300 or 340 weatherby?

[444shooter]

So actual experience says with the .340 you are looking at 100-150fps better than a .338 Win Mag, and that is with an extra 2" of barrel. According to the Nosler manual with the 250 gr bullets the difference between top loads is a mere 49fps, which is nothing. Even an extra 100fps isn't worth anything, imho. Seems like a lot of hassle for the pleasure of the extra recoil and diffcult to find brass/ammo.

I used to use IMR 7828 and 200gr Partitions with my .300 Wby. I no longer own any Weatherby rifles.

Just about all the current reloading manuals are very conservative with Weatherby data. In real life with a freebored Weatherby, you can beat the 338 by 200fps. I have been able to break 3250fps with the 300Wby and 180gr from a stock Mk V 26" barrel.

 

[X-fan]

The 300Win, 300Wby, 338Win, and 340Wby are arguably some of the most versatile high performance cartridges in existence. Choosing one over the other is a difficult matter indeed.

For me the 300Win was always such a good performer that it made the other 100-150fps or so not worth the reach to the Weatherby. With max loads and 180's the 300Win deliveres 3100-3150fps and 200's at 2950, while the 300Wby was 3200-3250 and 200's at 3000fps. The rub for me was the Win shoots 200's at 2950 superbly while I found the Wby liked about the same. Modern powders may change this (RL-25, Retumbo), but I doubt they shoot as well as Rl-22.

I spent 10 years with mainly the 340Wby and I never felt like I needed more power (close range brownies aside) nor did I find I ever needed flatter trajectory.
Is it 200fps faster than the 338Win?....I suppose depending on the bullet it is, but what really sold me on the 340 Wby is that is pushes 250's as fast as the 338Win does 225's. Which means a bigger bullet with flatter trajectory. Otherwise the 338Win/250gr at 2800fps is ready to burst at the seams while the 340 is coasting nicely.
I like that!

The 338 Ultra (and others) will push a 250gr to 3000fps without a big ordeal, but beyond the 340, recoil increases make the added range potential is difficult to qualify and much more difficult to actually achieve. The real question is do we need more 338 than the 340Wby?

FWIW I don't believe we need one bit more.

 

[oaktree]

And another .340

I had a .340 and loved it dearly whilst watching a good number of bang-flops. The horsepower was waaaaay too much for scrawny whitetails, and after the last deboning of a spine the quick way, I decided to use something more appropriate for the (smaller) big game I primarily hunt. I used 210 grain bullets (partitions and TSX) cruising along somewhere around 3200 fps, and this monster does shoot flat and hits really hard.

My .300 win mag is also a bit ferocious on the smaller big game, but can be loaded down to .30-06 velocities assuming your particular rifle will shoot reasonably accurate with starting loads.

The real question you gotta ask yourself is what you intend to shoot with either choice and whether you will own more than one rifle.... Maybe get one of each?

 

[dan belisle]

So actual experience says with the .340 you are looking at 100-150fps better than a .338 Win Mag, and that is with an extra 2" of barrel. According to the Nosler manual with the 250 gr bullets the difference between top loads is a mere 49fps, which is nothing. Even an extra 100fps isn't worth anything, imho. Seems like a lot of hassle for the pleasure of the extra recoil and diffcult to find brass/ammo.

I used to use IMR 7828 and 200gr Partitions with my .300 Wby. I no longer own any Weatherby rifles.

My personal experience with the 338 Win Mag (two rifles only, so take it for what it's worth), 24" barrels, both would just break 2700 fps with the 250 gr Partition. I have since switched to the 210 Nosler Partition for this caliber. My 340 with a 26" RKS gain twist barrel gives me 2940 fps with the 250 gr Partition. This is only about 40 fps slower then the same bullet in my 338 Lapua (same barrel length). Now that there are more controlled expansion bullets out there, I should revisit load development for these calibers, but what I use now works, and works well, so I will probably pass. I plan on doing some work with lighter X bullets in the 300 Wby (26" German built Mk V) when the weather gets a little better though, see if I can improve on the trajectory. I would not put a great deal of faith in any loading manuals' figures, once you have been at this for a while you will see that the numbers can be all over the board, and each edition seems to become more "lawyer oriented". FWIW - dan

 

[Camp Cook]

I have other than a 340 Weatherby that my grandfather gave me a few years ago never had anything to do with the .338" cal it just seemed like an in between round to me.

Yeah ok so I shoot a 300RUM and a 375RUM and if I was ever going to go for a 338" cal it would be a 338RUM or Edge...

 

[MTM]

I've owned several of each. The 300 is sorta the ultimate Deer gun that will work fine on everything else. Think of it as an 06 200 yds farther out. The 340 is an awsome performer on big stuff. I used to shoot 225 Noslers at 3100 fps out of 24" of barrel and 250s at 2900ish. if you've got something smaller for Deer go 340. For all around the 300 is hard to beat. I still have one 300 Mag but now go 7STW and then to 338 Win.

