Does this recoil any worse than a 22LR?

They don't kick bad at all in the Wby Mark V rifle. Although I never shot a 416 WBY, I have shot 460 WBY several hundred times and it was not at all objectionable. 416 in same rifle should be a breeze.
 
They don't kick bad at all in the Wby Mark V rifle. Although I never shot a 416 WBY, I have shot 460 WBY several hundred times and it was not at all objectionable. 416 in same rifle should be a breeze.
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I'm not that worried about the felt recoil, although it is "up there" just shy of 100 ft lbs. :D I need to zero and "accurize" the rifle as best I can, I figure my friend has only a couple of shots at best if he's face to face with a rhino inside 100 yds that objects to being shot at. I'm actually looking forward to firing it. Getting the bore clean is proving to be difficult--even though it hasn't been shot many times it's never been cleaned--so successive layers of copper and carbon have created a difficult "layered cake." I've been working on it for a couple of days--and have discovered a couple of stubborn thickish patches of brass right near the muzzle, when I asked my friend about it he said he did use brass solids to take a polar bear with (in his opinion the polar bear is one of the most dangerous game animals of all to hunt). The other thing that bothers me is the twist lock scope rings, I've never liked that design on heavier recoiling rifles but Weatherby folks have told me not to worry about it. The shop he buys his rifles from likes to lok-tite and torque down mount and ring screws hard, and I always dread the possibility of having one of the mount screw heads stripping out. Seems to be an unwritten covenant between mount manufacturers to use soft steel mount screws.:rolleyes:
 
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Just got back from my first firing after finally getting the bore clean--that turned out to be a monumental task. I decided to shoot off of a front rest kneeling since I figure my friend will not be shooting off a bench when out in the bush. Here's my very first group after bore sighting--the very first shot is the one touching the target center orange dot. The next few wandered a bit, probably a combination of me moving and the barrel heating up very fast since I didn't really wait all that long between shots.

The good news, the recoil is only a bit more than that of a 22lr, I was happy about that. :D;) Seriously, not nearly as bad as you would believe from popular literature. More of a kicker than a shover, and I was pleasantly surprised that there was no notable muzzle lift, easily enabling a quick follow-up shot. Bad news is when I got back home I checked the bore and fouling is horrendous, massive copper slicks up and down almost the entire length of the bore. Cleaning it is not fun, that's the main reason I'm reluctant to shoot it again. I only have one box of ammo which I think has now topped over $200.00 a box or ten dollars a shot.

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stagpanther said:
I'm not that worried about the felt recoil, although it is "up there" just shy of 100 ft lbs. :D I need to zero and "accurize" the rifle as best I can, I figure my friend has only a couple of shots at best if he's face to face with a rhino inside 100 yds that objects to being shot at. I'm actually looking forward to firing it. Getting the bore clean is proving to be difficult--even though it hasn't been shot many times it's never been cleaned--so successive layers of copper and carbon have created a difficult "layered cake." I've been working on it for a couple of days--and have discovered a couple of stubborn thickish patches of brass right near the muzzle, when I asked my friend about it he said he did use brass solids to take a polar bear with (in his opinion the polar bear is one of the most dangerous game animals of all to hunt). The other thing that bothers me is the twist lock scope rings, I've never liked that design on heavier recoiling rifles but Weatherby folks have told me not to worry about it. The shop he buys his rifles from likes to lok-tite and torque down mount and ring screws hard, and I always dread the possibility of having one of the mount screw heads stripping out. Seems to be an unwritten covenant between mount manufacturers to use soft steel mount screws.:rolleyes:
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By twist lock I think you are referring to the 'Redfield" bases and rings. Dove tail on front, windage screws on back? They will be ok only if the scope is relatively light weight and the rings are lapped with front ring loctited to scope tube. I have seen many fail on rear ring. Recoil drives back ring through windage screws. Cuts through them like butter. The reason they are so popular on WBY markV is because WBY drilled so many of them off center. I have a awBY Mark 5 you can't get on paper without windage adjustable rings. I got the scope zeroed. Took scope off and tig welded rear ring to base. The Tig weld is holding and the screws are now just cosmetic.
 
This was 100yds?
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80 yds with the magnification set at 4.5 on a Swarovski 1.5 x 6 scope per my friend's instructions. He's taken lion, leopard, hippo, big bears and other dangerous game at close ranges.

