300 H&H loads

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horsemen61

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Ok folks I am looking at getting my hands on a Remington I’m assuming 721 300 H&H

On the grounds that I reload for it

So anybody got any good loads or go to bullet weights/powders?

Uses
Midwest whitetail/hogs
Paper/steel
 
That's a very uncommon cartridge. I only know one person who has one.
It's case capacity is slightly smaller than a 300WM, so I would start there.
Something around IMR 4831 or H1000. On the faster side of powder, I would cut off at imr4350.
Bullet choice is dependent on what you are doing.
 
I have a good friend who has one. He owns it as a part of his collection and I have thought several times about trying to trade him out of it. They usually come with a 26 inch barrel so they would be long to handle. If you want to reload I would suggest looking at a Speer reloading manual. IMR 4350 and IMR 4831 would be good choices of powder and just about any good 165 or 180 grain cup & core bullet would work well. I noticed that eBay has reloading dies for sale and new set of RCBS dies is about $80 and a used set around $50. A 30-06 would be a better choice but for something different the 300 H & H would be interesting.
 
My Dad bought me a Rem 721 when I was 14 years old.. Got a 5 point bull elk with it a few weeks later.. I don't have any idea how many deer, antelope, and pesky critters have fallen to that gun.. I gave my Son my Dad's Winchester Mdl 70 300 H&H and my Remington 300 H&H to my Grandson last winter.

Like Sage said, 180 grains and 4350 powder will serve you well. 110 grainers are hell on pasture poodles too.
 
Thanks all for the info! I have a wide selection of your standard deer calibers from the little .243,.270,.308,35rem,30-06,6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor so this is more for fun and to say I did it you know
 
Thanks all for the info! I have a wide selection of your standard deer calibers from the little .243,.270,.308,35rem,30-06,6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor so this is more for fun and to say I did it you know
In that case, run the same bullet you load for the 30-06 and the same powder you use in the 270. It would make logistics easier.
 
I have a pre 64 M70 in 300 &H

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It really liked this load. Mind you these are not the meaningless three shot groups you see all the time in magazines and the web, I prefer ten shot groups to determine consistency. The first is a nine shot group at 100 yards, and the second is a ten shot group at 300 yards.

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I am going to recommend that on the first firing of your cases, you lubricate them and fire them lubricated, such as I have done:


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The reason for this is that the base to shoulder distance of Belted Magnum cartridges was never standardized. What was standardized was headspace off the belt. You fire a dry case in a dry chamber and you will experience short case life.

If you want your cases to be ruined , like the reloader who shot these,

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Just ignore my advice.

Since these cases are $2.00 each, I prefer to be financially prudent and extend their lifetime by first of all, on first firing, lubricating the cases. As I explained here: Setting Headspace With a light coating of lube, like case lube, the front of the case not adhere to the chamber during combustion. So, instead of the side walls having to stretch to the bolt face, because the front is fixed, a lubricated case will slide to the bolt face, and the shoulders will fold out, creating a stress free, perfectly fireformed case.

When you resize the things, you are going to have to buy a special case gauge made for belted magnums, such as this Wilson Cartridge Headspace gauge sold by Midsouth.

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https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....ilson-adjustable-case-gage-300-h-and-h-magnum

And again, this is because the base to shoulder distance for chambers and sizing dies was not established, and without these gauges, you will, and I mean will, push the shoulder too far back, and that will again, will cause case head separations. You set up these gauges using a fired case, and then you adjust the sizing die so you only bump the shoulder 0.003" or less. I do not recommend a 0.000" adjustment as the next firing the brass may be work hardened more, and then the case may stick during extraction. Your rifle has an extractor that was built around the assumption that the case contracted enough after firing that it did not have to yank the case off the chamber walls. Do that enough times and you will break your extractor. Start with the proper case clearance before firing, and end with the proper case clearance after firing, and both your cases and extractor will last longer.
 

Great rifle. They try and they try to make a better hunting rifle today but very seldom does one show its face. They make better barrels today and use all kinds of tricks to make them shoot good but the overall quality of that production rifle is great. It makes me feel good to see a rifle like that because they are a joy to use. The early 1950's were the Cadillac years for the Model 70.
 
Great rifle. They try and they try to make a better hunting rifle today but very seldom does one show its face. They make better barrels today and use all kinds of tricks to make them shoot good but the overall quality of that production rifle is great. It makes me feel good to see a rifle like that because they are a joy to use.

I really like the M70 action. The Mauser 98 is the "King" in my opinion, but the M70 makes a smooth and slick sporter action and the pre 64's had an excellent reputation for durability. Pre 64's were very common on the firing line as a match rifle in NRA competition, till the space guns displaced them.

And you know, you look at the ballistics of a 300 H&H, it is a good round. Of course the horsepower races of the 1950's, 60's, and 70's, Ackley, Weatherby, and the majority of the in print community were making claims that velocity was the only thing, and given enough velocity, all you had to do was shoot the animal, somewhere, anywhere, and the round had enough "wallop" to offset the shooters lack of marksmanship.

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How, what was not shown, and really not even shown today, is what the wound channel looks like at distance. Bullets shed velocity rather quickly, and bullet expansion is directly dependent on bullet velocity. So at distance, how big of a hole, and how deep of a hole do all these rounds make? I will bet, the wound channel difference is very small between the 300 H&H and the other 30 caliber magnums, and the difference gets smaller with distance, because, the bullet will stop expanding around 1800 fps.

