Thank you Bill. I had noticed that the Speer 130 HP-V Bullet was removed from the Wilson Combat Recommended Bullet List. I wondered why. Now I know. Nice to know that it should get better in another 100 rounds or so. I plan to continue using this bullet, as I have 1200 of them.

I went by Hunt's Long Range yesterday. We took a look with his bore scope. I have a lot more cleaning to do. It still has a lot of Copper build-up. Apparently the little do-nut I got out on the patch was minor. He suggested a Drill and Brush to remove the Copper. I have a Brass Cleaning Rod set up to do this. I will just need to check and make sure it is long enough to reach through a Possum Hollow Bore Guide. If I do not have enough length, I will take the barrel off, possibly this evening if the wife does not have more projects for me after work. She is in pre-Thanksgiving House Cleaning Mode.

My plan at this time is to see if I can get the Copper out myself.

Bill how did you get the Copper out of the barrel when this problem came up?

I got my 10 round Lancer Magazines in. I will check them for feed this evening when working on the rifle.

Bob R

I know you didn't ask me, but what about trying something like Sweets 7.62 or another good copper cleaning solvent? I don't know how severe it is, but I'd think something like that might be successful.

Theg_man The build up is probably past Sweets. I did not take a look through the borescope myself, Ryan said it had a lot of copper apparently where the Chamber meets the Rifling.

Bill will probably have an answer shortly, if he is not busy doing something else.

Bob R

Sorry, been busy with a building project and car trading.

I'd give Barnes CR-10 and a stiff nylon brush a try. Scrub the crap out of it.

I typically clean my barrels every 200rds or so with our WC solvent or BoreTech solvent and a tight fitting nylon brush.

Bill
Thank you a lot. I will see if I can locate some CR-10. I did a little checking. Looks like very good stuff for Copper.

I am at approximately 100 rounds of the Speer130 HP-V bullets through the barrel. After I get it cleaned out, I am thinking about loading 100 rounds with Speer 150 grain Spitzer Flat Base bullets to get the round count up, and smooth it out a little more. I have plenty of this bullet also.

Bob R

I have the copper removed. I ended up taking the barrel off so that I could see what I was doing better. I had a new Stiff, Double the Bristle's, Nickle Plated 35 Caliber Rifle Brush. I installed it on my Short Brass Rod, and chucked it in a Drill. A couple passes in the chamber, and I had a couple Copper Donuts on the Brush. I then used some Sweet's 7.62, followed with a Nylon Brush with a Patch over it with JB Bore Paste on the patch, and worked this in the throat area by hand. More Sweets on Patch's. After the Copper Donut's spun out on the Brush, I did not detect any more copper. I cleaned the barrel, and flushed the locking lug area really well to get any unwanted chemicals out. I then had a look with a flash light. I did not see any copper in the chamber.

At this time I installed a new 300 HAM'R Marked Dust Cover.
I also swapped out the Trigger for a Stern Defense Two Stage Cassette Trigger with the Rifle Spring Installed. I did not see this trigger Bench Tested, however the two before it were 2.5 pounds on the second stage.
I also installed a Pod Loc on the Harris Swivel BR Bipod.
I next swapped out the old 30mm scope mount for a Leupold AR Series 30mm cantilever mount. This is the newer one with Five Mounting screws.
I next swapped out the scope Bubble Level to one that has the Bubble to the side, instead of on top of the scope tube. The Lighted Reticle Control on the Weaver 2.5-10X Classic Extreme Scope blocked the view of the old Level. With the new bubble level to the Left I can see it while on the gun.
I did the scope work on the dining room table. The wife has Granite Table Top's, and the carpenters who built the house must have did a super job getting the floor level. Her dining room table is the best location I have available to get a scope squared up.
With the Rifle all back together I next did some reloading.

I kept my brass sorted out from my last range trip. The brass from the 130 Speer HP / 26.0 CFE Black loads were pretty much dead on at just under 1.58 Inch length that I have my Forrester case trimmer set on.
The 26.0 AA1680 loads that produced way higher velocity than they should have. (Probably excessive neck tension due to the Copper Build-up) all trimmed a noticeable amount. I reloaded the AA1680 Cases by them selves. I probably had 10 loose primer pockets. Only one was bad enough that I culled it to the brass bucket. NOTE: I plan to pitch all of these cases after firing them one more time.

I reloaded the 25 cases mentioned above. I had 50 of the CCI 450 primers on hand. I used them for loading this test batch. I sorted through all of my .308 bullets and came up with a box of discontinued Hornady 130 SP bullets probably left over from a 7.62x54R Encore Pistol. I decided to start shooting them up. This bullet is a flat base with lots of bearing surface. I decided to play it safe and loaded them Lite with 25.6 grains of CFE Black. I am sure with all the bullet surface in contact with the rifling, they would run at higher pressure than the Speer Bullets.

