I have been lurking here a long time, you can get lots of knowledge and some very diverse opinions on all things long range, at 160 pds I carry a 340 Wby for Moose and a 300 win mag for anything bigger then deer but not Moose, I don't just want to kill my animal, I want to see it Go Down , IE little or not raking involved. I rarely see the 300 Wby mentioned, am I missing something? If you shoot a 300 Wby let's hear your take on them, and your favorite reloads for whatever you use it on.
Why not a 300 wby?
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MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
I have a custom rifle chambered for a wildcat cartridge that uses .300 Wby brass to form brass from...Called the .300 Ackley. Haven't shot any animals with it yet, but it's very accurate.
So far, load testing for it, is only with the Berger 210 VLD. I use Nosler brass and Fed 215M primers. Currently testing IMR 7977 powder.
So far, load testing for it, is only with the Berger 210 VLD. I use Nosler brass and Fed 215M primers. Currently testing IMR 7977 powder.
I have a 300Wby in a Sako. It has killed everything from deer to moose for me. Most with one shot and spitting distance of where the stood when shot. My load now is the Barnes TTSX over 81 grains of RL 19 for 3250fps. That is out of a 24 inch barrel and it groups under 1 MOA. My only change is going tobe to add a brake soon. The 300Wby fromwhat I have seen is a very capable LR rifle. Right on the heels if not equal to the 300 RUM depending on the reloading manual you read.
Wolf76
Well-Known Member
The double radius shoulder and price of brass make it less desirable. It also falls into the diminishing returns category. Also not many companies chamber this cartridge. Price of ammo is expensive.
The 300wm is often about as much recoil as most shooters will tolerate. The weatherby is a fair bit more than the 300wm.
I don't hate the 300 wby. It can throw big bullets with ease. The 300rum can do it better without the ridiculous amount of freebore found in weatherby chambers.
That's my not so professional opinion. ✌
The 300wm is often about as much recoil as most shooters will tolerate. The weatherby is a fair bit more than the 300wm.
I don't hate the 300 wby. It can throw big bullets with ease. The 300rum can do it better without the ridiculous amount of freebore found in weatherby chambers.
That's my not so professional opinion. ✌
MudRunner2005
Well-Known Member
Yep, that's why Ackley improved it by squaring it back off, and putting a 40º shoulder on it, and called it the .300 Ackley. The .300 Ackley was also tested and used by the Army Marksmanship Unit for 1K comps in the 1960's, and they called it the .300 AMU. The .300 Ackley has held numerous 1K benchrest records over the decades.
And the freebore does suck... That's one thing I can't stand about the Weatherby chamberings.
jjmp
Well-Known Member
Had one 300 (BEE) in a Vangard 24 bbl ,after trigger change it would hold 3/4 inch 3 shots at 100 yds . Skimped to buy used brass never shot factory ever . Mine was mostly used for target n range use played with 155,165,168, and some 180sn190s my powder was RL/22 worked very nicely . Federal 215 magnum primer with factory brass (NORMA) ,Remington brass was ok took less pressure & had less volume , but better then nothing . A Cousin has a Winchester md70 push feed 300 BEE ,24 inch bbl it's his Elk gun ,& I reload for it mostly 165 Barnes X bullets ,started with IMr 4831 very good powder then moved to RL/22 and it likes that combo ,yeah I know there's other Great powders but this combo works , cousin has shot 6/7 elk all pass throughs , the 300 Conqured the World before 1957 , it was the Cartridge to beat . It's more efficient to reload then the 300 Rum, but doesn't have the case volume eather . I try very hard not to put down one Cartridge VS another their all great !!!. Want to Say thanks for the Guys that sell their Brass & keep us poor folk shooting ,hunting ,reloading ,Cheers & Regards !!!!!!!!
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
The 300 Weatherby is a powerful 30 Cal and will do almost anything.
The case is the same size as your 340 so you can be the judge of what power it can yield. There will always be something more powerful but it was very popular at one time because it is a good cartridge.
Free bore is an issue for some and the 300 Weatherby has plenty,but for good reasons, it can handle heavy 30 cal bullets seated long and pressures are very manageable. In the hands of a good shooter they can also be very accurate.
A lot of rifle manufactures chambered their rifles in 300 WM and there were very popular. recoil in the ultra light Weatherby rifles is brisk, but with a standard magnum barrel contour recoil can be very manageable and with a good muzzle brake, tame.
J E CUSTOM
The case is the same size as your 340 so you can be the judge of what power it can yield. There will always be something more powerful but it was very popular at one time because it is a good cartridge.