This first production year M70 is an exceptionally accurate rifle for a sporting rifle.
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Core Lokt's shot well!

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Match bullets shot well, even though half the case necks cracked

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There's a lot of people on this forum that don't believe a 1937 rifle will group like that. I especially like that 600 yard group with IMR 4064. As a hunter I have fired many rounds with IMR 4064 using 150 grain Speer and Sierra bullets. Accuracy is good, velocity is high and recoil is low.
 
Slamfire's comments about case life, loadings, and accuracy match my experience with this caliber.

My pre-64 Model 70 in 300 H&H is a dream to handle, and has killed many deer, elk, and a fair chase wild bison. It likes 180 grain Partitions with IMR 4831.

Best of luck with yours!
 
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I owned a 700 Classic in .300 H&H for 18 years. Very nice cartridge, it is not finicky at all. Mine liked IMR4350 the best with bullets from 165 gr to 200 gr. Brass lasts forever and I found it rarely needed trimming. The .300 H&H is capable of doing anything a .300 WM can do. All my loads were from the Nosler manual using IMR4350. I never pushed this cartridge as I saw no need to. I'd still have that rifle today but I no longer do large game hunting.
 
I have a 721 made in 1959. I love it! I put a Redfield 4-12 Traditional on it.
I would also love a M70 but too rich for my blood for a hunting rifle.
Mine likes IMR 4350 and 180s.
In my opinion, you’re doing the old super 30 an injustice with less than 180s. That grand old cartridge does very well with 180 and heavier bullets.
I made a 275 yard offhand shot with 150 gr over 4350 soon after I bought it in the 80s. It dropped that WT dead in its tracks on a logging road.
 
Shed no tears for the "obsolete" .300 H&H Mag, because it had it's day(s) of glory in the hunting field and as spectacularly successful target cartridge. Along the way it also introduced American shooters to the belted magnum, just think Weatherby Mag, and you'll understand the long lasting influence it has had on the entire gunmaking industry. Usually the .300 H&H isn't spoken of target shooting terms, but beginning in 1935, and for a generation thereafter it ruled the 1000 yard target ranges and high-level long range competition. That's the year a shooter by the name of Ben Comfort won the Wimbledon Cup match at the Camp Perry National Championship matches and sent a shock wave across the industry. Ben's .300 H&H rifle had been built by Griffin&Howe, a carriage trade custom gunmaker in NYC not normally known for making fine target rifles. On the day of Ben's win, and into the night, there were protests filed because his .300 Mag had an unfair advantage over the .30/06's used by other competitors. But referees upheld Ben's win and the complexion of long range shooting was changed forever. Within a year Winchester introduced a .300 Mag M-70 Bull barrel target rifle and it soon dominated 1000 yd courses. Quite a few years later, when I was with the US Advanced Marksmanship Unit at Ft. Benning, we still had a few of those M-70's and they were still competitive with good ammo. And ammo makers were still making .300 H&H target grade ammo, as shown here. I'd like to have one of those rifles now and try some loads with modern bullets. But the only .300 H&H I have to play with now is this M-70, custom stocked and refined by Griffin & Howe, the same folks who built Ben Comfort's winning rifle. DSC_0020.JPG DSC_0022.JPG DSC_0014.JPG 300H&H5.JPG
 
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Wow! That’s a beauty! You lucky dawg! My finances never let me get past a 721 and a 700 classic (still NIB).
If I could have only one pre64 m70, it would be an early super 30! Oh well I can dream!
Really - congrats to you!!!!!

I do have a 1973 m70 30-06 and it is 1/2 moa but not in same class as a pre64!
 
Shed no tears for the "obsolete" .300 H&H Mag, because it had it's day(s) of glory in the hunting field and as spectacularly successful target cartridge.

I hardly think of it as obsolete, there are many that still have them in their safe. If I had a need for another .30 cal I'd buy another .300 H&H. I still have enough brass for it and bullets are easy to find.
 
Hey guys... old thread but I found it while doing some research and wanted to revive it!

I'm grew up shooting 300 H&H and it's still my elk cartridge of choice. I have a R700 with a 26" Lilja barrel, muzzle brake, and sitting in a McMillin stock. The load I have been using for years is a 200gr Swift A-Frame behind H4831SC at 3010 fps. I'm changing things up this year and hoping to shoot more too. I haven't shot the rifle as much as I'd like and that's going to change. I'm going to work up a load with 180gr TTSX's, and am hoping for ~3050-3100 fps.

That's my 300 H&H, dad has 4 more... and I've been lucky to take game with all of them, even thou he hasn't.

His original is a R700 that started life as a 7mm Rem Mag that got re-barreled, thou I don't recall the brand of barrel.
The rifle I shot as a kid is a R721 that has been reworked, muzzle brake, trigger work, new extractor, new safety (typical 721, and the BDL stock that came on the 7mm Rem Mag listed above.
Then there is the pre-64 Model 70, such a fun gun to shoot! It's early enough to just say 300 Magnum on it.
A few years ago dad was trying to go lighter for hiking and had a Ruger No 1 in 30-06 machined into 300 H&H, thou it's not as light as he hoped.

There was another one in the family when I was a kid, a R721 I believe, but it was lost with a friend when he passed.
 
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