I read this Afrikan forum regularly with great interest but never see mention of the 378 Weatherby round. With all the potential that this round possesses why not? I must be missing somthing here. Please educate me. Thanks. Doug
------------------ NRA Life member
Posts: 8352 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
We have shot a few animals in the bush with the .378. For African hunting use of a push feed gun is not my favorite. With the game we shot the .378 did fine just impossible to take anything away from the .375 H&H. Also the recoil is such that few can shoot it well.
Posts: 1573 | Location: USA, most of the time | Registered: 11 March 2002
I'm pretty sure that the 378 wby allows to reach the brain in case of a frontal shot on the biggest elephant. Can the 375 H&H penetrate the same, or will the bullet stop its course into the bone, and the animal keep on charging at you?
Posts: 552 | Location: France | Registered: 21 February 2002
I certainly agree about the push feed. The 378 seems a natural for the CZ 550,602 or the Win. M70 Classic or the new Ultra Mag actions though. In Saeeds film clips on the Humor & video page he is knocking ele over like bowling pins with a 375/404 which looks to be a kissing cousin to the 378 weatherby.
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[This message has been edited by Bear Claw (edited 04-03-2002).]
Posts: 8352 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
I have been using my .378 Wby for three or four years now and I love it. I bought a barreled action from Weatherby and ordered an H-S Precision stock and put the two together and it is a beautiful rifle. I used it on plains game in South Africa last year and it did great...although that poor little duiker I shot was basically field dressed by the 300 grain Hornady! And I carry the same rifle here in Alaska. Mine does have a brake, and with a scope and bullets, it weights just under 10 pounds. Recoil is not bad at all, but you do have to pay attention to the rifle when you shoot it. It's only drawback is muzzel blast, as mentioned above. And it is heavy to carry. My .378 shoots very accurately. I have considered putting a different type of brake on to reduce muzzel blast. After getting over the urge to shoot 300 grain bullets at 3100 fps, I currently load my bullets to shoot about 2700 fps. I would recommend the .378 to anyone. Using or choosing not to use a push feed bolt action is, in my opinion, a matter style and personal preference...and is not matter of functional reliability.
I had a 378 and the recoil gave me nosebleeds. It was a factory MK5 I think. I have lots of big hole rifles up to 45/120 in Ruger #1 and nothing kicked like that rifle.Mark
Posts: 109 | Location: Sask.Ca | Registered: 27 February 2001
The 378 Wby is simply too fast for solids and they tilt on impact and do funny things, it destroys softs and even solids on elephant and Buffalo and sometimes on Lions...Lots of failures and the 375 H&H because of its lesser velocity will actually penitrate further and certainly strighter...Thats why you seldom see it used in Africa...
I see no need for a muzzle brake on a 378 WBY. I simply had a 375 H&H CZ 550 rechambered to 378 WBY and it shot sub-MOA with handloads of 300 grain Sierra Gamekings at 2860 fps MV from the 25" factory barrel. 111 grains of IMR 7828 as I recall.
I see it as a specialized long range big game rifle. In the bush, it offers no incentive over the the 375 H&H at close range. Velocity increases produce diminishing returns up close, but not all that weird, with the proper bullet.
Most of the bad rep came from factory ammo loaded too hot by Weatherby or with fragile bullets, or from poor shooting by the recoil shy.
By golly, if Saeeds 375/404 can work wonders, so can the 378 Wby with proper loads and shooting! The belt is not such a hindrance.
------------------ RAB
Posts: 28032 | Location: KY | Registered: 09 December 2001
I agree with DaggaRon...the .378 Wby is closer to Saeed's .375/404 than to a .375H&H...And if I haven't shot hundred's animals dead as a doornail using 300 grain Barnes X bullets, travelling at about 2700fps, then Saeed has. And with great and deadly success. On a related thread, addressing a question on whether a .375 caliber bullet had the ability to kill an elephant, Saeed was cited for his ability to knock elephants down like bowling pins with his .375/404. And as DaggaRon says, some view the .378 as a powerful long range rifle, and it certainly is that. Some problems with the cartridge can be attributed to the great velocity that it is capable of producing...which may result in greater recoil and unwanted bullet performance. Some of the hottest bullets I have ever seen were (and are) made by Weatherby...I have chronographed Weatherby's less expensive 300 grain SPRN Hornedy cartridges at an honest 3000 fps. At that velocity and greater velocities, bullet performance does become less reliable. As I said above, I load my shells to shoot at about 2700fps...as far as recoil, I think I have had only one rifle that really hurt me and that was a Model 70 in .338...it had a real pretty wooden stock that knocked me into a painful grimace after about 3 shots...I put a better recoil pad on it and sold it. I think the recoil from my .378 does not bother me because of the stock I have on it..an H-S Precision. I can shoot about 35 rounds at the range before I start getting a little punchy from shooting. I consider my .378 as a versatile rifle.
