200 gr or 180 gr bullet in a 300 Win Mag

[oremike]

I'm leaning towards the Serria 220 gr RN bullet as a good all around Western Oregon hunting bullet. I see on the internet the Nosler Partion is highly thought of as well so my question is what's better the 200's at just under 3000 fps or the 180's at just over 3000 fps?

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[flashpan]

Having hunted with a 300 magnum most of my life...I have handload several differnt bullets and weights. My go to load was the 200 Nosler Partition as I used the rifle mostly for Elk. The 300 mags are very good long range rifles but 220gr RN bullets would not shoot near as flat as spitzer shaped 200 or 180gr ones. There are so many good bullets on the market now compared to the early partion days. Now I load a 178gr Hornady ELD-X bullet at maximum velocity because I want the long range capability in eastern OR and I'm sure it will drop Elk at closeer range in the timber if need be. Hope this helps some.

 

[bbbass]

Having hunted with a 300 magnum most of my life...I have handload several differnt bullets and weights. My go to load was the 200 Nosler Partition as I used the rifle mostly for Elk. The 300 mags are very good long range rifles but 220gr RN bullets would not shoot near as flat as spitzer shaped 200 or 180gr ones. There are so many good bullets on the market now compared to the early partion days. Now I load a 178gr Hornady ELD-X bullet at maximum velocity because I want the long range capability in eastern OR and I'm sure it will drop Elk at closeer range in the timber if need be. Hope this helps some.

^^^ This...

A round nose bullet shines for hunting heavy boned animals such as moose or griz. But there is a trade off in loss of BC compared to other bullet shapes.

The brush bucking abilities of RN has been reported to be over-rated. IDK. For hunting elk in when using a .300 Win, I used to use Win 220gr Silvertip, but if handloading I would have not hesitated to use a modern bullet in 180gr for the added ability to shoot distance.



Sierra 220gr RN:



Hornady:




As you can see, modern bullets perform both far away, and up close on standard game.

 

[pharmseller]

How far are you shooting?

Inside of 400 yards, nothing is going to know the difference. Find the bullet that shoots best, and use it. If I were in your shoes, I'd start with the 180 Accubond.

If you need some let me know, I have a bunch. On the house.




P

 

[Ura-Ki]

I Really like the Swift Scriocco 180 gr for most all .30 cal loads above .308 win! These buck the wind very well and fly strait enough to be used as match bullets, and they expand reliably, nothing better in a hunting bullet!

 

[oremike]

I'm not really a hunter, though I do like to take a rifle for a walk in the woods and sleep in a tent. So I've decided to at least as a first load to go with the 200gr Nosler Partitions. If I can't get them to shoot I'll try something else. If I zero 4" high at 200yds I should be point blank out to about 350yds and still be above 2400fps. This will be my grab and go or utility load. If I want to make a specialty load for long range open country hunting I'll work up something just for that.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Having hunted with a 300 magnum most of my life...I have handload several differnt bullets and weights. My go to load was the 200 Nosler Partition as I used the rifle mostly for Elk. The 300 mags are very good long range rifles but 220gr RN bullets would not shoot near as flat as spitzer shaped 200 or 180gr ones. There are so many good bullets on the market now compared to the early partion days. Now I load a 178gr Hornady ELD-X bullet at maximum velocity because I want the long range capability in eastern OR and I'm sure it will drop Elk at closeer range in the timber if need be. Hope this helps some.

Great post. I always used the 200gr partition in my 300 magnums. I always thought the 200 at 2900 was an elk hammer. However, ive been using that same 200gr bullet in my 30-06 and it also puts game down very well at 2700 fps. That 200gr partition sure does penetrate and it also minimizes blood shot meat. I came to the conclusion that you use a 180 in the good ol 06, a 200 in the 300 magnum and a 250 in the 338wm. Just seems to make sense that way..