 WIN. MAG. SUGGESTED POWDERS
IMR 4350 / H1000 / Retumbo / RL22 / VV N-560
SUGGESTED .300 WIN. MAG. LOADS
Bullet:
Powder:
Charge:
Primer: Case:
200-grain MatchKing
IMR 4350
67 grains
Winchester Magnum Large Rifle
Winchester
Bullet: Powder:
Charge:
Primer:
Case:
190-grain MatchKing
IMR 4350
68.6 grains
Winchester Magnum Large Rifle
Winchester
Sources
Tactical Rifles
877-811-4867 / www.tacticalrifles.net
IOR Valdada
303-979-4578 / www.valdada.com
Berger Bullets
714-447-5422 / www.bergerbullets.com
Black Hills Ammunition
605-348-5150 / www.black-hills.com
Federal Ammunition
800-831-0850 / www.federalpremium.com
Hornady Manufacturing
800-338-3220 / www.hornady.com
Lapua
www.lapua.com
Sierra Bullets
800-223-8799 / www.sierrabullets.com
Winchester Ammunition
www.winchester.com