After purchasing a 300 H+H I thought that there may be a few members that would care to share their loads for 180 gr`s but more so the 200 grain and 250 grain pills.
I do have four other 30 cal magnums but this is a bit different...oh and a classic!
Hello sambarhunter,
I applaud you for preferring to stalk close-in on game, before taking a shot.
Almost anyone can soon learn long range shooting technique but, stalking wary animals at close range is definitely not easy to learn.
"Long range shooting is a skill but, close range stalking is an art".
In my grumpy old man opinion, the .300 H&H is still the very best of all the dreaded .300 Magnums.
Shoots plenty flat, yet burns less powder than most (if not less than all of the most popular ones, yesterday and today).
Therefore, it kicks less, plus the gradually sloping shoulder results in very slick chambering and un-chambering of cartridges.
Due to this gradual sloping profile, even just fired empties in a very hot barrel / chamber still seem to want to jump out as the breech is opened.
If that's not enough, at least in my personal experiences, the original H&H version seems to be extremely accurate, no matter what bullet weight you feed it, even in cheaply made rifles.
One example is the old mass produced and still not expensive today, (if you can find one) Remington Model 721 hunting rifle, from about the 1950's.
I've had two of these, (as well as other brands / models of rifles in this caliber) and, none were finicky about bullet brands, bullet weights, bullet shapes, etc., they shot more like target rifles than hunting rifles.
The first time I hunted in Africa (south-central Namibia), I brought a custom '98 Mauser, with 4x Zeiss scope and 180 grain Nosler Partition at just over 2800 feet per second.
I would merrily choose this combination again, for hunting similar open geography and similar animals (steenbok through zebra).
All that being said, you have mentioned bullets of 200 through 250 grain.
I have no experience with 250 grainers in this cartridge but, I am curious to learn from others how they perform on game.
Anyway, it seems to me that a .300 H&H, loaded with 200 grain Swift A-Frames would be perhaps about as close to the "be-all and do-all" hunting cartridge, for International Hunting, especially including African antelopes / swine / cats as one could ask for, long range shots, close range shots and everything in between shots.
Likewise, the good old Nosler Partition in 200 grain in your .300 H&H would be a fairly good choice, for all the above situations / species.
My wife has a Law Degree and suggests that I not post all the specific details of my pet hand loads on the internet.
Therefore, I will simply say that, for my aforementioned first safari, I used Dupont IMR 4350 Powder, under Nosler 180 grain Partitions and according to my Hornady Reloading Manual, I was getting just a tic over 2800 fps, from my 25" barrel - somewhat mild load for this cartridge / bullet weight.
And, all critters I shot with it ended up in the salt, from a running steenbok, at about 40 paces, through a standing gemsbok, facing me at a little over 400 meters, according to the PH's range finder.
It seems like I may have also shot a standing springbok, at a bit over 400 as well (?) but, my 63 year old memory is aging faster than my physical being is so, one of my 5 springbok may "only" have been a bit under 400 - LOL.
Suffice it to say that I do not believe any of the critters I shot, whether at longer ranges or not so long, would have been any easier to hit with today's ultra-super galactic .30 magnums than they were with the good old .300 H&H.
Certainly they would not have been any "deader" or deeper into the salt, etc., by the time cocktail hour arrived each evening, than they were from the H&H version.
The point of my rambling rant here (finally !) is that, you have a very fine / versatile caliber there and you probably could easily develop a safe chamber pressure, 200 grain A-Frame or Partition load, leaving the muzzle around 2700 fps, that will be scary accurate and quite effective on the majority of game species world-wide, at all reasonable hunting distances.
Cheers,
Velo Dog.
