I'm going to pick up a new rifle in 340 weatherby and i was wondering about the recoil. should i be seriously considering a muzzle break or not? The largest rifle i have is a 7mm Rem Mag. with 175's it's stout but not bad. Is the 340 in an entirely different class as far a recoil? I hear some guys say it's got a slower "push" as opposed to a fast kick of a 300 mag. I'd like to not have a muzzle break if possible because of the noise.

Ditto what George said.



I hear some guys say it's got a slower "push" as opposed to a fast kick of a 300 mag.



The .340 has a "fast" recoil also. The .300 mags (H&H, Weatherby, WSM, Win Mag, etc.) and the .340 are pushing bullets in the 2900-3100 fps range. The .340 just uses heavier bullets and will kick a little more. Nothing to be afraid of. It will probably get your attention the first few times you shoot it but it's not bad. Just practice with it and you'll get used to it. I don't have a muzzle break on my Weatherby AccuMark in .340 Wby.



BTW: A 7 Mag and a .340 make a very versatile and useful pairing, IMHO.



Just my two cents...

-Bob F.

I detest muzzle breaks, and I don't care for the sharp, fast, hard recoil of the .340 WBY. Nor do I like 26" barrels, and you really need one if you're going with the .340.

I've found the regular old .338 Win. Mag. to be plenty of gun, and quite easy to shoot. You can get by very well with a 24" or even a 22" barrel with the .338 and get full velocity.......

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Amen GeorgeS!! Muzzle brakes will ruin your hearing..

Just as George said:

The .340Wby.Mag. recoils more than the 7mmRem.Mag., but it won't hurt you.

Skip the brake; if the gun is too much for you, you can always add weight to the rifle.

George

My hunting buddy has a really nice Sako buitl by McMillan w/ a 25"bbl. & syn. stock, scoped it weighs in @ 9 1/2#. It is Magnaported & recoil isn't bad at all of the bench. From field positions I don't think I could tell the diff. btwn. the .338WM & .340Wby.

Being a 'Weatherby aficionado," I own a few of them, among them two 340s, an Acuumark and an old German MKV. They are both accurate dependable rifles and frankly, the 340 is in my view one of the most versatile cartridges out there. Having said that, the recoil is the sharpest/quickest of any cartridge I've ever fired. I only shoot 250gr bullets and I am currently working with 225gr Triple Shocks. I just don't think the 210gr has the requisite sectional density to shoot the type on game one shoots with a 33. If I want I lighter bullet, I can get better results with a 200gr 300. I also have a very nice Custom 338 Model 70 in 338 and the recoil is much more manageable. But if you like the 340, by all means go for it...only don't install a muzzle break. with a 26" barrel plus the length added by the brake, makes the rifle kind of cumbersome not to mention the unbearable noise and blast. jorge

Regarding the need for a 26" barrel on a .340 Wby, I read or heard at one time that the bore-to-case capacity ratio of a .340 was roughly equivalent to that of a .30-06 or .338, the point being that this particular expert didn't state or believe that a .340 needed the overlength barrel; what are your thoughts on that, as the .340 is on my short list of "want to have" calibers, but I like the 24" barrels.

Craig Nolan

The recoil from a .340 Weatherby is going to be real close to double that of a 7MM mag. And yea, right, it's not going to damage your hearing. I'd get the rifle with the Accubrake installed, it also comes with a thread protector so you can shoot it with or without the brake and decide for yourself. I do prefer Vais brakes though , it's more effective than the Accubrake, doesn't seem as loud to the shooter.

Stock design will affect recoil big time. I don't know which rifle you have in mind, but I would try and shoot one before I shelled out the cash. I shoot the 338 Win Mag, 340 Wby and the 338 Lapua, the last two being pretty close in felt recoil. stock design makes all the difference between my two rifles. FWIW - Dan

Plain and simple the 340 develops enough recoil that you will have to learn to physiologically manage it. In a 9 lbs. gun this wont be too difficult. The 340 recoils sharp and quick at 8 pounds.
For what its worth the 338 Win. has a much softer recoil.

The 340Wby is among the greatest big game hunting cartridges ever developed. It provides a great step up in power over the 7 mags for the larger stuff.

Though I have recently switched to the 338 Ultra I had almost 20 years behind the trigger of my 340.

I had nothing but good experiences with it...so will you.

Jamie

Most of the riflesmiths and experinced shooters I know who are very familiar with the .340 WBY. advocate 26" barrels. Personally, I've chronographed enough rifles in a wide enough variety of chamberings over the years to know that velocity isn't always tied to barrel length. For example, I've had .300 WBYs with 24" barrels that for whatever set of reasons delivered more velocity with the same ammunition other rifles with 26" barrels, and I've seen this phenomenon before with other chamberings.

If I wanted a custom .340 WBY. and if I had a preference for 24" barrels, I'd go ahead and order it with a 24" barrel. It's quite possible that you'll achieve full velocity with the shorter tube, but you can't know that for certain going in.

If I ever decide to order a custom .340 myself, I'll take the risk and go with a 24" tube and no muzzle break. I'd rather deal with the recoil than the noise.

That rifle would also include a straight, American classic style stock. I'm convinced that the crooked Weatherby Mark V stock exacerbates recoil......

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Ryan,

I've been a big .338 fan for over 20 years. I've owned 8 different rifles in 5 different .338 chamberings. They all worked great but the 338 Win. Mag is by far the most practical. The extra recoil, gun weight, barrel length etc. of the bigger 338's negate the returns in performance. IMO

If you really are stuck on the 340 expect a substantial leap in recoil over your 7 Mag. so don't shoot it too much with each bench session. You can get used to it.

Having said the above I will admit that I now have a very light 338 Ultra. It is a beast but I like it.

Regards,

Mark

Allen, thank you for your insight on the .340

Regards,
Craig Nolan