Can you accurately shoot hunting bullets in a VLD throat?

[fmajor]

Thanks guys -

I do like to test things if possible, but it's a new build and I'm not crazy about unintentionally finding extreme pressure!

 

[FEENIX]

Ya know FEENIX, of all the Folks here, I expected a more thought-out response from you.... "Can you _____" merely expresses vulgar possibility... I was hoping for a more presumptive affirmative given contextual parameters and generally accepted performance befitting Long Range Hunting.

Like @BillLarson, I responded accordingly to your question because it is something I can respond to definitively. As you can see from others, the context has too many uncertainties, and I do not want to make any assumptions.

 

[VinceMule]

fmajor​

You are going through a learning curve that we all have had to learn at some point and time.

A. Provide a gunsmith with 3 dummy rounds the way you like. He will send those three rounds off and have a reamer made,, he will charge you for the reamer, then keep the reamer. You may pay for half, he then keeps the reamer.

B. you send the 3 dummy rounds to the reamer maker, then provide the reamer to the gunsmith, asking for it's return when you get the barrel back.

C. Get a reamer print for the gunsmith's reamer, good luck. Learn how to read the print, and seat dummy rounds according to his print, good luck again. After beating your head on the wall, cut the first end of the muzzle of your barrel blank(you save the gunsmith from doing this in his shop), ask the gunsmith to run the reamer into the depth of the shoulder in the piece of the muzzle. Ask the gunsmith to return that piece of muzzle with the neck reamed, freebore, and leade angle cut, and stick a bullet in a split neck case, shove the case/bullet into the piece of reamed muzzle to see how long the freebore is on the gunsmith's reamer. Then you can see if the gunsmiths reamer is close to what you want. These little muzzle pieces that are reamed with the reamer were called Neck Checkers, and they ran $35 when I had them done. I could tell you some expensive stories of listening to lying *** gunsmiths with some schitty customer service.

D. Send dummy rounds to JGS or Manson, or be ready for the next phase of your madness in the learning curve.

You pay darn good money for the best gunsmiths who have already thought all of this through, and they have worked out the details which will be evident by the questions they ask you, in an attempt to ascertain your particular needs.

I Hope you ask the gunsmith to bore scope the barrel before his chambering, another thing that will upset you to no end, is when there is a gouge in your Barrel or the barrel slipped in the jig as it was being rifled. Some of the top-end barrels are being shipped have bores rough as a cob at this time......Their new normal.

I repeated B & C so you may get the significance of the idea

As you get educated on the pitfalls, things become easier.

Flipside of all this is that, Ignorance is Bliss.....till it ain't.

 

[David_h]

I do not recall....but it is long... a lot of bullet hanging out the case to reach the lands. I can give him a call and see

I did not see a twist rate on your barrel but if it is fast you can try the long copper bullets which will get you closer to the lands. They like to jump anyway so should be accurate.

 

[AZShooter]

Agree with Lance if Weatherby rifles can shoot then anything can.

FYI I was in error on the freebore for a 257 Weatherby, it is .378" not .375"
For the record here is what Weatherby has on their website for freebore:

What is the throat length (free bore) on your Weatherby rifles chambered for Weatherby magnum calibers?

Cartridge	Throat length (free bore)
224 Weatherby Magnum	.162
240 Weatherby Magnum	.169
257 Weatherby Magnum	.378
6.5 WBY RPM	.105
6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum	.2037
270 Weatherby Magnum	.378
7MM Weatherby Magnum	.378
300 Weatherby Magnum	.361
340 Weatherby Magnum	.373
375 Weatherby Magnum	.373
378 Weatherby Magnum	.756
416 Weatherby Magnum	.239
460 Weatherby Magnum	.756
30-378 Weatherby Magnum	.361
338-378 Weatherby Magnum	.361

 

[jjmp]

OP, what twist is your bbl, you did not say . If you're 1-9 to 9.5 you should be golden . If you went faster twist then your bullet choice might suffer. Good advice given I'm following this !, Cheers

 

[VinceMule]

In the two mark 5 I had in 257 Weatherby, we were shooting Jack rabbits and coyotes, the barrels did not last long, barrels got so hot, I thought I was going to set the wood on fire.

I shot: 100g Hornady flat base, 100g Sierra FB, accuracy was outstanding for 600 rounds, then it was not.

 

[fmajor]

Like @BillLarson, I responded accordingly to your question because it is something I can respond to definitively. As you can see from others, the context has too many uncertainties, and I do not want to make any assumptions.

Oh man, I intended no malice whatsoever - just having bit of a chuckle. I appreciate your knowledge and level-headedness - even in the midst of internet arguments among keyboard commandos. I would be an exceptionally rare circumstance that i would post anything malicious.

 

[fmajor]

@David_h and @jjmp - i do apologize for the omission.... Twist is certainly important bit of info..... The barrel is a 9 twist.

 

[fmajor]

@LanceKenyon, @VinceMule, and @AZShooter (and @FEENIX as well)

Thank you all for sharing your top-notch wisdom - this is certainly a new chapter of reloading for me to learn (i'm not a machinist, gunsmith, and no longer serving in .mil - i'm just a humble hunter/shooter - my expertise is in another field).

There are many voices on this site - I've seen so many come and go over the years and through that I've come to respect your subject matter knowledge. Additionally, I don't post much because if a good answer is posited, I don't see a need to add to it.

Wildcats or a "custom chamber" are new areas for me. Any of the other rifles i've had made were chambered in mainstream cartridges for ease and availability of ammo or reloading components. For reloading, I could simply work out the best bullet/case/powder/primer loading for that particular barrel/chamber (staying away from excessive bullet jump).

I was taught that excessive jump was inviting excessive pressure and most likely a loss in accuracy. The guy who taught me had a reloading business for decades with had worked with many wildcats. He may not have said to avoid bullet jump - that's just what i remember from 30yrs ago. However, I am learning that a VLD contoured leade/throat and long bullet-jump may just well be okay (i'd never worked with the Weatherby chamberings).

For now, i'll start with minimum loads and go from there. Currently I have 8lbs of 7828 (bought thinking it was NOT temp sensitive - wrong) and 8lbs of H1000 enroute. Hopefully the barrel likes the H1000 but I won't know until then.

Thanks again!

 

[Buttermilk]

Excessive jump actually reduces pressure.

 

[nksmfamjp]

What is a VLD throat?

 

[FEENIX]

Oh man, I intended no malice whatsoever - just having bit of a chuckle. I appreciate your knowledge and level-headedness - even in the midst of internet arguments among keyboard commandos. I would be an exceptionally rare circumstance that i would post anything malicious.

I did not view any malice/ill intentions. It takes too much energy to argue, especially to those I know are closed-minded.

 

[FEENIX]

I was taught that excessive jump was inviting excessive pressure and most likely a loss in accuracy. The guy who taught me had a reloading business for decades with had worked with many wildcats. He may not have said to avoid bullet jump - that's just what i remember from 30yrs ago. However, I am learning that a VLD contoured leade/throat and long bullet-jump may just well be okay (i'd never worked with the Weatherby chamberings).

The majority of Weatherby's long throat (freebore) is by design. It allows for higher velocity and less pressure on the bullet, resulting in increased accuracy and less barrel wear (extending the barrel's lifespan by reducing wear and fouling).