which 338?

[jmden]

JE,

"Some 'smiths don't like the fact that the Weatherby action has so many lugs--basically can't them all trued and bearing. " How many times have we heard this from various smiths over the years?

My statement is not 'anti Weatherby', as you say. It is simply stating that some 'smiths don't care for the Weatherby actions, largely due to the 9 lug configuration.

Jon

 

[J E Custom]

JE,

"Some 'smiths don't like the fact that the Weatherby action has so many lugs--basically can't them all trued and bearing. " How many times have we heard this from various smiths over the years?

My statement is not 'anti Weatherby', as you say. It is simply stating that some 'smiths don't care for the Weatherby actions, largely due to the 9 lug configuration.

Jon

Jon .

I hear you and don't have a problem with the fact that some smiths don't like them but to
say there is something wrong with them Is a different story.

There are actions that I prefer not to use but I don't say there is anything wrong with them
I just prefer something else.

And if they don't like them they just need to say that.

Most of the time I hear this it is because someone wants to sell another type action and try
to convince others that there is something wrong with what they want.

Actually I like the fact that some people don't like the Weatherby because it makes it easier
for me to find them to use or build on.

As far as I know there is not an unsafe newly manufactured rifle out there and the Weatherby
is undoubtedly the strongest (9 Lugs and all) Years ago white laboratories tested all of the
commercial actions to destruction and the only action that they could not destroy was the Mk 5
Weatherby all of the others failed including my favorite action (The 700 Remington).

So it only leaves me to believe that "those Smiths" cannot make them shoot or they simply don't
like them.

Sorry if I offended you but I would recomend believing nothing you hear and only half of what you see

.Enough said .

J E CUSTOM

 

[jmden]

JE CUSTOM,

I appreciate and respect your advice, input, opinion and experience as I'm sure many other here do. Like I said in my first post on the subject, "Opinions may vary."

Jon

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Saskhunter, The Cabelas in Billings, MT last week had a used but like new Wby accumark 338-378 like you described for $1300. That would be a good buy. They shoot extremely well off the shelf but if it didn't satisfy you just screw in a custom barrel in 338 Lapua Imp or 338-378 and you are in great shape.

I agree with JE. If anyone has any of those old no good MK 5 actions I will be glad to take them off your hands for a cheap price since they are no good. I will get no takers though because anyone with any experience or knowledge knows there is the wby mk 5, the old Sako's and then all the other stuff below them. If I am doing a personal go to rifle it starts with a Weatherby Mk 5, or old Sako action. There is absolutely no comparison between the quality of a Mk 5 action and any other standard action on the market. Most rifles get built on lesser actions because they are cheap and people can afford them. They don't have the money to buy a Mk 5 and take the action out of it. But you can always find a cheap remington for $300 bucks and take the action out of it. It will shoot and work fine, But it is a long ways from a Weatherby Mk 5.

I don't want people to think that I believe remingtons, winchesters and all the others are not good. I have many rifles on those actions and they shoot very well. I am just saying they are a long way from a wby MK 5 action. But a guy has to look at the weight of the mk 5 if he is considering a light rifle build plus there are other factors involved.

 

[B23]

I currently have 4 Weatherby's. Two Accumarks a 338-378, 300WBY , 7-300WBY Mark V Deluxe (rebarreled by Howard Wolf) that used to be a 257 and a 240 Mark V Deluxe from the custom shop.

My 300WBY was one of the first Accumarks in town when they first came out and it is hands down the best off the shelf shooter I have ever had. The other two shoot very well too. In fact I have been pleasantly surprised by how well the 338-378 shoots. The 7-300 Mr. Wolf did for me is a beautiful piece and shoots as well as it looks.

Like anything else, I have had others that flat out sucked. Had a 7WBY Mark V that was a total P.O.S. and the 257 that I turned into a 7-300 was far from great.

 

[Scot E]

So does Weatherby still use the Howa action for their rifles? It seems like the vanguard is the Howa action and the mark V is differnt? Anyone know for sure on their new rifle options?

Scot

 

[darrindlh]

So does Weatherby still use the Howa action for their rifles? It seems like the vanguard is the Howa action and the mark V is differnt? Anyone know for sure on their new rifle options?

Scot

They are different. The mark v is the true weatherby action and the vanguards are the howa action.