 

[downwindtracker2]

Now that Weatherby cartridges are SAAMI, those velocities have dropped.If you run at over 70,000psi,bullets do move quicker. With a strong action and lots of freebore, they got away with it.Weatherby had Norma engineers shaking their heads. So those new manuals reflect a more sane pressure level.Remember the the 4 to 1 rule,a 4% powder increase makes a 1% velocity increase.

 

[Gun Lover]

I've been shooting the .300 Wby for some time now and it has been very impressive on deer. The only thing that's shot deer dead quicker, so far, has been my 50 Cal Savage 10ML loaded with 290 gr Barnes TMZ's at about 2,600 fps. No deer I've ever shot with the .300 Wby has ever taken one extra step after being hit! Maybe I've just been lucky, but I prefer to think that the 180 bullets at 3,290 fps are the ones which have done the trick.

It was less spectacular the only time I've shot a moose with it, though. It took two 200 gr Speer GS through the lungs at 225 MT and then another one through the shoulder at about 125 MT, to bring the over 1,000lb beast down. And even then it didn't expire very quickly. Those GS's were leaving the muzzle at about 2,980 fps.

I had the same dilemma you have, when I got my .300 Wby. And to be honest, I ended up choosing the .300 because I was a bit intimidated by the cost of feeding the .340 Wby and by the recoil it is supposed to produce (I was coming from a .30-06, so I wasn't used to heavier recoil than that).

If I had to choose today, already having a few other rifles I can hunt deer with, I would definitely go for the .340 Wby, if only to have a more authoritative moose getter.

 

[1899]

My personal experience with the 338 Win Mag (two rifles only, so take it for what it's worth), 24" barrels, both would just break 2700 fps with the 250 gr Partition. I have since switched to the 210 Nosler Partition for this caliber. My 340 with a 26" RKS gain twist barrel gives me 2940 fps with the 250 gr Partition. This is only about 40 fps slower then the same bullet in my 338 Lapua (same barrel length). Now that there are more controlled expansion bullets out there, I should revisit load development for these calibers, but what I use now works, and works well, so I will probably pass. I plan on doing some work with lighter X bullets in the 300 Wby (26" German built Mk V) when the weather gets a little better though, see if I can improve on the trajectory. I would not put a great deal of faith in any loading manuals' figures, once you have been at this for a while you will see that the numbers can be all over the board, and each edition seems to become more "lawyer oriented". FWIW - dan

Interesting. Have you tried 275 or 300gr bullets in the .340?

 

[dan belisle]

Yes, but I don't have the data handy, sorry. - dan

 

[downwindtracker2]

The 340 is a reloader's or rich guy's cartridge.But a 300Wby can be had Wally World in the states.

 

[444shooter]

Now that Weatherby cartridges are SAAMI, those velocities have dropped.If you run at over 70,000psi,bullets do move quicker. With a strong action and lots of freebore, they got away with it.Weatherby had Norma engineers shaking their heads. So those new manuals reflect a more sane pressure level.Remember the the 4 to 1 rule,a 4% powder increase makes a 1% velocity increase.

No offense, but that is utter BS!
None of my loads even come close to 70k. I have never seized an action or had hard bolt lift either.

 

[jaycee]

[QUOTEMUCH flatter? How about insignificantly flatter?
]

.300 -23.6 drop at 500 yds
.340-31.2 drop at 500 yds with said bullets
per Weatherby stats.[/QUOTE]

Shoot much game at 500 yds?

We can read books and stats all day long.

same bullets per Barnes #4 manual 500 yd with 200 yd zero
300 drops 34.31
340 drops 39.90

Sounds VERY insignificant to me - especially since I've shot both side by side, and find the above info quite close.

 

[jaycee]

It's funny - I've owned 3 x 300 Weatherby rifles, and handloaded for 2 others as well, and I've never been able to equal Weatherby factory ballistics with any of them (miking the case head for expansion).

On the other hand, having owned 2 x 340 Weatherby rifles, and handloaded for 1 other, I've always been able to safely exceed factory ballistics with all of them (again, miking the case head for expansion).

Totally safe in MY rifles, 90 gr RL22/Fed215 gives me 3111 fps average at 10' with 225gr TSX, and hits like the hammer of Thor.

 

[Dang]

[QUOTE.300 -23.6 drop at 500 yds
.340-31.2 drop at 500 yds with said bullets
per Weatherby stats.[/QUOTE]

Shoot much game at 500 yds?

