300 or 340 weatherby?
- Thread starter David L
- Start date
Or anything in Africa if you look back through Weatherby's archives. I think Elgin Gates took African Elephant with the .300 Wby. Obviously not recommended nor legal today.
- Location
- Calgary, AB
I have both, but the .340 will do it all with more authority.
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.
MUCH flatter? How about insignificantly flatter?
I own both, and my loads happen to be both of the bullets you mention - while one may be able to make an argument that the 300 shoots slightly flatter, it's nowhere near enough to make any difference in the field - not enough that anyone will ever notice anyway. In fact, the only difference you WILL notice in the field, is that the 340 hits with MUCH more authority than the 300.
Like I mentioned before - I own both (actually I happen to own two of each) and my 300 Weatherby's don't get used any more.
If anyone wants a good 300 Weatherby, I've got one up for sale in the Exchange Forum
225gr Accubonds(.550BC) at 3000-3100 makes for a pretty darn flat shooting combination. One thing nobody has mentioned is if you are recoil shy you won't enjoy shooting this cartridge, never mind shooting it from the bench doing load development.
- Location
- Calgary, AB
I guess it would be relative. I find my Mk V stainless a pussycat of the bench compared to my .458 or .416
I too had both. The 300 was a P14 build of some sort. Odd assortment of parts... a bit of a clunker. The 340 was a gorgeous Weatherby mk5. In my opinion they were both gross overkill for taking down anything but a pickup truck. Not bashing big boomers for those guys who just gotta have more kick, just not my thing. Seeing as I could make a few bucks off em, I unloaded them both last year. I know the fellow I inherited them from was very fond of the 340 for moose. If you happened to do a blind taste test, you'll definitely know the 340 when you touch it off.
I have both. I use 200 gr Noslers in the 300, and 250 gr Noslers in the 340. They both do what they are designed to do quite well. 300 has slightly less drop at distance, 340 hits harder and makes a bigger hole. - dan
340
I have seen the place for the 340,open buck brush along the Alaska border. The moose are the big Alaska subspecies and there are lots of grizzly.Most will agree a 338 bullet is better than a 308. And with the extra hp helps flatten the traj. for those long shots.
I have seen the place for the 340,open buck brush along the Alaska border. The moose are the big Alaska subspecies and there are lots of grizzly.Most will agree a 338 bullet is better than a 308. And with the extra hp helps flatten the traj. for those long shots.
I had both the .300 and .340. Loaded for both and if you put a 250 Barnes TSX in the .340 and zero it at 300 yards, you will SMASH anything out to 600 and completely pass through any animal short of the Dangerous Game in Africa (which I have no experiance).
The .300 is a great round, but the .340 will really impress you once you get used to it and the recoil . I have shot elk, moose, bears, deer with the .340 and at one point it was the only hunting round I used.
The .338 caliber really puts the hurt on animals. I also shot the 275 Swift A-Frames in the .340 and THAT is one hell of a great moose load!!!!
As for velocities the .300 ran 180 gr bullets around 3150+ and the .340 pushed 250's to 2900+. Look at the Rl-22 and RL-25 powders, or H1000, Retumbo for both and if you do up you load development properly you will be impressed!!!!
PM if you have anymore questions!!!
later
The .300 is a great round, but the .340 will really impress you once you get used to it and the recoil . I have shot elk, moose, bears, deer with the .340 and at one point it was the only hunting round I used.
The .338 caliber really puts the hurt on animals. I also shot the 275 Swift A-Frames in the .340 and THAT is one hell of a great moose load!!!!
As for velocities the .300 ran 180 gr bullets around 3150+ and the .340 pushed 250's to 2900+. Look at the Rl-22 and RL-25 powders, or H1000, Retumbo for both and if you do up you load development properly you will be impressed!!!!
PM if you have anymore questions!!!
later
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.
I used to use IMR 7828 and 200gr Partitions with my .300 Wby. I no longer own any Weatherby rifles.
I have a 300 Wby Mk. 5 and a 338-378 Wby Accumark.
I'm giving the 300 to my son, but to sum up the caliber just read the back of an old 300 Wby box, "This IS the most versatile cartridge in existence."
I don't think they're too far off.
I'm giving the 300 to my son, but to sum up the caliber just read the back of an old 300 Wby box, "This IS the most versatile cartridge in existence."
I don't think they're too far off.
Terry Wieland says of the 300Wby: " It may be the best long-range cartridge ever. It may be the most versatile cartridge, overall, ever made. Certainly Elgin Gates thought so, and the rifle has a 50-year track record to at least support its claim". Taken from A-Squares Handloading Manual.