Free bore is an issue for some and the 300 Weatherby has plenty,but for good reasons, it can handle heavy 30 cal bullets seated long and pressures are very manageable. In the hands of a good shooter they can also be very accurate.
A lot of rifle manufactures chambered their rifles in 300 WM and there were very popular. recoil in the ultra light Weatherby rifles is brisk, but with a standard magnum barrel contour recoil can be very manageable and with a good muzzle brake, tame.
J E CUSTOM
Absolutely nothing wrong with the .300 WBTY, just not a fan of any proprietary chamberings. My .30 LARA however can shoot the .300 WBTY factory ammo in a pinch.
I have shot mulitiple mule deer, elk, black bear and one brown bear with the cartridge. Used everything from 165 Siracco to 210 grain Berger. My current go to is the 190 Berger HVLD. Rifle is a Custom (now) Sendero that was originally chambered by Remington in the cartridge. Two elk with this load one just over 600 yards. Norma/Weatherby brass is excellent, I have loaded up to 8 times. Freebore keeps pressure down and allows for playing with seating depth. Easy to load for cartridge that is very accurate. Roy was way ahead of his time, with the new high BC trend cartridges are even more capable. Every time I see a new wiz bang 30 I ask what it does (or kills) the Weatherby can't.
John@redmt
Well-Known Member
I just received a custom Mountain Rifles Inc. chambered in 300 wby from a friend's estate. It's very light guessing at 6 lbs.including the scope. I'm looking for a "light" load for it so that I can learn the gun and still have a shoulder! It came with 100 rounds of unknown custom ammo. I unloaded some and it has 83 gr. compressed load with an extruded powder in RP brass and a Swift 180gr. Scirocco bullet. I'm not going to try them! It seems that hand loads for the wby are not that plentiful compared to others. I'm considering dropping the 83 gr. load to 73 or so and giving them a try.
yobuck
Well-Known Member
As for the double radius shoulder, im of the opinion it is the same as a Roy Weatherby signature and not much else.
Some don't like it and others don't mind the signature.
But aside from that aspect, how much does the shape of the shoulder really matter, especially on a hunting rifle?
What he did was to simply make great old cases better, and make himself famous by doing it.
Which is no different than others who followed are trying to do also.
At least in my book, the 300 Win Mag will always be "almost" as good.
Some don't like it and others don't mind the signature.
But aside from that aspect, how much does the shape of the shoulder really matter, especially on a hunting rifle?
What he did was to simply make great old cases better, and make himself famous by doing it.
Which is no different than others who followed are trying to do also.
At least in my book, the 300 Win Mag will always be "almost" as good.
Karl Feldkamp built a 300 WBY for me with a #4 Bartlein 26 inch barrel and put it into a McMillan Hunter. It has been my go to, all around setup for Western hunts and has been a loyal companion on all sorts of trophies. It shoots factory WBY 180 NABs .5 MOA regularly and sometimes up to half that if I do my part. I practice with it to 600 yards and have taken game out to just shy of that. It has a Z5 44mm with a custom turret that tracks true. It's not heavy but not light either and can be a bit much for long sessions at the range but carries just right.
I have hunted for 30+ yrs with the 300 WEA, and consider it one of the best of the 30's. Any more case capacity is really not going to get you much more performance unless you are using a very long barrel. My current rifle that has been on many elk hunts with me now is a WEA Vanguard. The rifle is stock, except for being glass bedded and the addition of a Rifle Basics trigger. Its scoped with a Leupold VX 6 with the Boone and Crockett reticle. I have found that the monolithic bullets shoot the best with the long lead. My all around hunting load consists of Norma brass, Federal 215 match primers with 168 gr. Barnes TTSX bullets. I am currently running 86.5 grains of Reloader 22. This load runs at 3300 fps, and consistently groups 3 shots into .75 or less. ( it should be noted that this rifle has a 24" barrel ) I have killed 5 elk and 2 mule deer with this load. All except one were 1 shot kills. That one was a large bull that was angled away from me, and I hit him too far back. The wound channels were quite large, and the penetration was exceptional. Sighted in at 300 yds., the bullet drop is only -8". I don't consider myself a long range shooter, and all shots were less than 450 yds. I have another rifle chambered in the old classic that has somewhat shorter lead. This gun prefers the great 200 gr. Nosler partition, or the 200 gr. Trophy Bonded. My only dislike with the Vanguard is that the action is a bit short for this round. I simply seat them as long as the magazine allows. Are there better rounds? Of course. But if you want to hunt with a true classic, the 300 WEA won't let you down!
