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300 BLK reloading adventure

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Casual reading for you.

I wanted a 100yard range gun that was accurate, cheap to shoot, and capable of making a big enough hole in the target for me to see through the scope after each shot. I decided on a Ruger American Ranch in 300blk.

I have been killing time finding a load for the gun. I had Alliant 2400 On the shelf. So, I used it.

Here are the results:

I reloaded 33 once fired, neck sized brass cases from Federal American Eagle, Remington UMC, and SigSauer brand ammo which were previously fired in my gun.

Started with a Berry 150 grain 30-30 bullet loaded with 15.5 2400powder and a Federal Small Rifle primer, with no crimp. One of these 33 blew a primer;9 others were tossed in the trash during the next reloading session due to loose primer pockets. So, I lost a third of them to excess pressure. It is worth noting that four of these never made a mark on the 4ft x 4ft target; I think they flew apart from excess velocity in the 1/7 twist barrel-Berry warns you not to exceed a certain speed.

I reloaded 23 of them with 14.5 2400, and a heavy crimp applied by the sizing die with its decapping pin removed and a washer used as a spacer under the lock ring to raise the die without my having to readjust the die each time.

This time all of the primers looked good after firing.

There was no significant difference in accuracy between the two loads, but there were fewer random fliers on the target, and all shots found the target. The gun and load combo typically gives better than 1moa performance on three of the four shots in each group fired. If all four are counted, it gives 1.5moa most of the time. I had one group of five out of eight shots that gave .78moa, that was as good as it got.

The Sig brass gives the best accuracy. Remington is average. The Federal AE gives the worst accuracy(the federal brass really stands out-it is noticeably less accurate, and it is a pain in the rearend to reload because it starts out with a primer crimp).

My gun has a 1/7 twist barrel. It shot the factory Sig 220 subs the best, then Remington 220 subs were second best, last was the American Eagle 150 grain ammo.

The hand loads use almost the same zero as the 150 AE. I Chronographed the factory AE’s at 1930 fps. I assume the hand loads are flying at approximately 1850fps. This is about as fast as the Berry Bullet can go before it flies apart. I will check their speed on a sunny day.

The Berry bullet does not feed well in the Ruger American rotary mag—bought the AR mag version, now they feed just fine.

If I had a taper crimp die or a Lee FCD, I would use it. The crimp that I put on the second batch was about 1/8 inch wide and was extreme. It definitely put a ring in the soft copper plated lead bullet, but it did not affect accuracy at 100yards. I think the bullet probably reswagges itself when it hits the rifling, and there was plenty of undisturbed bullet below the crimp.

The Reminton UMC 220 subs seem to be the best factory ammo for the money in my gun and I will try the Berry 300BLK bullets next time.
 
9AEAF9A8-FC6D-47DA-A5DE-824ADD71CC5E.jpeg
View attachment 1938735
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View attachment 1938735
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Loaded any longer, they will smash into the rifling
.
588993F7-476E-4595-8BC7-6A92B2508987.jpeg

This bullet has a crimp of about 1/16 of an inch.
 
i don't think 2400 is the best powder for the 300. i do not load the 300 blk, but i do load the 30-223, the round that was the round before the 300 blk came out. in the 30-223 i was using imr4895 with fmj bullets in a xp-100 that is used for nra pistol silhouette matches. now for the berry plated bullets. i used them (the 30-30 ones) in several different 30-30 rifles that are used in nra lever action silhouette matches. per berry you can push them up to 1,950 fps. the berry 30-30 bullets were once used for the 300blk, then they came out with a 300 blk plated bullet. for the 30 caliber plated bullet i use buffalo rifle, 5744, and varget powders.
 
Frankmako-I agree on all of your points. I just happened to have the 2400. So, I used it. I also have some Reloader #7 that I may try. I will eventually get some aa1680 for my loads.
 
Reloader 7 might work if you go with a 200 gr plus bullet. If you got any unique I would try it. The old saying is with any cast lead bullet your starting load with unique is 10grs. Work up or down from there to find your load.
 
Are you flaring the case mouth to seat Berry's plated bullets or is chamfering enough? I'm new to reloading and setting up to reload 300blk, I have RCBS SB dies and have Berry's 220gr bullets on the way, but I'm trying figure out if I need to get a expanding die as well.
 
I am flaring the case mouth.

You can do it, somewhat imprecisely, with the tip of long nosed pliers lightly inserted and rotated.
I use a Lee 375 H&H decamping pin inserted into a Lee Universal Decapping Die set high enough to just barely start into the case. Lee and Lyman both make case neck flaring dies.
 
