I have the opportunity to buy a mark v synthetic in .240 weatherby for a very reasonable price. The rifle is like new, and has been shot maybe 15-20 times. Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with this caliber, as I do not. I have experience with the .257 and .300 wby. mags, and have owned rifles chambered for both of those calibers. It seems to me that the .240 would probably be an ideal deer round, and the recoil should be even less than the .257, which itself is very mild IMHO. My only concern would be the occasional close shot, and the possibility of bullet blow up. The area that I hunt is mostly open and has a few areas where you can get 300 yard shots. However, you could also get a shot at 50 yards or less. As I do not reload, I would have to choose from the Weatherby factory offerings. The only two that really interest me are the 90 grain barnes x-bullet, and the 100 grain nosler partition. I was hoping that at least one person here has some experience with this round, and could maybe address my concerns. Any help is greatly appreciated.
.240 Weatherby
- Thread starter JasonH
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Buffalobob
Well-Known Member
I shoot a custom 240 Wby on an FN action. I reload everything. I shot whitetail deer in Maryland for years with the Speer 85 grain boattail at ranges of 50 yards to about 200 yds. Always got an exit hole, never lost a deer. Never had a bullet blowup. This was a 1-10 twist Douglas barrel
I had the gun rebarreled to a faster twist with a Spencer 30 inch barrel and shot antelope this Fall in Wyoming useing the 115 grain Berger. Ranges were from 150 to 860 yards and everything in between. No doubt in my mind that with that load the gun will kill any antelope in Wyoming or any deer in Maryland to and beyond 1,000 yards. Now then, if I was going to shoot really large sized deer such as mule deer I would be a little more cautious on the range (but not much /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif).
The cartridge is just a really great round with excellent speed and excellent accuracy.
I had the gun rebarreled to a faster twist with a Spencer 30 inch barrel and shot antelope this Fall in Wyoming useing the 115 grain Berger. Ranges were from 150 to 860 yards and everything in between. No doubt in my mind that with that load the gun will kill any antelope in Wyoming or any deer in Maryland to and beyond 1,000 yards. Now then, if I was going to shoot really large sized deer such as mule deer I would be a little more cautious on the range (but not much /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif).
The cartridge is just a really great round with excellent speed and excellent accuracy.
I have a 240 that I bought for my wife and I love it and so does she. I have it in the Super Big Game Master which they do not offer anymore. The one thing to consider is that it is on a smaller action and in a lighter rifle than the 257. This will cause the recoil to be very similar to the 257.
We killed around 25deer and probably 150 hogs with it last year alone and now I am shooting it until Shawn gets my 257 to me! I shot the barrel out of my 257 in the same gun.
I shoot the 100gr Spire Point. It rarely exits and the animals never move. I would not say that the bullet blows up but, it has a lot of expansion. I did not like the X bullet or the Partition on hogs and deer. Everyone I shot ran after I hit it and they had pin holes in them. With the Spire point the drop and the damage is severe!
I shoot this gun in the brush country and I think the longest shot I have made with it was jsut shy of 200 yards. I have also shot as close as 10 yards and they just fall dead. My average shot is around 70yds.
i would not hesistate to shoot any deer sized game with it.
We killed around 25deer and probably 150 hogs with it last year alone and now I am shooting it until Shawn gets my 257 to me! I shot the barrel out of my 257 in the same gun.
I shoot the 100gr Spire Point. It rarely exits and the animals never move. I would not say that the bullet blows up but, it has a lot of expansion. I did not like the X bullet or the Partition on hogs and deer. Everyone I shot ran after I hit it and they had pin holes in them. With the Spire point the drop and the damage is severe!
I shoot this gun in the brush country and I think the longest shot I have made with it was jsut shy of 200 yards. I have also shot as close as 10 yards and they just fall dead. My average shot is around 70yds.
i would not hesistate to shoot any deer sized game with it.