I got the Lancer 10 round 300BO Magazines in. I test fed one round, and it looks like this will be my new Range Magazine. It fed smooth as butter. I believe I have a Deer Hunting Legal Magazine now.

My plan is to run by the Range after Church today and get the scope zeroed.

Bob R

Bob R,

Nice build! A couple things I always incorporate into an AR build that you might want to consider (besides a decent trigger) are a KICK-EEZ recoil pad and a brass catcher. The recoil pad is pretty optional because of the already low recoil but I like it because it doesn't allow the butt to slide around when wearing slippery clothing such as a nylon windbreaker. The brass catcher however will change your life...one of the best inexpensive investments I've ever made! And they both take only a couple minutes to install.

TPK spoke great words of wisdom here..... "The brass catcher however will change your life."[size:17pt][/size]
It's not just about picking up the brass from the ground (pretty big deal the older you get) but that the brass remains clean. Ground brass may or may not be clean. Brass that is swept up off a concrete floor needs soap and water before any reloading is done.

One of the very great things about CFE BLK is it's nearly impossible to create enough pressure to open primer pockets between the WC and Starline brass. Not so much with other powders. Chances are your 1680 load is way over pressure (the chrono is also telling you that). You might consider backing off the load under you are in the range of predicted velocities and reassess. Of course, you can also switch to CFE BLK.

Oh, this is just me but any brass that has opened up (get the tool) at all is not worth messing with full power loads. Mine just goes in the bad brass bucket.

Good luck. Looks like you are on the verge of a great setup.

Thanks for the kind words Big Sam. One thing not mentioned is a lot of my shooting is done in fairly tall grass and since I installed the brass catcher I haven't lost a single piece of brass whereas before I could pretty much count on losing 2 or 3 out of every 10 shots so not only has it upped the convenience factor it's basically paid for itself.

TxPigKiller
I now have the Caldwell Brass Catcher, and I ordered extra Bases for my 6.5 Grendel, 204 Ruger, and my Krieger Barreled 223 AR. You are correct this is a must have item.
When zeroing the scope today, using the stressed brass mentioned above, I left the Brass Catcher unzipped so that I could take a look at each case to make sure that I did not have a case separation. I let them drop out on the bench, and had a look at them before putting them back in the box.
Out of the 25 round I loaded, 10 would not fully chamber. Probably a swelled base. I do need to get a shell checker. The good news is that this load shot pretty well. When I get a minute I will pull the bullets, and trash the brass from all 25 rounds.

When checking my 308 bullet supply, I also have about a box and a half of the Hornady 135 FTX Bullets. Also left over from the 7.62x54R Encore Handgun. When reading through this post, Bill mentioned that the 135 FTX was probably the best Deer Bullet for the HAM'R.

Bob R

I did not mention the Trigger in the above post.
The stock trigger that was in my 300 HAM'R was way better than average for a stock trigger, but left room for improvement.
The NEW Stern Defense Two Stage Cassette Trigger was a noticeable improvement over the stock trigger. I did not get to see the Technician at Stern Defense install the Rifle Spring and Bench Test this one. The other triggers I have seen him do were right at 2.5 pounds on the second stage. This one feels to me just like my 204 Ruger Trigger.
It sure is easier to shoot a group with a nice trigger. The 130 Hornady SP bullets shot a little better than the Speer 130 HP bullets when I went to the Range yesterday after Church. It might be hard to say if this was the improved Trigger, or the gun liked the Hornady Bullets better, or I was doing a better job keeping the gun vertical with the new Bubble Level and Pod Loc installed. Quite possible a combination of all of the improvements.

Is anyone using Bill Wilson's 300 HAM'R Cartridge Gauge?
Reading on Bill's web site, it looks like you can check to see if a case needs to be trimmed before loading.
It should also tell you if you have a bulged case that will not chamber.
Possibly other functions as well.
I have a few Wilson Case Gauges. I presume this gauge is similar?

The Offset Scope Bubble Level is a lot easier to use on the 2.5-10X Weaver Classic Extreme Scope. As mentioned above the Red Dot Control Knob blocked the Bubble Level mounted on top. The Offset Bubble Level worked much better. It also worked very well adjusting the Harris Bipod with the Pod Loc installed.

The 300 HAM'R Rifle is coming together nicely. Each improvement keeps making it better and better.
I am sure as I keep working with my reloads I will get a load that I really like sorted out.