Darrin

 

[Thekid76]

this is from the new guy so i do not pretend to have anything on the allens and the like in rifle building, but i did email mr allen and his rec was to go with the 338 lapua for my 550 action that i have just acquired. for the Canadian it would be a better choice and it just so happens that i am building a sister to the CZ HET with their stock to boot. i will be using gary schnieders polyaginal barrel in 29 inches with a break, and for shock value i have been painting guns and such for the past three years and dura coat is good stuff to start with. no heat and not much mess. this rifle, like my last 6.5-06 will be going to G and A for article work first but will be for sail once finished. I will bet 300 bucks it will out shoot its sister from the factory. and its looks will kill in elk camp. Send me an email to reply to at [email protected] if you want picks sent out of what you can do with Dura coat.

 

[Rimfire]

338 Norma load a 300 grainer where it should be and oal is 3.6" Nice fit in a rem action

 

[GMBshootingclubM60]

Time to reheat this thread...

Are there any of the big 338s that are NOT accurate for a reason? For example, the Weatherby freebore might stink with a really long high bc bullet.. or maybe the Excaliber has so much case volume that it's not accurate with the powders that you have to use?

I was thinking of the Excaliber with a 32" barrel, Mark V action, single loaded with longer oal than the 3.88 single stack magazine would take.

But if the accuracy potential just wasn't there, a powerful miss isn't any better than a weak miss.

There seem to be some who say the 338 RUM is a naturally accurate round?

 

[royinidaho]

There seem to be some who say the 338 RUM is a naturally accurate round?

I heard that a major bullet manufacturer has switched to the 338 RUM for all of their testing. Don't know for sure.

I don't know what case the Excalibur is based upon but the 338s based on the Chey Tac case are doing well.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

The 338 RUM is as accurate as any big 338 on the market. I have worked with most everything out there. I am a big fan of it because of the performance in a low cost rifle and easily available components.

 

[angus-5024]

I have a .338 RUM and I must say that it is one of the easiest rifles I have ever loaded for. out of five diffrent bullets only one shot above 1 MOA and the 300 SMK and barnes 210 TTSX will always shoot below .75.

I have owned a Mark 5 in .340 Wby and it was a grea rifle. sold it because I wanted stainless and got a Rem. 700 (338 RUM). The RUM has been great, but when I get some extra $$ I'm gonna get my hands on a .338-.378 Accumark. I agree with JE and LTLR that the Wby actions are top notch. With the Wby's you get a longer Mag but remember that they are very hard to get DM for.

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Jon .


As far as I know there is not an unsafe newly manufactured rifle out there and the Weatherby
is undoubtedly the strongest (9 Lugs and all) Years ago white laboratories tested all of the
commercial actions to destruction and the only action that they could not destroy was the Mk 5
Weatherby all of the others failed including my favorite action (The 700 Remington).



J E CUSTOM

Just an aside here, but I have seen a Weatherby Mk5 action totally destroyed in a reloading misadventure. Of the nine lugs, six (two columns) appeared to have been taken off in a mill, sheared off by the lug recesses when the bolt exited rearward. The other column of three appeared completely untouched, as the action had apparently opened up far enough to allow them to be completely free of the lug recesses, and miss them entirely on the way past. The sling swivels and the recoil pad were the only parts on the rifle that remained usable. The shooter took the bolt in the face, but survived. The cause was a combination of errors made by a shooter who should have been a poster child for factory ammo. He'd shot an elk with this same load the year before, and when he went to finish it, found he couldn't open the bolt. Had to take it to a gunsmith to get the bolt free. The 'smith (naturally) told him to break down that ammo and reduce the load. What's he do? Saves the remaining ammo for next year, and used it again, this time with more spectacular results. He claimed he'd gotten a 7mm bullet in a box of .277"s (gun was a 270 Wby Mag), so we tried duplicating this, Yes, you could load a 270 Wby Mag with 7mm bullets and still chamber the resulting rounds in the gun. The bullet maker involved in the suit fired quite a few of these loads, using the maximum of the load with H4831 data he claimed he used, but with IMR 4831 which was what he actually had in his possesion. After repeated firings (25-30) of a drastically over max load with an oversized bullet, all we got was sticky bolt lift; no catasrophic failure like he managed. My own personal belief here was that he'd inadvertantly substituted IMR 3031 (which he also had on his bench) for 4831. We didn't try that one, but I suspect that would have done it, no problem.

I'm an avid reloader, and a great advocate of it, but it's not for everyone. This guy should have stuck to factory ammo . . . or better yet, taken up golf.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA