.300 win mag COAL

[Rossi]

Hi guys.

Been reloading some .300 win mag rounds. Is a COAL of 3.305" seem OK?

I've read that the max COAL is 3.340" so decided to be on the safe side and go for 3.305".

I'm using Nosler 150gr Ballistic Tips and AR2208 powder.

Your thoughts?

[Atter]

Welcome to the forum Rossi.

Yep, max COAL for 300 win mag is 3.340"

The ideal COAL will depend on your rifle. You've probably read by now that for best accuracy you typically want to be just a few thou off the lands?

Regarding the "safe side", there shouldn't be any problem with Ballistic Tips to 3.340. You might find it actually shoots a bit getter if you're taking a little of the bullet jump out.

[Rossi]

Thanks Atter. This gives me a better idea what to go for.

[Antie]

G'day Rossi,

Like Atter says, ideally you want your bullets to be just off the lands.

The Nosler BT's are a pretty 'standard' bullet shape so I reckon you'll be right just trying them at max COAL as well. That might not be the case for other bullets though. Same for just taking it back that .035 like you have...

The thing with choosing a COAL without measuring is it starts to get all over the place if you try different bullets. Say you stick with the max 3.340" inch...

That might be fine with your ballistic tips. If you switch to a long HPBT or match bullet, setting it for the same COAL would likely make the bullet well back off the lands.

On the flip side, if you used the same COAL for a round nose soft point, the bullet would be much higher and probably jammed into the lands.

A bit of fine tuning is required for each bullet if you want to get the best out of them.