Thoughts on the .300 Weatherby Mag

[BIGSLOWHEAVY]

Ok, somebody may have to slap some sense into me, but here goes. I was going through several books and magazines looking at ballistics of various cartridges. I must say that I am really impressed with the .300 Wea Mag. If purchased, it would be used mainly for deer. Yes I know this is much more than is needed, but eventually I would like to hunt larger game. I'm not all that concerned about the recoil, yet I have heard some horror stories about this cartridge. How does it compare to say 30-06, 12 and 10 gauges in their hotter loads? Is it a fairly accurate cartridge? I do realize that ammo is not exacly cheap nor plentiful, but this too I can live with. Another thing that I have heard is that this cartidge tends to wear out barrels much quicker than others. If I put say 20rds or less through it a year would this be much of a concern? I would very much appreciate any insight.

Take care,

Marc

 

[Watchman]

The 300 Weatherby is a good cartridge but one that is overrated in my opinion. It averages about 200 fps faster than the .300 Win Mag but it does it at increased cost. Consider that a box or .300 Win Mag costs 11.00-12.00 bucks at Walmart, while the .300 Weatherby is around 21.00 -22.00. a box.Do you really want to pay the much for an extra 200 fps feet for a deer ? The deer will not understand the difference .

It has been my experience that the Weatherby is not as accurate as the Win Mag because Weatherby "freebores" their guns. What this does is allow higher pressure in a cartridge without sacrificing saftey due to lower pressures. What it also does is make the bullet travel much farther before it engages the riflling in the barrel and if the bullet does not enter the rifleing exactly concentric to the bore, the round will not be stable in flight. Even so, I have shot several Weatherbys that will group within one inch at 100 yards, so how much accuracy ones needs is subjective. You will not see any on the bench rest circuits though.

As far as wearing out barrels, if you only shoot 20 rounds a year through it, you can shoot it the rest of your life without a problem, then you can pass it on to your kids .

Weatherbys cost a little more thsn the average rifle but if money is no object and it tickles your fancy ,GO for it. One could do much worse.

 

[BigG]

The 300 Weatherby is a good cartridge and has snob appeal, like driving a Corvette, for example.

It is difficult to compare the recoil of rifles and shotguns because the shotgun is used to engage airborne targets (mostly) so the apparent recoil is less than if the gun is fired deliberately like benchresting a rifle.

The Weatherby kicks pretty hard but it is manageable with practice. Just remember the recoil is part of the fun and what makes the bullet go so fast.

20 rounds a year will not be hard on either you or the barrel.

 

[Cain R]

Ok here's my take on the .300 Wby. Had one since about '97? The first year Winchester brought it out in the controlled feed model anyway. With good handloading the round can be amazingly accurate. But the recoil of the bench is a bit much, I can shoot my .375 H&H about 3-1 compared to the .300Wby.

I've come to the conclusion thats its a huge overkill for 95% of my deer hunting, even with big northern bucks at over 200 lbs, but the 180 gr load isn't up to par on big Elk and Moose. I much prefer more bullet and heavier weights. In fact my .300 Wby is being made into a heavy barrel long range, from the bench, target rifle. The '06 and other non-magnum stuff being plenty good for deer and the .416 and .375 for any of the really big stuff.

For the extra 200-250fps you get from one of these, I really have never seen it kill any quicker or better than the '06 or even my 6.5X55mm. Economically at least I would never recommend one of these.

 

[RickdM]

My recent experience

I went hunting last week at a friend's ranch in West Texas using his Remington Sendero in .300 Wea. He can't sit still so he sets up his blinds a long ways out, this one was 208 yards from the feeder. I shot a big doe at a measured 230 yards with this gun, and I must say that the power was addicting. The 180 grain bullet knocked the doe clear off her feet and she never got back up, though of course shot placement had a lot to do with this.

This particular rifle had a muzzle brake and the recoil was less than I have felt from a mid weight 30-06. Off the bench we were fetting 3/4" groups at 100 yards with handloads he had worked up just for this rifle. I certainly would not want to shoot this cartridge in a light rifle, or without a muzzle brake, but it worked very well in the Sendero. My friend's feeling is that this is probably not the cartridge to have if you do not plan to handload, because given the cost of factory ammo you could spend several hundred dollars going through ammo to find something that shoots in your particular rifle,

Good luck,
Rick

 

[BIGSLOWHEAVY]

Thanks for all the info guys

I have made up my mind to wait on buying anything in this caliber. I told a friend I was thinking about getting a rifle in .300 weatherby and he immediately grabbed his shoulder. Come to find out, he had bought one a few months earlier. I asked him if he had a chance to go hunting with it yet and his reply was quite humorous. He said "No, and if I did shoot a deer with it, I'm not sure who would be getting the worse end of it." I then asked him how accurate it was. He said "Don't know. Guess I'm not man enough to fire it enough to sight it in yet." I know I can handle a lot more recoil than he can, but still it doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. Think I'll let my better judgement take over and get something a little more practical. That way I can spend the extra cash on better optics and what not. Oh and I definitely don't want anything that has "snob" appeal. Thanks again guys.

Take care,
Marc

 

[300winguy]

If you like the 300 weatherby mag get it! As long as it is a fairly heavy rifle you will have no problem. As with any gun shoot it enough and you will become used to it. I haven't shot a 300 weatherby, although I do have a 300 win, I have shot an 8mm remington mag, 375H&H and 458win mag a bit. I found when starting out with powerful calibers that recoil isn't as bad as you read about or hear about. I think the 8mm rem mag is on par with the 300 weatherby and with a little practice recoil tends to not be such a huge factor, as I have found. I shoot my 300win mag quite a bit and can shoot several boxes of ammo in one outing with no problems. Most of the effects of recoil are mental, if you can control that you can shoot a 300weatherby mag. Also invest in a good recoil pad for your shoulder, this helps when at the bench and of course in the field you will never feel the recoil when shooting at live game.

 

[agtman]

"300 Weatherby,*** the extra 200-250 fps you get from one of these ***"



I guess what I can't see is what the benefit is over the original .300 H&H. With the Weatherby you get excessive muzzle blast, shoulder-joltin' recoil, and more expensive ammo. But how much more reach are you getting in return at the practical hunting distances at which most shots are taken?

Yeah, the old H&H in factory isn't on every dealers' shelf, but when hunting season rolls in the Federal & Winchester 180gn loads are available around here. Also, I reload using the 200 & 220gn bullets (Noslers, Barnes, & Hornadys), which is where the 300 H&H really shines (very accurate). Nowadays hot 180gn 30.06 loads are treading pretty close to the earlier H&H loads in that weight. (Federal's 300 H&H 180gn Nosler Partition only hits 2880fps at the muzzle).

Not saying you shouldn't have a 300 Weatherby if that's what your heart's set on, it's just that the animals most hunters are likely to shoot in the lower 48 won't be any deader for all the ensuing blast and recoil.

Think about it: all these .300 Mega-magnums now hitting the market. In practical hunting terms (and assuming the same inherent accuracy for all), do the heavy blasters really get it done that much better than, say, the less abusive 300 H&Hs or 300 Winchesters?