Blaser R8 300WM- Recommendation of What Factory Ammo to Try Next

[Justbryan]

So, I have a Blaser R8 with a factory 300 Win Mag Barrel (shortened to 23") that I was going to use on a recent bear hunt. I bought the Winchester Magnum 180 Grain Nosler AccuBonds because of past hunting history with the factory round. It grouped poorly at 100 yards at around 2" with an occasional flyer. My shots were going to be up to 500 yards. I decided to use another rifle with a more accurate load.

My questions is what factory ammo and grain weight would you try next for this particular Blaser 23" barrel and twist rate? Any ideas? Do you have experience with Blaser 300WM?

 

[BeeMaa]

My wife has a 300WM barrel for her R8 and we do not reload. This is the Selous barrel with the barrel band front sight and barrel band front sling swivel. The contour is 19mm, even though it's listed in the catalogue as a "Safari/Selous weight". Barrel length is 600mm or 23.6". This barrel was also lightly used when we got it. I did a complete cleaning before starting testing. We sighted in with some less expensive Remington Cor Lokt 180 grain and were getting right at 1" groups with this. After each 3-shot group with the "good stuff", the barrel had a bore snake with CLP pulled through it and it was allowed to completely cool down.

We tried...
Swift A-Frames 180 grain
Norma Oryx 180 grain
Barnes TTSX 150, 165 & 180 grain
Barnes LRX 190 grain

The Barnes 165 grain TTSX provided the best 3-shot groups at just over 1/2" at 100 yards. The barrel was cleaned again with the bore snake and rechecked with only the TTSX ammo...again the 165's were the best for us.

Took us almost 2 months to do the testing, but we know what this particular barrel likes. I know @Red Leg shoots sub-MOA groups from his Blaser R8 300WM with a much heavier bullet. I believe it's the Hornady ELD-X 200 grain.

I truly believe that each rifle has it's own likes and dislikes. You may need to do some testing to sort it out, but I hope this helps.

 

[YancyW]

For factory, I would try Buffalo Bore in 180gr TTXS or Partition

 

[Bert the Turtle]

Surely, not all ammo is going to shoot great in any given gun, but this is the first time I've heard of a Blaser not shooting extremely well. I'm sure it happens, after all, they are made by human beings. That said, and with due respect to the gunsmith involved in shortening the barrel, you might want to get out a magnifying glass and a good light and really check that crown before spending too much time and money on a bunch of ammo to try, especially these days when it is hard to come by and not inexpensive.

 

[Justbryan]

Bert, good idea. It shot well with 180 gr AB before the barrel cut. I will take it to my gunsmith before trying to find ammo. I used a barrel service.

 

[Red Leg]

@Bert the Turtle sums up what I was going to say.

My 300 Win Mag barrel shoots at least MOA with everything factory I have fed it to date and does a cloverleaf with the 200 gr ELD X which is what has become my preferred nilgai cartridge.

 

[MMAL]

I am going to second Eld-x in 200 grain. I reload and have a great result out of my r8 selous. Better than swift sriocco.

 

[CoElkHunter]

In today's world, whatever factory ammo you can find. Good luck!

 

[Justbryan]

I use the ELD-X in my 6.5 Creedmoor and 7mm Win Mag. I will try the 200 grain ELD-X. in my 300WM.

 

[Spearhead]

I am going to second Eld-x in 200 grain. I reload and have a great result out of my r8 selous. Better than swift sriocco.

I am going to second Eld-x in 200 grain. I reload and have a great result out of my r8 selous. Better than swift sriocco.

What powder are you using? RL 22 or 25 by chance?

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

Send it to a better gunsmith for a new crown.

 

[Ridgewalker]

I have had good luck with the Barnes factory 165 grain loads in every 300 WM I have tried it in. It has killed coyote, antelope, exotic sheep, and elk. One shot on everything. The only issue is it fully penetrates including elk, so watch what is behind your target.

If you like heavy for caliber, I will agree with the Hornady ELD-X. I haven’t gotten nearly the penetration with it as the Barnes 165 though.

FYI, my 165 Barnes handloads are 100 feet per second faster than Barnes factory loads at a grain less than the Barnes listed maximum! So if you plan to reload, I’d start out low and work my way up to meet their factory velocity. JMO

 

[CoElkHunter]

Send it to a better gunsmith for a new crown.

Or sell it and buy a CZ 550!

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Give the Norma 200 Gr Oryx a try .

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

Or sell it and buy a CZ 550!

He said he wanted better accuracy ...

 

[nomspc]

I’ve had great luck with the Barnes VOR-TX 180 grain TTSX; about 0.5 MOA at 200.

 

[MMAL]

What powder are you using? RL 22 or 25 by chance?

The most accurate load for me was 69grs of H4831. With a measurement of 2.850 using a Hornady Ogive tool. .4 inch group at 100 yards. Note this is less than max powder

 

[Philip Glass]

So, I have a Blaser R8 with a factory 300 Win Mag Barrel (shortened to 23") that I was going to use on a recent bear hunt. I bought the Winchester Magnum 180 Grain Nosler AccuBonds because of past hunting history with the factory round. It grouped poorly at 100 yards at around 2" with an occasional flyer. My shots were going to be up to 500 yards. I decided to use another rifle with a more accurate load.

My questions is what factory ammo and grain weight would you try next for this particular Blaser 23" barrel and twist rate? Any ideas? Do you have experience with Blaser 300WM?

I have just started with the .300 with a 22” barrel. I am using my Thunderbeast Ultra 5 suppressor with it and I’m hunting the EC with it this month. I had all kinds of trouble and bought like 4 or more different loads. I was frustrated. What I finally figured out is that it gets hot and loses accuracy. Just like you I had poor groups and the occasional flyer. Frustrating!
Then I finally planned to just shoot a three shot group and then go back to work (yes I have two shooting ranges at my ranch so I can shoot anytime). I am wanting to hunt with Barnes 180g but also bought and had good accuracy with Nosler Accubond 180g.
With a cool barrel I am just about putting them in the same hole. 1” group at 100 yards easily. Problem solved! Thank goodness as I leave the 24th.
Best of luck.
Philip

 

[mikecatt13]

I despise winchester, but I'll save those details for another time, no surprise it's not accurate though.

Our R8 didnt like nosler ballistic tip 150s. Hornady American whitetail 180s shot 1/2"-3/4 moa at 100 off the bench and sub moa out to 450yds, but only used them for practice and donor brass for handloads. I would try some swift 200gr too, the twist rate seems to like the heavier bullets in my limited experience with the lighter ones

 

[Red Leg]

Or sell it and buy a CZ 550!

Now there's a thought!

With the CZ you would at least have a good tomato pole if it didn't shoot well (or feed).