Sitka Gear Turkey Tool Belt

300 WSM Pet Loads?

Ben Lamb

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Aug 6, 2010
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Cedar, MI
Helping a buddy out with the move from lead to copper and will be working up some loads for his 300 WSM. It's a Tikka T3 Lite.

I've got some 165 TTSX & 180 TTSX's. He's interested in the 180's but I'd be curious if anyone has some 165 loads that they have had success with. I'm just going to use once fired brass from his gun, check the length, trim if necessary & neck size the brass. Likely to use Federal 215's for the primer or some CCI's I have left over.

Looking at H4350, IMR 4350 & RL 17 as powders I have on hand. Any others we should be considering?
 
Remember to drop down a size for TTSX and TSX. If you want 165, pick 150. So 150 or 165 would be great choices, I would pass on the 180 in Barnes FWIW.

Not completely perfected, but my current Tikka T3x is shooting 150 grain TTSX over 58.0 grains H4895. 3155 FPS, 0.8 MOA, 10 sd. Unfortunately couldn’t do much with seating depth given short tikka magazine. My COL with Hornady gauge (don’t have COAL handy, still in SA) is 2.2660. Hornady brass CCI 250 mag primers. Still needs a little work, but good enough to take this 650 pound Kudu in Limpopo District about 6 hours ago. Made it about 100 yards after double lung pass through shot at 170 yards.

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What kind of pets are you hunting with 165 gr bullets? Certainly not Neffa’s cats...

I have never gone above a 22 for pets but am curious how your hand loads will perform. Remember shot placement is key on pets as a quick humane kill saves an impromptu meeting with the local sheriff. Also maybe a suppressor is a good idea?

I have found the best access to public land for pet hunting to be sidewalks and alleyways around dawn or dusk. Check local regulations but if baiting is legal then that will bring the pets in like a dog to a whistle. Matter of fact, a dog whistle works great on pets too. If baiting is illegal hang out by a public dumpster as those things are like a deep dish Chicago pizza to the pet ecosystem. If you take away the juicy toppings in the center it doesn’t matter as the toppings go all the way to the edge of the pizza or dumpster. Getting hungry just thinking about it!

Hope this helps but I don’t feel comfortable giving you coordinates to my honey holes, but maybe over PM.
 
I've advised my buddy about dropping down a weight, but it's his rifle, and he wants the 180's. I think they'll be fine, since we'll stay north of 3000 fps.

375 - well played!
 
Since you have RL 17 - I've used 68 gr. RL 17 in my Browning A-bolt with 165 TTSX's before with decent results.
Only info I have written here is 3/4" groups @ 100. Fed 215's. No FPS for some reason.
Next best results were with 60.5 gr. of Viht N550 behind a 180 Nosler Balistic tip.
Gun really seemed to like 68 gr. RL 22 with the 180 TTSX better (as did I) so I fed that for a couple years - then I got a RUM.
 
I have loaded for a few friends that had the tikka t3 lite ss syn anyway both guns shot 5/8 in groups with 180 accubonds and R22
 
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