Years ago I ruined a couple of expensive 223 AR barrels. Not totally sure if this was a result of the powder that I was using. The Old Original Batch of AA2200, or Powder Residue drawing moisture, or something different. The real cause was me not cleaning the rifle before putting it back in the safe for an extended stay. Anyway I now clean at the Range before taking the rifle home. That way it gets done. I put a box together with PVC Pipe sections to hold Pill Bottles with Different Size Patch's, Q-Tips, Oil, and Solvent in a vertical position in the box. The PVC sections are attached to the box with Epoxy. Keeping the containers vertical helps with not having leaked solvent in the box making a big mess. I also have Possum Hollow Bore Guides for all of my AR15's in the box. I have Brush containers to hold Jag's and Brushes for each Caliber. The box also has other items needed such as the Link to prop the gun open when cleaning, etc. One thing that I still need to do is to get the Possum Hollow Bore Guides Permanently Marked. Keeping SIX of them sorted out would be much easier with them Engraved or Marked Permanently in some other way.

Bob R

Wilson gauges only check headspace and neck length.

I loaded 50 rounds to test out today.
Cases: Once Fired Starline 300 HAM'R Full Length Resized, Redding Die
Bullets: Hornady 135 FTX
Powder: 26.0 CFE Black
Primers CCI 450, and Remington 7 1/2 Bench Rest. I used up the last of my CCI 450's.
Test Load OAL 2.630 borderline too long. I seated them deeper at OAL: 2.555 when I got home.

The Hornady 135 FTX Bullets pretty much shot to the same point of aim as the 130 Hornady SP Bullets. The impact at 100 yards was approximately 1 Inch High. Possibly a hair over. I was shooting at a Red Dot on a steel plate. At 150 yards I hit dead center on the Dot. At 200 I was approximately 4 Inches low. I aimed at the top of the Dot, and hit at the bottom of the Dot.
I am pretty sure that the Hornady 135 FTX is going to shoot just fine.

Tomorrow is the last day of the regular firearms season. I have to work a couple hours in the morning. I will take the 300 HAM'R to the stand when I get home.

Bob R

i don't think i take my reloading seriously enuf... size, prime, charge, seat, bang. that mite explain why i miss so much. was afraid i was getting old and shaky, but it must be the load. the misses were heavily edited out...

HAMMER TIME
21 November is the last day of the Missouri Regular Deer Season. I got in the tower stand at 2 PM for the final evening. The plan was to keep an eye on a fresh ground scrape made Sunday afternoon. I have been hunting all season with my Nosler M48 Handgun in 6.5 CM. I have not hunted with a rifle for years. This afternoon with total confidence in my new 300 HAM'R AR15 build, as well as my Hornady 135 FTX Handloads I decided to take it out for the last few hours of the regular season.

The tower stand is Six Feet by Six Feet square, and has 24" wide counter tops on all four sides. Half inside, and half outside, centered on the walls. With a nice swivel chair you can shoot any direction by just turning the chair. I got out my place matts first and put them out on the counter top to deaden any sound. I then placed 4" x 4" wood blocks with shot sack sand bags on them for a front rest on all four sides. I situated my water bottle, and stored my gear out of the road. I then loaded the 10 Round Lancer 300BO magazine in the gun, with Nine rounds in the magazine. I was ready to hunt.

Conditions were not ideal. The wind was blowing way harder than I would have liked. Gusts would blow leaves across the valley floor. The first thing I spotted were squirrels. First Red ones, then Gray ones. I had several in sight at one time.
Around 4 PM I had a young doe come down the valley trail from the West. It was acting a little jittery, and kept looking around. At 4:30 the doe bolted, and took off down the valley going back West. I wondered what spooked her. I was facing West watching the scrape, and I did not see the 4x4 buck come up on me from behind. I spotted him when he went past the tower stand on the North side. When he was past me far enough that I did not think that he would detect movement, I picked up the HAM'R, and slid my place matt with the sandbag rest to the Right to get set up for the shot. He stopped where the doe had been standing before it took off. I flipped off the safety and settled the crosshairs on the Weaver 2.5-10X Classic Extreme scope behind the shoulder and squeezed off the shot. The buck bolted and ran around 50 yards before piling up.

I called the wife to have her bring the side by side down to pick me up. I located the deer and dragged him back into the mowed area on the valley floor. We then took my gear back to the house, and retrieved the tractor with bale spikes to transport the deer back to the house. By this time it was starting to get dark. I drove into the barn where I have very bright lighting, and gutted the buck out. I next hosed him out. Not being sure when the processing plant closed, we gave them a call and told them we were on the way. We had just enough time. We got the buck to the processing plant about ONE Minute before the 6 PM closing time.

Back to the house, we washed out the truck, and hauled the guts out back and dumped them. Back to the house to wash the gut bucket. Every thing was cleaned up by 6:30 PM. I Like It When The Plan Comes Together.

The 300 HAM'R AR15, and my Hornady 135 FTX Handloads both performed as expected.

