Bullet consistency advice

HntHrdr · Apr 15, 2018

Recently purchased a .300 win mag cooper arms model 52. I am an avid hunter, but haven't dabbled in reloading just yet. I am wondering if anyone has had great luck with an off the shelf round and wouldn't mind sharing their experience? I have shot a couple of federal 180 grn nosler partition not too impressed with the consistency of grouping. Before I go out and buy 8 different boxes wondering what is working well for other's out there.

MTShasta · Apr 15, 2018

When I got my 300 I tried a couple of brands and had very good luck with 180 grain Nosler Accubonds. In fact the factory Accubonds were so good that I copied the the exact load in my reloads. I've used the 180 Accubonds on everything from small African antelope to a very big Alaskan-Yukon moose and everything in between. You will not be disappointed with the 180 Nosler, if you rifle liked them. Hope this helps.

OchocoKid · Apr 15, 2018

Cooper's are generally very accurate. what is not consistent ? if you can shoot Partitions under MOA you're golden so run with it. a Partition may not be the best shooting or have the highest BC but they perform flawlessly. the best elk bullet you can buy as far as I'm concerned .

When I try a new rifle I shoot ballistic tips. if it won't shoot those it's not going to shoot anything so I make it someone else's rifle. but they're not an all around game bullet. from there you could try accubonds, I haven't found them to shoot as well as ballistic tips, something Nosler acknowledges, but some rifles shoot them well.

Hornady spire points in their ammo line would be a good choice as well.

Stay Thirsty My Friends

chipc · Apr 15, 2018

LAST EDITED ON Apr-15-18 AT 05:36PM (MST)[p]If you're interested in a monolithic bullet try Barnes TTSX bullet. Try either Barnes Vortex ammo or Federal Premium. Both group like a dream, hit like a hammer in my .300

HntHrdr · Apr 15, 2018

Thanks for the advice. I will look into some of the Hornady stuff. I was just dealing with a couple groups where one groun would hit right about 1 moa at 100 yards, then the next would open way up. I know shooter error can occur, but it seemed like inconsistency in powder, since I was shooting bench rest, and tend to be able to read if push or pull shots.

OchocoKid · Apr 16, 2018

Loads normally aren't the cause of random group sizes in my experience. if it works once if everything is the same it will work again.

But it's logical to try another load before you look for something else causing it.

Stay Thirsty My Friends