lancetkenyon

For 3 or 4 of the main posters that TOTALLY got this thread of Jimmy John's trophy off topic....

Here is the Hodgdon Reloading data for the .300 WSM 208 AMAX which will get you a good starting point. http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

3.5 days.....

.260 Rem 6.5 Creedmoor Plenty for deer sized and down. Light recoiling, relatively flat, good bullet weight selection, good BC, good SD, and very accurate cartridges. You can use them for closer range elk too, even though it would not be my first choice, it will get the job done with proper bullet construction and placement.

Quote from video, "Of those killed, 5 had to be euthanized due to their injuries". I guess the lightning didn't kill them enough.....is this similar to beating a dead horse? My Mom always told me, "If you die, your Dad is going to kill you!" whenever I was doing something stupid....which was quite often.

I love Hodgdon's line of Extreme powders. For a .300WSM, I would think a little slower, like H4831SC or even H1000 depending on what bullet you are running. Alliant has come out with a temperature stable line too. Like RL23.

I have thought about it numerous times. But never taken the plunge yet. The few cartridges that I have that would require it (6.5 SLR and maybe .25-06AI) if I went with a different brand of brass (like Lapua/Nosler/Norma/Hornady) due to shoulder/neck thickness differences, I just use Remington brass which has the same neck/shoulder thickness. You would think as much as I tinker, I would do this already. But then you almost need a bushing die set where you can adjust the neck tension .002" to take full advantage of truing or turning the necks. The good brass I use (Lapua/Nosler/Norma) has always had very consistent neck thickness, which I actually do check, usually .0150" thickness. Even the Remington/Winchester cheap stuff is almost always the same, with MAYBE .0003" difference that I can measure if at all. Maybe if you use some of the off brand stuff like Starline or such it might be beneficial. If I was shooting F class or Benchrest comps, I might go ahead and add this step. It surely can't HURT accuracy if you do it correctly. And you will more than likely only be taking off .0001-.0002" from a few high spots. And you only need to do it once at the beginning until you replace your brass.

I agree with this. I only use a four powders for 95% of my reloading. Varget (.223 69SMK, .22-250 52SMK), Benchmark (.223 50V-Max, .260 95V-Max, 6.5 SLR 95V-Max), H4350 (.260 127LRX, .260 140HVLD, 6.5 SLR 127LRX, 6.5 SLR 140HVLD), H1000 (.25-06AI 115HVLD, 6.5-06AI 140SMK, 7RM 168HVLD/180Hybrid, .300RUM 210HVLD/215Hybrid, .300WM 210HVLD). I have a few other powders on hand for load development or reloading of other people's cartridges. H4831SC (for my .25-06AI fire forming loads if I ever need to run a new batch, and a few other .270 Win/.280 Rem I load for other people) and RL22 (for three other 7RMs I load for).

Tan/brown/green Wranglers, Carhartt, or similar pants/jeans. Long sleeve camo t-shirt and sweatshirt/jacket/coat. You can layer non-camo underneath as needed. The lighter colors work best for 90% of the terrain, from desert to timber. Limiting movement is far more important than camo. Even though I own some of the good stuff.

Wickenburg, Camp Verde, Cave Creek/Carefree, Superior/Globe, Safford/Thatcher, Benson, Sierra Vista, Wilcox, Oro Valley/Oracle, Prescott Valley/Chino Valley, Sedona, Cottonwood/Clarkdale, Kingman. All of those are smaller towns, more temperate (but some still get colder) than Phoenix/Tucson, and most within 2+/- hours of a bigger city (Phoenix/Tucson/Flagstaff). What do you do for a living? That might make a big difference.

A few more clarifications and observations, along with more suggestions. As Wampuscat helped clear up, OAL of the case @ 2.045" is MAX case length, from base of case to top of neck. All books I have ever read have a "trim to" length of .010-.015" shorter than overall max case length. Meaning you do not have to trim after each firing, you might be able to go 2 or possibly even 3 firings before you need to trim again. If you go OVER this length of 2.045", you run the risk of jamming your case neck past the chamber cut depth, basically creating a strong crimp in the brass to the bullet, greatly increasing pressure upon firing. You will also find it difficult to close the bolt. Cases will stretch and grow by quite a bit. As much as .007" depending on a lot of factors. I can usually only get 2 firings from my .260 Rem (same case as the .243 Win, just necked to .264 vs. .243) before I have to trim when I go with a .010" shorter than max trim length. Both the Hodgdon and Hornady data suggests a "trim to" length of 2.035". If you are filling the case with enough Retumbo to fill the entire case up to the top of the neck, and that extra .010" lets it all fit, something is wrong. What case does your book say they are using in their load data? Possibly Winchester (as the Hodgdon data states)? If you do not follow every bit of their recipe, you will have different results. I know that Federal cases have more brass content in every other case I have weighed vs. Winchester, as I hinted at in my earlier post. Some quite a bit more, as much as 25 grains, which reduces the case capacity. In my own early testing, I used data from a book that used Winchester, and I was using Federal brass, and I had pressures quite a bit below the book suggested max. What are you using to weigh your powder charge? My electronic powder throw and scale are not really that accurate, so I weigh each powder charge again on a beam scale to within a single kernel of powder. My electronic scale is only "accurate" to within .1 grain. Add that to the error factor, and I can see throws vary as much as .3 grains. A 45.8gr throw can actually weigh more than a 46.1gr throw when I double check them with an accurate scale. This does no good for accuracy and consistency. I would suggest you weigh a new Federal case, and I can weigh one of my .243 head stamped Winchester brand, and I would lay money that it weighs more than the case I have. Again, I would try a variety of other powders before using Retumbo in a .243 Win if it were me. Even if you were pushing a 115 SMK, 115 DTAC, 115 Berger VLD, 117 Matrix VLD, 120 Matrix RBT, from a 28"+ barrel. Will Retumbo WORK? Probably. Are there better alternatives out there? Definitely, a lot of them. Are you just trying for the absolute most speed out of the combo? For starting point, look at as much info as you can. Try here. http://www.reloadersnest.com/frontpage.asp?CaliberID=5 Not a single submission uses Retumbo. The slowest powder I see used is RL25, and one that uses H1000, and IMR7828. There is one guy who submitted a load using VV N170 pushing a 115 VLD w. a 26" 1:8" twist. Also, note the slower powders pushing heavier bullets mostly have some freebore to get the bullet out a bit before touching the lands. This reduces pressure. Having only .015" jump is not much. But .150" is a lot. How about a little info on your rifle setup too?