Bob R

djones,

I don't think you do that bad...at least you kill a few. My score on running shots runs about pigs 2 dirt clods 10 on a good day. Problem is I can't blame my load as it shoots sub half inch groups at a 100 yds.

Bob R,

Congrats! It's always great when all your hard work pays off the first time you use it for real.

I've got a Tikka T3 in 300 Ham'r. Would like to give the new Lehigh Defense 125 gr Maximum Expansion bullets a try. I'm unable to find load info on this bullet.

Has anyone used this bullet yet?

Hello I recently built a .300 Ham'r upper and I have been shooting factory loads. I decided to start reloading with the Speer #2011 150 grain FNHC bullet. I am completely new to reloading. I have a couple of questions that I cannot find definitive answers on. I am sure if I read all 140+ pages I would find them but if possible it would be nice not to have to read it all.

1) I found in this forum an OAL of 2.155" in the acceptable bullets list posted by Bill and also an older Wilson Combat loading data spec sheet with OAL of 2.181".

I did load one to the middle of the crip groove and it measure 2.114".

What OAL should I load too ?

2) I am using CFE BLK powder with CCI 41 primers. The older reloading spec sheet I refered to earlier says 25 grains, again it also states a 2.181 OAL.

Hodgdon and Lee both say 21 grains Max.

How much powder should I use ? Is 25 grains a good starting point ? I am reloading WC once shot brass.

I decided on the CCI 41 over the CCI 450 primers because that is what was available.

I really appreciate the help

Thank you

Data is the same as the 125gr Controlled Chaos

Also just incase it matters I am using the WC 16.25 ultralight barrel that I purchased earlier this year. The rifles purpose is for hunting black bear, elk and cougar utilizing open sights.

Thank you

This is a really "old tech" bullet, we have so many better choices now. In 150gr my favorites are the Hornaday SST and Speer Gold Dot (Blackout version). CFEBLK powder lots vary quite a bit, I'd start with 21gr at 2.155" and work from there. You don't want the bullet touching the lands and can determine this by marking the bullet with a Sharpie of you don't have a case gage for setting OAL. No issue using 41s

Thank you Bill
I caught some on sale, seemed like a good choice to learn on.

I apologize as I will admit I haven’t read through this thread yet and this information may be covered elsewhere already. However, I have had an idea for a bit now to build a 300 blackout bolt rifle on a mini Mauser action like the 527. Over the last few days I’ve started looking at the 300 Ham’r.

The idea is a 10” barreled lightweight bolt gun with a short can. Goal is a short bolt gun that is handy in and out of a pickup truck and fast handling on walk and stalk hunts. I am a big fan of the 110 Barnes blackout loads and my thought was building towards using that round.

Has anyone here built a 300 ham’r out of a 527?

I had the same bug maybe 10-15 years ago and converted a CZ 527 (.223) into a 300BO. This was back before CZ offered the 527 chambered in 300BO. I went with the Bell & Carlson composite stock and a 18" custom barrel. I can load long with a 2.330" max COAL Using H110 powder, it would push 125gr SMK at +2400fps. My little rifle is very accurate and makes for a nimble field rifle. At less than 6 lbs it is easy to move around ATV/Golf Cart as well as inside a blind. Since CZ decided to discontinue the CZ527, the cost of these rifles are now 2x-3x the price. I believe that you can still purchase CZ527 metal magazines for 300BO. I would start buying some. You can buy direct from CZUSA or check EBay.

The other option in the "mini mauser" action is the Howa Mini-1500. This is made in Japan in factory that made the Weatherby Vanguard rifles. The Mini-1500, not to be confused with their standard size 1500, is slightly larger than the CZ527, but still smaller than a Rem700. The action is more robust than the CZ527. There at two well-documented issues the the Mini-1500. First, the positioning of the magazine release, which is located in front of the magazine, making it very easy to be accidentally bumped even when just carrying it in hand. The second issue is their proprietary polymer magazines. The magazine is the rifle's Achilles Heel because of its inconsistency (not reliable in feeding) due to poor QC (feed lip dimensions vary from batch to batch) and weak magazine spring/follower design. There are two gunsmiths who have created aftermarket solutions for these two issues, Jefferson Outdoors and Oregunsmith. Both offer some form of a replacement bottom metal / replacement magazine solution. I happen to also have a Mini-1500 (6.5 Grendel) that I upgrade to a B&C M40 style composite stock and the Oregunsmith internal box magazine with hinged floorplate. It works great.

If I were to build one for the 300HAM'R then I would go with the Howa Mini-1500. I would place it in an upgraded stock and incorporate the new Jefferson Outdoors' bottom metal, which uses CZ527 metal mags to sidestep the Howa Mini magazine issue. A good bedding job and a Timney Trigger to round out the rig. You will be the envy.