By twist lock I think you are referring to the 'Redfield" bases and rings. Dove tail on front, windage screws on back? They will be ok only if the scope is relatively light weight and the rings are lapped with front ring loctited to scope tube. I have seen many fail on rear ring. Recoil drives back ring through windage screws. Cuts through them like butter. The reason they are so popular on WBY markV is because WBY drilled so many of them off center. I have a awBY Mark 5 you can't get on paper without windage adjustable rings. I got the scope zeroed. Took scope off and tig welded rear ring to base. The Tig weld is holding and the screws are now just cosmetic.
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Similar, I know those rings and have encountered them on older Mark 5's --that very thin edged slot that holds the screw in place can easily fail and then nothing is left holding the ring solidly in place. I yanked them off my friend's 300 Wbymag and replaced them with solid rings. The ones on the 416 wby mag are a bit mysterious, they look very similar to Leupold's standard "twist lock" dovetail rings which are the same as what you refer to as red fields except the rear ring lacks a windage screw. I wanted to check the mount base screws into the receiver, but the scope rings screws that clamp around the scope body won't budge at 40 inch pounds even after I've soaked the screws in kroil so I can't get them off (for now).
 
stagpanther said:
80 yds with the magnification set at 4.5 on a Swarovski 1.5 x 6 scope per my friend's instructions. He's taken lion, leopard, hippo, big bears and other dangerous game at close ranges.

Similar, I know those rings and have encountered them on older Mark 5's --that very thin edged slot that holds the screw in place can easily fail and then nothing is left holding the ring solidly in place. I yanked them off my friend's 300 Wbymag and replaced them with solid rings. The ones on the 416 wby mag are a bit mysterious, they look very similar to Leupold's standard "twist lock" dovetail rings which are the same as what you refer to as red fields except the rear ring lacks a windage screw. I wanted to check the mount base screws into the receiver, but the scope rings screws that clamp around the scope body won't budge at 40 inch pounds even after I've soaked the screws in kroil so I can't get them off (for now).
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Dual dove tail? If they are Leupold dual dove tail, they are rock solid.
 
Dual dove tail? If they are Leupold dual dove tail, they are rock solid.
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I can't tell since I haven't taken them apart, but here's a picture of them:

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There are no markings on them but I've seen Leupold's on Weatherbys before and that is what they most closely resemble IMO. Notice the gap in the front ring, they are not evenly torqued would be my guess, and knowing the shop the rifle was bought through I seriously doubt they lapped the rings prior to scope seating, but it shoots well enough it seems.
 

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Lots of guys like to have somebody else sight in their 416 Weatherbys.
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It was fun--except for the barrel cleaning. I decided I'm going to take it out again and shoot off the bench with good rests and see just how tight a group I can get just out of curiosity.:)

I'm physically a small, scrawny and weak guy, but about 80+% of my shooting--and I shoot a lot--is with bigger (meaning north of .308 win) centerfire cartridges, so I think that helps "acclimate" after a while. Ironically, I have a VERY hard time holding the 22lr and 17HMR steady.
 
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Oh--lest anyone mistake false bravado for real machismo--this Mark 5 does come with an Accubrake fitted, though I don't especially care for the BOOM, I do like it mostly for it's dampening of muzzle lift. When firing the group above and the impacts started wandering I discovered the brake had come loose and unscrewed itself by about 1/4 inch--there was nothing to cinch it to the muzzle threading which is blued just like the barrel. Normally no big deal, but the fit was quite loose--meaning there was quite a bit of play. I cringe to think what might have happened if there was a bullet strike.:eek:
 
That's not a bad group for a 416 even if it's at 50
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I agree, that's not a bad group! A lot of big bores are no fun to shoot and typically are not MOA rifles anyway, so I'd have said DONE right after the first shot. 2" group should be plenty good enough to hit a buffalo!
 
I agree, that's not a bad group! A lot of big bores are no fun to shoot and typically are not MOA rifles anyway, so I'd have said DONE right after the first shot. 2" group should be plenty good enough to hit a buffalo!
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Thanks Scorch, but I have concerns about why the bore fouls up so badly so fast and want to get to the bottom of that, shots 1 through 3 may be good, but if number 5 unexpectedly zooms off 7" from POA during an extended safari--that would be potentially a very inconvenient thing.
 
I've found a PAST recoil pad on my shoulder really helps shooting my Mil-surps that have steel butt plates. 303's and 7.62x 54 really give you a pop with no cushion. I've shot 50 BMG and the muzzle brake is the secret there, don't know if that will work for this project.
 
stagpanther said:
I can't tell since I haven't taken them apart, but here's a picture of them:

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There are no markings on them but I've seen Leupold's on Weatherbys before and that is what they most closely resemble IMO. Notice the gap in the front ring, they are not evenly torqued would be my guess, and knowing the shop the rifle was bought through I seriously doubt they lapped the rings prior to scope seating, but it shoots well enough it seems.
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Most likely Leupold dual dove tail. They are either Leupold or a copy. Those bases and rings are unreal strong. For all practical purposes, they are one piece.
 
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