A few observations and questions for you. Trim to length should be 2.035". You are at max case length now, and will need to trim after you shoot and resize just once. Why did you choose Retumbo? With the 105 AMAX, it is a compressed load. 48.0 is max at 108%. It is "bulky" because it is a very slow burning powder, usually used in overbore large magnum cartridges pushing heavy bullets. There are a lot more popular powders out there for your desired bullet and weight. I would look at something like H4350, H414, H4831SC, RL17, RL19, RL22, IMR4350, IMR4831, Ramshot Hunter. What cases are you running? Different case brands have different capacities. Win & Rem usually have a bit more case space than Federal, Lapua, Norma, Nosler, due to brass content of the cases themselves. What twist barrel do you have? You should be running a 1:8" twist for that bullet, but can squeeze by with a bit less if needed.

Got out this weekend and tested for seating depth. All were under 1", but two consecutive were about .5". Here was the best group. And a 7 shot group. I came home and loaded up 20 of the best depth testing. Next will be some stock action crew torque setting testing, as I saw a significant change in group size by simply going from 35 inch/lbs to 65 inch/lbs. Then long range testing.

When you bump the shoulder back, start long, and turn the die down ever so slightly, rerun it, and measure the shoulder datum. You want between .001-.003" of shoulder bump back. No more. .001" is a tiny amount to turn the die down, so measure carefully. Even locking the die down tighter or looser in the press can make a .001" difference. I have a mark on my press, and when I get my die set and the lock ring tightened down, I Mark the lock ring to match the mark on the die. Makes it easy next time you spin in the die to make sure you are in the same depth every time. Lance, how do you measure that and what do you use? http://m.hornady.com/store/Lock-N-Load-Headspace-Kit-With-Body-1-Each/

If you have not annealed before, you are changing neck tension. Going forward, if you continue to anneal, you will now have consistent neck tension. If your shooting conditions were anything like mine this morning, accuracy was a lot tougher to come by. 25+mph winds had me calling it quits after just two hours and only about 20 rounds total in 2 different rifles.

Starting another one for a member's daughter. Going to be a blue/grey American Flag theme. This is a test stock to verify what she wants. Start of base colors Base colors complete. flat white, and 3 colors of light to medium grey Masked off the stars area and hit the "field of blue" with 3 colors of blue and 2 colors of dark grey Then stripped the masking off to dry and I will start the stripes this weekend.

Are you the guy that I met at Ben Avery two weeks ago? When I was out there with my daughter? Welcome to the club! Remember, watch out for that a-hole I was telling you about...

Either will kill a deer or elk at 1000 with proper bullet placement. But if you are shooting both with heavy for caliber bullets, the .300RUM pushing a 210 @ 3100 beats a 26 Nosler pushing a 160 @ 3200 by about 250ft/lbs @ 1000 talking just energy.

When you bump the shoulder back, start long, and turn the die down ever so slightly, rerun it, and measure the shoulder datum. You want between .001-.003" of shoulder bump back. No more. .001" is a tiny amount to turn the die down, so measure carefully. Even locking the die down tighter or looser in the press can make a .001" difference. I have a mark on my press, and when I get my die set and the lock ring tightened down, I Mark the lock ring to match the mark on the die. Makes it easy next time you spin in the die to make sure you are in the same depth every time.

Sold Pending Funds

Sold

Done. Been a while since I cleaned it out.

Bears are an apex predator. Not just a scavenging omnivore. Not much to scare them off in the wild. Other than another bigger bear. Which humans are not. I have seen an AZ bear come right at people before. And trust me, I would not consider it "tame". Just not afraid of a smaller animal. I don't see how someone can say these bears that are baited are tame? That blows my mind. If you think so, I would be interested in seeing you try and feed them from your hand or give them a pat on the head. If you feel this strongly about hunting over legal bait, I think you should reevaluate hunting over water, salt, or a food source again.

For myself, a mature animal. Doesn't have to be a monster. Taylor was the same way last year. We passed 80 bucks, and the 5 big ones, we couldn't seal the deal. Hoping to change that this year. Starting out looking for a big one, half way through, probably any mature buck will be on the hit list. I really want her to tag out on a buck this year. 2 years ago for bull elk, she took a great 1st bull. Last year, we were after 1 specific bull. Came home empty, but a great time. This year she drew a cow tag, so she just wants some table fare. She liked it when I would thank her every night at dinner for giving us our nightly meat. My older daughter this year has a 7W bull tag. She says anything legal is going in the freezer. Her husband has the same tag, and will start off looking for a decent bull. I am sure he will shoot anything with horns after day 3-4. It will be his first ever elk hunt, and only his second big game hunt ever. I can't wait!