We can read books and stats all day long.

same bullets per Barnes #4 manual 500 yd with 200 yd zero
300 drops 34.31
340 drops 39.90

Sounds VERY insignificant to me - especially since I've shot both side by side, and find the above info quite close.
__________________][/QUOTE]

Ok so lets talk about energy delivered at 200, 300.500yds

With the Tsx bullets already mentioned as they are popular right now

.300.....200yds=3151...300yds=2715....500yds=1987

.340.....200yds=3111...300yds=2588....500yds=1749

So by these numbers the .300 shoots (slightly flatter) and delivers more energy i am not sure why you would need a .340 i would step up to a .378 if i wanted something with more oomphh than the .300

 

[jaycee]

[QUOTE.300 -23.6 drop at 500 yds
.340-31.2 drop at 500 yds with said bullets
per Weatherby stats.

Shoot much game at 500 yds?

We can read books and stats all day long.

same bullets per Barnes #4 manual 500 yd with 200 yd zero
300 drops 34.31
340 drops 39.90

Sounds VERY insignificant to me - especially since I've shot both side by side, and find the above info quite close.
__________________][/QUOTE]

If you base everything on a rifle caliber

Ok so lets talk about energy delivered at 200, 300.500yds

With the Tsx bullets already mentioned as they are popular right now

.300.....200yds=3151...300yds=2715....500yds=1987

.340.....200yds=3111...300yds=2588....500yds=1749

So by these numbers the .300 shoots (slightly flatter) and delivers more energy i am not sure why you would need a .340 i would step up to a .378 if i wanted something with more oomphh than the .300[/QUOTE]

Why would I need a 340? Because of it's much greater terminal effects on game.

If you base everything on a rifle's performance on energy, and only energy, then why not shoot something like a .22 cal 53 gr TSX out of a 300 Wby using a sabot at over 5000 fps - and wow, I bet that'd be flat shooting? Or maybe a 460?

Energy however, doesn't take into account things like bullet diameter.

Hey, if you want to buy a 300 Weatherby, go right ahead. But if you want to buy something that really doesn't kick much more, but has a lot more terminal effect on game, then buy the 340.

I've always looked at the various 300 magnums as "in-betweeners". I use a 340 for bigger stuff, and a more appropriate caliber for deer, etc, like a 270, 7x57, etc. Nobody is arguing that a 300 Wby isn't a versatile caliber - it is. It just doesn't hit as hard as a 340, that's all

 

[444shooter]

Try running a 250gr at 2950 from a 300Wby.. ain't gonna happen. This is where the 340 excels past the 300.

 

[X-fan]

I had a .340 and loved it dearly whilst watching a good number of bang-flops. The horsepower was waaaaay too much for scrawny whitetails, and after the last deboning of a spine the quick way, I decided to use something more appropriate for the (smaller) big game I primarily hunt. I used 210 grain bullets (partitions and TSX) cruising along somewhere around 3200 fps, and this monster does shoot flat and hits really hard.

My .300 win mag is also a bit ferocious on the smaller big game, but can be loaded down to .30-06 velocities assuming your particular rifle will shoot reasonably accurate with starting loads.

Haven't got a clue what you are getting at here?

Are you suggesting the 340wby damages more game than a 300Mag??
If so you need to get out from behind the computer more often!

The 340Wby has more power than required for deer, but it sure as hell does not make a mess. Shoot something in the spine or shoulder bone and anything (including the 30-06) will make a big mess.

The 300's can be a bit explosive. The 340 is not.

 

[X-fan]

Suppose it depends where and what your hunting.Anything short of large coastal Grizzly .300 would be fine.I live on the coast and would use my .300 Wby regardless. BC is greater in the .300 with 180gr TSX at .435 than the .340 225 gr TSX BC at .386 and the .300 shoots much flatter.

308 Winchester 165 Hornady 2800fps/100 yard zero...drop at 500 yards?
60 inches!
Odds of a good shooter hitting a 10" gong at 500 yards with said 308???
Pretty damn good!

Odds of some noob hunter making that shot with his 300Ultra/Wby?
ZERO!

Flat trajectory doesn't have much to do with long range hits mate.
The 340 is plenty flat enough to get the job done.

Its the hands that matter.

 

[apapro]

When I had My .340 and used 250gr barnes TSX's in it, I had less meat damage when it came to deer than a lot of smaller cartridges such as .30-06, .270, .30-30. But mind you they were all shooting lead/jacket bullets.

I shot a mule deer doe this past fall with my old M96 (109 years young) in 6.5 Swede and a 140 Accubond. The gun and bullet did what they were supposed to do and there was a lot more mess than with the small buck I shot with my .30-378 and 200gr Barnes TSX's. Both were at approx the same yardages 150 - 160 yards!!!


Not to change the subject but gotta love them TSX's for hunting!!!