I run Hornady 110Vmax over a stout charge of IMR 4227 for supers and Hornady 208 Vmax over a not so stout load of IMR 4227. My chrono shows the 110's @ 1900fps avg and for the 208's 1040fps. Both shoot sub MOA at 100yd but It takes about 20 clicks of up for the subsonics. The subs suppressed on steel targets is the most fun i've ever had.
 
From what I have seen on the web, 4227 is often the best powder for accuracy. 14.5 of 2400 and the 150 Berry Bullet is working well for me. I still have some Alliant #7, Trail Boss, and Red Dot to try. I am just looking for a good group at 100yards.

For my gun the difference between sub sonic and super sonic loads is 18moa at 100yards.
 
Casual reading for you.

I wanted a 100yard range gun that was accurate, cheap to shoot, and capable of making a big enough hole in the target for me to see through the scope after each shot. I decided on a Ruger American Ranch in 300blk. I bought one from another ODT member.

I have been killing time finding a load for the gun. I had Alliant 2400 On the shelf. So, I used it.

Here are the results:

I reloaded 33 once fired, neck sized brass cases from Federal American Eagle, Remington UMC, and SigSauer brand ammo which were previously fired in my gun.

Started with a Berry 150 grain 30-30 bullet loaded with 15.5 2400powder and a Federal Small Rifle primer, with no crimp. One of these 33 blew a primer;9 others were tossed in the trash during the next reloading session due to loose primer pockets. So, I lost a third of them to excess pressure. It is worth noting that four of these never made a mark on the 4ft x 4ft target; I think they flew apart from excess velocity in the 1/7 twist barrel.



I reloaded 23 of them with 14.5 2400, and a heavy crimp applied by the sizing die with its decapping pin removed and a washer used as a spacer under the lock ring to raise the die without my having to readjust the die each time.

This time all of the primers looked good after firing.

There was no significant difference in accuracy between the two loads, but there were fewer random fliers on the target, and all shots found the target. The gun and load combo typically gives better than 1moa performance on three of the four shots in each group fired. If all four are counted, it gives 1.5moa most of the time. I had one group of five out of eight shots that gave .78moa, that was as good as it got.

The Sig brass gives the best accuracy. Remington is average. The Federal AE gives the worst accuracy(the federal brass really stands out-it is noticeably less accurate, and it is a pain in the rearend the reload because it starts out with a primer crimp).

My gun has a 1/7 twist barrel. It shot the factory Sig 220 subs the best, then Remington 220 subs were second best, last was the American Eagle 150 grain ammo.

The hand loads use almost the same zero as the 150 AE. I Chronographed the factory AE’s at 1930 fps. I assume the hand loads are flying at approximately 1850fps. This is about as fast as the Berry Bullet can go before it flies apart. I will check their speed on a sunny day.

The Berry bullet does not feed well in the Ruger American. Although, once it is in the chamber , it shoots well. I think the first reloads may of had pressure problems caused by bullet setback-had a lot of jams while cycling the bolt, hence the crimp on the second batch.

If I had a taper crimp die or a Lee FCD, I would use it. The crimp that I put on the second batch was about 1/8 inch wide and was extreme. It definitely put a ring in the soft copper plated lead bullet, but it did not affect accuracy at 100yards. I think the bullet probably reswagges itself when it hits the rifling, and there was plenty of undisturbed bullet below the crimp.

The Reminton UMC 220 subs seem to be the best factory ammo for the money in my gun and I will try the Berry 300BLK bullets next time.

I too purchased a Ruger American Ranch rifle, but choose the 7.62x39 caliber 1/9.75 twist due to cheap ammo at Walmart and ability to reload for sub-sonic ammo. The gun will shoot all diameters for .308 to .311 bullets. I have found it shoots all factory and reloads to the same point of aim. Hand loads shoot 1 MOA. Factory ammo shoots about 2.5 MOA. Tulammo shot 1.5 " groups! I can't load ammo cheaper than the tulammo.

I experimented with sub sonic loads for use with Sig SRD .30 QD. I settled on 200 grain .309 plated Berry bullets from Midway USA on sale for .16 cents each. Loads are 6.5 grains of Trail Boss (do not compress this powder ). It fills the case almost 95%. I tried other powders that do not fill the case as much. Accuracy was dismal. The Trail Boss loads with the Berry bullets is excellent. The load is better than "Hollywood quiet". The bullet impact is louder than the muzzle report suppressed. At 25 yards the bullets go in one hole. I can hit a golf ball almost every time at 100 yards. it drops about 20" at 100 yards. It compares to the power of a .45 ACP.

For sub sonic bullets for hunting you might check our Outlaw bullets. They are expensive at $1.00 each, but a must if something needs to be killed quietly.

I hope you have good luck finding the right combination for you rifle!
 
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